30. Iss chalne wali duniya mein, tumhare saath rukne mein maza hai. (In this constantly moving world, stopping with you is fun.)

•°•

Her birthday was coming closer.

Initially, I had a plan. It involved diamonds. The least expensive ones.

I had checked a few sites and sweated over the price, yet that didn't stop me from checking my bank balance and adding a delicate diamond bracelet to the cart.

Well, that was before I saw the ridiculously expensive diamond necklace in her hands, gifted by my brother. I knew there was no reason to blow upon her like that. She did nothing to deserve my rude comment. She was excited and she wanted to share it with me.

I had a worse day at the office. Nothing new. I'm just counting days before my boss shifts to the new branch and someone nicer, if not, at least a professional replaces him. On my way back home, the possible dent in my savings account for her birthday gift, had lowered my spirits to newfound depths. Then upon coming home, I found my woman missing, only to be told by my mother that she is in Bhai's room to deliver a cup of coffee.

How much time does it take to give a cup of coffee?

Two minutes max?

It took her ten minutes to come back to our room, and when she came, the expensive piece of jewelry in her hands set me off.

It was wrong of me.

To steal her smile, which I so adore, was wrong of me. So I fixed my attitude, so as to not ruin her happiness, and faked a smile.

The last week has been rough. Meghna's attitude towards me was getting worse. As siblings, we've had our blues, but they never extended so far that it'll be physically hard to close the distance. She treated me so coldly. I wasn't used to it.

So I did the same.

I agree, I made a decision on a whim. But she has never been the elder sister to me that she claims to be. How can she expect me to be comfortable enough to breach such a sensitive topic in front of her? And I did try, didn't I? But she shut me up, blissfully basking in her know-it-all attitude. If it was anyone else, I would have given zero fucks. But there's a bond between us I can't deny. If in the future, something had happened, I would have blamed myself for not bringing her incapability of making the right decisions at the right time. I don't understand why people think their age justifies their immature decisions. Just because you're old doesn't mean you can't make wrong decisions.

But fine, if this is how she wants it to go, no qualms from my side. I'm not wasting my time trying to mend something we had an equal hand in damaging. If I did wrong, she did too. And she is the least of my concerns now, anyways. I don't know why I even bother with her at this point.

I've way more complicated things to focus on. Like Bhai's feelings towards my wife that she is still unaware of, Mom's sudden shift in attitude, my insufficient savings, finding a new, affordable place, and moving out of this house.

My eyes darted in the direction of the bathroom hearing the door open. Priya stepped out, making me frown at her outfit. It was the beginning of the weekend again, meaning no office. Why is she not wearing a saree?

"Priya," I called out.

She paused drying her hair, giving me a questioning look.

"I don't see a saree on you today?"

She flustered. "I-I've decided not to wear them at home. It's a task."

Putting the book aside, I got up from the bed. She stiffened the more I closed the distance between us. I love my effect on her. She makes me want to do things I would have never imagined doing. Her reactions embolden me in my actions.

"And why is that?" I crossed my arms on the chest.

She looked away, avoiding answering.

"Priya,"

She shrugged. "I just don't want to."

"Your choice?"

She nodded. "My choice. My body. My rules."

I deftly removed my hoodie, smirking at the expression on her face. She looked like a deer caught in the headlight, stuck in the spot unblinking.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"My choice. My body. My rules." I said, tossing the hoodie aside, and taking a step closer. She stumbled back, clutching the towel to her chest, her eyes switching between my midriff to my face, shock startlingly visible in her coffee brown eyes.

"Th-That's valid." She pressed her lips together, nodding slightly. "But you see, your choices shouldn't be offensive to someone else."

I cocked a brow, backing her up against the cupboard. "Am I now, Mrs. Shrivastava?"

She nodded, looking anywhere but my face.

"Who exactly am I offending?"

"My eyes," she blinked up at me.

I poked the inside of my cheek, holding back a laugh.

"If that's your argument, then I feel my eyes are offended too."

She furrowed her brows. "I do not fathom, Mr. Shrivastava?"

"This," I tugged at the collar of her t-shirt. "This is offensive."

She scoffed. "It's modest."

"My eyes don't do modest."

"Well, too bad, mine do." She shrugged.

"Then bear this," I leaned in, referring to my half-naked body.

She swallowed. "That's not fair."

"Let's make it fair then," I slid off the sleeve of her top.

She gasped, bringing it back. "What's gotten into you?"

"You tell me?" My hands glided lower, encompassing her waist.

"A little distance will be appreciated," she mumbled meekly.

"Appreciation? What's that? I'm aiming for a reward." Her lips quirked up at the ends.

"Appreciation might earn you a reward," she bit her lower lip, potentially holding back a broad smile.

"Is that so?" I tilted my head to the side.

She pursed her lips, nodding in response.

I swiftly pulled back, creating a room to breathe. "There you go,"

She sighed in relief.

"My reward?" I demanded.

With blush blooming on her cheeks she turned around to open the cupboard. I watched her pull out a floral white saree and blue blouse with a matching underskirt. Then she turned, showing me the saree. "Will this be enough?"

I pretended to think. "Let me see," I mumbled, tapping my chin. She waited patiently, a smile on her face. "Doable." I met her eyes.

She narrowed them at me. "Doable?"

I hummed.

"Not fair, Mr. Shrivastava."

"How so, Mrs. Shrivastava?" I leaned back in, trapping her in my arms.

"I see you parading around in these comfortable hoodies and joggers, you don't see me complaining about your lack of presentability to my eyes. They feel offended too, you know?" She put forth defensively.

"Arey, meri jaan, toh kya tux pehen ke ghumu tumhare liye? (Should I wear a tux for you?)" I teased.

She snorted. "Men."

I chuckled. "Is that supposed to mean something?" I asked perplexed.

"Yes," she stated. "an insult."

I feigned disbelief. "Women!"

She scoffed. "So original."

"No, so dramatic!" I retorted.

She slapped my chest, I held her hand there. The facade of teasing dropped, revealing the hidden intimacy. Her breath hitched at my proximity, eyelids fluttering close the more I leaned in. I deviated from her lips that looked so pucker and plump, inviting me towards them, instead placing mine on her ear. "Let's go out tonight."

I pulled away to see her reaction.

"Kaha? (Where?)" She asked softly.

"Jahaan aap kahe (wherever you say)" I smiled.

She blushed, lowering her head with a coy smile.

"Go and wear the saree," I whispered.

She turned to scurry, held back by my hand around her wrist. "Don't make me wait," I instructed.

"Aap chodein toh mein jaun, (You need to let me go first)" she muttered softly.

I let go with a grin. She dashed inside the bathroom without wasting a second.

Raking a hand through my hair, I shook my head with a smile. Her presence just makes everything a hundred times better.

I went to close the doors of the cupboard, my smile faltering at the sight of the blue case neatly stored inside. I picked it up, lingering on the velvet of it before undoing the clip. The delicate necklace lay inside, missing a price tag. But it didn't need any. You could just tell someone must have spent thousands of dollars on it.

I reveled in the thread of diamonds I can never afford, almost stopping myself from ripping it in two.

Locking the case, I tossed it back inside the cupboard and shut the door close. It was expensive. And my jealousy was too cheap to ruin my wife's happiness.

Inhaling a deep breath, I turned to pick up the discarded hoodie and put it back on. Just as I turned, the door to the bathroom opened, revealing my wife in a beautiful white saree, with blue floral prints. I was surprised to see the sleeveless blouse and the slightly deeper neckline.

I was wrong.

It was more than doable.

Indeed a reward.

I sat on the edge of the bed, nodding at her to come closer. She obeyed wordlessly. I love how receptive she is to me. Never the one to resist or deny, always so obliging. Only to me. Only me.

Her scent hit me with full force when she approached my side. She stood at a proper distance but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer. She gasped, holding my shoulders as she almost stumbled on my lap. My hands found the curve of her hips, gliding to rise and clasp the supple flesh of her waist. She sucked her stomach in, a reaction to my bare touch. I inhaled a deep breath, loving how her scent fills my chest and renders my head dizzy. Her hands climbed to my neck, gently cupping my neck, slowly threading into my locks.

I fucking love her close.

Something in my pants loves it way more than me.

"Aditya," she whispered, like a request.

I aided to it, my lips landing on the soft skin of her stomach, successfully breaching the safe distance we had been lingering on for the past few days. She sucked in a sharp breath.

I let my lips fall apart, placing a wet, open-mouthed kiss beside her navel. Her skin was so soft.

I pulled away to see her reaction and my mouth fell apart at the sight. With her eyes closed, lower lip tucked beneath her incisors, and the pallu barely clinging to her arm, she was a Goddess in my imagination. My hands rose higher and I slowly brought her down to my lap. Her eyes flew open, apprehension in them.

"Stop me," I begged.

"Don't want to," she whispered.

"You want this?" I kissed the curve of her neck.

She shuddered against me. "Do-Don't know."

"This?" My lips moved towards her shoulders before I doffed off the blouse strap.

"Maybe," she murmured.

I looked up at her, stroking her bottom lip with my thumb. My hand expanded to cup her cheek and I lowered her to rest my forehead against hers. "Have you ever kissed anyone before?" I asked softly.

She shook her head.

"Neither me."

She pulled away with a frown. "You don't look like it,"

My brows shot up in surprise, unable to hold back the laugh that spilled past my lips. "What do you think I do? Go around practicing french kiss on random girls?"

"French kiss?" She blushed. "Doesn't that involve tongue?"

I nodded.

"Woah," she breathed out. "like how do they do that? Lick each other's tongues? Stroke it?" She grimaced. "Sounds eww,"

"Sounds sexy to me," I countered.

She resisted a grin. "Pervert."

"Says the one that knows the detailed definition of a French kiss." I shot back.

She gasped. "Everyone does!"

"I understand everyone else. They travel, watch movies, and read books. You do neither."

She rolled her eyes. "I once went to the US for a business trip. I was in Manhattan for a week. I saw all sorts of PDA." She defended.

"Like what?"

"Kissing, groping, making out," she listed out. "I was so taken aback. They do it without any embarrassment." She mumbled. "You know, Sheena took me to this club and I saw a couple dancing so intimately. They were rubbing - uhm, that against each other. It was so traumatising!"

I burst out laughing.

Priya stared at me in anger. "What is there to laugh?"

"You!" I answered. "You're a whole damn package, you know that!?" I guffawed loudly.

She attempted to get off my lap. Nah, uh, not so easy. Holding her tight to me, I scooted back, taking her along with me. She didn't put up much fight. She couldn't. Not before my strength. So she huffed in defeat.

I rested against the headboard, my arms wound tightly around her waist.

"Don't you have any book to read?" She asked, leaning forward to pick the book from the nightstand.

"I was reading that,"

"What's it about?" She shuffled through the pages randomly.

"Office romance,"

She looked at me with wide eyes. "that's quite a big jump. From fantasy and war to directly office romance?"

I rolled my eyes. "I got done with that series long back."

"Wow, you're fast."

I hummed.

"Tell me the plot," she referred to the book.

"He is the vice president of an entertainment company and she is his assistant who's been with him for more than six years. Now she is quitting because she thinks she has finally found the right match through the blind date and wants to settle down. Her abrupt decision to resign puts him in a hard place."

"How so?"

"Well, he realised he is in love."

"That fast?"

"It's been six years." I reminded her.

"I meant the realisation part," she deduced.

"Oh," I realised. "I mean, it's inevitable. Now there's no one around to set out clothes for him, cook him breakfast, make his tie, keep his schedule tight, and sit by his side when he falls ill. It's obvious he'll miss her. And then figure out why he misses her."

She scrunched her nose. "Sounds like he misses the ease and convenience that she brings with herself? She was his secretary, she should have kept it to that rather than pampering him to bits like a child."

I blinked. Her words made sense. "but it's love. You do everything you can for the people you love."

"But you said she is planning to settle down with her blind date?"

"That's because she doesn't know yet. That she is also in love with him."

Priya scoffed. "How silly. If they were teens, I would have understood. But they are grown adults, aren't they?"

I nodded.

"I don't understand why you bother wasting time on these stupid books. Sounds like two immature adults trying to make sense of their own feelings and confusing each other with the lack of sensibility towards the difference between personal and professional life." She concluded, a curt and short review, put in blunt words, without bothering to even a read a word of the book. Wow.

"Not everyone is so sorted and straightforward, Priya. Love is a complicated emotion."

She frowned. "No, it isn't."

"How do you know? You've never fallen in love before." I reminded her.

She sat speechless for a while, then shrugged and tossed the book on the nightstand. "No emotion is complicated. We just fail to comprehend them in time and regret missing the opportunity. People have no qualms about showing anger, grief, or happiness, then why love? Stubborn minds, claiming an innocent emotion to be stubborn."

I blinked, stupified.

"Meri jaan, you were the one calling it fickle and a waste of time when we first met,"

"And now I'm saying otherwise." She stated, looking at me confidently. "Because, unlike your fictional people, I'm not stubborn."

My breath hitched. "Is- Is that a confession?"

"Does it sound like one?"

"It does," I admitted.

"I don't know what it is." She shook her head. "But I know the reason,"

I waited with bated breath.

"You," she acknowledged softly.

I chuckled and flipped us over, laying her beneath me. "I need whatever you're reading lately,"

She tossed her arms around my neck, dragging me closer. I followed. "It's my husband, meri jaan. My husband." She whispered in my ear but before I could react, I felt her shove me off roughly and rush out of the bedroom giggling like a fucking windchime.

Fuck.

Kill me already.

I laid on my back, grinning like a fool at the plain ceiling.

Getting off the bed, I hurried to catch her, stalling abruptly when I saw her with Bhai, looking at something on his laptop.

"Oh no, no, no, Avinash. Please don't buy me anything else." She denied.

"But it's your birthday day after tomorrow." He recalled.

I clenched my hand in a fist.

"Yes, but this is too much for a birthday gift. I'm sorry I can't accept this. I don't feel good about receiving expensive gifts from others. The wedding gift was too much. To be honest, it covered the lifetime of my birthdays and anniversaries. Please don't buy me anything else." She stated.

He forced a smile. "Fine then, a bouquet?"

"A small one."

He chuckled. "Yeah, the smallest one."

She smiled back. "Thank you," she walked past him to the kitchen.

Bhai closed his laptop and looked up, catching my gaze. He sighed and turned, walking back to his room. I closed my eyes to inhale a deep breath.

Calm down.

Think positively.

She turned him down nicely.

Don't ruin your mood because of your jealousy.

"Aditya,"

I opened my eyes, and there she stood, staring up at me innocently. I grabbed her hand and led her back to our room before drawing her into my arms.

"What happened?"

How does he know your birthday? I thought it was strictly professional between you two back then.

"Let's go out already. Let's not wait until tonight."

She smiled brightly. "After lunch? We can't skip it since your mom and I've already made it."

I nodded. "Bring it to the room."

Her smile dropped. "Adi-"

"To the room," I tucked the loose strands behind her ear. "Yes?"

She nodded with a defeated sigh.

I watched her go and resumed my book reading. Even if it was about two immature adults confusing their own feelings and being foolish about it, I'm still gonna read it anyway.

She came back thirty minutes later, with a plate in her hand. I frowned.

"Where's yours?"

She placed the plate in front of me. "I don't think it's right of me to eat here in the room."

"You mean with me?" I asked, slightly pissed.

"Aditya, you don't understand. I- I can't-"

"Go," I stated, focusing back on my book.

"Adi-"

"I said go." I glared at her.

She flinched, heading out of the room right after.

Tossing the book aside, I scoffed at the plate and pushed it away. Are they more important than me? I thought one's partner must be their priority? And what's with her obsession of playing the goody two-shoe daughter-in-law with my family!? Why does she need any kind of validation from them? We're moving out anyway. And that's not changing. I've adjusted far longer than I would have liked. I'm not looking to share my married life with them as well. Especially with Bhai around.

Putting the plate on the nightstand, I lay on my stomach.

Priya came back an hour later, sighing audibly when she saw the untouched plate.

"Aditya," she placed her hand on my shoulder but I moved away.

"We'll leave after I change," I said getting off the bed. Choosing a navy blue sweatshirt and fitted off-white trousers, I entered the bathroom to change.

By the time I was done, she was brushing her hair with a comb. She moved aside to make space for me. I picked up my comb, fixing the mess on my head. Putting the comb back, I searched for the deodorant. She picked it up from the collection and held it out to me. I yanked it off, spraying it on my outfit. She then picked up my watch. I draped it across my wrist and fastened the clasp.

"Wallet and car keys," she offered.

"Trust you to become a wife in the most typical way but not when truly needed." I scoffed, shoving the wallet in my pocket and grabbing the car keys from her hands.

I went to put on my socks while she got me my phone from the charging.

I walked out first and she followed me instantly. Mom asked us where are we off to in the middle of the day and I told her somewhere out. She just smiled, wishing us safe. I put on my shoes, waiting until she had strapped her heels.

Stepping out first, I held the door open and she walked out. I let the door fall close, heading towards the elevator. She followed me quickly, reaching out to hold my hand.

"Let's eat out," she said once we had stepped out of the elevator.

I stopped in front of the car, giving her a dubious look.

"I didn't eat much during lunch." She admitted.

My anger melted. "Why?"

She shrugged. "You didn't either. So we're even. Let's eat out now." She smiled up at me.

"Did you not eat because of me?"

She pursed her lips together, not answering.

I sighed, draping my arm across her shoulders and dragging her close. My lips pressed down on top of her head, her arms falling loosely around my waist. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I felt bad too about leaving you alone to have lunch." She mumbled, pressing her cheek against my chest.

"We're hopeless," I chuckled.

She hummed in response, agreeing with me.

"Let's go and fill our tummy." I opened the door for her.

She sat in excitedly. Closing the door, I jogged to the other side and got inside. "Have you ever tried roadside pav bhaji?"

She looked at me suspiciously. "No?"

"You will now." I shot her a smile, pulling the car out of the parking lot.

"I don't have a good feeling about this," she sighed softly.

"Don't worry. I do." I chuckled.

She rolled her eyes and fished out her phone from her bag, leaning back on the seat. I focused on the road, the traffic was awfully tight. It's the start of the weekend so it was no surprise.

"Aditya,"

I hummed distractedly.

"What do you think about him?" She showed me her phone.

I spared a glance, frowning at the photo of a man on the screen. "Mein kaafi nahi hoon, meri jaan? (Am I not enough, meri jaan?)"

She tsked. "Not for me, dummy. For Preeti." She explained.

"Oh," my brows raised in realisation. I chuckled, remembering had I not met Priya first, and got a chance to talk to her in private, I would have probably been married to Preeti by now.

"What's so funny?"

"Imagine you didn't have that condition of meeting the potential groom before letting him in your sister's life," I spoke hypothetically. "I would have never had a crush on you. Probably been married to Preeti by now."

She frowned. "Shut up."

I smiled at her. "Why? You jealous, biwi?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just tell me what do you think of him?" She insisted.

"Good looking," I answered. "What's his name?"

"Sameer Shah," she answered. "He is a banker."

"Rich," I nodded. "Is Preeti willing to meet him?"

"Yeah, but I'm meeting him first."

I pressed the brakes at the red light. My arm shot out to hold her back as she shoved forward as a result of the impact. "Aditya! Why would you stop the car so suddenly?"

I swallowed.

"Let's meet him together."

She frowned at me. "Who? Sameer?"

"Hmm," I nodded, staring at the countdown. Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen. "It's my duty as her brother-in-law now. I've to make sure she gets the right man."

"Yeah, that's true." She nodded, agreeing with me.

Three, two, one.

I started the car. "Call him now."

Let's get over it already. No risk.

Heya! Got time out of my studies so decided to drop a surprise update!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter? Don't forget to vote and comment. Makes my day.