# CHAPTER 2: A Princess with a Plan and a Cursed Heir in Hiding
Hello everyone, it’s me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review CHAPTER 2 of "Of Curses And Kisses free digital audiobook". If the first chapter merely opened the door, this one lights a match in the dark. We step into two worlds separated by an ocean of history, pride, and pain—and yet both are hurtling toward the same elite boarding school hidden in the mountains. So take a breath, settle in, and let’s follow Princess Jaya Rao and Grey Emerson as their fates begin to close in on each other.
We begin with Jaya, who wants you to know that being a princess is not the glittering fairy tale the media sells. No woodland creatures braid her hair. No friendly mice help her dress. Instead, being Her Royal Highness Princess Jaya Rao of the Imperial House of Mysuru means feeding a lucky elephant that is in musth, watching your dress, and politely enduring breakfast without butter because some visiting prime minister is morally opposed to it. India may be a democracy now, but families like the Raos still carry the weight of royalty. People depend on them—for jobs, charity, leadership, and the quiet promise that someone benevolent, firm, and fair is watching over the city. The Rao name is everything. And that is precisely why Jaya has come to St. Rosetta’s International Academy. She is a princess, yes, firstborn and heiress ascendant, but that is not the whole of her story.
Jaya and her younger sister, Isha, arrive at the school’s grand marble entrance with their small bags. Above them hangs an enormous crystal chandelier like a frozen dewdrop, and around Jaya’s neck rests a rose pendant heavy with eighteen rubies, glinting like watchful eyes. The pendant is beautiful, but it is also a reminder—a talisman of why she is really here. Isha whistles low and long at the luxurious surroundings, and Jaya glares at her, though she can’t entirely blame her. St. Rosetta’s is even grander than their last boarding school in Benenden. Flags from more than three dozen countries line the wall beneath a gold-plated sign boasting that students come from around the world. Jaya’s gaze finds India, then the US, UK, UAE, China, Japan, Mauritius, and Switzerland—places she has lived or spent summers in, reading in cafés while Isha hunted through thrift stores for gears and batteries.
The floor is sea-green tile inlaid with gold, rumored to be a gift from the Moroccan king after his son was exiled here. St. Rosetta’s is good at burying what it doesn’t want found, and Jaya feels a strange kinship with that exiled prince. She, too, knows what it means to protect a wayward family member. Her eyes flick to Isha before she can stop them. Isha points excitedly at a cluster of colorful paintings: Georgia O’Keeffe once spent a semester here and later donated art to the school. Before Jaya can respond, thunderous footsteps rush down the marble stairs, followed by boisterous, deep laughter. Boys, most likely. Isha wants to go meet them. Jaya grabs her wrist, warning her that boys have gotten her in trouble before. Isha hisses back that it wasn’t boys—it was the stupid rules. The old argument is interrupted by a rich French-accented voice.
Two boys appear. The tall, broad one is Leo Nguyen, warm and golden-brown, his dark hair falling to his shoulders. The other is Rahul Chopra, scrawny and short, intensely focused on his phone, dressed in baggy clothes that clash as if chosen at random. Isha introduces herself and Jaya before Jaya can stop her, and Leo slings an easy arm around Isha. Jaya struggles not to tear it off. She is trying to be less overprotective, but it is hard. Rahul finally looks up long enough to reveal that he remembers meeting Jaya six years ago at a wedding reception. He recalls exactly what Jaya and Isha wore: a beaded red lehenga and a matching yellow one. Jaya is stunned. Rahul admits he has a knack for remembering details—not to be creepy, he insists, but because his brain works differently. Leo laughs it off, but Jaya recognizes the awkwardness. She remembers Rahul’s mother is Arti Chopra, the chief minister of Delhi, and that Rahul was sent away from public view because he was considered too strange for a politician’s son.
Then Leo asks the inevitable question. Rahul called Jaya “Rajkumari.” As in princess. Jaya tries to downplay it, explaining that India no longer has an authoritative monarchy, but yes, they come from the Rao family that once ruled Mysuru. Leo grins and mentions that they also have a member of the British aristocracy at St. Rosetta’s: Grey Emerson. Or Lord Northcliffe, to use his official title. Do they know him? Perhaps there is some kind of royal family network?
A dozen sharp responses flash through Jaya’s mind. *Know him? Not personally, but I’m no stranger to the tears and heartache his family caused mine.* *No, but my fist would love to make acquaintance with his jaw.* But she keeps her face calm. The Emersons and Raos have been enemies for generations. In the mid-1800s, during British colonization, the Emerson family stole a sacred ruby from a Mysuru temple. Even after India gained independence, they refused to return it, claiming it had always belonged to them. Jaya’s great-great-grandmother cursed the ruby, declaring it would bring misfortune to the Emersons and eventually end their bloodline. Jaya does not believe in the curse’s magic, but she understands the rage behind it. The Emersons did not just steal a jewel. They stole a piece of Indian history and kept it as a trophy of superiority. And they never atoned.
Worse, the Emersons’ cruelty did not end in the past. They regularly leaked poison about the Raos to Indian tabloids. Usually they targeted the adults. This time, they went after Isha. And this time, everything printed was true. Jaya had called Kiran Hegde, a trusted royal from another Karnataka clan, asking why the Emersons had changed their strategy. Why Isha? Kiran suggested she speak to the journalist who wrote the article. Jaya did. The smug reporter hinted that the leak came from the male heir of a family that finds the Raos particularly deplorable. A male Emerson heir. Jaya pressed for which one and why, but the reporter only cackled and asked if she felt rage. She hung up without another word.
Now, at St. Rosetta’s, Jaya feels Isha’s sharp gaze on her. She forces herself to ask slowly, “I’ve heard of Grey Emerson. Is he here?” Leo says yes, though Grey has disappeared again, as he does. But they can introduce her on Thursday at breakfast in the senior dining hall. Rahul helpfully adds that their table is all the way to the back and right. Isha chirps that it’s nice of them to include Jaya, but Jaya can see the worry in her sister’s eyes. All summer, Isha has watched the embers of Jaya’s anger burn. She knows how any mention of the Emersons flushes Jaya’s cheeks and fevered her eyes. She is afraid of what Jaya might do now that an Emerson is at this school. But Jaya also sees Isha’s own anxiety—the way the scandal left her usually effervescent sister flat, dull, empty. Jaya had worried Isha would never come back to herself. Now she silently vows: no Emerson will ever hurt her sister like that again.
So Jaya smiles her most convincing smile and says she would really like to sit with them. Inside, she is already thinking that finding a way to get close to Grey might have been difficult. Now the path is opening. A pale-skinned girl with cropped flame-red hair bounds up to the boys. Daphne Elizabeth McKinley, heiress to the McKinley hotel dynasty, towers over the Rao sisters with easy confidence. She teases them about being “new meat” and “more blue bloods,” but her tone is inviting. Jaya laughs along. Daphne notices Jaya’s rose pendant and leans in, admiring it. Jaya says her father got it at a gold souk in Dubai. Leo rolls his eyes and points out that Daphne Elizabeth is blue blood herself. Daphne gets a text and rushes off, and Leo shakes his head, saying she is always rushing.
Leo and Rahul offer to let Jaya and Isha join them while they help a friend unpack, but Jaya declines, saying they need rest after their flight. As they leave, Leo calls out to Dr. Waverly, the headmistress. Isha turns to Jaya and whispers urgently: what was that about Grey Emerson going here? Did Jaya know? Because their parents surely do not. Jaya arranges her face into nonchalance and lies. Of course she didn’t know. And they probably shouldn’t tell Appa and Amma. What’s the point of worrying them? They will just keep out of Grey’s way, and he will keep out of theirs. They are supposed to lie low. Jaya’s heart pounds, but Isha studies her carefully and finally nods, trusting her older sister. Jaya breathes a silent sigh of relief. She puts an arm around Isha and promises she won’t let it be a problem.
Dr. Christina Waverly hurries over, bowing slightly. She is deferential, honored to have them, and apologetic that no one was waiting—she thought they were arriving much later. Her gaze lingers on the rose pendant. Jaya graciously explains that her father acquired it in Dubai. Dr. Waverly tries not to stare at the rubies, which have a strangely mesmerizing effect. She welcomes them and explains their dorm arrangements: Isha as a sophomore and Jaya as a senior will be in different wings. They walk through the grand hall, past a fireplace that soars to the ceiling. Dr. Waverly mentions that St. Rosetta’s gets close to thirty inches of snow in December and again in spring, and that students take a shopping trip to Aspen in late October. Jaya has no interest in shopping or getting to know her cohorts. Her only interest is Grey Emerson.
And here, the chapter shifts like a camera cutting across the mountains. We leave Jaya’s scheming heart and find Grey Emerson sitting against rough granite on Mount Sama, looking down at the tiny town of St. Rosetta. Shops and small buildings dot the valley like thorny burrs, and in the distance lies Aspen. In a couple of months, everything will be covered in snow. Grey likes the snow. He feels hidden in its thick, cold folds. The wind whips around him at nine thousand feet, and he closes his eyes, reveling in the chill. Thursday begins his last school year. Summer is melting into fall, and soon he will turn eighteen. Eighteen means complications—complications he does not want to think about.
His summer passed in a blur of solitude. The other students flew home. Leo’s parents are surgeons who travel the world fixing people. Daphne Elizabeth’s parents ignored her all summer and then lavished her with gifts before she left, which she grudgingly admitted made being ignored almost worth it. Rahul’s parents rent a tiny chalet in France every summer because he is too “odd” to live with them in Delhi. Even they took time for family. When Leo left, he frowned at Grey and asked when he was going home. Grey said, “Tomorrow,” and looked away. Leo offered to take him to Thailand to go snorkeling. Grey refused. Leo, Daphne Elizabeth—or DE as everyone calls her—and Rahul are clueless about the curse. They know Grey doesn’t like talking about his family or home, so they never bring them up. But never bringing them up does not change the truth: something dark stalks him, has stalked him since birth. The Rao curse might have already claimed someone he cared about, and he is terrified it will claim him next.
Maybe others would find it odd that Grey, well-educated and not quite eighteen, believes in such a thing. But what choice does he have? When other kids were learning their ABCs, Grey was learning the words to a familial curse. Ever since he can remember, he has been told that *nothing* is as important as the curse. The least he can do to atone for his mother’s death—for which he takes full responsibility—is keep away from the manor, keep his father cushioned from the reminder. He does not blame his father at all. The only real place Grey feels safe, like he cannot hurt anyone, is in the mountains. The towering stone feels indestructible. It was there millennia before Grey, and it will be there long after he is gone.
His phone beeps. Leo. “Where are you?” Grey frowns, having forgotten to silence it. He types, “Out.” Leo replies, “Oh, oui, out. That makes everything clearer.” Then Leo adds: they met someone interesting. Princess Jaya Rao and her sister, Isha. They seemed to know of Grey. A jolt of shock travels up Grey’s spine. The Rao sisters are *here*? But why? He has lived under the shadow of the Rao curse his entire life. He remembers being dropped off at St. Rosetta’s when he was almost six, about to begin kindergarten. In Dr. Waverly’s leather-and-brass office, his father looked him in the eye and said, “Listen to me, Grey. You’ll never be like the other children here, even though many of them are outcasts themselves. You’re different. You’ll always be different. The Raos have seen to that. This is your burden to bear.” Grey had been confused. He wanted to make friends. His father grabbed his upper arm hard and said, “You must keep to yourself. You hurt Mother because of what you are.” Grey had stared, aghast. The curse. His father said the curse had tainted his blood like a virus. Because of that, he would never have friends. People would sense something wrong with him. Best to keep his distance and save himself the pain. Then his father left, saying Grey could come home at the holidays. Grey was never invited home for the holidays.
Now the Rao sisters are here. But so what? St. Rosetta’s is a popular school with international students of checkered backgrounds. Their appearance should be curious, not alarming. The universe does not revolve around Grey. He responds vaguely to Leo. Leo says Grey can meet them at breakfast Thursday, but asks if he wants dinner tonight—just the guys and DE. Grey types, “No,” and puts away his phone. Leo will be hurt, but he will forgive Grey. Why, Grey isn’t sure. It isn’t as if he gives Leo or Rahul or DE anything to hold on to. Maybe they think of him as charity. Grey grinds his teeth. Let them think whatever they want. They are immaterial. They have to be. He sits back against the boulder and closes his eyes. The time has almost come for him to step out from his hideaway, as it does every year.
And so the stage is set. A princess with revenge in her heart. A cursed heir who believes he is poison. Two families bound by a stolen ruby, an old curse, and a scandal that cut deep. And now, for the first time, Jaya and Grey are about to breathe the same mountain air.
**Reader’s Impressions & Star Rating**
This chapter is a delicious collision of fairy-tale expectation and dark family legacy. Jaya is sharp, protective, and quietly furious—a heroine who knows how to smile while planning something dangerous. Grey is heartbreaking in his isolation, convinced he is a curse made flesh. The contrast between Jaya’s glittering arrival and Grey’s lonely mountain vigil gives the story an electric tension. I especially loved the supporting cast: Leo’s warmth, Rahul’s brilliant oddity, Daphne Elizabeth’s breezy confidence. The history of the ruby and the curse adds weight to every encounter, and the ending leaves you desperate to see what happens when these two finally meet face-to-face.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8 / 5 Stars
**Next Chapter Prediction**
At breakfast on Thursday, Jaya will make her move. She will sit with Leo, Rahul, and Daphne Elizabeth, waiting for Grey Emerson to appear. Grey, still spooked by the Rao sisters’ arrival, will try to avoid them—but curiosity or fate will drag him to the dining hall. Their first real meeting will be charged with hidden agendas, old wounds, and undeniable tension. Jaya will pretend to be friendly while secretly looking for a way to hurt him. Grey will sense something dangerous about her, but he won’t understand why she has come. Meanwhile, Isha will watch Jaya closely, worried her sister is about to do something reckless. I predict a sharp, unforgettable first exchange between Jaya and Grey—one that leaves them both rattled and sets the enemies-to-lovers fire blazing.
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