Jaanki's POV

Rubbing the blush over my cheek I smiled looking at my reflection.

I look beautiful.

Like the kind of beauty no one can look away from, I immediately applied black dot behind my ear to protect myself from any kind of evil eye. I'm sure there will be more than enough eyes on me, I'm just hoping that I don't get too much attention.

Releasing a sigh I opened my phone and tried to call Shravani again, she was supposed to be here by now. I've done all my makeup except for the eyeliner.

I preferred to keep my eye makeup simple other than on some special occasion as it's a big hazard to remove it. While studying at Royal School I learned all sorts of makeup as the women of royal families are not allowed to hire makeup artists, a stupid law made by our ancestors which makes no sense. Back then women only got permission to hire a helper after their marriage before that princesses had to do all the work by themselves.

During those classes I managed to learn all sorts of makeup except eyeliner. That's something I can't do no matter how much I try.

" JJ, please don't get angry. " My heartbeat increased with her words.

" Where are you, SS?"

" I'm at the party. "

" What?! Why?! You told me we'll go together, I'm waiting for you. I haven't even done my eye makeup. You can't hang me at such a moment. "

" I know, baby. I'm really sorry but you know how my Bua is, she's back from her trip early and she forced me to come with her. Don't worry I'll complete your makeup once you come here. "

" And how will I hide from those cameras flicking on me. " I stared at my eyes which look extremely plain compared to my entire face. " Let it be, I'll manage it. "

" I'm so sorry, JJ. I really had no idea she'd come early. "

" It's fine. I know you're in a tougher situation than me. " I moved my hand and grabbed the liner in front of me. " Listen to me carefully, don't take your aunty's words seriously. She keeps talking nonsense so ignore her words completely. Understood?"

"Okay madam. Now come fast."

I ended the call with a smile then turned towards the mirror, I guess I'll have to do it myself. Opening the liner I placed the point at the corner of my eye and moved it to make a wing.

" Can I come in , Princess?"

I jumped in my seat at the sudden noise of a loud knock. A sigh of relief passed my lips as I noticed that I hadn't applied the liner yet.

Turning towards the door I gave a look to my bodyguard," What do you want?"

He glanced at his watch then back at me," You told me to be ready at 8:30. It's 8:32, you're two minutes late."

" Are you serious?!"

He shrugged and walked toward me, ignoring his gaze. I turned towards the mirror to continue my work but the scenarios from last night flashed before my eyes. I tried to shake them away but they refused to leave.

" Is this your plan to make this colour my favourite?" He asked, leaning against the mirror facing me. " Because it's working, Jaan. "

If it wasn't for the cyclone forming in my mind I would have corrected him but right now my mind is filled with more serious problems than this stupid nickname. Picking up the liner I again tried to apply it with my shaky hands only to be disturbed once again.

" Need help, Princess?"

Putting the liner down I gave him a look filled with annoyance, this man just has to poke me at every situation.

" Can't you see I'm trying to do my makeup? So unless you can help me don't disturb me. "

" I can help you. " He said with a tilt of head.

I scoff in disbelief. " Can you help me? With make-up? Please don't joke right now. "

" I'm not joking. "

" So you mean to say that you can do my eyeliner?" He nodded his head with a serious look. " Really? "

" Yes, Jaan. I'm serious. I know how to do eyeliner. "

" But how?"

" I'll tell you on the way we're getting late, the party has already started I think. " He picked the bottle and took the chair.

" Please don't ruin it. " I begged.

He removed a strand of hair and placed it behind my ear. " Trust me, Princess. I know what I'm doing. "

" I trust you. " I sighed and he stared at me with soft eyes.

A small smile appeared on his face," Close your eyes. "

I did as he instructed and the cold liquid started tickling on my eyelids, the fear starts spreading in my mind as he did few more strokes.

" Please don't make me look like a clown. "

" Shh" that's the only thing he said as he continued to make strokes before moving to my other eyes. It took extra time to do the other eyes or maybe that's my imagination. I tried to calm myself by focusing on his fragrance, it was stronger than yesterday. Maybe he applied cologne. " And it's done. "

Slowly I opened my eyes and stared into those grey ones until the fog cleared from my eyes, with a sigh I turned towards the mirror to see the disaster he had done. I was definitely getting late for the party.

" Oh my god!" I screamed, making him jump in his seat. " What have you done?"

He grabbed my jaw and turned me towards him," What's wrong? Is the wing not perfect?"

" You idiot!" I couldn't help but smile at his innocence. " It's perfect. But how did you even do that?"

He released a sigh and shook his head while I continued to admire the perfect eyeliner he just did, I still can't believe he did it.

Then I looked at the watch on his wrist and immediately got up.

" Shit we're getting late. " I took my purse and gave myself a final glance then turned towards him to show my dress completely. " How do I look?"

The biggest smile I've ever seen appeared on his face, the one that can steal any girl's heart and for a moment I felt like mine would come out from my chest.

Instead of replying he leaned closer and gave a small kiss on my nose, exactly on top of my small pearl nose ring. And without saying anything else he walked away, I rubbed my red nose and pout.

This wasn't a proper compliment.

*

*

"

Princess Jaanki, did you go on a date with Omkaar Thakur?

Can we get good news soon?

Princess, when are you getting married?

The questions were thrown on me the moment I took a step out of the car. Raghav instantly came to my side and protected me from those flashes. Without wasting any time I walked inside the mansion while bowing before all those reporters as I can't go without giving proper greetings.

" Is it always like this?"

I nodded my head but stopped when I noticed the concern painted all over his face," I'm used to it anyway. Trust me, this is nothing. Real struggle is going to start now. "

Taking a few deep breaths I started walking inside while placing my dupatta elegantly over my arm, Raghav followed me closely. Like every other time the attention of the crowd shifted towards me but my eyes only searched for one person.

There she was.

Playing with her food as she stared at her surroundings with a scowl, probably waiting for me. A woman came towards her and she instantly put a piece of food in her food and smiled. I chuckled at her, this was her trick to avoid talking with unnecessary people.

Before I could take a step towards her, I was pulled by my arm.

" Jaanki, how are you?"

I resisted the urge to grunt at that annoying voice, a voice so loud that it grabbed the attention of half of the party. If anyone was unaware of my presence till now, then thanks to her now everyone knows that I've arrived.

Like everytime she gave a whole look at my outfit before giving that fake smile, within a minute her annoying friends joined her.

" Jaanki, you're such a beautiful girl," she said in an extra sugary voice. But I knew what was coming after this. " But, don't you think this brown colour makes you look a bit darker. "

Ladies and gentlemen. This is the stereotypical Aunty of India, the one that is popular for her comments and unwanted advice. This is her, Rashmiki Aunty, the aunt of my best friend, Shravani. But she thinks that she's Aunty and well-wisher of the entire society,so she keeps spreading her knowledge to every girl.

Like right now.

With her comment all her friends started looking at me with narrow eyes, I finally rolled my eyes not caring if I seemed rude.

" I'm not trying to be rude," you're aunty. " Baby, you're not that dark. You can look really beautiful if you start using my beauty creams and wear colours that suits you. "

I smiled at her and glanced at my brown suit. I knew that the colour was very similar to my skin tone and I was also aware that I'll get some comments from people like her. But does that stop me?

" I didn't know that you studied fashion," I chuckled lightly. " Brown on brown is a very regal combination. If you studied fashion you would've known that, anyone can wear any colour they want. It doesn't matter if they are good or bad, if they're confident in their skin then nothing else matters. "

A deep blush appeared on her face as I spoke against her, it's not everyday that someone speaks against Rashmika Aunty but I'm not someone. I'm Princess Jaanki, I won't let anyone go after insulting me.

" Your new bodyguard?" She pointed towards Raghav and I gave a short nod while looking at him. His face was stone cold with no trace of his usual behaviour, for the first time he looked like a bodyguard.

But why does this feel wrong?

" Hey bodyguard, why don't you stay with other bodyguards over there? Jaanki is safe here. So you go," she rudely waved her hand in front of him.

The little control I had slipped away after that. My hands curled into fist with the way she spoke to him. And after that I couldn't control my words.

" His name is Raghav, he's a bodyguard not your servant so please don't talk to him like that," I said, trying not to show the anger that was radiating from my body. " And Baba ordered him to stay with me. You know how Baba can be? "

The moment I mentioned my father she looked away, she can never speak against my father so I took advantage of it.

" Now please excuse me," with a polite smile I passed through them and instantly they started talking about me.

" Woah! Princess. You're a firecracker, I didn't expect you to speak against them. "

I didn't even notice that he was following me. I thought he must have gone to that area where other bodyguards were.

" What? You expected me to take those words just like that. "

"Yes, for a moment I thought you wouldn't say anything and I'll have to punch her. "

I chuckled ," You would have punched her?"

He nodded. I narrowed my eyes but didn't say anything and just walked towards my best friend.

"JJ, my girl," she smiled cheekily. " Wow, you did your eyeliner. It's perfect. "

My eyes moved towards the person responsible for it and I nodded. He smirked in arrogance but didn't say anything.

" What are you wearing, SS?"

She grimaced and looked away. Instead of replying she took another piece and put it in her mouth. I waited for her to complete and stared closely at her blue outfit, which is good but. . . No, it's not good.

It looks forced on her. There is no way Shravani would willingly wear this kind of outfit. I love every shade of blue and every colour looks beautiful on her but this just doesn't suit her. Maybe because that graceful smile is missing.

" That evil lady made me wear this," she pointed at her aunt.

Of course, she did. Now that she's back she'll make Shravani's life a living hell. She's going to throw all her beauty creams on her and will keep torturing my girl. I can already see the smile leaving her face.

" Don't take her words seriously. That woman knows nothing. She just told me that this brown dress makes me look darker, you tell me- does it make me look darker?"

She shook her head with a smile. " You look like a Princess. You aren't as dark as me so it's fine. "

See this evil aunt was already affecting her. She again started feeling bad about her skin tone.

" What are you talking about? We've the same complexion. " I sat beside her and placed my hand near her to show it.

" According to that strip I'm two shades darker than you and it's clearly visible here. " She pointed at our hand.

Stupid me. Why did I have to compare our complexion? My motive was to bring a smile to her face but I guess I took the wrong road. Let's start again. But before that I turn towards Raghav.

" Can you please leave us alone for a few minutes?"

I expected him to argue but he only shrugged and casually walked away. That guy, he's something else.

" Is your boyfriend here?" I asked excitedly, trying to search for him. "Answer me, Is he here?"

She shook her head," No, he's busy. I'll be back in 10 minutes."

Not wanting to pressure her I nodded my head and watched as she passed away. I finished the drink in my hand and after minutes got up from my place, I felt a little weird but ignored it thinking that it must be head rush after getting up fast. My hand rubbed over the wrinkles to soothe them before walking towards the people I knew.

As I'm going to open an NGO soon , I need to interact with people for help. Even though at this moment I had enough funds, you never know what the future holds.

After taking some steps I started feeling more weird, something was happening in my stomach.

" Jaanki!" I turned towards the voice and saw one of my father's friend walking towards me, immediately I plastered a big smile on my face. " Look at you all grown up and beautiful?"

" Thank you, Uncle." I politely replied.

A big shadow hovered over me from behind. It was none other than Mr. Raghav standing exactly behind me like my shadow. I glared at him to make him move a little back but he refused.

" Is that your new bodyguard?"

I nodded in reply.

" Oh! You work for Atharva right?"

This time Raghav gave a short nod in reply.

" Let's see how long you stay?" He chuckled and I followed him. I haven't thought of doing anything Raghav because to be honest he hasn't done anything wrong yet, in fact he gives me more freedom than any other bodyguard has ever given me.

" How's everyone at home?" I asked.

" Everyone is good. Riya misses you, she keeps complaining that she wants to become a princess too. "

Riya was his little girl and the cutest girl in the world. Actually every kid is the cutest for me.

" And I want to tell you a secret," he motioned me to come closer. I bent a little and he whispered into my ear. " Your dad is looking for another match for you. And I think he found someone. Atharva told me that the new boy is ready for marriage unlike Omkaar. "

I smiled and thanked him for this information. My father just can't stay still, he needs to bring twists in my life. After Omkaar I was happy that finally he'll leave this matter but I think he has decided to marry me off.

" Why are you following me like this? It's irritating me. " I hissed at Raghav as he kept following me on tail.

Instead of replying he kept watching the surroundings.

" I'm just doing my duty. "

I rolled my eyes at his stiff answer," Then why don't you take a break ?"

" I can't."

I gave him my toughest glare thinking that he'll take the clue and leave me but he just stared at me blankly.

" Are we doing a staring competition?" He narrowed his eyes. " Then let me tell you, I'm very good at it. You can't defeat me in it. "

Sighing heavily I looked away again and he came behind me. I turned to ask him what happened but he instructed me to do my work and let him do his. Not wanting to argue more with him I accepted my defeat and walked away.

Slowly the party started dissolving, more and more people started leaving. It was only necessary for me to stay here for 10 minutes but still I ended up spending about an hour. Finally it was time for me to leave.

" You take out the car, I'll come from the washroom. "

He pulled my elbow and brought me back to again standing behind me. " Wait for Shravani, she also wants to come with you. "

" Shravani wants to come to the washroom with me? Who told you that?"

He ignored my question and waved his hand at someone, following the direction I found Shravani coming towards us.

" Come on, let's go to the washroom. " He said and pushed me lightly to walk ahead.

As the pressure was increasing in my stomach I didn't say anything and walked towards the washroom. Raghav waited for us outside and I ran inside clutching my stomach.

" Jaanki wait!" Shravani shouted, making me jump.

I turned and looked at her in shock, it wasn't usual for her to use my name. I raised my brows in question.

She grabbed my elbow and pulled me closer," You've got your periods. There is a stain at the bottom."

My palm came over my mouth to cover the loud gasp as I turned around to look into the mirror. " Oh my god! How did this happen?" I stared at the red stain in shock.

It wasn't that huge but evident enough to be seen. That's where the realisation hit me. So, this is why Raghav was following me like that, he was trying to cover this stain without making me feel embarrassed. And I thought he was doing this to annoy me.

" What if someone saw this?"

" Shh, Raghav was covering you completely. I was glancing at you throughout the party and I didn't realise it. I'm sure no one knows about it. " She opened her bag and took out a pad. " I'll bring something to cover this. "

*

*

"Why did you bring Raghav's blazer?"

" I couldn't find anything else. " She shrugged.

Having no other option I wore the jacket twice my size and it engulfed my upper body completely and thankfully reached past the stain mark.

After parting ways with Shravani I moved towards the car, fortunately almost everyone was gone by now so I didn't collide with anyone. The first thing that greeted me as I reached the parking lot was the fog of toxic smoke.

" You're smoking again!"

He stared at me and blinked, then his eyes moved towards his blazer covering me and his pupils got darker. Throwing the cigarette away he opened the door for me, I sat inside slowly. I blinked in confusion as he bent down, he grabbed my dupatta which was hung outside the car and placed it on my lap, then softly closed the door.

" Are you in pain?" He asked after we remained silent for more than 10 minutes.

" No, it doesn't usually hurt me for the first few hours. "

He nodded and focused back on the road.

" Thank you. " I whispered, staring at my hands. " But you could've just told me. "

" I know," he said. " But. . . I haven't been around any women during periods so I didn't know what to do ."

So, he has been around women. Just not women in periods. That means I'm the first woman who's period he has experienced.

But why am I being so happy? It's not an achievement.

" Do you need anything?" He asked.

The hotness spreaded on my cheeks, I shook my head silently asking him to let the topic go instead he took my hand and intertwined my fingers with his.

His hands, I stared in awe at the feel of his palm against mine. It was warm, rough and comforting.

Leaning back on the seat I smiled and stared outside at the moon. After a few minutes we reached home and I almost groaned when he left my hand but within seconds he reached to my side and opened the door for me. He placed a hand above my head so I wouldn't accidentally hit up.

Does he do this every time I enter the car? Why did I not notice it?

"I'll return the jacket tomorrow," I informed and ran inside.

" Jaanu," I stopped on the stairs when I heard my father's voice. " Bache, are you okay?"

My lips curled downwards and I ran to him, curling my arms around his waist. I sniffed and shook my head. I wasn't fine and I didn't need to lie to him. I needed a hug, I wanted to tell this to Raghav but I couldn't.

" Bache, aapke periods aa gye h?"

(Baby, have your periods arrived?)

I nodded my head into his chest and he hugged me tighter and kissed continuously on my head. My heart swelled up at his affection. I don't need a man, I just need my Baba for my whole life.

" It's two days early," I smiled thinking about the fact that he remembered my period date, something I forget every single time. " Don't worry, I'll bring your favourite chocolates and sweets in the morning. And I'll also tell Girish Kaka to make your favourite breakfast. "

" I love you, Baba."

I kissed him on the cheek and pulled away.

" I love you, too Jaanu"

After taking a hot shower I finally relaxed and got ready to sleep. Another smile appeared on my face as I eyed the hot bag and ice-cream at the table.

" My sweet, Baba."

With that I fell into deep slumber with a big smile on my face and thinking that my father was the one who placed those things on my table.