The Arrangement by Chauhan

Epilogue Part 2

He chuckled and settled back, gathering her in his arms he let her conquer his dreams for him. The sun climbed higher, casting sharp golden threads across the room. But it was her-the soft rise and fall of her chest, the way her lips curved in slumber-that kept him in bed.

He vowed to protect this fragile intimacy, to guard it against the storms that raged beyond their cocoon. For here, in the quiet of the morning, he found solace-a love confession whispered in the language of heartbeats and shared breaths.

And so, he held her tighter, etching this moment into eternity. For when the world came for them, they would rise together, hand in hand, weaving their constellations amidst the chaos.

"Will you hurry up?"

His jeans came barrelling from the closet door and hit his face square.

"Sorry for making you sleep, meri jaan." He mocked her with a tight smile that made another shoe fly towards him.

"Only if your hands worked faster than that tongue." She yelled from the closet and came hoping to fix her boots and zip them. "Rakshit, does that pilot work for you or do you do for him?"

"You know the answer to that." He rolled his eyes and dumped anything he could hold in the luggage bags before zipping the last one shut. He exhaled loudly "Finally."

"How could he order us to reach the airport in the next hour?" She still sulked after the phone conversation with their pilot who did nothing but commanded them to haul up their asses back to Jet in another two hours.

"He gave us two hours." Rakshit reminded her. "If we keep extending our stay here without a pre-notice to him, he would rather fly without us than cooperate for the fifth time."

They were supposed to have a honeymoon for a month that turned to two in no time. Each day they scheduled to return, Shreya would gaze into the city with longing and Rakshit dialed his pilot the next minute to reschedule their plane. If not for Anirudh and Harshvardhan to retribute him with lined-up meetings that he was forced to attend online, they would have never left Bangkok.

Well, how could someone leave this place? It was a heaven of sorts.

With floor-to-ceiling windows in their room, the cityscape stretched before them to stare. Bangkok was a symphony of grace, a kaleidoscope of lights. The Chao Phraya River winding through the city like a silver ribbon and its banks were filled with rich views that made it difficult for them to walk away from. They had climbed the steps of Wat Arun, the temple's spires illuminated with lack of light, and breathed through the air humming with ancient whispers.

Not to forget that street food-spicy, sweet, and unforgettable.

Drifting through the floating markets - vendors selling fruits, silks, and secrets - they had released lotus in the crystal water according to local folklore, hoping for their wishes to come true.

And as they lay on their hotel balcony, the city's heartbeat echoing around them, they felt it-the love rush.

"Do you believe in magic?" Shreya had asked him at night, embracing him and hearing his heartbeat underneath her.

He took her palm in his hand, kissing her knuckles making her smile. "In this city, surrounded by temples, markets, and you? Absolutely."