There was a knock on the door and she told the person to come inside.

“Hey buddy! Wassup-woah! Why are you dressed up so pretty?”

Vedant asked, slumping down on the bed. She ignored him and he poked her arm. She gave him a bored look and he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Date hai na bhai ke saath?”

She tried to keep herself from smiling but she couldn’t.

“Help me select the jewellery na! Wo aate hi honge thodi der mai.”

“‘Wo’ and all haan! Tu toh bilkul sati savitri types biwi banti jaa rhi hai. ‘Wo’ aate honge.”

He teased and she hit his arm showing him all the jewellery options. He did help her by telling her what not to wear.

“Achha ab ye bata ki baal khule chhodu? Ya aise messy sa bun bana lu? Khule rakhungi toh peechhe pura blouse ka look kharab ho jaayega na? Bta na Vedant!”

“Apne miya se hi puchhle unhe kaise pasand hai.”

She again heard him tease her and she clicked her tongue.

“Mujhe unhe pure look ke saath surprise krna hai na. Tu useless hai ek dum. Mai khud hi dekh lungi.”

“I like them open.”

She heard her husband and turned to look at him surprised. He stood at the entrance with a grin on his face. Vedant took his leave while showing her a thumbs up before leaving.

But Vanisha didn’t pay attention to it. She couldn’t look away from the look in his eyes. He looked at her as if she was the reason for his existence. He walked towards her and stopped right before her. He softly cradled her face in his hands and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“I have no words about how beautiful you look.”

She bit her lip and smiled shyly. He held her in his arms and she melted in his hold.

“I love you so much Isha.”

Her heart always skipped a beat when he confessed his feelings.

They enjoyed themselves a lot on their first date. Although somewhere during the night Ved was hoping she gave him some sign that she was now comfortable enough to initiate something. Maybe not sex, but something. He yearned for her. But not without her consent. Never without it.

They laid on the bed cuddling into each other as Vanisha told him what all she liked today. Their feet rubbing against each other’s in an intimate yet tender manner.

“Aapko kya achha laga aaj?”

She asked after rambling for a full minute. His eyes shone with love as he gazed into her eyes. He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and whispered.

“Aap.”

And that one word made her breath hitch. The intensity in his gaze made her breathless. She leaned upwards without realising. He followed suit and they continued to lean in until they could feel the breath of the other on their lips.

She felt his hold on her tighten and heard his constrained whisper.

“Say something Vanisha.”

She clutched his t-shirt and closed her eyes and the only thing that left her lips at the moment was his name as a breathy whisper. That was all it took and his lips were on hers. The kiss started urgent and hungry. Like he was a starving man who was given a meal after years.

He hovered over her partially and her fingers threaded in his hair as she tried to copy his movements and move her lips in sync with his. Their sighs and moans mixed into the kiss, one of his legs draped over hers, their bodies rubbed against each other.

He pulled back and looked at her with dazed eyes and she gave him a lazy seductive look. His lips came down on hers again, this time in a slow and passionate kiss. This time, he turned their positions and pulled her over his body partially. He held her hair in a fist away from her face to get unrestricted access to her lips, while the other hand held her waist securely.

Vanisha had thought about the kiss the entire day in the office the next day. All she could think about was the way his lips felt against hers. She couldn’t believe that it happened. Not that she regretted it. She would never regret anything with him. Ever. 

She’d realised how much she had come to love him. But a part of her felt guilty for not telling him the truth. About what she thought in the beginning. About what she thought she felt about Vedant. 

She knew she didn’t have to ruin anything by telling him because essentially nothing ever happened. But she couldn’t keep hiding such a big part of her life from him. He deserved the truth from her. 

Almost a week since their first kiss and the two were like rabbits in heat. They didn't do anything more than make out but the makeouts were too steamy. She stopped every time things started going out of hands because she didn’t want to do anything before telling him the truth.

Vanisha had just come out of the washroom when she saw Ved enter the room.

“Aaj jaldi aa gye aap?”

“Haan aaj kaam jyada nhi tha, toh sab jaldi nikal aaye. I’ll freshen up and join you for dinner.”

He said and entered the washroom after kissing her head and pecking her lips. She had to tell him tonight. She didn’t want to hide things from him. They returned to their room after dinner and Vanisha was trying to think of how to approach the topic when Ved held her and asked.

“What is it?”

“Huh?”

“Kya baat hai? Itni pareshaan kyu ho? Kuch baat krni hai?”

She sighed and nodded. He kissed her head and asked her to go on. She made him sit on the bed and held his hands.

“Aap pehle promise kariye ki aap meri puri baat sunenge aur phir react karenge.”

He nodded and she took a deep breath.

“Jab mummy ne mujhe iss rishte ke baare mai bataya tha toh unhone aapka naam lia. But uss waqt mai Vedant ko bhi Ved hi bulati thi.”

She said and Ved’s smile fell quicker than anything.

“So when she told me about this, mera pehla assumption ye tha ki meri shaadi…Vedant se hone wali hai…and isliye maine haan keh dia.”

Ved sat silent listening and processing the information she was discarding on him.

“Lekin engagement se ek din pehle jab Vedant ghar aaya tha tab mujhe sab samajh aaya ki actually ho kya raha hai…”

And then she told him how she realised she was actually getting married to him and not Vedant and how she felt but why she still went ahead with the engagement.