HER SAFE PLACE

Epilogue -1

Rocky’s POV

Life can never be this beautiful.
I mean… you have the love of your life, you have everything you want.

Is there anything else you could even ask for?

It’s been three years since we got married. Actual marriage. No complications. No misunderstandings. Just us — two idiots in love.

After the wedding, I asked her if she wanted to stay in India or come back to New York with me. She looked at me and said, “Home is where you are, Rocky.”

So here we are. Back in New York.

She has completed her law degree — today is her inauguration day. The day she officially receives her degree and steps into the world she worked so hard for. I’m proud doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Her father… he passed away within a year of our marriage. We went back to India for that. Since then, our visits have become more frequent — every couple of months or so. There’s still a pull there, a part of her roots she can’t let go of.

But right now, I don’t want to talk about all that.

Right now, I just feel happy.

No — more than happy. I feel complete.

Because the most beautiful woman in the world is asleep in my arms.
Peaceful. Safe.

With me.

And every time I look at her, I wonder how I got so lucky.

I gently brush a strand of hair from her face. She stirs softly, murmuring something about how I wore her out last night.

God, she was wild.
Begging me for more and more and more, like I was the only thing keeping her from losing her mind.

My wild baby doll.

And now? Now she’s all soft and warm and mine.

I lean down and whisper, “Shivi baby, wake up, baccha. Otherwise, we’ll be late.”

She groans, snuggling deeper into me. “Sone do na, I’m tired…”
(Let me sleep)

I chuckle, my fingers tracing her arm. “Babydoll, today is your convocation ceremony. We can’t miss it, baccha. After coming from there, you can sleep all you want.”

She looks up, half-smiling, half pouting, eyes still heavy with sleep. “You won’t let me, I know.”

I grin, brushing her cheek. “I will, I promise.”

She hums, clearly not convinced, and buries her face into my chest. “You say that now... but the moment we’re back home, you’ll look at me with those eyes and I’ll forget sleep exists.”

I laugh, the sound low and warm in the quiet of our room. “Is it my fault you’re weak for me?”

She lifts her head just a little, eyes half-open, a smirk playing on her lips. “You’re not that irresistible, mister.”

“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow, leaning closer until my lips brush against her ear. “Should I remind you how you were screaming my name last night?”

She gasps and hits my chest playfully, blushing. “Shut up, Rocky!”

I grin, catching her wrist and placing a kiss on her knuckles. “Nope. Not until you get up. Come on, superstar. The stage is waiting.”

She groans dramatically. “Fineee. But only because I don’t want to walk up there with messy hair and half-asleep eyes.”