Karn's pov

I was numb.

It took me a while to process what just happened.

My best friend was in love with me.

Any progress that was made in my marriage is ruined once again.

Aadrika.

The thought of her made me snap back to reality. I need to clear this misunderstanding before it goes out of hand. She must be hurt. Before I could even take a step forward a hand stopped me. "What are you doing? It's a good thing she heard. She knows the truth now and will stay in her position. She should know she is worth anything to you."
Every word made my anger boil higher, and I snapped. "ENOUGH VRUSHALI ! How dare you? I always thought you were my best friend but I never expected this from you. I will respect your feelings for me but you don't even treat me as a friend. If you did you would have respected my marriage. And I am warning you, Aadrika is not just the Maharani of Ang...she is my wife, my ardhangini. I have promised her that I will never remarry and I intend to keep that promise. Lastly, I am very sorry but I don't have any romantic feelings for you. I always thought of you as my best friend, even family but never more than that. Please respect my feelings as well." With that I walk off, without waiting for an answer.
I ran through the halls looking for my wife. Will she forgive me this time ?
~
As I reach towards our room ,my nervousness surfaced. I think of how our conversation would go about. How will I ask her for a chance to explain. I knocked at the door and asked for permission to enter. The doors opened and I saw her sitting on the bed, looking away from me. "Parihar", she mumbles, and the dasi leaves. I walk towards her and try to form a sentence, " Aadrika, what you just heard....It was..." Before I could say anything she cut me off, "Arya, I can never really sugar coat my words which is why I'll say it bluntly that your friend was quite rude and disrespectful towards me throughout the day when I was nothing but cordial to her. Now that I know the reason behind the behaviour, I can't really blame her. But I don't trust her, I trust you. So please, tell me the truth. Tell me your truth, Arya. That is all that matters to me." She gestured me to sit next to her and I did. I looked at her and said, "I had no idea that Vrushali was coming here to propose marriage. Yes it is true that she has a special place in life , especially childhood but I have never thought of her romantically. When the invitation to your swayamvar arrived, I will be honest I was not sure if I would attend. Mahamantri Arvind told me about your family and that our alliance would be beneficial for the kingdom as it would help them open up about their woes to a mother figure, A queen. My feelings for you have grown every single day since our meeting in the garden. I cleared everything with her. Please trust me, I only have feelings for you and no one.", I plead, desperately wanting her to believe me. I look at her to find her smiling, " I believe you Angraj. And I'm sorry in advance because I will not join you to bid farewell to your friend who I expect to be sent back in a few days." I chuckle . "Thankyou for believing me. I was scared our progress would go back to zero because of this mess.", I tell her sincerely. She intertwined her hand with mine and smiled, " Don't worry, Arya . I trust you....I really do.  I also think I should speak with your friend." Before I could object, she hushed me, "She is in love. If you need to respect her feelings you need to understand that sometimes one can't explain one's actions when in love. And don't worry...I'll try to be civil ! " With that she walked out of the room, leaving me smiling.
Aadrika's pov
I walked towards our guest's chamber. As I take each step I try to calm myself down. I have never felt like this before ! On one hand, I am mad at this woman for trying to steal my husband....but on the other hand, I feel bad for her, she has been in love with him since childhood. We'll see how this goes.
On entering her room I found her pacing around the room. The moment she saw she yelled, "Have you come here to embarrass me more? My best friend yelled at me for the first time because of you. He refuses to even look at me because of you. His family back home is being distant to me because of you. Haven't you done enough ?" I look at her, wondering if she was done or if there was anything she would like to spit. "I forgive you.", I tell her calmly.  Her eyes widen as she stares at me in disbelief. "What do you mean you forgive me ? I never apologised!",she screeched. "And yet I forgive you. Look I am not your friend but someone needs to smack the truth in your face so be it. Everything that happened today did not happen because of me, it happened because of YOU. I am not saying that you were in the wrong for having feelings for Arya, but you were wrong when you didn't bother asking him about his. You were right to expect a marriage because your parents thought you two were perfect, but you were wrong when you expected Maa to feel the same way as your mother does. If you had even for moment thought about Arya's feelings you would have asked him or tried to contact him after our marriage or when our kingdom was under attack but you didn't. You waited to get your parents approval and came here to propose marriage immediately. You walked in here and completely disregarded my existence, knowing this would at least bother him. We both know he is a righteous man Vrushali. This is where YOU  went wrong. If you need time to absorb all of this that is fine but don't pin your faults on me like a coward!", I snap. She steps back, speechless. As she regains herself she yells back, "I'll get back to you. You took everything from me. I'll ......I...." "Get out!", I cut her off.
"Who the hell do you think you are?..."
"The Queen of this Kingdom!" ,I cut her off once again. "I am asking you return back before I lose my patience. Believe me when I say you don't want to be at the receiving end when I'm angry." ,I warn darkly. "You heard what she said Vrushali. Leave . We'll speak when everything feels normal again.", Arya walks in. Vrushali looks even more taken aback but walks away with her bag. Neither one of us makes a move to bid her.

Karn's pov
I walk over to Aadrika and smile at her. "I thought you were going to be civil with her not throw her out like that" I try to control my laughter and chuckle silently.
She narrows her eyes at me and smirks at me, "I told you to never question the acts of a person in love."