Page 61 of Protect my Heart

Anika leans toward me a little, lowering her voice just enough so no one else can hear. “Don’t cheat.”

“Would I do that?” I murmur, amused.

“You always do,” she mumbles back, smiling without looking at me.

The timer starts. She’s first. She looks at me for half a second, then says, “Sandwich.”

I grin. “Triangle.”

Kajal blinks. “What?”

“Maa used to cut them in triangle shapes for lunch,” Anika explains like it’s the most obvious thing ever.

“She’s the only one who noticed,” I say, not bothering to look away from her.

Next word. My turn. “Swing,” I say.

Anika doesn’t hesitate. “Backyard.”

Everyone stares at us dumbfounded.

“There was a broken swing in my backyard,” she shrugs. “We used to sit on it and read detective stories.” Well, mostly her; she read the stories, and I just accompanied her.

Aaryan leans forward, perplexed by our chemistry. “Okay, what?”

“Next one!” Aditi says, a bit too excited now.

Anika smiles faintly, tucking a hair behind her ear. “Monday.”

I blink once. “Library.”

Anika’s grin widens, amused.

“What even…” I hear Siddhant mutter.

“Every Monday, we used to sneak into the school library during recess and hide behind the Hindi section because it had the least traffic and we wanted to read comics,” she says, her eyes on mine as if she is reliving those memories with me.

“You two are insane,” Aaryan laughs.

Samarth throws his hands up. “They’re childhood soulmates. This is cheating!”

Anika visibly tenses and inhales deeply, clearly trying to shake off whatever feeling Samarth's words triggered. Her eyes dart around briefly before she settles on me, and with a forced chuckle, she says, “Okay, your turn,” her voice a little sharper than usual. It’s as if she’s pretending not to care about the “S word” that just slipped out of his mouth, but the faint blush creeping up her neck says otherwise.

I can’t help but let a small smile play at the corners of my lips. “Okay,” I rub my hands together, my voice low but playful, “let’s nail this shit, wifey.”

The gasp that escapes Anika’s lips is almost too cute, and I watch in delight as her cheeks turn a soft shade of red. Before she can shoot me a scowl, Kajal nudges her from the side, her grin wide.

I smirk, enjoying the moment more than I should. It’s funny how easily I can still make her flustered, even after everything we’ve been through.

Anika huffs and looks away, still pretending to focus on the game. But I’m not going to let her escape this easily. I look straight into her eyes and say, “Post-it.”

Her lips part as she takes a second, possibly wondering why this feels so easy between us. Maybe she’s starting to realize that, despite everything, nothing has really changed. Maybe, just maybe, it’s still us.

“Tiffin,” she answers, though her voice is quiet, a little uncertain.

She quickly turns to the others, her face flushed but her eyes not quite meeting mine. “He used to leave me the dumbest post-it notes in my tiffin box,” she continues, her voice betraying a slight fondness, “things like ‘Don’t eat too fast, you’ll choke and die. Bye.’”

I chuckle, defending myself. “It was practical advice.”