The night was heavy, suffocating, and bitter with smoke. Flames licked the marble walls of Veerani Palace, their orange glow reflecting on Aadhya's battered, bloodied face. Her body ached in every joint, bruises darkening across her arms and legs, cuts weeping crimson. She collapsed to the cold stone floor, trembling, as the laughter of her enemies pierced her ears like knives.
Her husband—once a man she had trusted, once a groom who had charmed her with compliments and feigned affection—stood above her, eyes cruel and triumphant. Every word he had whispered in her ear, every act of false kindness, had been a trap. Now, he sneered down at her, a mockery of the husband she had once believed loved her.
"You're pathetic, Princess," he spat. "So arrogant, so reckless... and yet so weak. I almost admired your ignorance. But look at you now—beaten, broken, bleeding. And all because of your foolishness."
Aadhya tried to lift her head, but her body refused. Pain lanced through her ribs, her limbs shaking uncontrollably. She could barely see through the blood dripping into her eyes, blurring the scene around her. Her father's lifeless form sprawled nearby, the cruel gleam of her husband's blade still fresh on him. King Veer Rajan Veerani, the only person she had ever thought might protect her, now lay cold, his life stolen before her eyes.
Her chest heaved with raw, choking sobs. Fear, anger, sorrow, betrayal—all of it churned into a storm inside her. Every bit of trust she had given in her life had been turned into a weapon against her. Her stepmother, Rajeshwari, stood at the edge of the courtyard, smiling sweetly to the world but radiating venom straight at Aadhya. The twin stepsisters, Tanishka and Ridhima, flanked her husband, their faces gleaming with cruel triumph.
And then her eyes fell on Meera.
The woman had been her mother's servant, her only true ally, her single safe harbor in a world full of lies. But now, Meera was being dragged across the floor by her husband's guards. Her clothes torn, her body bruised, her face streaked with blood, she looked helpless—but still defiant.
"No!" Aadhya screamed, summoning the last fragments of strength in her broken body. "Leave her! Leave her alone!"
Her cries were met with laughter.
"You dare raise your voice?" her husband hissed, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "You should have listened when you had the chance. Now you'll watch everything you love destroyed."
Aadhya's limbs trembled as her knees buckled, and Meera's anguished cries filled the courtyard. Guards surrounded her, fists and blunt weapons raining down blows on Aadhya herself. She was beaten again and again—every punch, every kick driving her closer to the edge of consciousness. Her dress was torn, her skin bruised and cut, her hair matted with blood and sweat.
Through the haze of pain, she could hear the whispers of her stepsisters.
"We... we never really liked you," Tanishka murmured, voice cold and mocking. "We only played along. Your trust, your innocence... everything we twisted, and yet it wasn't enough."
Ridhima's laugh joined hers, sharp and cruel.
Aadhya's eyes filled with tears—not from pain alone, but from the betrayal that ran deeper than any wound. Her heart felt like it was being clawed from her chest. Her entire life had been built on lies, lies from the only people she thought cared for her, lies from her stepmother, lies from her father's perceived neglect, lies from the world she had believed was hers.
Meera was thrown to the ground, the guards' cruelty relentless. Aadhya's vision sharpened, her sorrow igniting into a blaze of hatred.
"No... Meera!" she shrieked, lunging forward despite her broken body, but it was futile.
Her husband's men dragged Meera into the fire, their hands cruel, their intent clear. Aadhya watched in horror as the flames consumed the woman who had been her anchor, her comfort, the one who had loved her without condition. Meera screamed, a sound that would haunt Aadhya's soul forever.
"Curse you all!" Aadhya roared, her voice hoarse and raw. "I swear... I will return! Every betrayal, every lie... every drop of blood... I will avenge!"
Her stepmother, stepsisters, and husband only laughed, mockery dripping from every word. "You? Avenging anything? Pathetic," Rajeshwari said, her voice sweet and poisonous.
The flames reflected in Aadhya's bloodied eyes as she felt her strength slipping away. Pain, sorrow, fear, and hatred coursed through her veins. She could barely breathe, every inhale burning her lungs. But even as darkness crept over her vision, even as the last vestiges of life left her body, one thought blazed in her mind: revenge.
And in her final, fading heartbeat, she whispered to the world and to the souls of those who had betrayed her:
"I will come back... and you will all pay."
Her scream mingled with the roar of the fire as Aadhya Veerani—the naive, trusting, beaten, and betrayed princess—breathed her last. Her body was broken, but her soul burned hotter than ever with the promise of vengeance that even death could not extinguish.
stay tuned for the next chapter........