Aadya's POV
The weekend starts tomorrow. And that leaves us with almost two weeks for the wedding. We will be leaving for Udaipur next Monday, three days before the wedding, for Haldi, Mehendi, Sangeet and some other wedding rituals. Before that we have to attend a charity event next Saturday. It's gonna be very hectic.
I am tired after a busy day, so I changed into my shorts and tee quickly, took the book I am reading currently and went to my balcony. It's my favourite thing to do every night. I have this cute little aesthetic corner which I made by myself. And almost every night I sit there and read my book or gaze at the moon. The moon is my loyalist, knows all my secrets and keeps them safe.
Last night I remember I was sitting against the wall gazing at the moon. After that I don't know what happened because sleep engulfed me. But this morning when I woke up I was in my bed holding Cookie. I guess I have started sleepwalking. Kanha, what will happen to me.
Keeping my overthinking aside, I started reading my book. I was reading a toe curling smut scene when I felt hot breathing near my right ear. I was so lost in my fictional world that I didn't pay much attention to it and was just enjoying the sensation, when I heard a husky deep voice
"Wanna recreate this, Dove!?",
At lightning speed I closed my book and turned around to see the person, but I lost my balance. I was about to fall in God knows what position when Adrian held me.
His face was so near that our breath got tangled together. His face looked even better from this close. Those small freckles on his nose, which can't be seen if you move even a few inches away, his baby blue eyes, which were looking in mine with some feelings I couldn't decipher. Though I noticed them getting a shade darker and fuck it was hot. His perfect nose, jawline and some strands of wet hair falling on his face was making him look sexier if that is even possible. Then, I dropped my eyes to his lips. Those pink plump lips. The thought of tasting them came to mind and I involuntarily licked my own lips.
I heard him growling and that brought me back from my la la land.
And here I go with embarrassing myself yet again and this time I can't even look at him.
I quickly got out of his hold and sat up straight.
Think Aadya, think of something quickly to divert the topic. Godddd... It is getting too awkward.
"Umm.. I.. actually... I was... Wait... What are you doing here!? And don't you know peeping into someone's book when they are reading is a crime", I said climbing on the mattress and looking down at him.
He looked at me amusingly and said, "Really I never heard of a crime like that".
"Well, then today you got to know about it. It is a crime", at this point I didn't know what I was blabbering but I just wanted to prove my point.
"And it's a crime according to which rule book?", He asked with amusement dripping in his voice.
He really is a gaddha. I am not cracking any jokes here and he is finding it funny.
"It... Umm... Crime... Umm... According....", What the hell is wrong with you brainy. Come on it's midnight your time of overthinking. Use your talent. What do I say now.
"Yess, it is a crime according to the reader's constitution. You peasants don't know about it. It is a constitution made by some of the great readers and writers of all time", I started with my self made explanation while walking here and there on the mattress. Then I turned towards him and bent down to match his eye level, pointed a finger on his chest and continued, "And if you dare break any of the rules, you will be punished. And the punishment is very harsh", With that said I straightened up again and glared down at him.
"Sounds interesting, so what are the punishments, if I may ask", he asked
"No, you may not ask. Permission denied. So, shut up now", I said putting my hands on my waist.
All this while I didn't notice that another of the rarest sights was unfolding in front of me.
Adrian Williams was smiling. And that's when I noticed that he gets dimples while smiling. I started noticing his features.
And slowly I drowned in those blue oceans again. This feeling is so weird that I can't explain it in words. It's like I want it. I crave to drown in those oceans and never get out of them ever again. It's like the waves of the oceans want to take me away with them and hide me in a world that only has him and me. The way his eyes shine in the night is exactly like how the sea shines under the moon. I can watch him forever and never get bored.
His dimples are like the puddles that form after rain, inviting me towards them.
I was so lost in drinking in his features that I didn't realise I was standing on the soft and uneven mattress. The moment I tried to straighten up, I lost my balance and fell on Adrian. He didn't get time to understand what happened and he also fell down with me above him.
Can my life get anymore dramatic and filmy!?
I didn't want to embarrass myself further so I tried to get off him. But this 'gentleman' here held me by my waist. Like what in the KJO movie is happening here. And then my hair, I made a bun but it got opened. God, don't take all my words seriously. Don't make my life more dramatic. I put my hair behind my face and looked up at Adrian. He was looking at my face the whole time, more like admiring me. Dude, there is nothing in my face worth admiration.
I again tried to wiggle and get off him but he just increased his hold over me.
"What are you trying to do!?", I looked him in his eyes and asked.
"Just admiring something worth admiration. Gimme some moments", he said lowly.
How can a sentence said in a specific tone and voice open a cage of butterflies in your stomach.
"Listen, Mr. Williams, this is not your Jane Austen world going on. Leave me, I am heavy and if you don't leave me you get back pain", I tried to reason with him.
"You are heavy!?", He chuckled
"Yes, I am.... I am.... My weight is 55 kgs", I said nervously looking anywhere but his eyes. My weight is a sensitive topic for me. I have been made to feel uncomfortable in my teenage years for being a little chubby. Those incidents still have an impact on me.
"And you think that's heavy. Dove, I lift weights double of yours in my pre workout session. You are the lightest thing I can feel for now. You are perfect just the way you are. Your body resembles a goddess and I feel blessed to have her in my arms right now. Hence, I am not leaving you", he said softly.
I don't know if he realised it or not, but those words made me feel completely different and it is a good different. I wanted to be in his embrace for some more time. I was liking this feeling a lot. His face was so close to mine. The soft moonlight was making him look ten times better if that is even possible.
Fuck, what am I doing. He is my brother's best friend. I can't be involved with him. This is absurd.
I tried to stand back again and this time I got successful in doing that. I quickly sprinted out of his grip and stood straight followed by him.
"What are you doing here!?", I asked going back to my mattress, ignoring him.
"Well, this balcony is attached to my room also and I needed some fresh air, that's why", he said casually leaning on the railing of the balcony.
"You needed fresh air at midnight!?", I looked his way and asked him
"Is there some fixed time for a person to need fresh air!? Isn't that a basic thing!? Or has your reader's community made a law on that too!?", He asked amusingly.
Seriously Aadya, the reader's community!? Couldn't you make any worse excuse than this!?
"I didn't mean that. It's just in the past week I have never seen you coming here that too at this hour, you know it's late", I said as a matter of fact.
"In that case it's late for you too. Or have your reader's community also made different clocks for different people. And in your clock it's early", he said sarcastically.
"Why are you bringing that in every conversation. And when I ask you a question you reply to it with an answer and not another question. Got that Mr. Williams", I said pointing my finger at him trying to imitate him.
"Yes Ms. Sharma", he said, saluting me with his two fingers.
I didn't drag the conversation further and sat on my mattress. I casually started looking towards the moon out of habit. Today was a full moon night, but the clouds were trying to cover my pretty moon every now and then. But it always escaped them and appeared back. At this point I had forgotten all about my surroundings and the reality and my sole focus was on the sky above me. The scene seemed like the moon was playing hide and seek with me and the clouds were helping him.
"What's so amusing about the sky that made you chuckle", I heard Adrian's voice which brought my attention back to him.
"For you it is just a normal sky with the same normal clouds and the same normal Moon", I started looking back at the game that they were playing, "But for me it is a whole different world. A world which takes me away from my reality. A world where I am not THE AADYA SHARMA, who is successful because of her family, who has nothing special in herself. A world where I am just me. A world where I am present without being physically present there. The moon, the stars and the clouds are not normal for me". I didn't know what I blabbered but it felt good pouring some of my soul out.
I looked back at Adrian and saw that he started looking towards the sky. From his expression I understood he didn't see anything special and it's not his fault. Because it's not you who chooses the sky and the elements, it's them to choose you. One understands their depth only when they relate their lives to them.
"What do you think of it!?", I asked him
"I... I don't know... For me it's just Normal. Umm... What do you see that is different from what I see!?", He asked confused.
"As I said it's a whole different world for me. For now if I say, I feel the moon is trying to play hide and seek with me and the clouds are helping it. They are hiding it behind them every now and then and the moon comes out to tease me a little and then hide again. That is one way to see it", I explained to him.
"And what is the other", he asked curiously.
"Umm.. well, the other perspective is that it's a full moon night. The moon is shining brightly in the dark sky. It looks like the most beautiful element of the night sky. But the clouds can't seem to handle it and hence they are trying to bring it down by covering it. They don't want people to see the moon shining", I said sadly looking continuously towards the sky.
"Isn't it how the human world also works. When you become successful and attain a position which for most people is just a dream, they try to outshine you by covering your success and enhancing your flaws!?", He stated the question as a matter of fact to which I just smiled.
"That's exactly what I meant. When you start to observe nature, you slowly and eventually understand how the world works. It is a cycle. No one can escape it." I said looking back at him and he started noticing the sky again. I told him my point of view on this. I don't know why I shared these things with him but the urge to do it came out naturally.
I looked at him and saw him staring at my face with an expression mixed with amusement and something I couldn't decipher.
"You are not what you show the world. There is something that you are hiding. Something painful", and there he hit a nerve.
Fuckkk, I shouldn't have opened my mouth.
"And what makes you think like that!?", Still I had the courage to question him looking straight in his eyes. Somewhere I wanted to know how easily he read me.
"I have never heard a person talking about the sky, the moon, the clouds and the stars with so much passion and so much longing as you did. The way you see them, the way you explained them and the way you related them to life. It can be done only by someone who can feel it", he answered and I am surprised on how he easily broke one of my walls and got a step inside me.
"You... You are overthinking it.... It is nothing like that... Also, it is very late. We should go to sleep. Good night Mr. Williams", I said looking here and there. Then I quickly took my book and Cookie from the mattress and started going back to my room.
I looked back at him for one last time and saw his gaze fixed at something in my hand. I glanced down and saw he was glaring at my COOKIE.
"Nice toy", he said glaring at him one last time and left.
What the actual fuckk. Did he just call my baby a TOY. Who does he think he is huh. Is he some hot billionaire who has the body of a Greek God.
Yes.
Urrrggghhhhh. I hate him.
No, you don't. You like him
Will you stop. He is dead end. Even if I do like him I can't have any sort of relationship with him. He is my brother's best friend. This is forbidden.
🕊️
I never imagined the girl who is always laughing, giggling and joking around in front of others carries so much pain inside. I don't know the reason for the pain but I am amandant to take it away. The way she explained those elements of the night sky which I have always thought of just some dramatic creation of nature. The way she related them to real life. There has to be something that drew her close to the night sky. That made her feel safe in its embrace and not fear away from it.
And that ugly stuffed animal that she has. I have this urge to quietly take it from her bring it to my room and play WWE with it. I want to punch it, kick it and tear it into shreds. How lucky that brat is. He gets to hug her every night and look at me, thinking about her every night for the last two years. I never imagined I would be jealous of a non living creature but here I am sulking and that bastard is enjoying it in her embrace.
I somehow controlled my frustration and tried to sleep. But today, the saddened eyes came to my mind, which looked towards the sky with so much hope and longing.
I thought she was an easy to read girl but today I realised how wrong I was. She is a mystery who pretends to be an open book in front of others.
I looked at the moon and felt it smiling my way, as if telling me to do what it has not been able to do for years.
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Sabse pehle hai pyaar,
Main aur tum dono to ek hai
Uske baad aaye aashayein,
Tum to tum ho, main to main hu
Aakhir mein hum dono soche,
Ki tum kon ho aur main kon hu 🫶🏻💖
Well, that's why they say the most beautiful smiles are usually the most painful ones.
What do you think is Aadya hiding behind the facade of the perfect daughter, perfect sister, perfect friend and most importantly perfect human.
For some people the moon is just a beautiful object to photograph. For some it is just a normal celestial object. But there are some who relate to it in ways no-one can even think about.
Jyada ho gya I guess 😅
If you liked the chapter, vote and comment your opinion 🫶🏻🤍
Until next time ❤️