"I never thought I could love you any more than I already do, but then, you gazed into my eyes and I realised I was in deepest shit."

Aahana was stepping out of the elevator when the sound of her phone reverberated in her ears.

Puzzled, she pulled it out from her handbag and the corners of her lips instantly curled up into a smile as Jay's name flashed on the screen. 

"Hey, sweetpea."

"Hey, Jay. What's up?" She was greeted by Pranav and  Kritika on the way and she nodded at them in return.

He cleared his throat. "I bought a new house."

Aahana was turning the doorknob to the cabin but her fingers stilled hearing his words. "You did?"

"Y-yeah. Actually, Dinesh and I, we bought it together," he said in a low voice.

"What?" Aahana shrieked and pushed the door open.

Atharva jumped in his seat, startled at her sudden appearance and voice. He pinned her with a glare but she just smiled apologetically and pointed to her phone as she plopped down on her chair and twirled around.

"Yeah. I mean, I can't live with my parents forever, and they don't mind me shifting."

Jay was 26-year-old, and there was nothing wrong with living with his parents. In fact, living in a big family, together, was very common in India but again, it was good to have your own house and privacy.

"B-but Jay you just met him. Isn't it too fast?"

She heard his heavy breath on the other end of the line. "I am sending you the address of my house. We will talk there. Bye." With that, he hung up.

Aahana stared at her phone, open-mouthed in disbelief.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" she muttered under her breath and slammed her phone on the desk. It pinged, indicating the arrival of a message but she didn't bother checking, instead, she concentrated on her work.

"What?" she asked irritatedly after some time when she felt Atharva's gaze on her.

He blinked. "Uh, nothing. You seem annoyed."

"Jay bought a new house with his boyfriend and he is telling me now. Can you believe it? He didn't even ask me."

Atharva's eyebrows jerked up. "Why would he ask you?"

"I am his best friend," she told him in a matter-of-factly tone.

"He invited you, right?"

"Yeah. But why today?"

Atharva rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why don't you ask him yourself when the two of you meet?"

"Fine." She sighed. "Will you go with me?"

"Sure." She was surprised when he replied with no hesitation in his voice. And this was another reason why she was falling for him in so little time.

Smiling widely, she went back to the paperwork.

"Let's leave," Atharva mumbled and Aahana glanced at her watch before nodding in agreement. It was only nine o'clock in the morning but they decided to get there early.

They drove together to the address sent to Aahana and it took nearly two hours for them to reach there. For a moment, they had felt like they had taken the wrong route but they knew they were in the right place when a stone house appeared in front of them.

Pulling into the driveway where Jay's black Mercedes-Benz was parked, they looked around the neighbourhood and felt a sense of calmness wash over them. It was peaceful, a big contrast to the busy city where horns blared constantly.

They walked through the iron gate towards the house which was extremely beautiful, surrounded by a garden on both sides with a fountain in the centre with water flowing out from a statue.

Aahana rang the bell and it opened to reveal Jay. He looked untidy, his T-Shirt and shorts covered in paint and his hair all messy.

"Hey." He enveloped Aahana in a tight embrace. He did the same to a shocked Atharva before stepping back and looking at both of them with a small smile.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Aahana asked once they stood in the drawing-room which looked completely empty if it wasn't the painted walls and carpeted floor. And she knew it was Jay and Dinesh who had done all the work.

"Um...can we uh...talk alone?" Jay asked, moving his feet back and forth.

She glanced at Atharva who nodded in response and made herself scarce.

"Speak." She sat on the blue carpet and ran her fingers over its smoothness.

"W-we are together for a year now." He swallowed hard and looked everywhere but at her.

Silence ensued.

He hesitantly peeked at Aahana who was staring at him blankly.

"You're telling me now?" she asked calmly, leaning back on the wall to get a better look at him.

He looked down. "I...I'm sorry. It's just...I was afraid. I didn't even plan on telling mom and dad, but once, Dinesh answered my phone when I was in the restroom and introduced himself as my boyfriend. Of course, he didn't know I was hiding it from everyone and got furious. H-he wanted to leave but thankfully he didn't, and my parents were shocked but happy for me." He was smiling but it dropped when he looked at Aahana. His face turned pleading as he grabbed her hand in his. "Trust me, I really wanted to tell you, but I had never been in a relationship before. I didn't know how to bring it up to you, so I had to keep it from you. I am so sorry."

The reaction was not what Jay had expected. Her face broke into a huge grin, and she ruffled his already messy hair with her free hand before giving him a reassuring hug.

"I want to kill you for keeping it from me, but I understand. I am happy for you. I will always be. You should know this Jay," said Aahana honestly with a smile when she pulled back.

"Thank you."

She waved him off with her hand and stood up, kicking her numb legs in the air. "No formalities. Now let's start with the decor."

"Yeah, let's go. They must have finished painting the guest room."

Aahana was surprised to see Atharva holding a brush and painting along with Dinesh. She had thought he would be sitting somewhere but seeing him smeared with white and blue paint in a grey shirt, open at the collar and sleeves rolled to the elbows, he looked extremely hot.

Even Jay hadn't failed to notice Atharva as he walked up to him and slapped his ass. "Ah, Atharva. You are a sexy piece." Jay sighed dreamily.

Atharva jumped in bewilderment and whirled around to look at Jay. "Stay away from me."

Aahana shook her head at Jay. His boyfriend was standing right there but he wouldn't stop flirting with her husband. Some habits never die.

"What are you doing?" Dinesh asked, narrowing his eyes at Jay with a frown.

Jay made his way to Dinesh and grinned cheekily. "Just the usual flirting?"

Dinesh sighed and turned away from him, his frown deepening."You have no other work to do?"

Jay snaked his arms around Dinesh's waist from behind and planted a soft kiss below his ear. "Aww... Don't be mad."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are." Jay turned him around and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. A brush hitting the floor broke them away and they saw Atharva gaping at them.

They grinned, breathless. "What?"

He shook his head and turned away.

Aahana laughed before dragging Jay away from Dinesh to the drawing-room.

"When is the furniture coming?"

Jay glanced at his watch before pointing to the boxes in the corner of the room. "In about 20 minutes. Till then let's unpack those boxes."

"Okay."

They were halfway through unpacking books, photo frames, and other decor items when the doorbell chimed.

Jay pulled the door open to reveal workers who carried in the pieces of furniture and placed them according to Jay's and Aahana's want. It was a lot and took them nearly 3 hours to put everything in place.

"Why do you have to flirt with my husband?" Aahana broke the comfortable silence, arranging Jay's favourite novels on the bookshelf.

"Hmm...because he is hot?!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain the flirting."

"Come on, Sweetpea. It's healthy flirting. Don't be jealous." He teased with a grin.

She scowled. "I am not jealous."

"Oh, you are." He nudged her ribs and being ticklish, she started giggling.

His grin widened and he nudged her again before tickling her sides. Her giggles turned into full-blown laughter and she was rolling on the floor laughing, clutching her stomach as tears gathered in her eyes.

"Stop." She commanded, more like gasped and he kissed her cheek before taking her hand and pulling her up with him.

"Did you enjoy it?" he asked her as she tried to gain her breath.

She glared at him. "That wasn't funny."

He ran away, laughing and she ran behind him.

She caught Atharva watching her and raised her brow at him. He shook his head and immediately looked away. She shrugged and took the blue paint bucket and splashed it at Jay.

He yelped at the coldness and gave her his best murderous glare.

She stuck her tongue out and laughed loudly at him.

He picked up a brush and rushed towards her, but she hid behind Dinesh. He couldn't do anything when Dinesh took the brush from him and shook his head in disapproval. "That's it. Back to work."

Jay pouted but did as he was told.

When everything was done, they glanced around in satisfaction. It looked perfect, exactly the way Jay and Dinesh had wanted their home to look. Cosy and warm, giving a homely feeling.

It was beyond the afternoon and they were drained and hungry. They decided to head for lunch to any nearby restaurant and after quickly cleaning up themselves, they walked to Atharva's car and drove away.

Aahana being seated in the passenger seat beside Atharva could feel the tension radiating off him. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were solely focused on the road as his fingers tapped on the steering wheel.

She turned on the radio and smiled when he relaxed after some time.

The restaurant was a local one and filled with people but they were lucky enough to get a table. They wasted no time in ordering and when they were done, they decided to head home since it was night already.

And finally, they realized how much work they'd done when the effects of everything came crashing down. They weren't able to stand a minute more as their eyes drooped and they'd no choice but to retire to their rooms.

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