Neel beams. “I am extremely helpful.”
Divya shakes her head, smiling.
“I can see that.”
When I reach her I take her hand gently. Her fingers curl into mine automatically like they always do. The small familiar gesture steadies something inside my chest. “Do you remember the day we got married?” I ask quietly.
Her eyebrows lift. “How could I forget?”
“That day happened very fast.”
“That’s a very polite way of describing chaos.”
I nod. “It wasn’t the kind of beginning you deserved.”
She tilts her head slightly and smiles gently. “I didn’t mind.”
“I did.”
Her expression shifts. “Why?”
“Because I never asked you.” The wind moves softly across the terrace, carrying the faint scent of night flowers from somewhere nearby.
I take a slow breath. “We got married once because we needed something. But somewhere between Lego towers and late-night tea and you yelling at me for leaving my books everywhere…”
Her lips twitch. “…something changed.” Her eyes search my face.
"Let me guess, you fell in love with me?" She smirks and I laugh.
I look directly at her. “Yes, I completely, utterly, hopelessly, fell in love with you.”
Behind her Neel makes a very loud emotional sound. “YESS.”
Divya laughs through the sudden shine in her eyes. “Neel.”
“What?” he protests. “This is beautiful.”
I squeeze her hand gently. “And now I want something different.”
She watches me carefully. “What?”
My heart beats once.
Hard.
Then I kneel.
Her breath catches instantly. “Aditya—”
“Let me finish.”
I open the ring box. The stone catches the fairy lights. “Divya,” I say quietly, “you walked into my life looking for a book that reminded you of your father.”
Her smile trembles. “And somehow you became the story I never want to stop reading.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “You turned a house that was supposed to be temporary into a home I never want to leave.” My eyes land on Neel, standing behind us, beaming like he has recieved the best lego set in the world, “And you and that little menace behind you somehow became the best part of every single day.”
Neel wipes his eye dramatically. “This is extremely emotional.”
