"Leela," Hasmukh excitedly ran to her clutching a piece of paper in his hand. "I have a wedding proposal for Vanraj."

Leela was sitting on a wooden cot in their backyard, instructing their help on how to spread the red chillies to dry them efficiently. She turned her attention to her husband who seldom spoke to her of his own volition. 

Excitedly, Hasmukh placed the girl's photo and horoscope in her hands. "She is from the same village as us.

"I know they're not very well off, but what can be said. Kismat. Her father died when she was barely 10."

Leela scoffed. Her son was good-looking with great future prospects. Since her boy had turned 21, she'd been inundated with wedding proposals for her son, some from very well-to-do families. She had only held off on pursuing any of them because Vanraj wanted to complete his graduation before he got married. Leela did whatever made her son happy.

"Just look at this girl, she's so pretty," Hasmukh gushed.

Leela picked up the photo and looked at the nervous girl staring back. She was thin, perhaps had draped a sari for the first time. One of those floral polyester prints that seemed to be the rage. Whoever had taken her to the photo studio had advised her to liberally douse her face with powder. Some kohl and neatly braided lightly oiled hair that had been placed squarely between her shoulders. The girl had stood straight, staring into the camera, not blinking, not smiling, as if she was taking a picture for an army recruitment interview.

Leela sighed and placed the photo aside.

"What?"

"I don't like her."

"Why?"

Leela shrugged. "My Vanraj deserves better."

"Isn't that Vanraj's choice? Are you even going to ask him for his opinion?"

Hasmukh's comment irked Leela. "I always care about him and his choices. I have always put his needs before mine. It's you who doesn't care about him. Always finding fault with him. Always correcting him. Always telling him how he is wrong. Why don't you let him be?"

She got up and huffed away, leaving a flabbergasted Hasmukh staring after her. Shaking his head at the hell his life had become, he left too, to find solace among his friends. The photo along with Anupama's horoscope lay forgotten on the wooden cot in their backyard.

Two days later, their local priest had stopped by to discuss the requirements for a prayer service Leela wished to perform, for Vanraj's successful life. As the Panditji was leaving, he happened to chance on the photo along with the papers. Casually picking up the papers, he realized it was a horoscope. Curiosity getting the better of him, he sat down and using his fingers began to add up the numbers he was seeing on it. He smiled.

"Whose horoscope is this?" he asked Leela. 

"Some proposal Vanraj's bapuji got for him," she replied disinterestedly.

"Vanraj is very lucky. This girl has Raj Yog. Her husband will one day be king."

After the Panditji left, Leela fell into deep thought. She didn't like the girl. They were from a lower-middle-class family. They couldn't even afford to give them any dowry. And the wedding, that would have to be a very simple affair.

She'd received proposals for Vanraj from girls who belonged to wealthier families. But the Panditji had said that this girl has Raj Yog. She sighed. She'd talk to Vanraj's Bapuji about going and visiting this girl. Vanraj was born to become a king.

******

It had been a few hours since Anuj and Anupama had come back home. Anuj had promptly showered and left for work. Anu had caught up on the running of the house for the week she'd been away, taken stock, prepared fresh grocery lists.

As she'd showered and changed into something comfortable, her fatigued mind kept going back to their encounter with the Maharaja. And while she fully accepted that Anuj, as a business tycoon, often wined and dined with global royalty, the meeting she'd witnessed didn't seem to be one of those.

Try as she might, she couldn't seem to forget the Maharaja's eyes. There was a sense of remorse. What did the man want from Anuj?

Lost in thought, her mind running in a million different directions, she absentmindedly sat in front of her dressing mirror, weaving her comb through her hair, failing to notice GK at her door. He cleared his throat. When she didn't respond, he knocked on her door to indicate his presence.

"What are you thinking?" 

The voice jolted her.

"Kaka, come sit," she got up and ushered the old man into her room.

Once settled she got busy fiddling with the stole of her sari, awkwardly staring at him.

"Wedding jitters?" he asked her. She shook her head. 

"Then?"

"When we were in Baroda, one Maharaja Samarjitsingh came to see Anuj."

"Who?" GK's shock was evident.

"Maharaja Samarjitsingh Rao Gaekwad."

"And what did he want?"

"I don't know. Anuj didn't say."

"Is Anuj okay? Why didn't you tell me before? I wouldn't have allowed him to go to work."

Hearing worry in GK's voice, Anu started panicking. "I didn't know Kaka. He seemed nice."

"Did he see you?"

She nodded. And proceeded to tell him about it all.

GK closed his eyes.

"Who is he, Kaka? Why are you so worried. Kaka please tell me, I'm beginning to panic."

Before GK responded, Anu picked up her phone and dialed Anuj's number. He disconnected. Her fertile imagination getting the better of her, she dialed his number again. He disconnected again.

Not waiting to hear any more, she quickly picked up her purse, carelessly placed her phone in it, and screamed: "Mohan, car! I want to go see Anuj. NOW!" 

Mohan stared at her in shock. Anu had never asserted her authority over anyone. He quickly picked up the car keys and walked out of the apartment. Unable to wait, Anu decided to walk with Mohan, when GK informed her that he would come along as well. She nodded. 

The two of them made their way to the AK Group office.

*****

Anuj was having a harrowing day. They had just lost their tender bid for a major Government project. The company that outbid them had done so by bidding just 100 Rs under. Anuj was not happy. After the tender meeting, he met with the lawyers to discuss the progress of Kinjal's adoption. And finally, he had a meeting with his investors. He was working round the clock to wrap up as much work as he could before his wedding, so he could peacefully be away for a week.

He laughed at that thought. Anuj Kapadia could never be peacefully away from work. He knew he would still be checking his emails, responding to queries, doing the odd thing, even then. But he wanted to get through as much of the heavy lifting before as possible. In order to avoid getting distracted, he'd placed his phone on silent and left it on his desk.

Nearly four hours later, he asked for his sixth cup of coffee and grabbed his phone to check if there were any important messages. He was surprised to see 25 missed calls from Anupama and 12 from GK. Worriedly he picked up the phone to dial Anu's number. The phone went directly to voicemail. He tried again. The same thing. Next, he tried GK's number. This call also went to voicemail.

Worried, he was about to call the landline, when the door to his cabin burst open and he was greeted with two faces - of Anu and GK - that mirrored his emotions.

*****

"Is everything okay?" All three of them asked in unison. And Anu rushed towards him and hugged him.

"Anu, what happened?" he asked her gently caressing her hair. Now that he knew she was physically unharmed, he breathed easy.

"The Shahs? Did they pull another number on you?"

She shook her head.

"Anu, look at me."

He gently held her chin to lift her face towards his. She had unshed tears in her eyes.

"Anu?"

And then he looked at GK who looked equally frightened.

Placing Anu on his chair, he walked up to GK. "What happened?"

GK responded with a question of his own. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine GK. What's wrong? Why do the two of you look like you've seen a ghost?"

"When you didn't answer your phone, we got worried."

"Worried? About what?"

"Anu told me that you met with Maharaja Samarjitsingh Rao Gaekwad in Baroda."

He stared at GK and then at Anu intermittently, wondering what the problem was.

When GK realized Anuj was clueless, he sighed with relief.

"What did the Maharaja want from you?"

"Nothing important. But why are you so worried?"

Pulling Anuj to the couch, GK held Anuj's hands in his own. "First you tell me what the Maharaja wanted from you. Then I'll tell you why I am so worried."

"He was acting weird, GK. A bit too friendly. He hugged me and cried. He wanted me to come and meet his family. Said I was the heir."

GK closed his eyes. "Heir to what?"

"He didn't specify. He said he felt regret and remorse. That time had eventually set things straight. And that the family was suffering for the injustice they committed all those years ago. Nothing of what he said made sense."

GK freed his hands from Anuj's grasp and pulled out the small red cloth bag, he'd brought along with him.

He opened it and emptied its contents on the coffee table in front of them. He picked up the picture and handed it to Anuj.

"Maa?" Anuj instantly recognized the little girl in the photo. His mother's face hadn't changed much.

"Your mother, was the daughter of Maharaja Ranjitsingh Rao Gaekwad, the erstwhile king of Baroda. Samarjitsingh Rao Gaekwad is her younger brother and the current titular king. Her older brother, Abhijitsingh Rao Gaekwad, died a few years ago. He had no children. Samarjit has a daughter. The rules of succession indicate that the title can only be passed onto a male heir. It doesn't matter if the heir is a descendant of a son or a daughter. You're the only living male heir of the Gaekwad family."

Anuj looked at GK shocked. "Maa was a princess?" He nodded. "How long have you known this?"

"Gayatri left this with me for her daughter-in-law." He pointed to the contents of the bag - the large ruby and pearl broach and the traditional 12 string Kundan rani haar.

"Not that. The fact that they are have been looking for me?"

GK shrugged. "They reached out to me a few years ago while we were in the USA when Abhijitsingh died. They were worried about the abolishment of the title in case they were unable to pass it further down. At that time, I told them you had no intention of ever coming back to India."

Anuj took his glasses off and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What do you suggest I do?"

He looked at GK. "What would Maa have wanted me to do?"

GK pointed to Anupama. "Ask her. You always said she reminded you of Gayatri."

Turning to Anupama, he asked: "What should I do, Anu?"

"Say yes."

When he looked at her quizzically, she smiled. "You're a businessman, Anuj. You understand the world of "give and take" better than anyone else. Most people only take. But in this case, they are giving you something. They are repenting their actions. And to be honest, the actions weren't even theirs. At that time, your uncles weren't much older or wiser. You don't have any family on your father's side. You're getting the opportunity to get to know your mother's side. Don't lose it."

Anuj looked towards GK, and saw the man proudly smiling at Anu. He spread his arms out for her to come running into his arms. 

"Don't ever scare us again like today," she admonished him while placing her head near his chest. GK laughed. 

"Anu," Anuj tried to extricate himself from the hug. When she refused to leave, he gently coaxed her away. "You need to call the wedding planners and have them reprint the cards. The wedding venue has changed."

She smiled. And jumped. And hugged him once again. Smiling at their childish antics, GK walked out of the cabin to give the two some space. 

"Thank you," he told Anu, his eyes shining with love, as he gently placed his lips on hers. She held onto his neck, pulling him further down towards her as she deepened the kiss. 

And that is how Vanraj Shah found them when he walked into Anuj's cabin for their meeting.