Song of the chapter is
Sweet Nothing by Taylor Swift

-61-
-Himanshu Arora-
-Present-

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Arora Residence
17 December, 2030
8:45 pm

As I finished setting the table, I looked over at my now wife (can't believe I'm saying this), who was busy tying her raven hair into a messy bun.

Even in the faint glow of the refrigerator light, she still looked as ethereal as ever.

I wondered how could I have been so lucky to ever be graced by her presence in life.

She closed the refrigerator door and walked over to the dining table, with two chilled cans of beer and placed them on the table. As she did, I luckily got hold of her hand.

She looked at me with a surprised smile.

"What?"

"Nothing." I said as I pulled her close. "I'm just admiring."

"Uh-huh?" She mumbled, a slow yet enticing smile rising up her cheeks. "And what exactly are you admiring?"

"My wife, ofcourse."

God it felt right. This moment, her and I. It all finally felt right.

She chuckled softly as she pulled away. "You're such a dork."

I pulled her closer this time. Her body landed against my chest, her hands on my arms, our faces inches away from each other.

A slow crimson blush spread across her cheeks as her eyes looked into mine, slightly bewildered.

"Maybe I am."

She lowered her eyes shyly as a smile tugged on her lips. When she looked back at me, her eyes had a more stern look.

"The food's getting cold, Moose." She said, a soft sterness evident in her voice. "I think the romancing can wait for a bit."

"What if I don't let you go?" I asked, engulfing her tighter between my arms.

"Well," She drawled, locking eyes with me. "I guess I'll have to cheat my way out then."

I raised a brow before she started tickling me. Instinctively, I moved back, laughing. So did she.

And for that solid moment, I caught myself staring at her shamelessly. Just like 17 year old me was enchanted by the raven haired girl who barely ever mustered a smile when she spoke, but used to laugh at my knock knock jokes.

I guess even if forevers passed, this one thing wasn't ever going to change.

And for that, I was grateful.

"Are you seriously gonna stare at me all night? Or are we gonna finish these delicious noodles?" She said as she pulled one of the chairs to sit down. I followed suit, saying, "I don't mind staring at you all night."

"Creep."

Laughter richocheted.

"Seriously though, Ronnie, I gotta admit one thing." I said as I took a bite out of my plate of noodles.

"Uh-huh? And what's that?" She asked, doing the same.

"I feel like you're not real."

She stopped eating and stared at me. "What?"

"I don't know.... I just... feel like I made you up."

She chuckled softly , closing her eyes, the smile creasing up the edges of her eyes.

"You have a way with words, Moose. Truly, I must say." She said as she laughed even more.

"What?" I asked, feigning hurt. "That was a genuine emotion."

"I know, it's just..." She began as her laughter slowly faded. "If anything.... you're the one who is not real. You're everything that is good in this world. Sometimes I wonder whether you are just a figment of my imagination because how can someone ever be so good all the time?"

I smiled in appreciation, my heart filling up with content.

She reached out and held my hand across the table and smiled. "Thank you for being you."

I smiled, getting up to kiss her forehead.

"And thank you for being my wife."

She chuckled as I sat back down. "That sounds so...."

"Out of place? Weird?"

"....perfect."

Moments later, the sound of water whooshing from the faucet echoed in the kitchen. As she passed me another washed plate, I slowly ran the dry cloth around it and placed it back on the rack when suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

"Hey Ronnie....."

"Huh?" She asked, turning her head to look at me.

"I know this is a bit early but...." I began, as I moved closer to her. "I want you to promise me something."

She closed the tap and looked back at me. "What is it?"

"About the killer's invite.... I know we've all decided to be foolishly brave again and go for this....fight...but.... I'm just....um....scared to be honest."

"Everyone is, Moose. You're not alone." She said, taking a step closer.

"No.... it's not me I'm worried about." I said, lowering my eyes before looking back at her. "It's you."

Her eyebrows furrowed in their place.

"I just.... I feel like I've finally got....you. After so many years, we're finally together....happy and content." I said as my chest constricted further. "I just.... I don't wanna lose this."

"And you won't." She reassured in her ever so calming voice. "You won't lose me and I won't lose you....ever again, okay?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat as she took another step closer.

"I just want you to promise me one thing." I said, with determination. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"You're gonna have to be a bit more elaborate on that." She said, jokingly.

"Uh... it's just..." I sighed, smiling slightly. "You have this thing....where you always try to put everyone else's need in front of yours, mine included."

She stayed quiet as I continued.

"On the night that you and Kartik were attacked by the killer, you tried to save him and got injured. It could've been worse than what it was." I said, my voice providing evidence of my worry. "The day of the parade....the killer was going after Zoya....and you chased after him knowing damn well that you had nothing to protect yourself with in case the killer decided to change targets."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest like a little child who wanted to bargain.

"I know what you're thinking....and yes, I would've probably done the same.....but not before making sure that I was safe myself." I stated. "Because if I'm injured....how will I be of any use to the rest? How will I be able to protect them?"

"Moose but..."

"Look.... it's just... you're really stupid sometimes.... especially when it comes to your safety." I stated plainly. She gave me a poker face.

"I'm serious, Ronnie." I said, this time with determination. "I just want you to be careful."

"I will be, Moose. I promise." She nodded like a little child.

"And I also want you to promise that you won't throw yourself at danger face first to save someone else. Not our friends, not even me." I added, like a strict teacher.

"Are you serious right now?" She asked. "Moose, you'd do the same for me....and you know I'm not lying."

"Yeah, but that's different." I argued.

"How is it different?"

"It just is, okay? No more complaints and questions about it." I scolded. She scoffed laughing slightly.

"I'm serious, Ronnie!"

"Okay, okay, Jesus." She responded, her eyes looking at me bewildered. "I promise I won't be stupid. All right?"

I nodded. She smiled even further and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"But Moose....you must know one thing."

"What?"

"I suck at keeping promises."

My eyebrows knitted together.

"I made a promise to you eleven years ago....and failed to keep it." She said, a slow soft frown deepening on her features. "So you see my record isn't exactly the best."

"Ronnie, it's all in the past..." I reassured as I caressed her back.

"I know....and that's why I wanna tell you this." She said, looking at me. "I'll try my hardest to keep this promise, Moose, I swear. This time I won't let you down."

I gave her a tight lipped smile as I kissed her forehead again. She smiled back at me.

"Plus.... I'd miss you too much in hell, anyway."

Moments later, as she snuggled next to me in bed, the soft scent of jasmine purity escaping from her dark locks and travelling right into my senses, making me more dizzy in love than I ever could be.

Stillness prevailed around us before she spoke, "What's on your mind?"

My glance flickered over at her and I found her doe eyes already trained on me.

"I just..." I began, curling next to her. "All of this...just feels very... I don't know how to put it-"

"Like a dream?" She gave me an enticing smile.

I gave her an even wider smile and held her closer. "Yeah. Like a dream."

We stayed huddled for a long moment before she spoke again, "You know, Moose....in the past eleven years, there were several moments when I often....lost hope. It was like I was drowning and no one else knew about it."

A lump former in my throat as I slowly caressed her hair.

"But even in those moments,.... I would often find this...escape." She continued. "Like a light at the end of a tunnel, you know?"

"Yeah?"

"Hm." She mumbled as she traced small circles around my arm with her fingers. "And you know what that light was?"

"What? What was it?"

She slowly turned her head around and looked at me with those earnest eyes, and smiled.

"You."

I blinked. "What?"

"Everytime I felt like losing hope and giving it all up.... I saw you." She explained. "Everytime I got too indulged in my...head...your voice became my guiding anchor. It was like you pulled me out of the darkness."

I swallowed the lump as my eyes glistened.

"You have always been that for me, you know. My light." She said, smiling wider at me. "Whenever I've been too lost.... you've always been the one to bring me back. You've always been my anchor."

My eyes welled up as my chest felt overwhelmed with emotions. In all of these years, she hadn't forgotten about me just like I hadn't forgotten about her. We were always there, in each other's lives....even if we were miles apart.

"And you've been mine."

My gaze flickered over to the scars on her arm, the harsh reality of her past laid barren in those marks. I took her hand and placed it a kiss on a scar.

"I'm sorry." I apologized, despite knowing that there was nothing I could do to undo the complexities she had to endure all these years without me.

She gave me a soft smile and touched the corner of my lips. As they met hers seconds later, I took my time to savour the sweet remnants of white chocolate that I had bought her from the store earlier. The bridge of my nose softly grazzed against hers and I smiled.

"If this is really a dream," I spoke softly. "I hope I never wake up from it."

She followed suit, her lips curving up as she looked at me.

"Me too."

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i was TOTALLY NOT kicking my feet in the air and giggling like a schoolgirl while writing this chapter!

i can write a thirty page essay on how much i adore and love my babies!!!! like them being all domestic and flirty while being madly in love with each other is so CUTEEEEEE!

QOTD: why do I love
torturing myself so much?

fun fact: the countdown to the last ten chapters begins now! since I have my exams coming up next week, so I've decided to halt updates for the time being. The last ten chapters + epilogue of Secrets and Lies will be updated on a regular basis from the 1st of October, 2023 to 11th of October, 2023 in a segment I'd like to call 'Farewell'!

so don't forget to vote, comment and share the book as much as possible till then! If you haven't voted on previous chapters, go do it now!!

love,
Bosedisha