Waited For You

Chapter 47

{ The Present } :-

That night, after all the laughter had finally faded and everyone had retreated into their respective rooms, the resort fell into a rare silence.
Only the mountain winds remained awake.
And Sanchi—
who had spent half an hour smiling into her pillow replaying the bonfire memories—
had somehow fallen asleep.

Then at around midnight—
Her phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
On the fourth ring, she finally answered, voice still thick with sleep.
“Atharv?” she murmured groggily. “What happened? Why are you calling this late?”
On the other side came his whisper.
Low.
Conspiratorial.
Like a secret.
“Open your door. I am arriving in five minutes.”
Her sleep vanished instantly.
“What—?”
But he had already disconnected.

Sanchi sat upright immediately.
Heart racing now.
She slipped out of bed carefully, making sure her parents’ room beside hers stayed silent, then quietly opened her door.
The corridor outside was cold and dimly lit.
She looked left.
Nothing.
Right.
Nothing.
For a whole minute, she wondered if this man had finally lost his mind.
And then—
At the far end of the corridor—
A figure appeared.
Moving suspiciously.
Without sound.
Almost tiptoeing.
Like a badly trained thief.
Sanchi’s hand flew to her mouth to stop her laugh.
Because it was Atharv.
Hunched slightly.
Sneaking.
Looking around every two seconds.

She giggled.
The moment he reached her, she whispered,
“What are you doing?”
Atharv instantly covered her mouth with his hand.
“Shhh,” he whispered urgently. “We cannot let mumma-papa find out that I am here.”
And before she could laugh again, he quickly ushered her back inside, shutting the door softly behind them.
The moment it clicked shut—
He hugged her.
Immediately.
No words.
Just pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
As if twenty days of distance had finally snapped.
Atharv buried his face lightly in her hair, breathing her in.
And Sanchi’s arms wrapped around him just as tightly.
God.
He had missed this.
Her.
This closeness.

After a few seconds, Atharv pulled back slightly.
Then, without shame—
Pointed toward his lips.
Sanchi stared.
Then laughed softly.
Because yes—
She knew him.
She knew very well that he would never initiate anything beyond what they had decided before marriage.
He had his principles.
His gentle restraint.
His infuriating gentleman behavior.

But that changed absolutely nothing about the fact that he craved her affection like a lovesick fool.
And she enjoyed using that knowledge against him.
So instead of giving him what he wanted, she asked sweetly,
“Are you hungry? Let me bring something for you.”
Atharv huffed dramatically.
“Sanchi yaar,” he whispered, “please na. Kiss me.”
She leaned forward obediently.
And kissed his cheek.
Atharv looked personally betrayed.
Then stomped his foot silently.
“Sanchi. Lips pe.”
She burst into quiet laughter.
Then finally leaned in and kissed him softly.
Sweet.
Brief.
Perfect.

When she pulled back, she smiled.
“Such a gentleman and cutie you are.”
Atharv grinned immediately.
“That I know.”
She laughed again.
And he instantly panicked.
“Don’t laugh loudly! Mumma-papa will wake up!”
That made her pause.
She looked at him fondly.
Atharv blinked.
“What?”
Sanchi smiled softly.
“You have started calling them mumma-papa.”
Atharv looked surprised himself.
Then thought about it.
And slowly smiled too.
“I don’t know when that started,” he admitted quietly. “But… it feels right.”
Sanchi nodded gently.
Because it did.
It really did.
Then she looped her arms around his neck.
“And you and Siddharth have bonded well.”
Atharv laughed softly.
“Few phone calls, some visits… and the bonding happened like glue.”
“He is sweet.”
“He is.”
Then Atharv added thoughtfully,
“Very sweet.”
Sanchi narrowed her eyes.
“He is annoying too.”
Atharv laughed.
And this time—
She quickly covered his mouth.
“Shh.”
Now it was his turn to smile at her fondly.