There are two kinds of people in this world.

Those who live freely.

And those who are born with a crown waiting for them.

I belonged to the second category.

From the moment I could walk, people didn’t see a child when they looked at me.

They saw responsibility. Expectations. Legacy.

The Rathore name carried weight in Jodhpur.

Not the kind of weight you can simply put down when you’re tired.

The kind that stays on your shoulders whether you like it or not.

My childhood was not filled with bedtime stories and careless laughter like most people imagine.

It was filled with discipline.

While other boys spent their vacations visiting relatives and playing cricket in the streets, I spent mine learning swordsmanship, horse riding, and the history of a kingdom that one day would belong to me.

While they complained about homework, I learned how to control my temper, my words… and eventually my emotions.

A future king does not lose control.

That was the rule.

A future king does not make mistakes.

That was another one.

And the most important one—

A future king does not follow his heart.

Because hearts are unpredictable.

Kingdoms are not.

By the time I turned twenty-four, my path was already decided.

My marriage had been arranged years ago. A family alliance.

A decision made by elders who believed they were protecting tradition.

Kiara.

The future queen.

A woman I barely knew.

But it didn’t matter.

Feelings were never part of the agreement.

Everything in my life had always been planned with precision.

My education.

My responsibilities.

My future.

There was no space for surprises.

No room for chaos.

No possibility for someone to walk into my life and disrupt the order I had spent years building.

At least…

That’s what I believed.

Until the day Isha entered our house.

A girl who spoke without thinking.

Laughed without restraint.

Argued without fear.

And somehow managed to challenge my patience within the first few hours of meeting her.

She was reckless.

Immature.

Infuriating.

And the most dangerous part?

She didn’t treat me like everyone else did.

She didn’t see the future king of Jodhpur when she looked at me.

She just saw…

Aarav.

And that simple difference would become the beginning of the biggest complication of my life.

Because kingdoms can be controlled.

People can be controlled.

But some storms…

They don’t ask for permission before turning your entire world upside down.

And Isha was exactly that kind of storm.