My one week leave was shortened by six days thanks to Yuvaan. I got to spend only one day away from him because Keerti forced me to go back to my home after seeing Yuvaan acting like a lost person.

After we got home in the afternoon, I informed Arman that my vacation was cancelled, and I wouldn't be able to come home. He was okay with it and told me that Dad had returned. I got confused but decided not to ask him further about our father's sudden appearance.

I cut the call after conversing for a while and then glanced at Advait who ran towards Yuvaan with a concerned look on his face.

"I have called Kiaan, and he is on his way. Hope to get our systems recovered by evening," Advait said.

"How can you be so careless? Didn't I tell you to do a security check last week?" Yuvaan shook his head.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Someone tried to hack our systems," Advait said.

I glimpsed at my husband who told his best friend to show him the progress. Both men went to the security room while other men kept guard outside. I followed them and stood in a corner, my gaze darting over the panicked faces of the technicians.

"Where the hell is Kiaan?" Advait mumbled and dialled a number on his phone.

I remembered Advait revising the surveillance records last week when Yuvaan made me clean his study room in the midnight. That time, everything seemed to be okay and Advait was working too; I wondered who was capable enough of filtering through their advanced security settings.

"Is it that bad?" I asked.

"Kind of," Yuvaan said absentmindedly. "The passwords are getting locked up too along with the confidential files."

"What if you are not able to recover them? You have backup, right?"

"This whole room is a data server, Reyna. Those motherfuckers have attacked the core itself."

Yuvaan shot a murderous glare in Advait's direction and threatened him that if he lost his data, he would kill him. Advait avoided his gaze and prayed for his savior to arrive. Fortunately, few moments later, the guy named Kiaan arrived.

"Yuvaan bhaiyya, I am here," he said.

I observed him as he conversed with the men; I thought he was going to be our age, but he seemed to be around eighteen or nineteen. After goofing around and pulling Advait's leg for messing up, he cracked his knuckles and put on his glasses.

"Please save my ass, Kid," Advait told him.

"Gotcha." Kiaan smiled, his blue eyes shining like marbles.

After adjusting his laptop and running his hand through his wavy black hair multiple times, he checked his appearance in the screen, which lit up within seconds. Like ocean waves striking the seashore, his fingers moved on the keypad as his eyes darted around the multiple screens in front of him.

"Can I watch what he is doing?" I asked Yuvaan.

He nodded, and I went to stand behind Kiaan. The moment I took my position, he looked over his shoulder and quirked up an eyebrow in question.

"Who are you?" he asked in a suspicious tone.

Did anyone see the wedding or not?

"She is my wife," Yuvaan said.

Kiaan pressed Enter and swiveled his chair in my direction. For a minute, he just kept glancing between me and my husband. I didn't know what he was thinking, but he scratched his stubble and then turned back towards the PCs.

"Is there some problem?" I asked.

He shook his head and continued working. In between, he kept teasing Advait and allowed me to sit beside him when he noticed me peeking behind him.

"How old are you?" I questioned.

"Nineteen," he said.

"My brother is also your age."

He nodded and sported a huge smile on his round face when he was done with a code. I thought of speaking up my doubt, but Advait told Kiaan to stop gossiping and hurry up. In their banter, Kiaan executed the code, and as expected, it failed.

"What the fuck?" he cursed.

"You typed a wrong letter in it," I said.

He looked at me in confusion. "You know coding?"

"No."

His eyes turned into slits. I explained to him how I used to ask Arman to teach me the cool stuff he used to do, but he always whined about playing video games instead of giving me free classes. Thus, I used to sit beside him whenever he did the work and observed without disturbing him.

Kiaan gave a long nod as if he wasn't convinced, but instead of turning into a detective, he began checking the code he had written. Meanwhile, my husband stared daggers at his employees who had failed to do their work efficiently.

"Line number 60," I said. "It should be 098M, but you typed 098N."

"Are you supposed to know these passwords?" Kiaan mumbled under his breath.

"Maybe." I smiled.

He pursed his lips and corrected his code. It worked, and he told Advait to help him on the second one. Kiaan shot me a surprised look before he got busy again. Like before, I kept a close eye on what they were doing — it was fun to watch the numbers and words fly randomly along the various gadgets.

Two hours later, everyone relaxed when all of the data started getting restored and the backup was secured. Kiaan gave a pendrive to Advait and told him to use it if the security collapsed again. Advait patted his back proudly and assured him that his payment would be credited instantly.

"Why do you pay me every time?" Kiaan complained.

"You deserve it, that's why." Yuvaan ruffled his young hacker's hair.

Kiaan hugged Yuvaan and told him to visit the orphanage soon; the kids were asking for him. Advait suggested a date, and everyone nodded as their schedules matched. Yuvaan asked me if I wanted to come too, and I agreed instantly.

"I should get going then," Kiaan said. "Thank you, Reyna Bhabhi for the help."

I smiled at him, and he left after meeting other employees. He reminded me of Aru, but both of them were entirely different in personality. While Kiaan seemed a lot mature, my brother still behaved like a kid. I worried how he would react if he ever came across the reality.

"Kitten?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you staring at the wall like that?"

I turned my head towards Yuvaan, but instead of answering what he had asked, I threw my own question at him.

"Why did you release Dad?"

"There was no use keeping him here," Yuvaan said calmly, but I knew he was lying.

"And what about your revenge?"

"That... I will think of something else. As it is, I have taken your father's seventy percent shares; I think leaving him the rest would be good in your family's interest."

"You didn't torture him?"

He shook his head and told me that he didn't want to cause more misunderstandings between us because of his actions. I let out a huge breath, disappointed by his decision, but I knew that it wasn't his fault that he decided to spare that pathetic man.

Should I be happy? Yuvaan didn't release Dad because he was concerned about him, he let him go because of me. He thinks that I have a very strong bond with my father and would do anything to save his life.

Should I tell him it wasn't so, and he should just drag Dad back and give him the punishment he deserved? But how would I feel satisfied that way?

"Are you okay with the punishment he got for his sins?" I asked.

"Yeah, almost. I have already acquired the amount he stole from the poor people and even got more to compensate their losses, so keeping your Dad hostage any longer was not beneficial," Yuvaan said.

Advait nodded in agreement. "That old man is really useless."

"Tell me something I don't know," I said and exited the room.

I heard Yuvaan smack Advait before he followed me and asked me what I wanted to eat. I gave him an accusatory look as I knew that he was going to ask me to cook, but I got surprised when he took the apron and began banging utensils in the kitchen.

I took my spot on the dining table and twisted my lips when he created a lot of mess to cook just one dish — he didn't even look guilty of ruining the whole place. He pumped up his fist when he was done and placed the dish in front of me.

He got himself one too and loaded up a lot of food. Before I could compliment his cooking, he had finished half of his plate and was filling it again. I told him to cook frequently, but he gave me a mischievous smirk and reminded me of our bet.

"If I cook then you will have to do all of the work," he teased.

"I think I can do it better than you," I challeneged. "There will be no security problems if I take charge."

"Please don't fire me," Advait said.

Yuvaan rolled his eyes, and Advait made him cook something for him after annoying him to hell. As my husband became a cook for his best friend, I realised that more than Yuvaan, Advait was more fond of food; not just fond, he was a lot sensitive about the topic.

"Didn't you get food when you were small?" I asked.

"Rarely," he said.

"Why?"

Advait gave me a knowing look and took the plate from Yuvaan's hands. He said just one word and it was enough for me to get a clear picture of what he must have gone through. Later, he gave me some more info while watching news and advised me to be aware of strangers.

Begging racket — he was kidnapped as a kid, forced to work as a beggar for two years before he was trafficked to a new city where he was rescued by local police along with other kids. After that incident, he got in a lot of trouble as his trauma got the better of him.

"Does Shaurya also has something for him to become a lawyer?" I asked.

"Na, he is the only fortunate one among us." Advait laughed. "I am happy that he didn't suffer like us."

"We would be performing in a circus right now if he wasn't there for us," Yuvaan said.

Just like that, both best friends began coming up with past incidents and joked about Shaurya. Surprisingly, I didn't see his curly head today. Advait informed me that he was out for some important work, and I became suspicious.

What if he was doing research on me? Why would he though? He had other things to do. What if he was just out for some of his own work?

The wall clock chimed loudly, indicating the late hour of 11 pm. Advait took off to his own home, and Yuvaan also got up to leave. He halted for sometime, lost in his own thoughts; he glanced at me and told me to got to my room.

I did as he said and waited for him to retire to his own bedroom. I checked if he came back for some snacks, and when he didn't, I rubbed my palms in anticipation. I quickly got changed into my night clothes and tiptoed towards his room.

I smiled when I saw that he hadn't locked the door yet. After peeking inside, I got in when I heard the shower running. Slowly, I got on the bed and dug myself deeper into the soft mattress. Yuvaan came out of the washroom, and I bit my lower lip when he rubbed the towel over his wet hair.

I waited for him to notice me, and when he did, his reaction was priceless.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sleeping." I spread myself on his bed.

He looked at me in disbelief and shook his head vigorously when I threatened that I would leave if he didn't like my presence. After a lot of contemplation, Yuvaan took his spot beside me, darting his gaze at me in between.

I saw his body going tense as I shifted closer. He closed his eyes shut and gulped when I was only inches away from him. I giggled when he tried hard not to look at me; I pulled his moustache. He winced in pain but still acted like a macho.

"Yuvaan?"

"Hm?"

"What are your thoughts about sex?"

"What?" He snapped his eyes open.

"Sex."

"I... uh..."

"You have done it before, right? Or are you a virgin?"

"I am not a virgin," he narrowed his eyes, "but why are you showing a sudden interest in my sex life?"

"Because you are not showing it in ours." I pouted.

"Excuse me?"

"You don't like me? Am I not sexually appealing? Why do you only kiss? Are you afraid of me? I promise I won't use the taser on you."

"It is not that, Reyna, I—"

"Are you planning on ditching me?"

I gave him a hurtful look, and he sighed loudly. After rubbing his own temples, he kissed my forehead and told me to take the bed. I grabbed his wrist before he got out of the bed.

"I am your wife, and I demand to sleep with you."

"Kitten..."

"I won't do anything. I just want a hug, but it looks like you are saving that for someone else."

Yuvaan pursed his lips, and in a flash, crushed me in his arms. "Don't blame me later."

He tightened his hold and told me to sleep while rubbing my back like a baby. He began singing a lullaby, made by himself in which he was the hero, and instead of me going to sleep, he fell asleep first. I heard his soft snoring and buried my face in his chest.

Will he let me sleep with him every day? I am sure he will. I am able to sleep well when he is around.

Yup, there is nothing to worry about, Reyna. I know you want to be independent, but you also know now that you have nothing to worry about showing your vulnerable side to Yuvaan.

I smiled as I relaxed in his embrace, everything blurring into darkness. Before I fell into the dreamland, I decided that even if Yuvaan let my father off the hook, I wouldn't — not him, neither Lokesh, and nor that Himesh. They would pay for what they did because then only I would get the peaceful sleep I needed.