Introduction

Aahana Rathore stood in the mirror, her hand gently resting on the small swell of her belly. Three months pregnant, twenty seven years old, and until a month ago, completely invisible to the world that ran in her blood the royal house of Rajasthan. She adjusted the border of her pastel saree, the elegance of her posture a far cry from the childhood that tried to erase her identity.

Illegitimate. That word had been her shadow since birth whispered in hushes, etched in every sideways glance from her relatives, and painted boldly in her uncle's disapproving eyes. She had grown up in Jodhpur, not in palaces but in dusty rooms above a crumbling haveli owned by her mother's brother. After her mother's death when she was twelve, Aahana had become more maid than niece, raising herself through silence, books, and bitter tea.

What her uncle didn't know was that the money he accepted monthly - a generous sum from a mysterious old account came from none other than her grandmother, the late Rajmata Devika Rathore. Devika had known, of course. She always knew. Even if the king, her son, never did.

Aahana's mother, Meenal, had been the King's college flame a woman he loved before royal duty tore them apart. When Meenal became pregnant, the crown could not accommodate scandal. A quiet payoff, a severed tie, and a new life hidden from the public eye had followed.

But the truth never stays buried forever.

Aahana's life as a professor of economics at Delhi University sharp, calm, private had taken a sharp turn the day Rajmata died. Her will had been a storm. Not only had she acknowledged Aahana as her first grandchild, she made a bold condition: Aahana must live in Rathore Palace for one year with her husband before any transfer of wealth and shares to the King could take place.

The will shook the entire Rathore empire.

For the first time in history, the King and his household including Veer Pratap Rathore, his eldest legitimate son and heir to the empire learned that the King had another child. A child with claims. A child with lineage. A child with a name Aahana Rathore.

This story is generated with the help of AI .