"I see it in your eyes, the love shining for me".

Everything had fallen into place. After Atharva's act of bravery, Aahana and he did not leave the place, rather made the most of their time with each other and had loads of fun. When the party was over, they stayed in the hotel room Atharva had booked, just chilling around and shopping. Aahana had a great fondness for clothes more than anything just the way Atharva had for electronics so you can imagine the amount of money they must have wasted.

They reached Delhi early morning and despite Aahana's numerous protests, Atharva went to the office while all she wanted to do was rest.

When she woke up, she felt refreshed. She took a quick shower and decided to head to the office. Once she was done dressing, she grabbed her purse and keys right when the doorbell chimed.

With a puzzled expression plastered on her face, she opened the door to find Urvashi standing with a bright smile. "Good Afternoon, dear."

"Uh Good afternoon, mom. Actually, he is in the office."

"I know. I'm actually here to see you." She entered inside and made herself comfortable on the sofa.

She opened her bag and handed some papers to Aahana.

Her eyes widened when she read it. "Divorce?"

"Yes, dear." There was a solemn expression on Urvashi's face. "I'm so sorry, but Atharva wants to divorce you. He told me to bring these papers."

Aahana felt her eyes narrow in disbelief. "You are lying. He would never divorce me."

"I know the decision is abrupt but he has signed the papers." Flipping the pages, she indeed saw his signature. She felt her eyes water, but she controlled herself and glared at the woman sitting in front of her.

"Get out." She croaked.

"Dear it's not my fault. You must sign right now."

"I said get out." She stood up and shouted this time. She called the security guards and told them to take her away.

"Listen, anytime I see this woman anywhere near this house, you all will be fired."

The guards gulped and nodded. "Ma'am, please come with us."

Urvashi's face flamed in anger and she looked at Aahana with hatred. "You don't believe me? Fine, wait for Atharva to come, you'll regret marrying him. And listen, you can't change Atharva. He will always be my son. "

"Shut up and get out of my house. Right now, I said."

When the door closed, leaving her alone, she felt the tears freely roll down her cheeks but she took a deep breath and forced them away. She knew Atharva would never do something like this. Urvashi was just being a bitch.

She placed the papers on the table and changed into her sweatpants and baby pink tank tops, office now forgotten. Braiding her hair into a side fishtail, she decided to go grocery shopping in the nearby store. She bought all the ingredients needed for her all-time favourite white sauce pasta and chocolate chip cookie dough. She was back home, in a better mood as she started cooking and singing to herself.

She heard the front door open and watched Atharva take off his blazer and look around the house in puzzlement.

She smiled and called to him. "Kitchen."

She watched him walk in her direction while rolling up his sleeves to his elbows. And she found that extremely hot.

"Why didn't you come?"

"You were waiting?"

He nodded. "I thought we could go for lunch." Aahana noticed how his face turned a faint shade of red.

"That's sweet but I'm almost done. So we can eat here?"

"No problem to me." He smiled. "I'll just change and come, okay?"

Aahana nodded. Atharva was nearly out of the door when she recalled Urvashi's words. "Listen, there's divorce papers on the table." Her tone was too casual which made Atharva stop dead in his tracks. He turned towards her, his face holding disbelief, betrayal and... pain.

"B-but y-you..." He couldn't form another word.

"What?" Aahana raised her brow, and then smiled a little at his pale face. "Silly you. I'm not divorcing you. Apparently, you are. It has your signature."

"Huh?"

"Yup." Aahana nodded. "Mom came to see us. She told me to sign because you already did."

Atharva tensed. His jaw clenched and a horrible thought struck his mind. "You didn't sign, did you?" When Aahana stared at him with a plain expression, he felt his chest ache. His fingers trembled as he walked towards her and without a second thought, he caged her in his arms.

"Did you?" He repeated. His voice faint.

"Nah. I didn't believe that bitch. In fact, I told her to get out of our house." She turned off the gas and held him back after getting over the initial shock. Her arms went around him, her face resting in the crook of his neck. He felt her warm breath caress his bare skin and seep into him.

Atharva chuckled and pulled away to flick her nose. "You are so different."

Aahana grinned.

Atharva smiled but his face suddenly became serious, his eyes holding so much of truthfulness. "I'll always want to be with you Aahana. You are the only woman who has accepted and understood my broken pieces."

Aahana's arms tightened around him. "I am here." Was all she could say, her voice soothing, a beautiful song to his ears.

The swirl of his loamy cologne instantly drifted into her senses. "You smell delicious." She felt herself whisper into his ear. He stopped breathing. "F-food. I-I mean food smells so delicious. We should eat, eh?" She slipped out of his hold and turned around to grab the plates, her cheeks flushing.

Oh god, why am I so stupid?

"S-sure. I'll be right back." Atharva quickly left, his heart rate was erratic and he knew he couldn't stand hearing Aahana's words.

After lunch, Aahana and Atharva went to meet Dinesh and Jay. From there, they went to the mall to buy stuff for Jay's restaurant. Yes, he had finally decided to be financially stable and independent. And the place he had chosen was just at the centre of the city, easy for anyone to locate.

They could buy only a few things because of a way too choosy Jay who spent more time in selection than in buying.

At the end of the day, they felt like leaving him all alone. Next time they weren't going with him, for sure.

"Jay, y'know know what? I'll kill you if we don't stop at some food court." Aahana whined in exasperation.

"Come on sweetpea, why some food court? We can head to my house. I'll cook."

"As tempting as it sounds, No." She glared. "Your lavish dinner will take time and who knows if you'll again invite everyone. Anyway, it's 9 already, we'll head home. Thanks."

"Hey don't get mad. Fine, let's go." Jay sighed.

They landed in the Burger King, so of course, burger was their dinner for the night. "I'm telling you, sweetpea, if Dinesh gains weight eating this greasy french fries and burger, you'll have to pay."

Aahana paused and let out a huff. "Dinesh you like it?"

"I love it." He said with a mouth full of french- fries.

"See?" Aahana smirked at Jay. "So what's your problem?"

Jay gasped in horror and let his eyes meet Aahana's. "I know what you're trying to do. You've the sexiest husband so you don't want anyone else to get that title."

Aahana rolled her eyes. "Be quiet dumbass. Let me eat."

Jay pouted. "See Dinesh. She wouldn't even disagree. I'm telling you, don't eat anymore."

Dinesh laughed it away and shook his head, continuing to eat.

"Stop being a baby and eat Jay. You won't turn into an elephant with few calories. Look at Atharva, this is his 7th burger."

Atharva choked on his food and coughed uncontrollably. Aahana handed him water and rubbed his back which soothed his throat.

He stared at Dinesh blankly. "You counted?"

"Yep. And two plates of french fries."

Aahana hit his arm and glared playfully. "You're talking about yourself or Atharva?"

Jay gasped and snatched Dinesh's plate. "That's it." Dinesh made a puppy face but Jay shook his head firmly and paid the bill for all.

"Your friends are funny." Atharva smiled as he grabbed his T-shirt and towel from his closet. Aahana was sitting on the bed and eating pistachio ice cream. "I Know right. They are your friends too."

"My friends?"

She nodded and licked her cone. "Why not? They enjoy your company. I have lots of friends. You'll meet all of them someday."

Atharva's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Ah, the popular one?"

Aahana winked and nodded slightly. "We were a huge group back then in college but after graduation, it's all texts and video calls."

"Oh."

"Mhm, alright. I gotta change." She stood up and walked out of his room.

He nodded and freshened up himself. When he came out, Aahana was already changed and sleeping. "Damn fast."

He switched off the light and settled himself beside her, just the soft glow of the lamp casting an orange glow in the room. He felt her snuggle closer to his chest. He stiffened slightly like any other day but relaxed soon and pulled on the comforter over them. His fingers gently combed through her soft hair and he realized how lucky he was to have her beside him. He wasn't anywhere near her expectation but he knew she believed in him and that made him believe in himself. He was ready to take a step with her. After all, he trusted her, loved her, and like he said, he wanted her to be familiar with every labyrinth of his body. But could he erase his fear completely? He was actually doing a lot better now. He didn't feel that awkward with her and those nightmares had stopped interrupting his dreams, for she was always around him, conscious or unconscious.

He glanced down at her sleeping face and brushed a strand of hair from her face. His fingers stroked her cheek as he hesitantly leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead before quickly pulling away. The mere touch made his lips tingle and throb.

Aahana felt the feathery peck and smiled which didn't go unnoticed by Atharva.

His eyes widened and narrowed at her. "You awake." He accused.

"Maybe." She giggled and opened her eyes.

Atharva groaned in annoyance and moved away from her to hide his embarrassment. "I hate you."

"I love you too." She pressed herself against him.

And soon, they were pulled into a deep slumber.

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