Page 68 of Claimed By the Maharaja
There was silence.
Pooja stared at her.
“Sorry,” Pooja said carefully. “You got what?”
“Married.” Yamini kept her voice low and even. “Yesterday.”
Pooja continued staring. “You got married? To whom?”
Yamini met her eyes. “Bharat Singh Jogra.”
The silence that followed lasted nearly thirty seconds.
Then Pooja shrieked.
Every head in the café turned.
“Pooja—” Yamini grabbed her arm.
“Oh my God—”
“Lower your voice—”
“You are married to—”
“Shh—”
The royal security head came by her table. “Your Highness, is everything alright?” he asked, looking alert.
Yamini nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. Please leave. I’m having a private conversation with my friend.”
The man looked at Pooja’s widened eyes for a moment and then nodded before stepping away as though confirming her friend wasn’t a threat.
Yamini watched him step away and felt the other customers still staring.
Pooja pressed both hands over her mouth, her eyes enormous above her fingers. She took one breath. Then another. Then she leaned across the table and whispered at a volume that was still frankly too loud. “You are married to Maharaja Bharat Singh Jogra!”
“It's not public yet,” Yamini said firmly. “No one can know.”
Pooja nodded rapidly, her hands still over her mouth. She looked as if she were physically containing herself.
“I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “When did he propose? How did he propose? Was it romantic? Did he get down on one knee? Did he—”
“He didn't propose,” Yamini whispered back.
Pooja blinked. “Then how—”
Yamini's cheeks heated. “I proposed to him.”
Pooja's expression cycled through shock, confusion, and then a kind of delighted disbelief. “You proposed to Maharaja Bharat Singh Jogra! How? When?”
Yamini’s face burned. “I went to his office to confront him about Tina Mehta’s allegation, and then I was angry because he ignored me and hadn’t acknowledged my presence since we met again. I got reminded of your crazy suggestion and proposed, just to provoke a reaction.”
Pooja was slowly grinning as though she didn’t find any of it surprising.
Yamini pressed her fingers briefly against her temple. “I didn't think he would actually agree.”
“But he did!”
