"Happy Married Life, Shivya Pathak" I weakly smiled seeing my condition, mangalsutra dangling in my neck, vermilion in hair and both hands filled with gold bangles.
"Come out quickly or do you want me to break the gate," my husband knocked again...
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Shivya had just finished her breakfast, her pallu still modestly draped over her head as she stepped into her room, the scent of sandalwood soap faint on her skin. She reached up to remove the veil from her head, welcoming the relief from its weight, but her steps stilled when her eyes met the unexpected.
Vedant was sitting on the couch—her couch. The one spot she quietly claimed as her own, where she often sat in solitude, away from prying eyes and hushed expectations. Her brows furrowed. He should've been at work.
She turned on her heels, intending to leave the room in silence, but his voice reached her, firm yet casual, "Kaha jaa rahi hai aap?"
His question made her freeze mid-step. She glanced over her shoulder, her voice cool, composed. "Kuch kaam tha aapko?" She didn’t answer him. Instead, she countered his question with another.
He shook his head slowly.
"Toh phir main jau?" she asked again, confused by his still presence. Again, he shook his head, his gestures measured, unreadable.
With a sigh, she turned back and walked to the bed, seating herself beneath the slow-spinning fan. The room was warm, and her skin prickled from the heat, but she was used to discomfort. She let her legs swing lightly off the edge, trying to ignore the tension lacing the air.
He said nothing for a while, just skimmed through the files on his lap, though his eyes flickered toward her legs, noting their constant movement. And then, softly, he spoke: "Thank you."
The words caught her off-guard. Her gaze snapped to him, confused. "For what?"
He didn’t look up from his file, but his focus was entirely on her now. "The presentation you prepared—the one I thought wouldn’t make much of a difference—it was approved. The government officers were impressed. So… thank you."
She blinked. Her lips curled slightly before she could stop them, a smile threatening to break free like a secret she wanted to hide. She didn't know he noticed, but he did. From the corner of his eye, he saw it—the childlike joy that bloomed briefly on her face.
He stood up and walked into the closet. A few minutes later, he returned with a box in hand. Without a word, he placed it on the bed beside her.
"For you," he said simply.
Shivya felt a strange nervousness stir in her stomach. Her fingers hesitated, her throat tight. She glanced at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were on the box.
Tentatively, she opened the lid, revealing an array of bangles wrapped in transparent plastic, each color more vibrant than the last. A rainbow of delicate glass. She inhaled sharply.
Vedant, standing at a respectful distance, waited, his hands behind his back. Yesterday, he wandered into the market clueless about what to buy. He only knew that he wanted to gift her something, but not exactly what.
