Their Married Life

WEDDING NIGHT

Dev's POV

Panic. Pure, unfiltered panic.

The room, my room it looked like it belonged in a honeymoon suite ad from the '90s. Rose petals shaped like hearts on the white bedsheet, candles flickering romantically in the corners, and hundreds of condoms scattered across the floor like confetti. Thanks to my idiot friends and their idea of a "wedding gift," I was now the proud owner of a pharmacy with enough rubber to sell a colony for 2-3 months straight.

Muttering curses under my breath, I dove for the bag and started shoveling the packets into it as fast as I could.

"Stupid prank. Stupid people," I growled, tossing them in with a mix of desperation and secondhand shame.

Then I heard the doorknob twist. My heart skipped. Was it...?

Please not now... please not now

The door creaked open and I turned, bracing for the moment of doom. But it was Ajith, that smug grin plastered on his face like he'd won the lottery.

Without thinking, I grabbed the nearest condom packet and hurled it at him. The door slammed shut just in time, and the packet bounced off with a soft thwack and fell to the floor uselessly.

I slouched back onto the floor, defeated. This was the height of humiliation.

Back to cleaning.

I was gathering the last of the packets when the door opened again.

"Ajith, I swear to God, if you" I started, flinging a packet toward the door.

But this time, the giggle stopped me mid-throw.

I looked up—and there she was.

Manasa.

Dressed in a white saree with a red blouse, her hair done up, a small glass of milk trembling slightly in her hand... and the softest smile I'd ever seen on her lips. She looked ethereal, almost like a dream I'd been afraid to have.

My hand went slack, the condom slipping from my fingers. Every nerve in my body stilled.

Damn. I forgot everything else.

She stepped in gently, and the door closed behind her with a soft click ,bringing me back to reality. A split second later, I heard loud voices outside.

"All the best jijuuuuu!" the girls yelled from the hallway.

I turned red. Crimson. Burnt.

Manasa blinked at the door, then turned and locked it quietly, before looking at me again with a mix of amusement and curiosity.

I stood there frozen, trying to smile through the embarrassment, trying to hide the last few packets behind my back like a clumsy teenager caught with candy he wasn't supposed to eat.

And then, as she walked in slowly, she paused—her expression faltering.

She looked down. Right at the floor.

Right at the one condom I'd missed.

She bent down, picked it up, turned it around... and looked at me.

I panicked.

The moment Manasa's eyes landed on what she'd picked up, her expression shifted from confusion to realization. Her eyes widened slightly, and then she looked at me.

"I-It's not what it looks like," I blurted, sounding exactly like a guilty kid caught red-handed. "Ajith and Shiv... It's their doing. I swear."

Her lips twitched before she let out a soft chuckle. That sound is light and musical immediately melted the tension clawing at my insides. I couldn't help but grin back, the nervousness giving way to relief at the curve of her smile.