Royal Enemies

CHAPTER-2 AKSHITA AND ABHISHEK

(Akshita)

"I have reached." I told mom.

She sighed on the other end of the phone, "finally."

I clutched my purse in my hand as I walked inside the palace. The butler was following me. I inhaled the same scent of sandalwood and the spicy oud that lingered so very faintly in the air. I ended the call not really bothering if my mother had anything to say. I was too consumed by the thoughts that rushed in my head to pay attention to anything else.

I stepped inside the hall, not being able to stop myself from drifting in the past. The way my sandals hit the floor echoed in the empty grounds of the Palace.
I only thought of one moment, when I was dragged inside to pure shame and guilt. I had prepared myself over and over again for this moment yet I felt my hands starting to shiver again. My hold tightened around the thick straps when I felt my palms staring to sweat, a little too much. It wasn't fear, just extreme regret of my sins, my mistakes, my miseries.

The rich sound of fine leather boots clicking against the marble pulled me from the trance. There had been constant shuffle around me before as the staff rushed to do things but this, it wasn't anywhere near it. It was something I wasnt sure was capable of making my heart shudder. The steps stopped right behind me. Musk and wood. I pursed my lips and whipped my head back as I slowly turned to face him, Abhishek. My eyes found his brown ones. They were as intimidating, like they were when I first found them 10 years ago; cold, distant and empty. His eyes did not once blink as they bore into mine.

The long lashes, the golden in midst of the brown freckles, the thick neat brows.
His jaw remained tight unlike last time I saw him, it was defined, a little broader indicating that he was no longer a guy, but a man. The dip in his cheeks, the fullness of his lips and the perfect straight nose. All the same but so very different.

His hair framed his face, neatly styled like I expected from him. His shirt hugged every nook of his broad shoulders. His shirts first two buttons from the collar remained unbuttoned. The light blue looked so menacing on his faded tan. He turned his head away. I wasn't paying attention to what he gestured and to whom, all I watched was his stance, the way his hand held the phone, the way his jaw shifted when he nodded.

There was nothing I didnt expect from him, yet it still left me at a loss of words, thoughts and rationality. Abhishek. But he wasn't definitely the one I fell for; he was a different being, a completely different man. He had gotten even taller; his body had gotten bigger, definitely not like his old slender self. His hands seemed larger, manlier than I remembered them. I was too busy eyeing him that I didn't realize there was someone else there beside us.

I inhaled a slow breath tearing my eyes from his body and I found staff around us. Abhishek's eyes scanned them before they returned to me.
"Have some water Miss Chakraborty." His thick voice made my hands shift. My toes curled at the sound of it. It was deep, crisp and icy. His words were clear and demanding. The first thought that crossed my mind was how weak I felt in his presence and now his words. He couldn't even utter my name and I knew why he was doing it to me.

I nodded gently, this time completely aware of everything; my own breath, my thoughts, his eyes and the silence. I walked to the sofa that seemed a little too inviting, under the chandelier. I placed my purse down beside me as I was handed the glass. And I noticed him edging closer and he slowly sat on the other sofa, in the centre, crossing one leg over the other.

"Thank-you." I smiled at the aged woman before I looked back at Abhishek. His eyes were on me, eyeing me slow and intently. There was something about the way he stared at me that told me that he was just returning the favour of what I did earlier. His eyes were blank as they went down my face to my hands that remained on my thighs. I curled them; it felt as if he was touching them. He snapped his eyes back up.