She exhales shakily, her eyes locking onto mine as I slowly pull back enough to brush my thumb across her cheek.
“Sweetheart, you need to accept that I’d go through hell all over again if that’s what it takes to keep you safe. You’re stuck with me forever.”
She leans in and kisses my forehead. “It’s exactly where I want to be stuck,” she whispers.
I wrap my arms around her, my hand running over her back in gentle strokes. She quivers against me, her heartbeat syncing with mine. I close my eyes, a quiet smile curving my lips. I’ll never get enough of this… enough of her. And I sure as hell never want to know a life without her in it.
Epilogue
Sidharth
Three years later
“It’s been years, but the fact that you pulled off hiding something that big from me still doesn’t sit well,” Reyansh says, swirling the whiskey in his glass before taking a slow sip.
“We’ve been through this, Reyansh. You know damn well why I did it.” I tilt my glass, watching the amber liquid catch the light before downing it in one go. The burn sears down my throat.
It’s the same argument we’ve had for years about why I didn’t tell him about Prakash and Maya, and worse, about me and Nisha. But when I finally laid it all out, told him the truth that I’d done it for Kavya’s sake because she was pregnant, he understood. Hell, he even thanked me for it. And yet, the fucker loves dragging it up every damn time, like it’s his favourite wound to poke.
He sets his empty glass down with a dull thud. “Kavya still gives me a hard time about it, you know. Says,‘How could your best friend hide something like that from you?’”
I shrug, leaning back in my chair. “She’ll get over it. Eventually.”
Reyansh chuckles, shaking his head, and my eyes drift around the dimly lit pub, the soft music playing in the background. The cocktail waitress appears magically, silently clearing our empty glasses and setting down fresh ones without either of us saying a word.
“Perks of being regulars,” Reyansh mutters.
I give him a lazy smirk. “Or maybe we just tip well.”
He chuckles, then glances down at his watch with an exaggerated sigh.
“It’s been an hour. How long do you think this so-called girls’ night is gonna last?”
“With those two, I’d say we’ll be here long enough to finish this round and probably the next three,” I say as I lift my glass.
Reyansh groans, dragging a hand down his face. “Fuck… we should’ve said no.”
I smirk into my glass. Truth is, our women have us wrapped around their little fingers, and we both damn well know it. Saying no just isn’t on the table for us, not when it comes to their happiness.
And honestly, with Sunita Aunty at home, looking after their little son Rahil, Kavya deserved this night out. Reyansh won’t say it out loud, but even he knows his wife needs a break now and then.
On that note, my thoughts wander. Every time I see Nisha holding and playing with Rahil, I can’t help but wish my wife were already pregnant.
Yes, my wife.
Even after a year, those words still do something to me. A whole damn year married to Nisha, and I’m still counting my blessings. I seriously hit the jackpot with that woman.
I wanted to marry her the day those assholes were thrown behind bars. But Nisha wasn’t ready. She wanted to work, to prove herself first. I hated the wait, but I bit my tongue and gave her those two years, respecting her decision. And the day she became the Marketing Head, I didn’t waste a second. We told Kavya, Reyansh, and my parents about us, and the next thing I knew, I was standing under the mandap, watching the woman of my dreams walk toward me, draped in a stunning red lehenga.
“You know we can’t tell them no,” I say, tipping my glass towards Reyansh.
He leans back in his chair. “That’s the damn problem.”
“No, the problem is we like it that way.”
He shoots me a look, but doesn’t argue. Just downs his drink and grumbles, “We’re pathetic.”
“Nah, we’re Grade-A husbands,” I correct with a grin.
