"Unraveled Destinies"

Chapter 23

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"Nooo Aadu , you aren't well, you have to eat it, and after that, I'll make butter paneer for you, okay?" he said, noticing my expression.

Just the mention of butter paneer made all my senses come alive. Yayyyy! I couldn't help but dance right there at the counter.

"He chuckled, watching my joyful reaction, and shook his head. When I noticed him looking at me, I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

"Hey, what happened?" he asked, seeing me come to a halt and my sudden change in demeanor.

"N...nothing, I just got nervous. I thought it was stupid the way I reacted like this. I mean, I reacted like a fool, so I just stopped," I replied honestly diverting my gaze to the floor

"Hey, first of all, just look at me," he said, cupping my cheeks in his hands and making me face him as he continued again ,
"Who put this bullshit in your mind, Aadu? It's not funny at all, it's cute, okay? And why do you care about what anyone else thinks? Just be the way you are, carefree and amazing. Don't worry about anyone, not even me, alright? And I wasn't laughing at you, I just got happy seeing you excited, that's it. So be the way you are, Aadhira, the cute Aadu, hmm?" He completed softly , looking into my eyes and caressing my cheeks constantly before getting back to his work.

His words really made me happy and removed my self-consciousness. But hold on, did he just call me Aadu? Really? My nickname? Nooooo, this isn't what I had in mind. It sounds so...fatty. I quickly glanced at myself from top to bottom before turning to him. Giving a nickname is cute, but this one is not okay. It's a big no from me.

"Ayee , dont call me that" I said poking my index finger on his arm with a scowl and a pout on my face.

He looked over at me, still focusing on pouring some veggies in pan and asked nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders "Call you what?"

"That name... Aadu," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"And why so!" he quickly responded. Then he continued, "I thought girls liked nicknames and all. I didn't know that you like calling me Chipkali so much that you can't accept another name!" He said it playfully with a wink and a smirk on his face.

I gasped at his reply, and with a slightly annoyed tone, I shouted, "Nooo!" while closing my eyes.

"Accha okk, but just tell me what's the problem with 'Aadu.' It sounds so cute, just like you, my Aadu," he said softly, pulling my right cheek with his free hand in an adorable way. It made me smile, too.

"Well... umm actually, Aadu sounds like Aloo, you know, and it makes me feel like you're calling me that because of my body," I replied, a little hesitantly. I kept my gaze fixed on my lap not having the courage to meet his eyes. I nervously touched the index fingers of both my hands together as I awaited his response to my statement.

After not receiving any response in the first 5 seconds, just as I anticipated, I looked up to see his reaction. But to my surprise, he was washing his hands, leaving the half-cut vegetables on the chopping boards.

Closing the tap, he dries his hands with the nearby towel and steps in front of me, standing face-to-face. He gently takes my face in his hands, cupping my cheeks, and makes me look at him completely.

"See, Aadhira, I've already told you before that you're not fat at all. I genuinely don't see you as a plus-size woman, I swear," he says, pinching the skin in the middle of his throat between his index finger and thumb. He continues, "And even if you ever do become fat in the future, I won't mind it. In fact, I would love to have my cute and bubbly Aadhira back, just like you were in childhood. I have no idea who put this idea in your head that you're fat, but trust me, you're perfect just the way you are. So no need to bother about all this and about the name 'Aadu.' If you don't like it, then I won't call you that. But yeah, just as I said, since I don't find you fatty, I will call you that sometimes to remind you how cute you are, but not fatty."