The golden morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. Aarav lay still, his body relaxed, exhaustion from the previous night evident. His bare skin felt the cool morning air, but his mind was still caught somewhere between sleep and the memories of the night before.
Meanwhile, his wife had woken up early. She had completed her morning prayers, bathed, and changed into a fresh saree. Her damp hair, still wet from the bath, was wrapped in a towel. Holding a small brass plate with a lit diya, she quietly approached the bed to wake Aarav for the morning aarti.
As she gently nudged him awake, Aarav stirred, his mind sluggish from sleep. Before she could step back, his hand instinctively reached out, gripping her wrist firmly. She gasped, startled by his sudden touch, and in that moment of unbalanced surprise, she lost her footing and fell onto his chest.
"What are you doing?, someone might see us ." she whispered, her voice soft and breathless.
Aarav blinked away the last traces of sleep, his arms instinctively tightening around her. She struggled slightly, but his hold remained strong.
"Let them see," he murmured, his voice husky with lingering drowsiness. "Let them know how much I love you."
His words made her pause. Love? The word felt unexpected yet beautiful. She gazed at him, surprised but not displeased. A warm feeling spread through her chest, an unfamiliar joy at hearing those words from a man she had barely known until yesterday.
For a fleeting moment, she wanted to stay in his embrace, to close her eyes and savor the warmth of his arms. But reality struck her, and she gently pushed against his chest.
"Let me go,mother is calling. " she said, trying to sound firm, though her voice held a trace of reluctance.
Aarav sighed but released her, watching as she quickly stood up and smoothed her saree. Without another word, she picked up the aarti plate and turned towards the kitchen, her heart still beating a little too fast.
Aarav finally sat up, rubbing his face. The weight of reality hit him—this was not just a moment between the two of them. They lived with his parents and sister. In Indian families, privacy was a luxury, and he couldn't afford to forget that.
Still, as he stretched and got up to take a bath, he couldn't help but smirk at his own boldness from the night before.