Chapter 106: chapter 106

S A N M A Y I ---The pain in my heart had not yet subsided when the first piece of the puzzle fell into place. It was barely a week since the loss, since the child that had been the symbol of our unity had been torn away from us, but even as the world seemed to collapse around me, I could feel a glimmer of resolve igniting within. The sadness, the despair, the overwhelming grief—they were still there, but beneath them, something darker and far more potent began to emerge.I would not let this stand.The investigation had begun quietly at first, with few knowing the true cause of the miscarriage. Whispers, rumors, accusations—those things festered in the shadows of the palace. But as the days wore on, it became clear to me that there was more to this tragedy than just fate. Something had been done to me. And not just to me, but to the life I had carried within me, the future we had built together.The cook was found on the third day of the investigation. She had been a trusted servant for years, and yet, when the physicians had reviewed the food I’d consumed before my collapse, a horrifying discovery had been made. My meals had been tampered with—poisoned, though the doses were so small and slow-acting that they had not affected me immediately. The poison had been meant for the child.Madhavi’s arrest came swiftly. She had been found trying to flee, her eyes wild with fear as she was dragged back to the palace. The suspicion that had been creeping in my mind now solidified into something far more dangerous.As I stood in the grand hall of the palace, the guards brought Madhavi before me. Her face was pale, her eyes darting to the floor, her hands shaking uncontrollably. She looked like a woman broken, though whether it was from fear of me or her own conscience, I could not tell.“Speak,” I commanded, my voice firm, though my hands still trembled with the cold fury that had begun to take root within me. “Tell me who sent you.”Madhavi’s eyes flickered up for a brief moment before she lowered them again, a tear escaping from the corner of her eye. “I… I did not want to do it, Your Majesty,” she stammered. “I… I was threatened. Nandini… she ordered it. She said it would be for the good of the kingdom.”A cold wave washed over me, chilling my bones. The woman I had once called family, the one who had been by my side in childhood, had done this. My own blood. The woman who had always envied me, always sought to surpass me, had poisoned my food to destroy the very thing that could secure my future.“Nandini…” I whispered, tasting the name on my tongue. It had never been a name I would have associated with treachery, but now it burned with a bitter truth. A truth that I had tried to ignore for far too long.Madhavi continued to stammer, her words barely audible, her voice quaking with terror. “She said… she said you were too powerful. That you had too much influence over the kingdom. She wanted you weakened. She wanted the child gone… for the sake of the throne.”A hollow laugh bubbled up from my chest, though it held no humor. So this was how it had all unfolded. Nandini’s jealousy, her hatred, had festered over the years, growing like a cancer in the depths of her soul. She had always been envious of me—of the love I had from the people, of the respect I had earned, of the future I had been given.She had tried to poison me once before, on my sixth birthday, and it had cost my mother her life. But this time, this time, it had gone too far. She had taken the life of my child.I took a deep breath, the weight of what I was about to do pressing heavily on my chest. I could feel my heart breaking again, but the fire inside me, the anger, burned hotter now than the grief. I would not let her destroy me. I would not let her destroy what was mine.“Take her away,” I said, my voice tight with emotion, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. “And make sure she talks.”Madhavi was dragged away, her pleas falling on deaf ears as she was taken to the dungeons. I turned on my heel, my mind racing. I would not allow Nandini to get away with this. She had gone too far, and I would see her held accountable, no matter the cost.I walked through the palace corridors, the weight of my thoughts pressing heavily on me. There was a part of me that still couldn’t comprehend the depth of her betrayal. Nandini had been my closest companion, my sister in all but blood. She had shared my joys, my pains, my triumphs, and my defeats. And now… now she had betrayed me in the most unforgivable way.But I could not afford to let my heart ache for her anymore. She had made her choice, and it had been a choice of darkness. A choice of jealousy. And now it was time for her to face the consequences of her actions.I reached my chambers, and there, standing by the window, was Ranajay. His face was weary, his eyes dark with the weight of his own grief. When he saw me, his expression softened, and he moved to embrace me, but I held up a hand to stop him.“Not yet,” I said, my voice hoarse. “There is more to this. More that you don’t know.”His brow furrowed, and he looked at me with concern. “Sanmayi… what are you saying?”“I know who is behind this,” I said quietly, my heart pounding in my chest. “It’s Nandini.”Ranajay’s eyes widened in shock, and I could see the disbelief flicker across his face. “Nandini? But… she’s…”“Yes,” I cut him off, my voice firm. “She has been behind all of this. The poisoning. The miscarriage. She did it out of jealousy, out of a need to tear me down. She wanted to destroy the future we had built.”Ranajay stood still for a long moment, his eyes narrowing with fury. “I will make sure she pays for this,” he said, his voice cold.“I will confront her myself,” I replied, my heart heavy with the weight of what I was about to do. “I will make her face the truth. I will not let her continue this reign of terror.”Ranajay didn’t argue. Instead, he nodded, his eyes filled with an unspoken understanding. Together, we would bring Nandini to justice.As I prepared myself to face her, my heart wavered only for a moment. This had been my childhood companion, the one who had shared my secrets and dreams. But now, she had chosen a different path, a path of darkness and betrayal.The time for mercy had passed. Nandini would face her reckoning, and I would be the one to bring it to her.---Retribution was all that remained for me now. Justice, vengeance, and a reckoning that would not be denied.