Her Only Saviour

45. love that waits

𝕰𝖐 𝖒𝖆𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊 𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖗 𝖘𝖆𝖚 𝖐𝖍𝖜𝖆𝖆𝖇 𝖉𝖔𝖔𝖓
𝕿𝖚 𝖗𝖆𝖍𝖊 𝖐𝖍𝖚𝖘𝖍, 𝖒𝖆𝖎𝖓 𝖆𝖆𝖇𝖆𝖉 𝖍𝖔𝖔𝖓

𝕿𝖚 𝖘𝖆𝖇𝖘𝖊 𝖏𝖚𝖉𝖆 𝖏𝖚𝖉𝖆 𝖘𝖆 𝖍𝖆𝖎
𝕿𝖚 𝖆𝖕𝖓𝖎 𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖍 𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖍 𝖘𝖆 𝖍𝖆𝖎

𝕸𝖚𝖏𝖍𝖊 𝖑𝖆𝖌𝖙𝖆 𝖓𝖆𝖍𝖎 𝖍𝖆𝖎 𝖙𝖚 𝖉𝖔𝖔𝖘𝖗𝖆

𝕻𝖆𝖑 𝖊𝖐 𝖕𝖆𝖑 𝖒𝖊𝖎𝖓 𝖍𝖎 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖒 𝖘𝖆 𝖌𝖆𝖞𝖆
𝕿𝖚 𝖍𝖆𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝖒𝖊𝖎𝖓 𝖍𝖆𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝖏𝖔 𝖉𝖊 𝖌𝖆𝖞𝖆

~~~~~~~~~~

The mansion lay in a hush, blanketed in the quiet lull of night.
Most lights were dimmed, everyone tucked into their rooms.
But from the kitchen, a soft glow escaped—along with hushed laughter and the clinking of utensils.

Anirudh leaned casually against the kitchen counter, sleeves rolled up, one hand whisking eggs while Nandini stood beside him chopping veggies for an impromptu midnight omelette.

She wore one of his oversized shirts over her PJs—unintentionally, lethally cute.

“Careful,” Anirudh warned, eyeing the way she nearly nicked her finger.
“You’ll cut yourself. Again.”

Nandini rolled her eyes.
“I was handling knives way before you were handling your billion-dollar mergers, Mr. Oberoi.”

“Please,” he smirked.
“You still hold it like it’s a paintbrush, not a weapon.”

“you know nothing anyways, it's better than you treating an egg like a stress ball,” she shot back.

They both burst out laughing.

For a moment, the night didn’t feel so heavy.

It was theirs—just the two of them, standing under warm lights, with silly banter and something soft simmering in the air.

As the omelette cooked, Nandini turned to face him, her smile slowly fading into something… gentler.

“You know,” she said softly, “I never thought I’d find peace in chaos. But here I am. And it’s you.”

His heart skipped.

He stepped closer.
“You always say the most dangerous things when we’re near knives.”

Her lips twitched.
“And yet you’re still standing close.”

He was close now.

One step away.

His fingers brushed a strand of hair from her face.

Her breath caught.

Their eyes locked, and this time… neither looked away.

Just when he leaned forward, the scent of her warmth pulling him in—

“Ahem!”

Both of them sprang apart as Anika stood at the doorway, arms folded, one brow raised and a teasing smile playing on her lips.

“Well, well. Is this ‘Midnight MasterChef' or ‘Pyar Ki Rasoi’?” she chuckled, trying to hide her excitement behind feigned disapproval.

“Can I get an omelette too, or should I come back after the next episode?”

Nandini’s face flushed beet red as she looked anywhere but at Anika.
Anirudh cleared his throat, trying—and failing—to look unfazed.

“We were just—hungry,” he mumbled.