Saiyyan - Adiya FF

Chapter 23

Author's Note: A little mature content in this chapter. Viewer discretion advised.

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Zoya rolled, slowly waking from sleep and felt a weight around her waist. Her eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw is Aditya.

He was still sleeping. Eyes closed...face innocent. She tried to move but the weight of his arm prevented her from doing so. He did this every night since they started sharing the bed. It's like he unconsciously reached for her in the middle of the night...and held on. Zoya never thought that she would think this, but...it felt...nice. There was a nice comfort in this. Being held each night...she felt...protected. She expected to feel awkward, but she didn't. And she couldn't quite pin point what she was feeling every time she woke up to Aditya like this, shirtless, unguarded, and peaceful.

Zoya tried to gently move Aditya's arm, careful not to wake him. Once free, she quietly rolled off the bed. She froze when Aditya shifted, trying to find another comfortable position before falling back to sleep. Giving a sigh of relief, Zoya tip toed to the bathroom and got ready for the day.

Dressed in casual attire, Zoya came out of the bathroom to see Aditya sitting up, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"Good morning sleepy head." Zoya said, smiling. Aditya smiled back and responded, still a little drowsy.

"Go get dressed...breakfast should be ready soon...we should probably head to the stables soon too right?" Zoya spoke, excited to get started. "What are we going to do first? I'm sure you have to check on Raja's and Layla's health first right?" Zoya babbled on without missing a beat, too excited. She didn't want to miss a single thing today.

"Yes General." Aditya replied, cheekily, his voice teasing.

"Aditya!" Zoya said, crossing her arms and pretending to be annoyed, knowing that Aditya was mocking her.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding..." Aditya said, chuckling, as he made his way to the bathroom. Once the bathroom door closed, Zoya shook her head and giggled. Some things will never change.

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After breakfast, Aditya and Zoya walked over to the stables. They were greeted by Marcus as soon as they entered. Getting straight to business, Marcus started telling Aditya the current happenings of the stables. Changes made to any horse's diet, health conditions, statistics, and anything else worth mentioning.

As Aditya walked over to Layla's stall and spoke to Marcus, Zoya went to Sweetheart's stall. Sweetheart stuck out her head and greeted Zoya lovingly. Zoya rubbed Sweetheart's neck and chuckled when Mischief trotted over for some attention as well.

When Aditya approached them, Sweetheart instantly gave her attention to him and nuzzled his shoulder. "Hi beautiful." Aditya said, smiling widely and generously rubbing Sweetheart's neck.

Zoya's heart gave a loud thud, surprised at her reaction to Aditya. The bond Aditya shared with this mare was probably one of the sweetest things Zoya has ever seen. And it has become one of Zoya's favorite qualities of Aditya. 'Wait...this was new...' Zoya blinked, suddenly taken aback by her train of thought. Since when did she start liking qualities of Aditya Hooda? She liked his qualities as a friend. Yes...that was it. They have become close over the last few months and she just appreciated Aditya as a friend. That's all it was.

"What are you thinking?" Aditya asked, noticing that Zoya was staring.

Zoya broke out of her reverie and brushed off the question. "Nothing...I was just wondering how Sweetheart is so fond of you..." Zoya replied, not completely lying.