A pin-drop silence filled the royal court of Junagarh. As the foreign King and Princess stood in the assembly hall, the blinking of everyone present seemed to freeze. Both the Maharaja and the Queen Mother stood up from their thrones. The entire room brightened with the glow of Sushila's complexion, and her gaze held a hypnotic magic. Everyone stared, open-mouthed, as if enchanted. Aditya couldn't take his eyes off her. Unknowingly, he pushed Arohi's memories into a corner and gazed at this beauty. The Maharaja exclaimed in wonder, "She is not a mortal; she is like a goddess! It is our supreme fortune that such a beautiful princess has set foot in our palace."
Shilajit bowed in greeting and said, "Maharaja, I am the King of a small neighboring kingdom. I have come from a distant land hearing of your son Aditya's valor. And this daughter of mine, Princess Subarnalata (Sushila's alias)—I wish to offer her as the Lakshmi (grace) of your household."
The Maharaja asked curiously, "Could you clarify your identity a bit more? Which kingdom do you hail from?"
Shilajit smiled cunningly. He knew that if he named a major kingdom, he would be caught by looking into history. He said humbly, "Maharaja, our kingdom is very tiny; its name might be hard to find on a map. But our wealth and nobility are second to none. Looking at my daughter, you can surely understand the dignity of our lineage."
The Maharaja said, mesmerized, "Rightly said! Even if it is a small kingdom, your daughter's beauty and your personality would put the lords of vast empires to shame."
Sushila (Subarnalata), with her sweet smile, completely disarmed Aditya. Aditya thought to himself, "Arohi has deceived me, but can this princess heal my wounds?" Meanwhile, Sushila felt a diabolical joy thinking that she would soon become the Queen of Junagarh.
In the middle of the conversation, Shilajit suddenly asked, "Maharaja, do you approve of my daughter? If so, can the auspicious task be completed by tomorrow?"
The Maharaja, overflowing with joy, said, "Why tomorrow? It will happen today! All arrangements are ready in our palace. I do not want such a 'Lakshmi' to slip away. The marriage of Aditya and Subarnalata will be solemnized tonight."
Hearing 'tonight' from the Maharaja, the faces of Shilajit and Sushila turned pale. They remembered the witch's warning—from 12 AM to 1 AM, they would return to their original hideous forms! If the wedding ceremony dragged on past midnight, everything would be over!
Shilajit quickly composed himself and said, "Forgive me, Maharaja! But our lineage has an ancient and strict rule. Our daughters are married only during 'Godhuli Lagna' (Twilight), exactly before sunset. If it doesn't happen at that time, we must wait until the next day. But under no circumstances does a wedding take place at night in our lineage."
Though a bit surprised, the Maharaja accepted Shilajit's confident words. He said, "Fine, let it be so! The auspicious time for the wedding is fixed for twilight today. Let the entire palace be decorated with festive lights!"
The Junagarh palace buzzed with preparations. Thousands of lamps were lit, and the surroundings were filled with flowers. While Aditya was burning from within due to Arohi's betrayal, he also let himself drift away by the pull of Subarnalata's enchanting beauty. He thought, "Arohi, if you can build your life anew, then so can I."
Meanwhile, in the Kanchangarh Palace...
In that old room of the Kanchangarh palace, there was only the long sigh of the wind today. Sitting by the window, Arohi gazed toward the horizon where the sky merged toward Junagarh. One hand was placed on her belly, where the heartbeat of a new life had begun. It was for this child that she was forced to leave her settled home and her beloved husband, Aditya.
The hoarse voice of the evil minister Shilajit and the diabolical laughter of Sushila still rang in her ears. When they had forcibly made her swear an oath by placing her hand on her unborn child's head, no other path was open to Arohi. Shilajit had clearly said, "If you ever try to return to the kingdom of Junagarh, we will take the life of this baby, and we will finish your parents too!" For the welfare of the child and the safety of Aditya's family, Arohi had left Junagarh with that harsh vow. She had thought that by leaving, all trouble would end and the villains would no longer remain in Junagarh.
But Arohi has no inkling of the mountain of terrifying conspiracies built in the Junagarh palace since her departure. She doesn't know that a poisonous letter, mimicking her handwriting perfectly, has been handed to Aditya, branding her character with a stain. She doesn't know that the Aditya she loves more than her own life is exploding with hatred toward her today. Even the news that Sushila, in a new magical form, is about to marry Aditya has not reached Arohi.
Arohi only thinks, "Will Aditya not come even once? Can he truly not find me?" In fact, Shilajit had made a massive mistake—though he had sworn Arohi to silence regarding anyone in Junagarh, he had forgotten to name Arohi's own mother, the Queen Mother of Kanchangarh. And taking that opportunity, Arohi was able to open up and tell everything to her birth mother. Other than her mother, she has no one left to trust in this world.
Sometimes Arohi feels like breaking everything and running back to Aditya, but the thought of that cursed oath turns her to stone. She only wants her child to see the light of the world in good health. She says to herself, "Aditya, I am only waiting for you. I don't know what you are doing now, but I believe that one day this darkness will surely end."
The silence of Kanchangarh only deepens the wailing in Arohi's heart. She doesn't know that the storm she fled from is gathering into a greater form of destruction in the Junagarh palace.