"I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."
-When Harry Met Sally
___________________________________________
~ A D V I K ~
It was almost two in the morning.
And sleep refused to find me.
I tried. Really.
Turning from one side to another. Counting till a hundred. Breathing slowly. Closing my eyes and forcing my mind blank.
Nothing worked.
The room stayed quiet except for the dim table lamp near the bed, its soft amber glow casting long shadows against the walls.
Beside me, Aarohi slept peacefully.
One cheek pressed against her palm. Breathing soft. Even.
A few strands of hair had fallen across her face, covering her eyes slightly.
Without thinking, I reached out.
Carefully tucking them behind her ear.
She shifted a little in her sleep. Rolling slightly toward me.
Something in my chest tightened.
I adjusted the duvet over her properly, making sure she was warm before leaning back against the headboard again.
And then,
I just stared at her.
For too long.
She had seen me break today.
Actually break.
Not the composed version of me. Not the sarcastic one. Not the controlled businessman everyone expected.
Me.
And instead of stepping away,
she had held me closer.
"It is you whom I cannot sacrifice."
The words still echoed somewhere inside my head.
Relentlessly.
She probably didn't even realize what she had done to me.
How dangerous it felt to be understood like that.
Wanted like that.
I still remembered the way she had hugged me.
Her face pressed against my chest. Her arms wrapped tightly around me like she was trying to hold together every fractured part of me at once.
Zindagi ne ki hai kaisi saazishein
Poori hui dil ki wo farmaishein
Maangi duaa ek tujh tak jaa pahunchi
Parvardigara, parvardigara
Kaisi suni tune meri khamoshi
O parvardigara
No expectations. No conditions.
Just warmth. Just her.
Ye fitoor mera laaya mujhko hai tere kareeb
Ye fitoor mera rehmat teri
Ye fitoor mera maine badla re mera naseeb
Ye fitoor mera chaahat teri
This was never supposed to happen.
None of this was part of the plan.
And yet, for the first time in years
I didn't feel alone.
Before I realized it, I was already out of bed.
The cold marble floor pressed beneath my feet as I walked toward the balcony.
The mansion slept quietly beyond the glass doors.
Golden lights glimmered across the distant streets while the night air carried that strange calm cities seemed to have.
I pulled a Marlboro from my pocket.
Lit it.
Took a slow drag.
The nicotine burned through my lungs before I exhaled quietly into the cold air.
I wasn't addicted.
At least that's what I told myself.
It was just an old habit. One I returned to whenever my mind became too loud.
Too heavy.
I had promised myself I'd stop.
Seven months.
Seven whole months without touching one.
Seven months of being sober.
But tonight,
I couldn't do it.
I just wanted silence inside my head.
France. The company. The shareholders. My father.
Everything felt tangled together.
And somewhere between all of it,
I kept hoping Aditya would come back.
Because despite everything
I still didn't want this company.
Not if inheriting it meant destroying my own family.
"You're smoking."
The soft voice behind me startled me enough that I turned immediately.
Aarohi stood near the balcony door, her sleepy eyes fixed on the cigarette between my fingers.
And suddenly
I felt embarrassingly guilty.
Like I'd been caught doing something wrong.
"I don't usually-"
The explanation stumbled out awkwardly.
Pathetic.
I stopped midway when her gaze flicked from my face to the half-burnt cigarette.
Without another word, I crushed it out immediately.
"I'm sorry."
For a moment, she said nothing.
Just walked toward me quietly before stopping beside me near the railing.
The cold wind moved lightly through her hair.
"It's okay," she said after a while.
Soft. Gentle.
"But you don't have to rely on things like this to calm yourself down."
A pause.
"I'm here for that."
My fingers tightened slightly around the railing.
"I know," I admitted quietly. "It's just... too much."
"You're not alone this time."
I closed my eyes for a second.
Because those words,
they meant more to me than they should have.
More than I could explain.
"Thank you," I said eventually. "For this."
"Don't."
I looked at her then.
Really looked.
She had fully turned toward me now.
And somehow that made it harder.
Because despite everything,
I still couldn't meet her eyes properly.
Too conflicted. Too overwhelmed.
Too afraid of what she was becoming to me.
Her hand moved slowly toward mine resting against the railing.
Not forcing. Not demanding.
Just there.
Waiting.
And after a second,
my fingers turned slightly beneath hers.
Holding back less this time.
"I will be going to France" I confessed after some time of silence.
"How long..?"
"A week at maximum" I say , just then an idea pops in my head "Do you want to join...?"
She looks startled, her hand tightening against mine for a second.
"Me coming along with you...?" She asks again.
I simply nod. "It's a good place"
"I have never been there before"
"Let's go then" I add "you will love it. We can extend the trip and travel around"
"Woah" she breathed out "Perks of being your wife, I get International trips...?"
I smiled at myself. Having her with me , will make it more bearable. And I couldn't simply stay away from her anymore.
It's like she has become an habit now.
3 months of marriage. And this is where I stood.
This was a very bad timing, falling For my wife. I knew it.
But for the first time, I didn't let that thought eat me alive.
I let it stay with me. The very idea of that, somehow made my heart felt heavy with warmth.
Her hand was still engulfed with mine, And I kept looking at it. Held it tighter f
or support and something I could not name .
......................
~~~~~~~~Love is in the air ~~~~~~~~
Paris is going to be too good to be true. Istgπ€ And a very unexpected crossover is happening too.
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