BETTER TOGETHER

"In my heart, I knew I was meeting my destiny."

- The Shop Around the Corner

~A A R O H I~

Paris mornings were unfairly beautiful.

Golden sunlight poured through the massive glass windows of the hotel breakfast lounge, reflecting over polished marble floors and silver cutlery while soft piano music floated lazily through the air.

Outside, the streets glittered beneath the early morning light.

Inside?

Inside, my husband was becoming a public threat before breakfast.

I should've known the moment Advik walked into the dining hall wearing that smug expression.

That face never meant peace.

He dropped into the chair beside me lazily, one hand sliding around the back of mine possessively for exactly two seconds before serving himself the last croissant.

I stared at him.

"That was supposed to be mine."

"You're my wife," he said calmly, taking a bite. "Mutualism."

"Then you want my coffee too?"

"I do," he sighed dramatically. "I have mine, but yours will taste better because it's expensive."

I rolled my eyes.

Across the table, Yash looked deeply exhausted already.

Chaya was trying not to smile.

And unfortunately, Advik noticed both.

Which meant everybody else's morning was officially ruined.

"You know," Advik began casually while reaching for my coffee anyway, "I still can't believe Yash Agnihotri willingly came on a romantic trip."

Yash didn't even look at him. "Nobody invited your opinion."

"And yet it arrived."

I kicked Advik lightly beneath the table.

He glanced sideways at me instantly.

Behave.

He pouted in response.

No. I narrowed my eyes. He looked innocent. Which was always fake.

"Please don't start this early," I muttered while fixing my cup.

Advik looked offended. "Aarohi, I'm having a normal conversation."

"You started an argument on the airplane because someone looked at you confidently."

"They challenged me."

Yash muttered, "You need psychiatric evaluation."

"See?" Advik pointed at him immediately before turning toward me. "This is why he needed marriage. He was becoming emotionally unavailable to society."

I snorted into my coffee.

Yash looked ready to commit homicide.

Chaya, meanwhile, was slowly losing the battle against laughter.

And my husband...my unfortunately gorgeous husband.....looked entirely pleased with himself.

"Likewise, Mr. Oberoi," Yash drawled.

"You married rather quickly."

For the first time that morning, Advik actually looked mildly offended.

Then he leaned slightly closer toward me while still staring at Yash.

"It rather happened..." he paused dramatically before winking, "very swiftly."

Neither of them knew what had really happened.

How we had ended up married.

But now Advik had twisted that narrative into something else entirely.

And I..........

I didn't protest.

I didn't want anyone knowing the reality.

That I had once been abandoned.

Those wounds still resurfaced sometimes when I least expected them to.

Chaya shouldn't know this.

She had a perfect marriage.

Unlike me. I didn't hate Advik but...

It was complicated.

Hard.

I sipped my coffee quietly, trying to focus on literally anything else.

As if he sensed me retreating into myself, Advik suddenly leaned closer toward my ear.

"Watch this," he whispered.

I sighed immediately. "No."

It was his way of distracting me.

"You look happier today," Advik announced suddenly.

Silence. Yash blinked slowly. "I beg your pardon?"

"No seriously," Advik continued thoughtfully. "Yesterday you looked like a man preparing tax fraud documents. Today you look emotionally fulfilled."

I covered my mouth instantly.

Because honestly?

That was painfully accurate.

Chaya nearly choked beside him.

Yash looked murderous.

And Advik, he casually stole another bite from my plate while chaos unfolded around him.

I elbowed him sharply.

He leaned toward me with a quiet grin.

"Violence during breakfast? Toxic."

"You're unbearable."

"You adore me."

Unfortunately.

That was the problem.

Across the table, Yash was now glaring at Advik with terrifying calmness.

"I'm warning you."

Advik ignored him completely.

Instead, he turned dramatically toward Chaya.

"Tell me honestly," he said. "Does he stare at you while you sleep?"

I physically dropped my fork onto the plate.

Because the way Chaya froze.....

Oh God.

OH GOD.

My, oh my...

Yash closed his eyes slowly like a man seeing prison flash before his eyes.

And beside me?

My idiot husband looked victorious.

"I KNEW IT," he declared proudly.

"Advik," I wheezed out, laughing now, "leave them alone."

"What? I support love."

"You hate love stories."

"But I love teasing lovers."

I shook my head, trying to sip my coffee peacefully when suddenly I felt fingers brush against my wrist beneath the table.

"Karma will get you, jiju," Chaya laughed softly.

"Of course," Yash added smoothly, smirking now. "You're married to someone as good as Mrs. Oberoi."

"Mrs. Advik," he corrected simply before sipping his coffee.

And my traitorous heart did that somersault thing again.

"That's..." Chaya smiled softly. "Actually very romantic."

I blushed deeper while Advik cleared his throat.

"Nothing is romantic," he said casually. "I just happen to enjoy seeing my wife all red... because of me. For me."

I looked sideways.

Advik wasn't even looking at me.

He was still busy provoking Yash.

A silent little distraction.

My expression didn't change.

Still, I pressed my heel sharply against his ankle beneath the table.

"Don't provoke Mr. Agnihotri," I whispered.

His mouth twitched instantly.

There it was. That stupid grin.

"Fine," he sighed dramatically. "As you wish, Mrs. Advik."

"You're smiling," I muttered quietly.

"You were blushing," he replied without missing a beat.

"I absolutely was not."

"You absolutely were."

"Focus on your own plate."

"I am," he said smoothly while finally glancing sideways at me. "You're sitting beside it."

I nearly kicked him harder.

Across from us, thankfully, Yash was too busy contemplating murder to notice the ongoing war happening beside him.

Chaya definitely noticed something though.

Her eyes flickered between us briefly before she smiled knowingly into her coffee. Traitor.

Then Advik sighed dramatically again, leaning back in his chair.

"You know what the real issue is?" he announced.

"No one asked," Yash replied immediately.

"The real issue," Advik continued louder, pointing toward Yash now, "is that this man fell in love and somehow became even scarier."

"Advik," I warned.

"What? Yesterday he looked at a waiter because the man called Chaya 'madam' too politely."

"That did not happen," Yash snapped.

"It absolutely happened."

Chaya was laughing too hard to even defend herself anymore.

And honestly?

Watching Yash suffer while Chaya glowed beside him was strangely adorable.

That's when Yash suddenly smirked.

"So, Mr. Advik Oberoi..." he drawled slowly. "Tell me the details about your marriage then."

My stomach flipped instantly.

"What was swift exactly?"

I stared at Advik.

He stared back.

"Yes!" Chaya added excitedly. "Was it a love marriage?"

I felt the atmosphere shift immediately.

So did Advik.

Yash leaned back lazily, clearly enjoying himself now.

"Weren't you all 'love is bullshit,' 'I love my freedom,' 'I only love myself' types?" he asked smugly. "Right, Mr. Oberoi?"

Advik slowly placed the butter knife down.

Then inhaled deeply.

"It was arranged," he said through slightly clenched teeth.

Chaya immediately squeezed Yash's hand beneath the table.

"Don't," she warned softly.

Beside me, Advik went unnaturally still.

So did I.

But I didn't want this hanging between us like some hidden stain forever.

Coming clean felt easier.

Necessary. Contrary to what I felt just minutes ago.

I didn't want anyone romanticizing what we were..

"Chaya..." I looked between them both. "Yash... there's some misunderstanding."

Advik subtly tilted his head once.

No.

But I couldn't hide it forever.

"Our marriage..." I paused briefly. "It was forced upon us."

The table fell silent.

"I was supposed to marry Aditya,his cousin" I admitted quietly. "But he eloped on the wedding day. So Advik replaced him."

The words still hurt. Even now. Advik deserved better than a forced wife. The thought pained me.

"Not his fault," I added quickly.

Beside me, I felt Advik go completely still.

Yash instantly regretted asking.

Chaya opened and closed her mouth softly, unsure what to say.

Sympathy.

Pity.

Not again.

"But..." I forced a small smile. "We're adjusting. Coexisting. And perhaps... happy."

Underneath the table, Advik's hand found mine quietly .'You are not alone.'

"It wasn't what we planned for," he said after a moment, voice calmer now. "But... we're better together."

And after that....

Nobody brought the topic up again.

Then slowly, very slowly, he pushed my cup back toward me with that infuriatingly soft look hidden underneath all the tension.

The one nobody else noticed.

Not Yash.

Not Chaya.

Just me.

It lasted barely a second.

Then he ruined it immediately by speaking again....

"So anyway," he said casually, "what pet names do you two use for each other?"

"ADVIK!"

This time all three of us shouted together.

And the idiot beside me looked deeply satisfied with himself while quietly refilling my coffee cup.

________

Authors note

Excuse me... i am just unable to understand if I am getting reads on this app or not.

If anyone is reading the story and liking it please let me know.

Also I will try to do regular updates now. I am also on Wattpad and Inkitt. Where i have uploaded further chapters.