Aditya Kapoor's and Shradha Advani's marriage was decided more than two decades ago as a deal to unite their always rivaling mafia families. But it was something neither of them wanted.
Aditya never really cared about this arrangement as he chose t...
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Shradha stirred slowly, so comfortable that she couldn't quite bring herself to open her eyes. Instead, she buried her head in the pillow and inhaled deeply. Her senses hummed with pleasure at the smells invading her nose. The most prominent of which was the heady musk on the linens beneath her head. It was familiar, but in her sleepy haze she couldn't quite place it.
She could also smell food. Something fried and rich. Fruit and coffee too. Her mouth began to water, her stomach grumbling its interest loudly. She stretched long and deep, begrudgingly submitting to consciousness as she gave the pillow a final sniff.
She rolled over and opened her eyes, staring up at the canopy of their bed, his scent saturating the linens and her own body. She wrinkled her nose and groaned as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. When her eyes lit on the very man himself where he perched silent as a sentinel on the edge of the bed, the events that took place the night before struck her.
His expression altered when their eyes met, the look of predatory observation he'd bore melting into something more deceptive and charming when he looked at her. "Did you sleep well?"
She nodded, her eyes sparkling in delight at the way his hair was now. It was cut short, out of his face. Trimmed at the sides, and slightly long at the top. Involuntarily, her fingers went to his dark locks, running her hands through the silkiness. They were wet as he had just gotten out of his morning shower.
"This is nice." She mused, satisfied at the way her husband looked.
Aditya hummed, seemingly appeased.
"Are you hungry?"
She nodded, "Yes, actually." He unfolded himself from his perch and moved to retrieve a footed tray from the table nearby.
Shradha craned her neck, her stomach flip flopping joyfully at his approach, longing to see what smelled so delicious. Last night's events were exhausting enough that she immediately fell asleep after taking a shower, skipping dinner.
Aditya deposited his burden to her lap, forcing her to sit up straight when he began adjusting the pillows behind her. She watched him uncertainly, waiting until he lowered himself into a neutral position at her side before turning her attention to her plate. "Did you eat?"
"I did. Eat up now, you weighed so little last night."
She licked her lips as she finished portioning out the first piece, greedily stuffing her mouth full of a too large bite.
She hissed when the morsel burned, covering her mouth and squeezing her eyes shut with a whimper. Refusing to spit it out and acknowledge her foolishness, she sucked air between her fingers to cool the scalding potatoes that coated her tongue. She ignored the pain, stubbornly continuing to chew the heavenly concoction as her head dropped back against the pillows.
"Careful there." He warned.
She liked this change. Very much. It now felt like home. How many days has she wished she would wake up to something like this? Her breathtakingly beautiful husband and food that smelled and tasted delicious. She felt like she was in paradise and if she was dreaming, she prayed to the gods she worshipped to never let this dream stop.
