Separated Love

Chapter 15: Kaira Recreate Their Wedding Night

I come out of the bathroom and Kartik is standing there without a shirt on. Woah. He has definitely gotten more in shape over the past 2 years.
"Kartik, what are you up to now?" He has the cutest smirk on his face.
"What, I can't even change in my own room? Come on Naira, don't act like you haven't seen this before." I throw my towel at his face and make my way towards our bed. He keeps laughing and tells me he's going to shower.
"Take a fast shower Kartik! Dadi said she'll put dinner out soon." I hear him humming the song Is Pal as he showers. I sit on the bed and continue to look around the room. It's as if nothing changed since the last time I was here. I smile thinking about my last morning here. I surprised Kartik by waking him up with kisses. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow morning too. Kartik comes out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair is wet and messy. He looks absolutely breathtaking.
"Nairaaaa, come hereee!" Oh no.
"Kartik stop! Please I don't want to get wet!" I don't think he's going to listen. I try to run but he captures me in his arms. He rubs his wet hair into the nape of my neck. "Kartikkk!!" I can't help but giggle. His body is still all wet. "Kartik, you're gonna get sick! Dry yourself up."
"Why don't you do it for me?" What is with his mood? Ever since we entered our room Kartik has been super romantic. I grab a towel from the cupboard and start drying his hair. I pretend like it's a chore for me, but I'm secretly enjoying it too. He seems so relaxed. I make my way down to his neck and then his chest.
"Kartik, you must've really worked out a lot during the past 2 years." I say as I start drying his arms.
"Yeah I used to go to the gym to help take my mind off of stuff." He looks down and then when he looks back up at me, he has that same mischievous smile on his face. "How'd you notice Naira?" I push him onto the bed and tell him to put clothes on. Once he's finally dressed, we both head downstairs. Everyone's already at the table.
"You guys are finally here! Bhabhi sit by us!!" Luv Kush insist. I look at Kartik who is already starting to roll his eyes.
"Where's Ma?" Kartik asks as he takes the seat opposite of me.
"She said she's going to eat in her room tonight." Papa says sounding annoyed. "Let's not spoil our first dinner after so long thinking about that."
"Actually Papa...since Ma isn't here I wanted to discuss something with you all." I look around to double check Ma isn't listening. "I don't think Ma's psychological health has been okay since Shubham died. Kartik told me before that Ma is on medications for anxiety, but clearly that's not enough. I was wondering if we could get her checked by the top psychiatrist you know. I know she has made a lot of unforgivable mistakes, but we can't ignore how amazing of a person she used to be. If she still acts the same after going through treatment, then I stand by whatever decision you all take. I just think kicking her out is too harsh." I'm super nervous to see how everyone will react.
"I agree with Naira, Papa." Kartik says unable to make eye contact with him. I have to remind myself to ask him what is happening between him and Papa. Why is Kartik so distant from him?
"You're right Naira, but I'm telling you, if she continues to act this way after seeing a psychiatrist, I can't live with her anymore. God knows how she has made me lose 2 sons." 2 sons? I look over at Kartik who looks down with guilt written all over his face. What did Ma do?
"Okay now that that's decided, can we all eat?" Dadi asks but we all know it's a demand, not a question. I missed her so much despite her strict rules. I feel like crying being with everyone again, but I hold it back. We all catch each other up on our lives. Papa is very excited that I'm learning business. He tells me that if I ever have any questions, I can reach out to him. That's so sweet of him. Papa and I have gotten a lot closer.
After eating, Luv Kush take me to their room and show me all of the projects they made over the past 2 years. Kartik told me he would join me in 10 minutes now but it has been at least 45 minutes without him. God I sound like a hopeless romantic. As I'm thinking about him, he walks in.
"Luv Kush. Your Bhabhi and I are pretty tired. Can you show her the rest tomorrow? We should sleep now."
"Can we sleep with you? We haven't slept with you both in so long!"
"NO!" Kartik yells. It startles me, Luv, and Kush. "I mean, you two always kick at night and don't let us rest. Another time but tonight we have to sleep."
"Okay Bhaiya," Luv Kush say sounding super disappointed. I give them both a hug and leave with Kartik. Kartik seems nervous. We walk to the room and I can't help but stand in shock at the entrance. I look around and the room is covered in flowers. The bed has rose petals all over it with flowers coming down from the ceiling. There are candles lighting up the entire room. Kartik walks in first, and then takes my hand to lead me inside. "No Naira, I won't fall asleep tonight too." He has the biggest smile on his face. I'm still stuck in my tracks feeling super shy. He goes to the cupboard, and grabs the white dress I had worn during our wedding night. "I never got to see you in this because I fell asleep, but I'm not gonna make that same mistake again. Please wear this for me." I can't help but blush. I take the dress from him unable to look him in the eyes. I want this just as much as he does.
When I enter the bathroom to change, I realize I have been holding my breath. My heart is racing. I think I'm nervous because this is our first time being together again in our room at night. I change and look at myself in the mirror. I think back to my first time wearing this, and I can't help but feel the same way I felt then. I hold the door knob and when I finally have the courage, I walk outside. Kartik is wearing the same blue suit he had worn that day.
"Wow," he says sounding breathless. I don't think I've stopped blushing. "Naira, how did I ever miss my chance to see you like this? You look so beautiful." He takes my hand and kisses it. "Naira, do you still have your engagement ring?"
"Yeah, it's in my purse." I go to my purse and get my ring. No matter what happened between us, I always kept my ring with me. I turn over to look at him and he's holding his ring as well.
"Can we exchange rings again?" I love him so much. I have the biggest smile on my face now. I nod and he makes his way over to me. He takes my ring from my hand, gets down on one knee, and puts my ring on me.
While he's still on one knee and holding my hand, he says, "Naira, I love you so much, and I've been wanting to do this for a while now. I wanted to make it perfect, and do this only after I had proved myself to you that I would stick by your side no matter what. Thank you for forgiving me, and giving me the honor of truly being mine again." I have tears streaming down my face. He stands back up and tells me not to cry.
"I love you Kartik. I can't believe how lucky I got to get a husband like you. Thank you for teaching me how to put my trust in someone else, and showing me that love can truly overcome any hurdle." With these words, I put Kartik's ring on his finger.
"Naira," he says my name as if it's the answer to a prayer. He gives me soft tender kisses from my hand, up my arm, and then to the nape of my neck. I close my eyes, and move my hand up to his hair. He pulls back to look at me in the eyes. I kiss him on his forehead the same way he kissed me. He closes his eyes and I take this moment to kiss each of his eyes.
"I'm sorry that these eyes ever had to cry because of me Kartik." He slowly opens them, and holds both of my hands up to his chest and once again kisses each.
"I'm sorry that these hands had to wipe away the tears that I caused Naira. I will try my best to never hurt you again, and I promise that only my hands will wipe away those tears now." His words make my heart swell with a wave of emotions and I kiss his cheek. Kartik lifts me up and places me down on the bed and joins me there. He moves the hair falling on my face behind my ear, and kisses me on my right cheek. He then makes his way over to the left. I do the same thing back to him. We both lay down, and take in this moment, truly being each other's again.

Author's Notes
I've been getting some DMs regarding the lack of romance in my story haha. Here's a whole chapter dedicated to just that. I do think that this was a pivotal moment for Kaira though. Although they were back together, they had never brought up wearing their engagement rings again, and I really wanted to acknowledge that. I think exchanging the rings symbolizes that they were truly back together as husband and wife. Going forward, I can't wait to explore what happened between Manish and Kartik. I'll definitely include more Kaira romance in the coming chapters. Thank you for always giving me feedback, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

P.S. You guys should really listen to the music I bring up in these chapters! I often do it because I think the song captures the feel of the entire chapter. Is Pal is a beautiful song from the movie Aaja Nachle.