The morning was sunny with a warm breeze. It wasn't too hot, just the perfect temperature. The light seeping in from the windshield had Kriti looking like she was glowing sitting in the passenger seat. And that definitely made it difficult for Arnav to keep his eyes off of her.
"You're staring." She called him out, scrolling her phone.
"You're glowing." Mindlessly, Arnav blurted out. "Um, I meant, you look pretty today." Kirti's face was too red by then.
"Now, your face is red." For whatever reason today, he was hyper focused on his wife. "I like it."
His words had Kirit's jaw open. "You're talking too much today."
Arnav didn't reply. The smirk on his face said he was taking delight in this conversation. Ten minutes later they were parked in front of Kriti's office.
"I'll pick your car up in the afternoon, okay?"
"Yeah, alright." Kriti said, unbuckling her seatbelt. She saw a few of her colleagues standing near the entrance and they were looking directly at her or they were looking directly at the man beside her.
"Colleagues?"
"Yes." Kriti nodded. "Do you want to meet them? They've been asking all about you."
They got out of the car ready to meet her colleagues and met with them halfway to the entrance. "Good morning. This is my husband, Arnav."
Hi's were exchanged and small talk was made. A colleague who was standing right next to Kriti whispered into her ears, "your husband is really handsome." A proud look overtook her face. For years, the women around her would show-off their husbands and insistently talked about them. Today, she had her person to show-off. A hand wrapped around her shoulders, tugging her in. It was Arnav. He was still talking to a colleague but his eyes were focused on Prakash who seemed to be looking anywhere else.
A few minutes later, they took their leave and went into the office. Everyone, except Prakash. He stood near the entrance casting glances at her.
"Look at that creep." Arnav hissed. Kriti took a step to stand in front of him.
Placing her palm on his cheek, she turned his face to focus on her. "Arnav."
"Yeah?" He answered, his voice finding back softness.
"Forget about him. He never even spoke to me so it shouldn't be a bother."
"He better keep it that way." Arnav's protectiveness had her becoming more and more red. She only hoped that it wasn't too obvious.
"Listen,-" she began, "I meant to ask at breakfast but, um, how did you sleep last night?" He could definitely read in between the lines. Kriti wanted to know if he had a nightmare.
"Well, I instantly woke up when my brain was going to experience one but on the bright side, I slept for a good straight four hours."
"Oh. Arnav, I want you to wake me up if it gets too bad." She took his hand in hers. "I want to be there."
Arnav assessed her face for a minute and leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead. "Done."
"Have a good day, Kritika."
"You too."
—----------------------------------
During lunch, Kriti sent a photo of her empty lunch box to Arnav saying the food was delicious. He simply sent a good. Of course, her husband was bad at texting. He'd rather call or talk in person.
Next time, add a smiley, Kriti sent a text back.
A few seconds later, another text came through which sped up her heart.
Good *heart emoji*. Though it was a pink heart, it had her blushing in the middle of the office cafeteria. She quickly glanced around to make sure no one was looking at her.
"Congratulations on the wedding." Prakash was standing beside her.
"Thank you." She was confused why he congratulated after a week of marriage.
"I heard he's ex-army." Something about his posture and his tone gave away that he was looking for trouble.
Kriti kept her calm and answered. "Yes. He was a lieutenant."
"Yeah, yeah, heard about that too." He waved his hand in the air brushing it away. "His knee was injured right?" Now a smirk played on his lips. "He can't lift things, no? Can he at least carry his wife?"
Kriti rolled her eyes and got up to leave but Prakash followed her outside the cafeteria. "You know, a good husband should always be able to carry his wife."
"You think you've done something here, haven't you?" She crossed her arms and looked him in the eye. "I agree, a good husband should carry his wife but do you know what's even better?" Prakash raised a brow. "The best husband should be able to punch someone in the face because his wife asked him to."
His smug look fell, taking a few steps back.
"And I assure you, Mr. whatever- your-name-is, my husband will do just that and he'll even carry you to the hospital to get your face fixed."
"Kritika, I-", She gestured to him to stop talking with her palm.
"I'm going to advise you to never talk to me and don't you ever think I'm going to just stand watch when you run your mouth about my husband. And it is Mrs.Randhawa for you." Prakash's face was flushed as she said the last part loudly and a couple of heads turned their way.
On their ride back to home in the evening, Arnav could sense something troubling Kriti.
"How was your day?" He asked.
"Normal." Her one word answer confirmed his suspicion.
The rest of the drive was quiet. Neither of them spoke a word. As soon as they were inside their home, Arnav asked again, "what happened?".
Kriti sighed and drank some water first. "It is that creep, Prakash"
Upon hearing his name, Arnav took a few steps and laid his hand on her elbow. "What did he do?"
"He was just talking shit." She sat down on the couch. "I don't know what prompted him to talk to me today. One second, he was congratulating me on the wedding and the next, he was speaking nonsense."
"What did he say?" Arnav's voice sounded way too sharp now, as if it could cut glass. He was one step away from fumes coming out of his ears.
Kriti gently pulled him down to sit by his hand. "Arnav, I took care of it. He won't bother me again."
"How? Are you okay?"
"I pushed some sense into his brain and yes, I'm okay." In fact, she was more than okay. Her dampened mood disappeared on seeing her husband care for her, seeing him so worked up for her. It felt good to be cared for. Any other person would've told her to take it lightly.
"If he bothers you again, you're going to tell me okay?" His mind hadn't fully calmed down but if Kriti said she had taken care of the matter, he'd have to trust her.
"Okay, husband. Done." When she got up, she noticed something additional in the balcony. "What is that?" She asked, pointing at it.
"What do you think it is?" A smile played on Arnav's lips.
Gasping, she hurried to the balcony. "Arnav! You got us a swing?"
"This was your surprise. Do you like it?"
"Arnav, I love it!" She jumped holding onto his arm. "It is beautiful. Thank you."
"Glad you did." Seeing her smile and the twinkle in her eyes, he vowed to always keep it the same away.
After their dinner, they sat on the swing looking into the dark vastness in front of them. The park was empty and so was the road. Streetlamps flickered, all the birds were asleep. The couple sat side by side basking in the cool breeze. Both were happy with their newfound lives and prayed for the other person's happiness to be constant.
************************************
Hope y'all like this one!
QOTD: Fav book bf?
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