Lily and Ignisa were standing together in the long corridor of the palace, talking.
Ignisa said angrily,
"Where did she go? She should have come back by now. I saw her in the morning!"
Lily took a deep breath and said,
"Forget her. If she doesn't come, will the sky fall? We don't need her that much anyway."
Ignisa frowned and said,
"She is so foolish."
A little distance away, Snehwal was standing near a flower pot, playing with a white flower. He smiled and said,
"Her heart is broken. Maybe she went somewhere to calm herself."
Lily quickly said,
"You know a lot about her, huh?"
She pouted a little. Her pink cheeks turned red, and she muttered softly,
"Heartbroken… that thief."
Snehwal laughed and said,
"Oh, she will come back. Just wait a little."
Lily turned and said,
"You don't know anything about her. That's why you think she's so nice."
"What?" — Snehwal looked confused.
Ignisa suddenly said in a firm voice,
"I'll go and find her."
Saying that, she left the place.
Snehwal saw the chance and came near Lily,
but Lily turned her back to him.
Snehwal gently placed his chin on her shoulder from behind and said,
"Goddess, being angry like this isn't good. You get upset too quickly.
Everything doesn't always happen the way we want — only what destiny decides, happens."
Lily moved her shoulder slightly, and his chin slipped away.
But Snehwal held her softly in his arms from behind.
He said lovingly,
"Goddess, tell me — why do you get angry so quickly and then become kind just as fast?"
Lily held his hand and kissed it softly. In a calm voice, she said,
"Because of the power I inherited from the Yakshini…
when something doesn't go the way I want, my heart and mind go blank — or you can say, I start getting angry.
But don't worry."
Snehwal kissed her cheek softly and said,
"One day, everything will be fine."
Lily turned around and hugged Snehwal, saying,
"Always stay like this. Always stop me when I lose control."
Snehwal smiled gently and said,
"Yes, always."
Both of them were standing there, holding each other in their arms.
Then Ignisa came closer, coughed lightly, and said,
"Hey, stop it, lovebirds! Don't act like sandalwood and snakes in broad daylight."
Behind her stood Liora — silent, but her eyes were fixed on Snehwal without blinking.
Snehwal slowly moved Lily away with both his hands.
As soon as Lily saw Liora, she held Snehwal's hand tightly and said with a smile,
"This will be fine, at least we can do this much."
Snehwal leaned closer and whispered in her ear,
"Why are you adding fuel to the fire?"
Lily whispered back softly,
"You'll have to listen to me, or I'll start kissing you right in front of her… then we'll see what that prostitute does."
Snehwal looked shocked,
"What? How can you call her that?"
Ignisa looked at Liora and said,
"Let's go."
Liora quietly walked away with Ignisa, but her mind was disturbed — restless and broken.
After they left, Lily looked at Snehwal and said,
"Her sister forced her into that life because she was born to another mother.
Because of her power and beauty, she became very famous in the west — known as a prostitute.
But later, a strong man ran away with her, used her until she was pregnant, and then left her alone."
Snehwal's eyes softened with pity. He asked quietly,
"How do you know all this?"
Lily said,
"Everyone knows. When I was little, people used to say that she made many men weak —
because she hated that life. But she was trapped and had no choice."
Snehwal asked seriously,
"Don't you feel even a little sorry for her?"
Lily answered coldly,
"Not at all. Even if she's powerful now, people still call her a prostitute behind her back."
Snehwal said softly,
"Have a little pity. What happened to her was very wrong."
Lily replied,
"You'll never understand. If I wasn't here, she might have done something bad to you. You're still too naive."
Snehwal murmured,
"An hour ago, I was wise."
Lily smiled, touched his shoulder with her finger, and said,
"If you say that again… I'll cut you right here. And shall I tell you one more thing?"
Snehwal said seriously,
"Yes, tell me. Why even ask? If love needs permission for such things, then what kind of love is that?"
Lily whispered in his ear,
"People didn't just call her a prostitute… they called her the most expensive one."
Then Lily disappeared from there, leaving only her voice echoing,
"Hurry up! Those two must have gone far by now."
Snehwal smiled faintly and said,
"I don't know if she was teasing me or telling the truth… but the story sounded really painful."
"Lily will always be Lily."
Yet, somewhere deep inside, her words kept echoing — truth or jealousy, he couldn't find out.