"You jump, I jump, remember?"

- Titanic

~ A A R O H I ~

The morning sunlight in the Oberoi backyard felt unusually soft.

Warm light spilled across trimmed grass and flower beds while the breeze carried the faint smell of wet soil from last night's rain.

And right in the middle of it all...

sat a tiny grey stray cat.

She was small, slightly scruffy, and currently attacking a fallen leaf like it had personally insulted her family.

I had been watching her for nearly ten minutes already.

She tried climbing a flower pot.

Failed dramatically. Then flopped onto the grass like life had exhausted her beyond repair.

I laughed softly. "You're dramatic."

The cat blinked at me slowly. Then meowed.

That was it.

"Mimi," I declared immediately. "Your name is Mimi now."

"On what basis?"

I turned.

Advik stood near the garden pathway, one hand in his pocket, looking devastatingly gorgeous.

"Randomly " I replied confidently.

"That is not a basis."

"It is science."

He sighed like he deeply regretted knowing me.

Then Mimi walked straight toward me and rubbed her head against my knee.

I gasped dramatically. "See? She approves."

Advik crouched beside me quietly.

And immediately..Mimi abandoned me for him.

I stared in betrayal as she climbed onto his lap comfortably.

"Wow," I muttered. " cheating."

Advik scratched behind her ear calmly. "She recognises calm energy."

"I have calm energy."

He looked at me once. Silence.

"...sometimes," I corrected weakly.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

Mimi purred louder like she had chosen sides already.

I crossed my arms. "Fine. Keep her."

"I already did" he replied casually.

I leaned forward again to pet Mimi.

"She still likes me more."

Advik gently shifted the cat toward me this time. "She doesn't choose sides," he said quietly. "She just adapts."

I frowned. "That sounded deep."

"It was."

We sat there for a while after that, Mimi comfortably stretched between us in the sunlight. Then I said casually,

"I think she's my daughter. We should adopt her."

Advik paused. Looked at me. Then at the cat.

"...your daughter?"

"Yes."

Mimi meowed softly like she approved of inheritance rights.

Advik nodded once.

"Alright."

I blinked. "Alright what?"

He tapped the cat's head lightly.

"Mimi's mumma."

My brain stopped functioning for a full second. "You cannot just say that."

"Why?"

"Because that sounds like..."

"Like what?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it immediately. Because unfortunately there was no correct answer.

Advik looked entirely too amused now.

Then he added calmly,

"She likes her mumma more than she admits."

I hit his arm.

"Violent Abusive Marriage" he sighed dramatically "Mimi...I will protect you from your mother's mood swings"

"Stop encouraging the cat!" I hit him again. He caught my wrist easily this time..

"Careful," he said softly. "You'll upset Mimi."

I stared at him. "You are genuinely insufferable." But I was smiling.

And of course he noticed.

The moment stretched quietly between us before Mimi climbed into my lap again, fully satisfied with the emotional destruction she had caused.

And somehow...sitting there beside him with sunlight warming the garden steps

everything felt strangely peaceful.

.

.

.

The problem started at breakfast.

Because apparently peace never survived long inside Oberoi Mansion.

Mimi had followed us inside after breakfast preparations began and was now sitting innocently beneath the dining table.

Dadiji noticed her first. And immediately frowned.

"What is this stray animal doing inside the house?"

Adheera answered before anyone else could. "Her name is Mimi."

"That is not the point."

Dadiji looked horrified already.

"There will be fur everywhere. Dirt. Hygiene issues. We have a pregnant lady in the house."

Sneha immediately spoke up from beside Aditya. "She's tiny, Dadi."

"She is still a stray cat."

Mimi sneezed softly .

Dadiji ignored them completely.

"No animal will stay inside this house."

The table went quiet for a moment.

Then, Adheera pointed at her three brothers triumphantly "Get out of the mansion. Dadi says no Animals are allowed"

"Adheera" Swarna aunty warned.

"Nhi Seriously" Adheera argued back "All men are basically dogs"

"So?" Dadaji asked lowering his glasses.

"Kamini" Adesh hit her on sleeve.

"Kutta"

Advik rolled his eyes, as if hating his stars for bringing him here "Mimi deserves peace"

"Let's focus on Mimi " Badi maa tried to change the topic.

"No Animals allowed. They are messy" Vishal uncle declared.

"No." Aditya said it first.

Everyone looked at him.

He calmly placed down his coffee cup.

"She's harmless."

Sneha nodded immediately. "Exactly."

"And honestly," Adesh added, "she sleeps more than half this family."

"Which is respectable behavior," Adheera agreed seriously.

Dadiji looked betrayed.

"You are all encouraging this?"

Vivek uncle cleared his throat carefully.

"Actually cats can reduce stress-"

"Don't start."

He immediately stopped speaking.

Mimi chose that exact moment to jump onto the empty chair beside Aditya.

Aditya froze. "She is near my breakfast."

"She's not touching it," Sneha laughed.

"She's breathing near it."

Dadiji pointed instantly. "See? Even he agrees."

Aditya sighed. "I did not say remove the cat."

Mimi sat proudly on the chair like she paid taxes in the house.

Then Dadaji finally looked toward me and Advik.

"If you both are this attached already..." he said calmly, "...then have your own daughter instead of adopting strays."

The entire table froze. I nearly choked.

Sneha covered her mouth instantly.

Adesh looked ready to collapse laughing.

Even Aditya looked traumatised.

Meanwhile Adheera, the menace

pointed dramatically between me and Advik.

" Mimi is already there daughter."

"Absolutely not," I muttered immediately.

"You literally named her."

"And Advik bhai is already Mimi's dada," she continued proudly.

I looked at Advik accusingly. "This is your fault."

He looked completely calm.

"You started the titles."

Traitor. Mimi suddenly jumped down from the chair and walked straight toward us.

Then sat directly beside my feet.

Adheera gasped loudly.

"SHE CHOSE MUMMA."

"Oh my God," I groaned.

"And dada," Adesh added helpfully.

Dadiji looked exhausted now.

"This house is becoming a zoo."

"A loving zoo," Adesh corrected.

Sneha laughed softly while watching Mimi curl up near us comfortably.

And despite all the protests...

despite the arguments...nobody actually moved the cat away.

Mimi had already become part of the family.

.

.

.

By evening, Mimi had officially taken over our lives. And apparently our finances too.

"Why does a cat need this many things?" Advik asked flatly while staring at the shopping basket.

I looked offended. "She's a baby."

"She is a criminal stray who appeared 12 hours ago"

"She is sensitive."

"She scratched me." he groaned, flexing his forearm in front of me. It had a scratch mark from earlier.

"Self-defense."

Advik sighed deeply while pushing the cart forward through the pet store.

Mimi sat inside the carrier hanging from his arm completely unbothered by the argument, occasionally meowing .

Honestly traitorous behavior considering who named her.

The whole situation had started because Sneha declared Mimi needed "proper vaccination and proper supplies" if she was staying.

And somehow...that responsibility had landed on us. Or more specifically

"Mimi's mumma and dada," according to Adheera.

I picked up a tiny pink food bowl immediately. "This one."

Advik looked at it once. "Absolutely not."

"Why?"

"It says Princess."

"She IS princess."

He ignored me and picked up a plain grey bowl instead. I stared in horror. "That looks depressing."

"It is functional."

"You are very kanjoos."

"And you would bankrupt us someday"

Mimi meowed loudly from inside the carrier. I pointed instantly. "See? She hates your bowl."

"She has no idea what bowls are."

I laughed while putting the pink bowl into the cart anyway.

Advik watched me for a second before muttering, "This is why parents go broke."

The word slipped out casually. Parents.

My face warmed instantly.

But the idiot continued walking normally like he hadn't just caused emotional damage.

I quickly grabbed another packet from the shelf. "What about this?"

He read the label.

"Organic catnip treats."

"Yes."

"She is three centimeters tall."

"She deserves nourishment."

"Same goes to you.."

I gasped dramatically. "Mimi's dada is so strict." That finally made him look at me.

And there it was again..that quiet amused expression he always got whenever I called him that.

"You started this," he reminded calmly.

"You accepted it too quickly."

"You made me a father without consent."

I burst out laughing right there in the aisle.

An elderly woman passing nearby smiled at us knowingly.

"First pet?"

Both of us froze. Then somehow answered together.

"Yes."

The woman smiled warmly at Mimi.

"She'll keep you both busy."

.

.

.

Thankfully the vet clinic interrupted my spiraling thoughts.

Mimi behaved surprisingly well during the checkup.

Mostly because she spent the entire appointment trying to climb onto my shoulder.

The vet smiled while writing notes.

"She's healthy. Just underfed."

I immediately looked concerned.

"She was alone outside..."

"She won't be now," Advik said quietly beside me.

The vet handed us a vaccination schedule while smiling lightly.

"So who's officially responsible for her?"

Before I could answer, Advik spoke calmly. "We both are."

I looked at him instantly.

He didn't even realize what he had said.

Then Mimi sneezed directly on his sleeve. I laughed immediately.

"She loves you."

"She attacked me."

"That's affection."

"She has violent tendencies."

"Like her dada ."

"Stop stealing my wife ." he pointed a finger at mimi.

.

.

.

By the time we returned home, the car was filled with cat supplies.

Food bowls. Tiny toys. Blankets.

A scratching post Advik insisted was unnecessary until Mimi touched it in the store.

Mimi sat curled up sleepily inside my lap while Advik drove beside me.Streetlights blurred outside the windows quietly.

Then suddenly he spoke.

"You know this is a terrible idea, right?"

I looked at him. "What is?"

"Keeping her."

"Mimi can hear you."

"She's asleep."

"She still feels emotions."

He exhaled a laugh softly before shaking his head. "I'm serious, Aarohi."

His voice turned quieter now.

"I can't even keep plants alive."

I blinked. "What?"

"The last plant I bought died in four days."

"That's because you probably forgot it existed."

"Exactly my point."

I looked down at sleeping Mimi before smiling slightly. "Well," I said softly, "good thing she has me too then."

He glanced sideways briefly.

I continued quietly,

"Mimi doesn't need perfection. She just needs people who'll stay."

Something in his expression shifted after that. Then he looked back at the road.

"And you think she'll be happy with us?"

I smiled down at the tiny sleeping kitten curled safely against me. "Yes."

And when we finally reached home, Advik automatically reached over to take the carrier from me while I gathered the shopping bags.

Like we had already done this a hundred times before.

Like Mimi really had made us into something strangely domestic overnight.

As we walked toward

the mansion entrance, Mimi meowed sleepily from inside the carrier.

I smiled instantly.

"Mumma's here."

Advik opened the door beside me before replying casually "Dada too."

And somehow...neither of us corrected it anymore.

____

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✨✨✨

Because Badi maa said, I quoted "bacche ane se marital bonds strong hote hai"

Now Inka real baccha toh technically impossible hai right now...so let them practice for.

Vote and comment!!!!