Yuvraj has returned to the palace and discussed about his analysis with Ranasa and also reviewed the reports of Anamika on the captured kingdoms. At the end of the discussion, both of them were satisfied with the suggestions of Anamika.

Soon it was the day before full moon day and Ranisa has organised a puja for Yuvraj and Anamika for the prosperity of their life and kingdom with the blessing of a male heir. Both of them sat in the puja and completed it with full heart and seeked the blessings of God.

Once the puja is done, it was evening and Yuvraj went to the east wing after spending some time with the kids and Saudamini. He didn't want to do the same mistake again by ignoring Saudamini now, so he tries to balance both. But Saudamini is becoming demanding nowadays especially since the news of Anamika able to give a heir to the kingdom.

He knew that she is pregnant and needs his attention all the time but she is not the same young girl pregnant for the first time like ten years ago. She should be able to control herself and be understanding regarding him as he is the husband of both wives. He has duty of a husband towards both of them and she should help him in fulfilling his duties just like Anamika.

Not just in official works but also during the time of his second marriage, she always persuaded him to treat both of his wives equally though he very well know she totally didn't like the concept of second marriage itself.

In the back of his mind, he knew he has no one to blame but himself. He cannot say that Saudamini kept him away from Anamika purposefully or that She seduced him and kept him for herself. He was the one who never thought about his first wife ever in these past years except the time to contact her for official works.

Thinking all this, he reaches Anamika's chamber. Dasis didn't stop him as he is her husband and has the right to enter her chamber anytime. When he entered the chamber, Anamika was wearing her jewels one by one and yet to do her hair. She took her bath before going to bed for the night.

Seeing him there, all the dasis went away giving them privacy. Anamika saw him through the mirror and just placed her pallu on her head and stood up still calm. He saw that she had an expressionless face even now and shows that he doesn't affect her. She used to blush whenever he saw her while getting dressed.

Anamika was drying her wet hair before calling dasis to help her in dressing, when she felt two arms hug her from behind. She knew who it was. She blushed and said, "Pratap! Please stop this. It's day time and what will others think when they came to know that yuvraj is with his wife all the time especially during the day? "

"I don't care what others think. I am enjoying my time with my wife and what does others have to say in this?", Yuvraj replied. Anamika broke from his hug and dressed her hair into a bun. Yuvraj came and took off the hook and let her hair fall down till her waist. "Yuvraj! ", Anamika exclaimed in shock. "What? I love your open hair and you know that very well then why do you tie it? ", Yuvraj replied simply. She said, "I keep it open at night for you. During day time, it will disturb me in my work." She sighed and left her hair open.

He realized that he never saw her hair open in recent years. It just made him realize that now they had lost their spark and it is not just a distance that he need to cross between them anymore but a sea with waves that will challenge him all the way till either he cross the sea or give up his will to cross it.

Coming out of his thoughts, he started speaking clearing his throat, "Anamika, I need to discuss something important with you." She replied, "Yes Yuvraj. Tell me". He took a deep breath and replied, "As you know tomorrow is the full moon day and we have to spend the night together and have a child which will be a male according to pandit ji's prediction. But I know very well that unknowingly I have created a distance between both of us over these few years. And I know you are not a typical wife who will worship the floor her husband walks on. I understand that you don't want to do anything with me as my wife but just for the kingdom, you have even kept your self respect away."

Yes, Yuvraj knows very well about Anamika and her views about a marriage. And he proved her theory of love wrong when he married Saudamini. He broke her trust which earned after a lot of efdorts.

When he saw her in their first meet arranged by their parents, he felt it was love at first sight. But Anamika didn't believe in love at first sight, she believed that a marriage can be successful only if they have trust and respect for each other. Since she liked him and wanted to give their relationship a try, they both asked for some courtship period which their parents agreed though it was not the norm of the society. Then he earned her trust and respect in those few days and their marriage was fixed. Now he don't know whether he has her respect or not as trust was already broken.

Looking at her, he continued, "But we just can't spend a night without having any emotions as if you are just an object. It will be disrespectful for you. So I want to clear the awkwardness between us both and spend tomorrow night together like we used be before. No, I am not asking forgiveness because I have to earn it but can we atleast forget everything for one night and spend a happy time together? "

He looked at her for an answer and she replied, "Yuvraj, you said we can't spend a night without emotions right. But you did the same with your second wife initially as per your words to me. Then why isn't it possible? or whatever you told me was just to pacify me but in real you were enjoying your second marriage?"

She asked this calmly. Any other woman would have broken down while reminiscing those moments of the past, but she learnt to control all her emotions in these years.

"No Anamika. I didn't lie anything to you. I was drunk to the point of not remembering anything that night. So it was possible for me to spend the night with Saudamini without any emotions attached. Now after spending these many years with her, I do regret that since it was disrespectful to her. And I don't want to do the same to you", Yuvraj explained immediately.

Anamika replied after sometime, "I already found a way out yuvraj. I have consulted vaidh ji not directly but through kamal in the pretense for her. He gave a herb which will bring out a person's happy memories and push all the bad memories to the back of their mind. It will help me to forget few years of my memory and reduce the awkwardness tomorrow."

Though he didn't want her to go through this, he cannot stop her as he know that he lost his right to take decisions for her. So he nodded and went away. He has a long way to go before he earns his forgiveness.

Let's see what the full moon day has in store for them.

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Thanks,

SM.