Story 1: The Father’s Princess
A wife turned to her husband, her voice laced with worry. “I don’t know what’s wrong with our Payal. She didn’t eat dinner last night, she was just crying. When I went to wake her this morning, she was crying again. When I asked her what was wrong, she just pleaded, ‘Please, Mom… just leave me alone.'”
Her eyes welled up. “I think… I think a boy broke her heart. I’m so scared she might do something to hurt herself.”
The husband sat in silence for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, he stood up. “Alright,” he said softly. “I’ll go see her.”
He walked to his daughter’s room and knocked gently before entering.
“Hi, Payal,” he began. “How are you, my child?”
“Please, Papa,” she sobbed, not looking at him. “Just leave me alone for a few days.”
“Okay, sweetheart,” he said, his voice calm. “But on one condition.”
She looked up, her eyes red and swollen. “What?”
“Just let me tell you a silly old story. It’s pointless, really. Once it’s over, I promise we won’t disturb you again. Okay?”
She hesitated, then gave a slight nod. “Fine. Tell me.”
Her father sat on the edge of her bed. “About twenty years ago,” he began, “there lived a king. He was incredibly wealthy and powerful. He had two sons. The elder son was obedient, loyal, and honest. The king was immensely proud of him and had him married to a beautiful young woman. Soon, the beautiful daughter-in-law became pregnant, and joy filled the palace. But the king was stubborn; he was adamant that the heir must be a boy. He ordered a test to be done on the unborn child.”
He paused, taking a deep breath. “The test revealed the child was a girl.”
“The king gave his son a command: the girl must be aborted.”
“The son, being obedient, was expected to agree. But I don’t know what madness seized that foolish man. Two days later, he renounced his kingdom, his wealth, his title, and all his splendor. He took his pregnant wife and simply vanished from the palace.”
The father shook his head, a sad smile on his face. “Honestly, he was such a fool, a madman. People consider daughters a burden, they destroy them in the womb, and here was this idiot, throwing away a life of luxury for a daughter he hadn’t even met. If he had just listened to his father, he would be a king today. Who knows what state that fool is in now, all for the sake of a daughter.”
Just then, Payal’s mother appeared at the doorway, tears streaming down her face. “That fool,” she said, her voice trembling, “that madman who gave up everything for his daughter… is your father. He’s telling you his own story.”
Payal stared at her father, her mind reeling.
Her mother continued, “You used to say, ‘Mom, I’ve seen my maternal grandparents, but I wish Papa wasn’t an orphan so I could have seen my other grandparents too.’ Your father is not an orphan, my love. We hid the truth from you so that when you grew up, you wouldn’t insist on meeting the people who once ordered you to be destroyed. After you were born, your father took a vow… that you would be his only child. He would never have another.”
“Your grandparents eventually put out advertisements in the papers, begging him to come back, even with the daughter. I begged him to go back too. But your father just held you in his arms and said one thing: ‘How can a king breathe in a palace where a decree for my princess’s death was once issued?’“
The scene had completely transformed. Payal looked at her father, and the pain in her heart from a teenage romance was washed away by a tidal wave of love, respect, and awe for his sacrifice. The tears wouldn’t stop, but now, they were all for him.
Her father looked at her, his own eyes glistening. “I don’t know what the world thinks of you, my child,” he said softly. “But to me, you are priceless. I may not be a king of any land anymore… but you were, you are, and you will always be… my princess.”
Payal flung herself into her father’s arms, hugging him tightly as she wept. “You are the real king, Papa,” she cried into his shoulder. “And I am your princess.”
Every eye in the room was wet, but it was the dawn of a new morning. The princess had finally returned to her true kingdom.
Story 2: The Hardest Choice
Once, I fell deeply in love with a girl. She was ready to run away with me, to leave everything and everyone behind.
But her father did not approve of our relationship. He had arranged for her to be married to someone else.
I went to see her one last time on the day of her wedding. She was sitting alone in her room, dressed in her bridal attire. She looked breathtakingly beautiful.
“You truly look like an angel,” I managed to say, my heart aching.
In a swift, desperate motion, she grabbed the collar of my shirt, her eyes burning with intensity. “If you are a man,” she whispered fiercely, “take me away from here. Right now!”
I stood there, silent for a long moment, the storm of my emotions clashing within me. Then, I spoke.
“Listen to me,” I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil. “Your father’s honor is more important than our love. You must always remember that. I love you, I truly do, but not as much as your father loves you. And if you have ever truly loved me, you won’t run away. You will go through with this marriage and you will honor that relationship as if I never existed in your life.”
And so, we parted.
Years went by without a word between us. But one day, we reconnected. She told me she was happy, truly happy, and that the decision we made that day was the best one for everyone. “I think I was about to make a terrible mistake,” she admitted, “but you held me steady. You saved me.”
Today, everything is better than it could have been.
Love is essential, it’s true. But it is not so essential that a family’s respect should be gambled away for it, or that a father’s honor should be dragged through the mud.
There are things in life that are just as important as love, if not more. To abandon the world for one person is not strength; it is a disservice to all the others who love you.
Love is a powerful force. It is a great deal of things.
But it is not everything.