Page 89 of Protect my Heart

When the rituals are done and our mothers are busy chatting with the pandit, and everyone is busy with food, I gently nudge Anika’s elbow and lead her to the side, behind the large vase that’s doing a poor job of hiding us.

“Hey,” I say.

She raises a brow. “Yes, husband?” I groan, clutching my chest dramatically, and she laughs.

I grin. “I’ll marry you a thousand times over if that’s what it takes to keep seeing you like this.”

“Cheesy,” she comments, a blush coating her cheeks.

"I know, right," I exclaim, "I didn't know I had that in me." She smiles softly. "But I guess you do that to me.” I reach out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She stills. I love that even now, I can affect her. That she still turns into this flustered, beautiful mess when I flirt.

"Don't blame me for being an idiot, Aaru." She pulls my cheek, and I gasp.

"Did you just—" I catch her hand as she pulls it away from my cheek. "Did you just pull my cheek, Anika?"

"Yes, what are you going to do about it?" She raises an eyebrow, her eyes shining with challenge.

I lean in, whispering against her ear, "I can do a lot of things, Miss Toofan." I bite her earlobe, feeling her shudder against me. "But I don't want to die early by trying anything here." She chuckles. She definitely loves to know that she holds so much power over me.

Maa calls for us, and Anika pulls her hand from my grasp immediately, almost running away from me. Maa gives us a disapproving look, but I can see the smile she's trying to hide, so I grin harder. When the ceremony winds down, Anika gets ready to leave with Aunty and the others. I walk her to the car, holding her hand just a second longer than necessary.

She turns, looks up at me, eyes warm but teasing. “Aarav?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t be late for our wedding.” Taunt. She will never let the date go. Not that I deserve it considering it was our first date.

I chuckle, reaching up to adjust her dupatta one last time. “Last time you were waiting for me on the aisle,” I say, “this time, I’ll be waiting at the mandap.”

She smiles, her eyes lighting up, she tiptoes and pecks my cheek and gets into the car, the door closing between us—but I can still feel the echo of her fingers in mine, the warmth of her presence lingering in the night air.

And for the first time in a long time, I feel completely, achingly, blissfully content.

She’s mine. Again. And I am hers. And this time, the whole world will know; there will be no formality, no time bound, no contracts, and no reason for us to marry apart from our own willingness. Now I just have to wait for a very long week. And I have no clue how I will survive that.

CHAPTER 52

AARAV

The phone rings twice before she picks up. Her voice is flat.

“What?”

I blink. “Wow. No hi? No ‘hello, husband’?”

She exhales loudly. “Aarav, what do you want?”

Okay… that’s harsh.

I lean back in my chair, twirling the pen in my hand. “Can’t a guy call his future-slash-ex-wife just to flirt?”

She groans. “I’m not in the mood, Aarav. Seriously.”

“Okay, okay,” I chuckle, keeping my tone light, trying to coax her out of it. “Then talk to me about something else. Maybe what color you’re wearing right now—”

She hangs up.

I stare at the screen, stunned. “What the fuck?”