Smiles Of The Heart

Chapter twenty-two

Chapter twenty-two

Avika found the world of social media daunting. While she had used Instagram casually in the past, creating a business account brought a new set of challenges. She knew gaining followers and recognition would take time. Her current focus was on posting about her bakery products and sending out free samples to family and friends. With Kiaan's suggestion to reach out to his office, she gladly expanded her efforts to spread the word about her bakery.

Yug helped in delivering the samples and even sent her a video about the employees praising her work. It made her heart warm. There were so many good people around her and she was so thankful. But sometimes, it was her own voice that pointed out her faults and weaknesses which makes her insecure and feel like she isn't worthy of what she's been receiving.

Those haunting voices, sometimes made her closed off and keep to herself but she was trying hard not to listen to those voices. A ding on her phone made her snap out of her thoughts and she grinned at the message. It was another order! This time as she checked the name of the customer, she frowned and felt like she had read that name before. Upon checking the address, she realised it was the same person who had ordered for a cake some days back. With a smile, Avika got to work to pack the order and get it ready.

This was her first and only customer who had dared to order from her new page and she found the person daring because if it was her, she would've spent years overthinking before she ordered from a new, recently opened page.

When her phone dinged again, she found another video sent by Yug and this one made her stare at her phone, amused. The video was of her dearest husband, telling his employees to not praise his wife—meaning her—in front of him because he doesn't like it and feels jealous. It was an amusing sight, Kiaan perched up on one of the desks and all the people in the office turned towards him, attentive while he gave the speech calmly. Avika chuckled to herself because she knew Yug recorded this secretly without his brother's knowledge.

When the order was delivered, Avika received a DM on her page, thanking her and saying that her cake and cupcakes were delicious and she would recommend her bakery page to her friends and family. Overwhelmed, Avika expressed her gratitude and thanked her profusely for trusting her.

Later, when Kiaan returned in the evening, and the two of them were getting ready for bed, Avika showed him the video and controlled her laugh seeing the stunned expression on his face.

"What the...Iss Yug ke bacche ki toh main—" Avika swiftly covered his mouth with her palm, giving him a warning stare.

(This Yug—)

Kiaan kissed her palm, causing her to let out a gasp and pull her hand back. Her husband gave her a sheepish look. She glared at him and crossed her arms. "Seriously?" Avika scolded; her frustration evident. He shrugged, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Avika rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a small grin.

"You know, I can't wait for the day when you have your own place to start your bakery," Kiaan said, pulling her close. He wrapped his arms around her small frame from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Avika laughed softly. "I've just started a page on social media. Don't you think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself?" she joked, her fingers tightening around his as she felt him press a kiss to her jaw.

"Dreams have to start somewhere," he murmured, his breath warm against her skin. "And I believe in you."

She smiled, leaning back into his embrace. "Aap mere saath hai?" She whispers.

(Are you by my side?)

"Humesha." His reply is instant.

(Always)