"You're my dream come true, and you'll never fade."

- Before Sunrise

~ A D V I K~

2 days later , In Paris.

After grueling meetings which occurred yesterday with THE MARTINS ,

I was finally Free.

So Beach day was it. Because Apparently my wife loves Oceans.

So do I.

So now we were in NICE, a literal french City .

Vibrant, sunny capital of the Côte d'Azur on the Mediterranean Sea, blending French elegance with Italian charm, stunning blue waters, and a 4-mile palm-tree-lined seaside boulevard, the Promenade des Anglais.

..

The moment I looked up at her now appearing figure from the walking closet, My breath hitched. Significantly.

Because Aarohi had chosen violence today. Against my sanity.

And God.....

That woman was becoming a genuine threat to my peace.

The white top hugged her softly, too innocent for the damage it was doing to me. And that skirt...

My eyes trail down slowly.

Blue. Flowing. Moving with the wind like the ocean was obsessed with her too.....

Fearless. Loud.

Beautiful in the most exhausting way possible.

And the worst part?

She didn't even realize what she was doing to me.

I stood there silently for a second too long.

I myself had chosen less violence today because my wife, had taken that role .

Then we went down back to hotel lobby.

Waiting for Mr. And Mrs. AGNIHOTRI.

The second they walked out of the elevator together ,Yash noticed .

His eyebrows lifted once.That smug bastard. I instantly tried to be composed.

Smirk back in place.

Defense mechanism activated.

"Well, well," I drawled dramatically the second Yash and Chaya approached. "Look who finally decided to join humanity."

Yash didn't even blink. "Look who still talks too much."

"See?" I turned toward the girls in a fake offense. "This man wakes up every morning and chooses violence."

Beside me, Aarohi sighed deeply.

"And yet somehow you still provoke him daily."

Because if I didn't provoke Yash constantly, I'd be forced to acknowledge the fact that my wife currently looked like every expensive fantasy man wrote songs about.

And frankly?

I preferred survival.

"Because it builds character," I replied proudly.

Meanwhile Chaya immediately hugged Aarohi excitedly, both of them slipping into conversation effortlessly while I made the catastrophic mistake of glancing sideways again.

Big mistake.

Because Aarohi laughed at something Chaya said.

And suddenly sunlight caught against the tiny gold chain resting near her waist.

My brain short-circuited briefly.

Jesus Christ.

Marriage was ruining me.

"Alright!" Aarohi clapped suddenly. "Beach time!"

"Finally," I sighed dramatically. "I thought we'd grow old waiting for Mr. Agnihotri to finish admiring his wife upstairs."

Yash looked at me calmly. "You have exactly three seconds to shut up."

"One."

"Two."

"Advik," Aarohi warned instantly.

I grinned immediately.

There it was. That automatic little instinct she had now.

The one where she noticed my chaos before anyone else did.

"Fine," I muttered while lifting my hands dramatically. "Oppressive environment."

A few minutes later we settled inside the SUV outside the hotel.

Naturally, Yash drove because apparently the man trusted nobody on Earth with Chaya's safety.

Meanwhile I sat in the passenger seat pretending to care about road directions while internally fighting for my life because Aarohi and Chaya were sitting together in the back laughing every thirty seconds.

And every single time Aarohi laughed...

I looked.

Hopelessly.

Repeatedly.

Like an idiot.

I adjusted my sunglasses.Composure.

Need composure.

"So," I began lazily, mostly to distract myself, "which one of you do we save first if the car falls into the Seine?"

Yash gripped the steering wheel tighter immediately. "I'm considering driving there myself."

"Wow." I nodded thoughtfully. "Hostility this early in the morning. Impressive."

Behind us, Aarohi leaned closer toward Chaya whispering dramatically,

"They behave like divorced parents forced to co-parent us."

Chaya immediately lost control laughing.

And God help me...

Aarohi looked adorable when she thought she was being funny.

I looked away toward the window instantly.

Dangerous.

Then unfortunately I noticed something else.

Yash adjusting the rearview mirror every fifteen seconds.

Not for driving. For Chaya.

Pathetic behavior. The boy was goner..

I narrowed my eyes immediately.

"You adjusted the mirror to look at your wife, didn't you?"

"No."

"You absolutely did."

"I adjusted it for the road."

"There's literally no road behind us."

Yash inhaled slowly like a man being tested by God himself.

"Advik."

"Yes?"

"Silence is free. Try it sometime."

Behind us, Aarohi burst out laughing again.

And instinctively

My eyes flicked toward her through the mirror.

Yash noticed. Of course he noticed.

His mouth twitched slightly.

That annoying observant bastard.

I looked away immediately.

"Aarohi...you know once Advik"

"NO." I immediately pointed a finger at Yash from the passenger seat. "Absolutely not. Shut your mouth."

But the idiot looked possessed by evil spirits today.

He grinned at Aarohi .

"He cried watching Toy Story 3."

The car went silent for exactly two seconds.

Then, Aarohi folded in "ADVIK REALLY?!"

God.

That laugh should be illegal.

And the way she said my name like that?

Dangerous. Criminal.

I rubbed my face in humiliation.

"I was seventeen."

"SEVENTEEN?" Yash repeated louder "Not seven. Seventeen. Full grown man sobbing over animated toys."

"They abandoned Woody!" I defended myself immediately. "That scene was emotional...."

Chaya was laughing so hard beside him she had tears in her eyes.

"Did he actually cry cry?"

Yash slapped the steering wheel dramatically.

"THIS MAN PAUSED THE MOVIE."

I closed my eyes. Kill me.

"He went completely silent," Yash continued. "'Why would Andy do that...?'" he imitated in the saddest voice possible.

Aarohi wheezed in the backseat.

I could literally feel her shaking from laughter.

"Okay enough." I straightened "My turn."

Yash immediately frowned.

"No."

"Oh yes." I smiled sweetly. "Chaya bhabhi... did Yash ever tell you about his Sweater Weather era?"

Chaya turned slowly toward him.

"...his what?"

Yash looked personally betrayed.

"Advik don't."

"He learnt the entire song on guitar." I continued calmly. "Used to sit beside the window during rain."

Aarohi gasped dramatically.

"NO."

"Yes." I nodded "Lights off. Hoodie on. Looking outside like his wife died in war."

"IT WAS A PHASE," Yash barked.

I ignored him.

"He also posted black-and-white Instagram stories with captions like 'some storms live inside you'."

Chaya looked at him in disbelief.

"You told me you were into cricket in college."

"I WAS MULTITALENTED" Yash defended himself .

I smirked victoriously.

"Bro thought he was the main lead in a coming-of-age Netflix series."

Yash narrowed his eyes at me.

"Oh we are exposing people now?"

He grinned slowly.

"Aarohi... your husband had a Cristiano Ronaldo phase in seventh grade."

I sighed deeply.

"Not this again."

"He used to put HALF A BOTTLE of hair gel on his head."

"it was RONALDO PHASE!!!" I corrected.

"He once took a football to school just to randomly juggle it during lunch break."

"Natural talent."

"He practiced Ronaldo celebrations after scoring goals in FIFA mobile."

"That was ONE TIME."

"LIAR."

Aarohi was gone now, head tilted back laughing while clutching her stomach.

And somehow... seeing her laugh like that made every ounce of embarrassment worth it.

Then Yash delivered the final blow.

"He also once asked the barber for the Ronaldo cut and cried because it didn't suit his face."

Silence. Complete silence.

Chaya blinked.

Aarohi blinked.

Then both women burst into demonic laughter.

I stared at the road ahead with dead eyes.

"I hate all of you."

"You called yourself 'Advik Ronaldo Oberoi' for one entire summer," Yash added helpfully.

"I WAS TWELVE."

Aarohi leaned closer to me now, still laughing.

"You cried over toys and copied Ronaldo?"

I pointed at her accusingly.

"You married me willingly."

That shut her up for exactly one second before she started laughing harder.

God.

This woman would be the death of me.

The drive continued with endless chaos until finally the city faded behind us, replaced by endless blue water and golden coastlines stretching across the horizon.

Then suddenly....

"We're here!"

Aarohi's entire face lit up the second the beach appeared.

And for one stupid second, I forgot to breathe.

Because happiness looked beautiful on her.

We entered through the private entrance of the beach resort.

Before I could even unbuckle my seatbelt properly, Aarohi kicked her sandals off dramatically.

"Oh my God- LOOK AT THE BEACH!"

And then she ran.

Actually ran.

Straight toward the ocean like an escaped child.

"AAROHI!" I shouted instantly while getting out of the car. "Don't run- you'll fall!"

Two seconds later she almost slipped in the sand.

"I TOLD YOU!"

Instead of apologizing, she turned around laughing.

Little menace.

The ocean wind pushed through her curls wildly while she stretched her arms out dramatically toward the waves.

The sunlight kissed against her skin, making her glow so effortlessly that for a second I just... stopped.

God.

"I genuinely feel like I am raising a toddler sometimes " I remarked staring at her unknowingly and recording her through my phone.

Just for the sake of memories.

Beside me, Yash snorted knowingly.

"You're staring again."

"I'm looking at the beach."

"The beach isn't wearing a white top and blue skirt."

Traitor.

I ignored him immediately and walked toward Aarohi instead, carrying the coconuts we'd grabbed on the way.

The second she saw me approaching, her eyes lit up.

"Advik look!"

She pointed toward the water excitedly like I had never seen an ocean before in my life.

She had the attention span of a literal goldfish which was weird because the woman I was married to was supposed to be very calm and mature .

Instead here she was chaos wrapped in blue with a childish persona .

This side of her....only a very few knew about it. Including me .

"It's literally sparkling."

"You sound surprised."

"Because Mumbai beaches look like a dumpster and diet coke."

I barked out a laugh before handing her the coconut. She took it happily, taking a dramatic sip before sighing in satisfaction.

"This is a luxury."

"You are very easy to please."

"No," she corrected while narrowing her eyes at me playfully. "I just appreciate the little things unlike rich emotionally constipated businessmen."

Rude. Accurate. But rude.

Meanwhile behind us, Yash sat near the loungers applying sunscreen with terrifying seriousness while Chaya laughed at him.

Honestly? Watching Yash fall in love has become one of my favorite hobbies.

The man used to look emotionally allergic to affection.

Well the irony wasn't lost on me that somewhere, even I was becoming softer.

Strange .

Because I don't do soft things .

I am supposed to be stoic. Sharp. And stoic.

Now he carried sunscreen in his pocket because his wife "might need it."

Pathetic.

I walked closer slowly, deeply fascinated.

"...What exactly are you doing?"

Without looking up, he replied flatly,

"Applying sunscreen."

I frowned.

"With that much concentration?"

"My wife said UV rays cause skin damage."

Then immediately..."Give me some."

Yash looked at me suspiciously. "Why?"

"I don't want skin damage either."

Even though I had already spent half an hour in my hotel room doing my 13 step skin care.

What do you mean...I love taking care of my handsome face.:)

"That's not how this works."

Still, he shoved the bottle toward me with visible disappointment.

Naturally, I squeezed out an absolutely unreasonable amount into my palm.

Yash looked horrified.

"That's enough sunscreen for a small family."

"Nonsense."

Then I aggressively rubbed it across my face like wall paint.

Yash physically recoiled.

"...You're applying it wrong."

"There's a wrong way?"

He sighed dramatically.

"Move."

Before I could protest, he grabbed my wrist and started fixing it properly with irritated concentration.

And unfortunately-

That was exactly when Aarohi and Chaya turned around.

Aarohi froze for one second before bursting into laughter.

Not normal laughter.

Full body laughter.

The type where she bent slightly forward clutching her stomach while trying to breathe.

God.

That sound did things to me.

Yash immediately dropped his hand from my face.

"I hate all of you."

Meanwhile I leaned back against the lounger shamelessly.

"Too late. Paris already thinks we're in love."

Aarohi laughed even harder.

And I found myself staring at her again.

At the sunlight caught against her earrings.

At the wind playing with her ha

ir.

At the happiness on her face.

Something dangerously soft shifted inside my chest again.

"I totally ship you both together now!!!!" Chaya chimes towards us, getting a glare from Yash.

Pathetic.

"Petition for second marriage between Yash and Advik" Aarohi added on, much to my frustration.

Stupid Gorgeous woman.

________

________

Did you guys laugh even once....???

Vote because this is getting more hilarious now.