"You are the one who's made me believe in myself."

- Legally Blonde

~ A D V I K ~

India felt different after Paris.

Louder. Sharper.

Like someone had drained warmth out of life and replaced it with board meetings, inheritance documents, and the suffocating scent of old money pretending to be tradition.

The Oberoi mansion stood exactly the same as always massive, elegant, emotionally constipated.

Home. Unfortunately.

By the time the car rolled through the iron gates, exhaustion had already settled into my bones. Aarohi sat beside me quietly, half asleep after the long flight while soft music played through the car speakers.

For a second, I almost considered turning the car around.

Paris had ruined me a little.

Because somewhere between rainstorms, oceans, late-night coffee, and her sleeping against my chest during drives.... I had forgotten what this house felt like.

Cold.

The second we stepped inside the mansion, chaos erupted.

"BHAI!"

Adheera practically launched herself toward us first before hugging Aarohi dramatically.

The girl had energy level of an Golden retriever.

"Oh my God finally! You both disappeared to Paris for ages!!!!!"

Aarohi laughed softly despite looking tired.

"It was only a week Adheera" she said softly as the girls hugged.

And for one small second... everything felt normal again.

Until I looked up.

And saw him.

Aditya Oberoi stood near the center of the living room beside Sneha.

Pregnant Sneha.

She stood quietly beside him wearing a soft pastel saree, one protective hand unconsciously resting over the small visible curve of her stomach while the rest of the family surrounded them emotionally.

The room froze around me instantly.

So the prodigal disaster had returned.

Dadi was nearly crying. Dadu looked relieved. Adesh looked one second away from tackling me into another hug.

Even my mother who had spent weeks furious over the scandal looked softer seeing everyone home again.

Because despite everything... Aditya was still loved here.

The eldest grandson. The golden boy. The man who once destroyed an entire wedding and still somehow remained everyone's emotional weakness.

And unfortunately....

the second Aarohi saw him....

I felt her go still beside me.

Tiny reaction. Barely visible. But I noticed.

Of course I noticed.

Because Paris had changed something between us.

Now my eyes searched for her first instinctively. Now I noticed when her breathing shifted. Now I recognized the exact silence she used when pretending she wasn't hurt.

And right now...

she looked stunned.

Aditya looked toward us slowly.

Then toward Aarohi.

And guilt crossed his face too fast.

He should feel guilty.

Because no matter how peacefully everyone pretended to move on... this house remembered exactly what happened.

The wedding headlines. The humiliation. The whispers. The pity.

Aarohi standing abandoned while society tore her apart publicly.

And me?

I had married her because the families panicked and needed a solution before the scandal worsened.

Simple. Efficient.

"Aarohi..."

Aditya's voice was quieter now. Careful.

She immediately straightened politely.

That hurt something ugly inside my chest.

Because Aarohi always became like this whenever she was hurt.

"Hi," she said softly.

Like he hadn't shattered her dignity months ago.

Aditya stepped forward slightly, visibly unsure what to do with his own hands now.

Sneha looked uncomfortable too. Not jealous. Not insecure.

Just aware.

Aware that her happiness had once been built on somebody else's heartbreak.

The room grew awkward instantly.

So naturally..I interfered.

"Well," I announced lazily while removing my jacket, "this is horrifying."

Adesh choked laughing immediately.

Dadiji glared at me. "Advik."

"What?" I defended calmly. "Everyone's staring at each other like a Star Plus reunion episode."

That finally broke the tension slightly.

Aarohi looked sideways at me instantly.

And there it was.

That tiny almost invisible softness in her eyes now whenever I rescued her from discomfort.

Dangerous.

Aditya exhaled quietly before walking closer toward me.

"You still dramatic?" he asked tiredly.

I smirked faintly. "You disappeared with your girlfriend on your wedding day. I think technically you lost the right to criticize anybody."

Sneha physically looked at the floor.

Aditya closed his eyes briefly. "Fair."

"Very fair."

"Advik," my mother warned instantly.

"What? I'm spilling the facts!!"

Adheera burst out laughing.

"We just came back this morning...do you want to make us leave again???" Aditya asked , sarcastically.

Meanwhile Aarohi stayed strangely quiet beside me.

I glanced toward her again.

She was smiling politely while everyone welcomed Sneha warmly. Asking about the pregnancy. Talking excitedly about the baby.

But her fingers had unconsciously tightened slightly around the edge of her dupatta.

And suddenly....

something protective rose inside me hard enough to make my chest tighten.

Because maybe Aarohi had forgiven the situation.

Maybe she had moved on.

But the body remembers humiliation differently than the mind does.

And standing here watching the family celebrate the return of the man who once left her standing alone before an entire society...

I realized something uncomfortable.

I didn't want her facing this alone anymore.

"Come," I said quietly near her ear.

She blinked once. "Hm?"

"You look tired."

"I'm okay."

Lie.

I leaned slightly closer. "Your eyes are twitching."

That startled a laugh out of her immediately.

Small. But real.

Good.

Without waiting for an argument, I took her carry-on bag from her hand casually before guiding her toward the staircase.

Behind us, the family continued talking loudly around Aditya and Sneha.

But just before we reached the stairs

Aditya spoke again.

"Aarohi."

She stopped. I did too.

The entire room quietened slightly.

Aditya looked at her carefully now. Not like an ex-fiancé. Not like unfinished love.

Like a man carrying permanent guilt.

"I..." he started quietly before failing once. "I'm sorry."

The silence afterward felt brutal.

Aarohi looked at him for a long moment.

Then softly

"It's okay." No.

No it wasn't.

I knew it. Aditya knew it. Even Sneha knew it.

Because some apologies can't fix anything. Not the humiliation. Not the abandonment. Not the chaos caused in our lives.

And judging from the way Aditya looked at the floor afterward...he knew that too.

I stepped slightly closer beside Aarohi unconsciously.

Tiny movement. Protective.

Mine.

"Well," I sighed dramatically, "if everyone's done reopening emotional trauma, my wife requires food and sleep before she murders someone."

That earned me another tiny laugh from Aarohi.

Worth it.

But as we walked upstairs together

I glanced back once toward Aditya.

And for the first time in months....

the anger I felt toward him wasn't because of the family scandal.

It was because he had once hurt her badly enough that even now...standing safely beside me...

she still looked like she expected history to repeat itself.

______

The second our bedroom door shut behind us...the silence changed.

Downstairs, the mansion still buzzed faintly with noise. Laughter. Conversations. Family excitement over Aditya and Sneha's return.

But here?

It felt heavy.

Aarohi walked further into the room quietly before stopping near the balcony doors. Her back faced me now, shoulders stiff beneath the soft fabric of her kurta while city lights flickered faintly outside the windows.

And suddenly, I understood.

She had held herself together downstairs purely out of survival.

I loosened my watch slowly before setting it aside.

Then walked toward her carefully.

"Aarohi."

She nodded once.

I asked

"You okay?"

"Hmm."

Lie.

I sighed softly.

"You know," I murmured while stepping beside her, "I know you enough to understand when you are genuinely happy and when you are hurting..."

That almost earned a smile.

But then her face crumpled instead.

And God.

That destroyed me instantly.

She turned away immediately like she hated crying in front of people, one hand rushing toward her face while her breathing turned uneven.

"No no no," I said quietly at once, closing the distance between us. "Hey."

The first broken sob left her before she could stop it.

And something inside my chest physically hurt hearing it.

She cried like she was apologizing for existing .

I reached for her instinctively, pulling her gently against me before she could retreat further.

The moment my arms wrapped around her...she broke completely.

Soft sobs against my chest. Fingers clutching my shirt tightly. Breathing shaking hard enough to make my jaw tighten.

And suddenly...

I hated this house.

I hated the history inside it. The memories. The pressure. The fact that she still carried humiliation from months ago like bruises nobody else could see anymore.

"Aarohi," I whispered softly while one hand moved into her hair automatically. "Look at me."

She shook her head instantly.

"No."

"Baby."

The word slipped out unconsciously.

Neither of us acknowledged it.

Slowly, carefully, I tilted her face upward anyway.

Tears clung heavily to her lashes now while her lips trembled despite how hard she was trying to control herself.

And God.

I would genuinely destroy people for making this woman feel unwanted.

"I'm sorry," she whispered immediately.

That nearly made me angry.

"For what?"

"I don't know," she admitted shakily. "I just... I hate that seeing him still affects me."

I frowned instantly. "Aarohi... anyone in your place would feel affected."

"But everyone moved on," she whispered. "The family's happy he's back. Sneha's pregnant. Everything's normal now except me."

"No," I corrected firmly. "Nothing about what happened to you was normal."

Her eyes filled harder instantly.

And suddenly the words came spilling out quietly like fears she'd buried too deep for too long.

"I know he loves Sneha," she whispered brokenly. "I know everything worked out eventually and maybe it was for the best but..."

Her voice cracked.

"That day destroyed something in me."

My chest tightened violently.

"Aarohi..."

"I still remember standing there while everyone stared at me," she continued shakily. "People whispering. Looking at me with pity like I wasn't enough for someone to stay."

No.

I cupped her face immediately.

"Do not," I said quietly "never blame yourself for whatever he did"

Another tear slipped down her cheek.

And without thinking...

I kissed it away.

Softly.

Then her forehead. Again. And again..

Tiny gentle kisses while my arms held her closer against me.

"Listen to me carefully," I murmured against her hair. "What Aditya did had nothing to do with your worth."

"But what if..."

"No."

My hand tightened slightly around her.

"No 'what if.'"

She looked up at me again then. Vulnerable in a way that made my heartbeat ache.

"What if one day you wake up and regret this too?" she whispered.

That question hit harder ..

Because beneath all her softness there it was. Fear.

Not of heartbreak. Of abandonment.

Again.

And suddenly every sarcastic wall inside me collapsed.

I touched my forehead lightly against hers before answering honestly..

the most honestly I had spoken in years.

"Aarohi... I don't know how to be perfect at this."

Her lashes fluttered slightly.

"I overthink everything," I admitted softly. "I panic when feelings become real. Half the time I don't even understand what's happening inside my own head."

A weak laugh escaped her through tears.

"Emotionally constipated," she whispered.

"Rude. Accurate. Still Rude."

That finally pulled the tiniest smile from her.

Thank God.

But then I grew serious again.

"But leaving you?" I murmured quietly. "That's the one thing I know I don't want."

Her breathing caught softly.

I brushed damp hair away from her face carefully.

"You are not difficult to stay for," I continued lower now. "You are not temporary. You are not replaceable. And you are definitely not someone people leave because she wasn't enough."

My thumb moved gently beneath her eye.

"Anybody who had you and still walked away was simply too blind to understand what they were given."

Her lips trembled again.

And suddenly she hid her face against my chest once more.

But this time..she melted into me instead of breaking apart.

I wrapped both arms around her immediately, holding her tighter while resting my chin lightly against her head.

And somewhere in the middle of that silence ..something terrifying settled inside me fully.

Because comforting her no longer felt like responsibility.

It felt Necessary.

Like protecting her had quietly become part of my blood stream.

Aarohi whispered against my chest,

"You won't leave me?"

God.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Then pressed another kiss against her forehead.

"No, baby," I whispered back.

"Not if I can help it."

Another kiss against her temple " You don't know what you mean to me baby"

Another brush of my lips on her cheek "You don't have to be anything else for making me stay"

Another brush of my lips on her nose tip

"Every version of my happily ever after will always include some version of you"

Her eyes fluttered shut as I connected my forehead against her once more.

" At the beginning of our marriage, I wanted to strangle Aditya"

She lets out a soft chuckle , "And now..?"

"Now..." My lips twitch " I should be thankful to that bastard.... Without him I would have never met you"

Even thinking about that now made me physically uncomfortable. Because the life of Advik Oberoi without Aarohi .... didn't make any sense now.

Then before I knew it, her lips made a faint contact with my cheek.

Light . Barely their.

Yet....My hold on her tightened. Eyes widened . Lips parted as I looked at her in pure shock.

Idiot Dangerous Woman .

My stupid heart betrayed me completely as I looked at her.

She , looked shy.

As if she had not just kissed me on the cheek and made my entire system crash.

"Aarohi!!!" I choked out immediately in pure disbelief. "You can't just pull out such a stunt "

And then , without blinking. I pulled her straight into my arms once again.

My dangerously stupid wife.

God help me. Don't make me love her more.

Love her more .

Love her .

Love.

I was doomed.

_______

_______