𝑲𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉: 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆

𝟔𝟏.

RANVIJAY

I arrived in Pune after my four-month-long rescue mission. I was hell excited for my engagement, which would happen in the next three days. Kashish called me two days ago and threatened me to be on time, or she would cancel the marriage. But I was still late. I was supposed to come a week ago.

I was busy wrapping up my mission report. I didn't enjoy submitting pages of reports, but I had no choice. Arjun and I had spent five days at the Kashmir headquarters solely to finish this report.

Five days-a long time-but neither of us was interested in playing with paper and pen. We were good at butchering enemies' heads.

Cab stopped at red light, making me look outside. I hummed the song while tapping my fingers over my lap. I rarely enjoyed music, but this one was my favorite. "kabhi kabhi mere dil mein"

This song reminds me of Kashish. My gorgeous would-be wife. Queen of my heart.

I asked the cab driver to turn up the volume. The traffic jam didn't irritate me today. I was happy-finally, we were getting married. I missed her so much. I took one month off from my post. Yes, after the wedding, we would go on a month-long honeymoon to Manikaran, where I had built a house for her. I hadn't shown her the house yet, nor had I told her about it. I planned to surprise her.

I grabbed my phone and opened WhatsApp. ME: "Did you miss me?"

She didn't check my text yet. She loved to make me crave.

I pressed the back button just to check her story. Beautiful! No words! She was sitting on the grass, hugging her knees, her hair touching the ground. I love long hair. I moved to the next one, and it took my breath away.

She lay on the edge of the lake, splashing water toward the camera, a smile across her face, her hair half-dipped in the water. She looked pretty in her orchid-colored kurti. I stared at her photo without blinking my eyes.

Blink your eyes, Ran. Her thin voice echoed in my ears. A notification popped up on my screen.

RAAJE: "Nope." adds a tongue-teasing emoji A chuckle left my mouth.

Yes, I edited her name. I even changed my phone's wallpaper. I set our candid kissing picture as the wallpaper.

ME: "Really, you didn't" She was lying. I knew she did. I couldn't forget her sad smile when we parted. At that moment, I didn't want to go anywhere. All I wanted was to run to her and kiss her until we both collapsed from exhaustion.

RAAJE: "Yup!" She still thought I was in Kashmir. We'd been staying up talking through the night for the past week. Even my fellow soldiers thought that a bad spirit possessed me, as I had never talked too much.

She had no idea I was back in Pune. I wanted to surprise her, just to see that adorable scrunched nose of hers. She looked so cute.

ME: "Okay! I won't come to you." She immediately saw the text but didn't reply. Two seconds later, she went offline. I knew she was angry, and I had thousands of ways to placate her. Jaan, don't be angry with me. It hurts.

It took me the next thirty minutes to reach home. I grabbed my jacket and bag before exiting the cab. I walked through the garden when my eyes landed on the house, which was completely decorated with lights. For once, it didn't fill me with anxiety. I rang the doorbell.

"Bhai, you're back," Saavi chuckled as I stepped inside the house. Everyone seemed busy with the wedding preparations. Since Kashish entered my life, many things had changed. Now, my family loves me. Maybe they always did, but I had never recognized it.