Advay’s POV🩷

Red wasn’t her colour.

Red was a statement.

When Aarohi stepped out of the room, adjusting the pallu of her saree with nervous fingers, my first instinct wasn’t desire — it was disbelief.

She looked too… composed. Too grown.

Like she was trying to play a role she hadn’t rehearsed for.

The saree was deep red, simple but elegant, hugging her frame in a way that made me uncomfortable —

not because she didn’t look beautiful, but because she did.

Too much. In front of people who didn’t know her the way I did.

She avoided my eyes

You’re ready?” I asked, clearing my throat.

She nodded. “Is it… okay?”

I looked at her properly then. Her eyes were uncertain, searching my face for approval she pretended not to need.

“You look fine,” I said.

Fine.

Coward word.

She smiled faintly, but I saw it — that flicker of disappointment.

I should have said beautiful

. I should have said you’re going to make everyone stare.

But I didn’t.

Because love spoken carelessly can become a weapon in front of family.

Aarohi’s POV❤️

The house was louder than I expected. Bigger.

Older.

The kind of place that smells like tradition and judgement.

Badi Maa hugged Advay tightly, blessings pouring out of her mouth like they’d been stored for years.

Bade Papa smiled warmly.

Siya bhabhi pulled me into a side hug immediately, friendly, comfortable — too comfortable.

And then there was Avni.

She didn’t rush.

She didn’t smile wide.

She just looked at me.

Not curious.

Not welcoming.

Assessing

“So this is Aarohi,” she said slowly.

“You’re… younger than I imagined.”

I smiled. “I get that a lot.”

She laughed lightly. “I’m sure.”

Her eyes went back to Advay.

Lunch started fine.

Stories, laughter, teasing Advay about his childhood.

I sat quietly, listening, absorbing.

I noticed how Avni leaned slightly toward him when she laughed.

How familiar her tone was.

Like she didn’t need permission to exist in his space.

“So,” she said suddenly, stirring her dal, “remember our café dates? The one near campus?”

My hand stilled.

Advay didn’t look up. “That was years ago.”

“Eight months isn’t that long,” she replied easily.

“We practically planned a future.”

The table went quiet for half a second.

Siya bhabhi laughed awkwardly.

“Avni—”

“It’s okay,” Avni said, eyes still on her plate.

“I’m just saying… things were serious. Everyone thought we’d get married.”

I looked at Advay.

He said nothing.

Not denial.

Not clarification.

Nothing.

“And then suddenly,” she continued, glancing at me now, “uncle decided otherwise.

Responsibility, friendship… life changes.”

Responsibility.

The word sank into my chest like a slow blade.

“He’s a professor,” she added gently.

“And you’re still studying.

Doesn’t it feel mismatched sometimes?”

I swallowed. “I don’t think love follows résumés.”

She smiled — sharp, polite. “That’s sweet. Very… idealistic.”

Night — Aarohi’s POV🩷

I was sitting with Siya bhabhi in the room while the others talked outside. She was applying moisturizer,

relaxed, glowing.

“Marriage is scary at first,” she said casually.

“But when the husband loves you… it changes everything.”

She laughed softly. “Our first night? I couldn’t walk properly for three days.”

I froze.

She noticed. “Oh! Sorry, too much information?”

“No,” I said quickly.

“It’s fine.”

She tilted her head. “How was yours?”

My mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

“We haven’t really…” I stopped. “Not yet.”

Her expression changed.

Not judgement — surprise.

“Oh.”

That single word felt heavier than Avni’s taunts.

Later, as I stepped into the corridor, Avni appeared beside me like she’d been waiting.

“He doesn’t look at you the way men look at women they desire,” she said quietly.

“More like someone he has to protect.”

My chest tightened.

“You’re young,” she continued. “He probably didn’t want to hurt you by refusing his father.

But love… love is different.”

I didn’t reply.

She leaned closer.

“You feel it too, don’t you? That distance.”

That night, I lay beside Advay, staring at the ceiling.

He slept peacefully.

I felt wide awake.

Morning — Silent Ride

We left early.

No one spoke in the car.

He drove. I watched the road blur past.

Every word Avni had said replayed itself like a broken record.

Responsibility.

Mismatch.

Not loved.

He dropped me near college like always.

“Bye,” he said softly.

I nodded and closed the door.

I didn’t look back.

Aarohi’s POV❤️

Silence is louder when people expect you to be noisy.

By the time I entered college that morning,

Maya had already noticed something was off.

“You okay?” she asked, walking beside me.

“I’m fine,” I said automatically.

Lie number one.

I took my seat without cracking jokes, without teasing Divyansh, without rolling my eyes at physics notes.

I didn’t even look toward the podium when Advay entered the class.

Usually, my body reacted before my mind did.

Today—nothing.

“Good morning,” he said.

The class responded.

I didn’t.

Advay’s POV🩷

She didn’t look at me once.

Not when I entered.

Not when I called attendance.

Not even when I paused mid-lecture, expecting her usual interruption.

Something was wrong. And it wasn’t college-related.

“Aarohi,” I called out while explaining a concept..

“Can you solve this?”

She stood up calmly, came to the board, wrote the answer perfectly, and returned to her seat.

No sarcasm.

No eye contact.

No comment.

That hurt more than any disruption ever had.

Aarohi’s POV❤️

I knew he was watching me.

I could feel it in the pauses, the slightly longer glances,

the way his voice softened when he said my name.

But Avni’s words were louder.

He doesn’t desire you.

He’s just protecting you.

After class, I packed my bag quickly. I didn’t wait.

“Aru” he called.

I didn’t stop.

My phone vibrated moments later.

Advay: Come to my cabin.

stared at the screen for a long second.

Then replied.

Aarohi: Okay.

Cabin Scene — Advay’s POV🩷

She closed the door behind her.

“Lock it,” I said quietly.

She did.

I walked toward her slowly. She stood stiff, like she was bracing herself.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “You’ve been distant since morning.”

“I’m just tired,” she said. Flat.

I took her hand and pulled her gently closer, guiding her onto my lap.

She didn’t resist — but she didn’t relax either.

That scared me.

kissed her forehead.

Her cheek.

Near her lips.

Nothing.

Her eyes were somewhere else.

I tried grounding her — kissed her neck lightly, let my arms wrap around her waist.

Still nothing.

Her body was here.

Her mind wasn’t.

“baby ,” I murmured. “Talk to me.”

She stood up suddenly.

“I have class,” she said. “I shouldn’t be here.”

And before I could stop her — she left.

Aarohi’s POV❤️

I hated myself for walking out.

But staying would’ve broken me.

That night, at home, we barely spoke. He watched me like he was waiting for something — a breakdown, an explanation, anything.

I gave him nothing.

Until I couldn’t.

Night 🌉

“Why don’t we do anything?” I asked suddenly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He froze.

“I mean—” my voice trembled. “Why are we married if we don’t act like it?”

He stayed quiet.

That silence felt like confirmation.

“I’m too young, right?” I continued bitterly. “Not your type. You married me because you had to.”

He still didn’t interrupt.

“Avni was right,” I said, laughing hollowly. “She knew you. She loved you. I’m just—responsibility.”

That’s when he kissed me.

Not soft.

Not romantic.

Just enough to shut me up.

I went silent.

Advay’s POV🩷

I held her face in my hands.

“Stop,” I said softly. “Don’t talk like that.”

She looked shattered.

“You are young,” I said slowly. “And that’s exactly why I never crossed that line.

I didn’t want you to feel rushed. Or forced. Or like you owed me anything.”

I pulled her into my lap, holding her close.

“I wanted you to grow first. Be sure. Be confident.”

She cried against my chest.

I kissed her again. Once. Twice. Ten times — forehead, cheeks, lips — controlled, emotional, restrained.

“You’re not responsibility,”

I whispered. “You’re my choice.”

For the first time since last night—

She looked at me.

Really looked.

And something shifted.

Not healed.

But held together.

Aarohi pov 💛

I didn’t sleep.

I lay beside him, staring at the ceiling, counting the seconds

between his breaths.

His arm rested near mine — not touching, not pulling away either.

That gap between our skins felt wider than the bed itself.

You’re my choice.

His words echoed again and again, but Avni’s voice refused to leave.

He doesn’t want you.

You’re just responsibility.

You’re a child.

What if love was just something he decided not to feel?

My chest tightened.

turned slightly.

He was awake.

I knew it — the way his breathing changed always gave him away.

“Advay…” my voice cracked. “Can I ask you something without you getting angry?”

Advay’s POV 💛

That tone.

I sat up immediately.

“Always,” I said.

She hugged her knees to her chest, eyes glossy, lips trembling like she’d been holding back for hours.

“Why don’t you ever touch me… like a husband?” she whispered.

There it was.

The question I had been avoiding since the night of our wedding.

Aarohi’s POV

He didn’t answer immediately.

And that pause hurt more than any rejection ever could.

“Am I unattractive?” I asked quietly. “Because everyone keeps saying you and Avni—”

“Stop.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was sharp. Protective.

Tears slid down my cheeks anyway.

“I see how men look at their wives,” I continued. “The way they want them. The way they crave them. You look at me like you’re scared you’ll break me.”

My voice dropped.

“I want to feel wanted.”

Silence.

Heavy. Crushing.

Then he reached out.

Advay pov 💛

I pulled her into my arms and sat against the headboard, letting her cry into my chest.

“You think I don’t want you?” I asked softly.

She nodded against me.

I exhaled — slow, controlled — because if I let myself feel too much, I’d lose my restraint completely.

“I want you,” I said honestly.

“More than you understand.”

She stiffened.

“Then why—”

“Because I know myself,”

I interrupted.

“And I know what desire does to control.”

tilted her chin up so she had to look at me.

“You were eighteen when you came into my life.

I was already a man with years of discipline, authority, power.

One wrong step, and you wouldn’t have a choice anymore.”

Her lips parted, shocked.

“I didn’t want your first experiences to come from pressure,” I continued. “Or expectations.

Or comparison.”

I brushed my thumb under her eye.

“I wanted you to want me without fear.”

Aarohi’s POV💛

My heart pounded.

“So you just… waited?” I whispered.

“Yes,” he said simply.

“For you to grow. For you to feel safe. For you to speak up — like you’re doing now.”

I swallowed.

“But what if I’m ready now?”

His jaw tightened.

That was the first time I saw real conflict on his face.

Advay’s POV💛

God help me.

I leaned my forehead against hers.

“You don’t get to say that lightly,” I said.

“Because if I cross that line, I won’t pretend. I won’t half-love you.”

Her fingers curled into my shirt.

“I don’t want pretending,” she whispered.

That did it.

I kissed her.

Slow. Deep. Not rushed.

Not hungry — claimed.

She gasped softly, hands gripping me like she’d been waiting for this moment forever.

I pulled back before it could turn dangerous.

“Not tonight,” I said against her lips. “Tonight, I hold you.”

I didn’t argue.

Because for the first time… I understood.

He lay back, pulling me with him, my head resting on his chest.

His arm wrapped around me fully — no hesitation, no distance.

This wasn’t rejection.

This was restraint

born from care.

“I’m scared sometimes,” I admitted quietly.

“That you’ll always see me as someone fragile.”

He kissed my hair.

“You’re not fragile,” he said. “You’re unfinished.

And that’s beautiful.”

I closed my eyes.

For the first time since the visit…

I slept.

Words 2002

Thankyou everyone love you All bye bye take care 😘😘

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