I definitely agree with you on all points, Srijita. Well said.
Maia is clearly the PSIII generation one hottie, but taking her relationship with Rhys into consideration, I think it can be argued that their relationship is not
really based upon love, but perhaps infatuation.
I say this in support of your quote in regards to Maia's amnesia. Maia does not know who she really is, or where she came from. She is a Layan princess, Rhys an Orakian prince. Considering who he is (prince of Orakian Landen) and that he is from an Orakian-centric culture, it seems difficult to imagine that Rhys would give up his duty and position as the prince of Landen, all for a Layan woman, in an Orakian world.
Sure, one could say that "love conquers all", and Maia was the forbidden fruit that Rhys desperately had to have. But, again, as Srijita pointed out, how do we know if Maia
really loved Rhys, also? She didn't even remember who she was. Maybe, for all we know as the audience, that the
real Maia hated Orakians. And why wouldn't she? In her Layan culture, every other Layan did, so why would she be an exception?
If I am remembering correctly, Rhys and Lena were already arranged to be married, although Rhys did not know it was Lena whom he was supposed to marry. But Lena really fell in love with Rhys by getting to know him, observing him, and being a witness to all that happened in regards to Maia. And still, despite Rhys becoming engaged to Maia, Lena nonetheless
wanted to help him find her. She literally fought for this very cause, going through dangerous caves and even to a Layan world in this effort. That is quite remarkable.
So, from this standpoint alone, we can attest that we don't know if the real Maia loved Rhys, but we know Lena
did.
Lena/Rhys works better, not only because we know Lena loves Rhys, but also that they are both Orakian. I say this in regards to the both of them having duties as successors to their thrones, not to mention they spent a considerable amount of time together on their quest. We as the audience gets to appreciate Lena more than Maia as a character, because we see more of her.
So... yeah. Lena x Rhys all the way.