The first thing Paridhi noticed when she woke up was the blanket. She didn't remember seeing it when she fell asleep...

The other side of the bed was empty and neat, as if no one had slept there at all..

She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face.

"Rana sa?" she called softly, just to check.

No replyy.

She got up, stretched her arms above her head, and walked across the thick carpet towards the bathroom. As she entered, she caught her reflection in the mirror and stopped..

"oh goddd," she chuckled

Her hair was going in five different directions. Her eyes were still puffy, and there was a pillow mark on her cheek. She leaned closer to the mirror and stared at herself.

"Main toh aandhi mein phas gayi thi kya?"

[Did I get caught in a storm or something?]

She turned on the shower and stepped in once the water warmed up. She immediately felt better...

She washed her hair slowly, humming something without realizing what it was, letting the hot water ease the tiredness in her shoulders from all the ceremonies yesterday...

It took a while before she felt fully awake.

After stepping out and wrapping herself in the large white towel, she stood in front of the mirror for a moment...

Her cheeks were pink from the heat of the shower...

She reached for the handle but then stopped. She stood still for a moment.

She hadn't brought any clothes into the bathroom with her..

She pressed her forehead against the door and closed her eyes. Of all the things..

First morning after marriage, and here she was standing in a towel like a complete disaster..

She took a breath. It was fine.. The closet was just across the bedroom. Abhimaan wasn't back yet. ..

She hadn't heard a sound from the other side of the door. She could just go quickly, grab something, and come right back...

She cracked the door open and looked out.

It was Empty....

Okayyyyyy

She opened the door, gripped the towel tightly with one hand, and walked out..

The cool air hit her all at once, and she moved faster. Her bare feet made no sound on the carpet, and damp hair dripped tiny spots behind her. She was almost at the closet. Almost there-

The bedroom door swung open.

She stopped so suddenly she nearly stumbled.

Abhimaan walked in, reading some papers without looking up, completely unbothered and fully dressed...

His hair was slightly damp as if he had showered elsewhere. Then he looked up and he saw her..

Paridhi felt every drop of water on her skin. She gripped the towel so hard her fingers hurt...

She stared at him, and he stared back. Neither of them spoke for what felt like a long time..

His eyes moved slowly from her face to her wet hair, then to her shoulders, and back to her face...

The papers in his hand crinkled.

Paridhi's cheeks went from warm to burning. She looked at the wall to the right of his face because she couldn't meet his gaze directly, not now, not like this...

"I forgot my clothes," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I forgot to take them with me."

Abhimaan was silent for a moment.

Then he said slowly, "You forgot your clothes."

She nodded "Yes."

Another pause. "And your solution was to walk across the room."

"It seemed like a good idea," she said, still looking at the wall.

She heard him exhale, a specific kind of exhale that seemed to be trying hard not to turn into something else.

"Paridhi," he said.

"Hmmm?"

He frowned when he noticed she wasn't looking at him. "Look at me."

She turned her head slightly in his direction and found a spot near his left ear to focus on..

"Paridhi."

She looked at him and instantly regretted it. He was watching her intensely..

His jaw was tight, but his eyes were doing something different. The overall effect made it very hard for her to think...

"The door was unlocked," he said.

"I know."

"Anyone could have walked in."

"I know." She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

He tilted his head slightly, still watching her like he was trying to read something she didn't realize she was showing...

Then he set the papers down on the side table and walked toward her. She stepped back slightly but stopped herself...

He paused when he got close enough that she had to look up at him. His gaze went from her face to her dripping hair to her face again...

A drop of water slid from the tip of her hair and ran down her cheek, and he watched it..

"You're dripping on the carpet," he said.

"I know," she said, barely breathing.

He reached out, lightly tucking a wet strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers barely touched her face. She went completely still, as if any movement might shatter the moment...

"Cold?" he asked.

"No," she said, her voice slightly unsteady.

His eyes moved to her face, to her pink cheeks, her wet lashes, and the tight grip she had on the towel. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly...

"You're red," he said.

"I'm not."

"You are," he replied. "Very."

"It's from the hot shower," she said, trying to maintain her dignity.

"Of course," he said,..

She wanted to walk back into the bathroom and stay there forever.

She looked away. He was still close. She could smell his cologne,..

"Rana sa," she muttered to the floor.

"Rani sa," he replied.

"Can you please stop looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like-" she started but paused then said "like that."

"I'm just standing here," he said, in a tone of complete innocence that she didn't believe for a second..

She pressed her lips together. He took a small step to the side, moving slightly in front of her instead of beside her...

Then he tilted his head down to find her eyes, which she was actively hiding by focusing on the floor...

She refused to cooperate. He dipped lower. She looked further down. He chuckled and said

"Look up," he said.

"No."

"Paridhi."

"I'm busy."

"Doing what?"

"Looking at the floor."

There was a pause, and then he actually laughed this time...

She looked up automatically. She had never seen him laugh like that before,.. It was so unexpectedly lovely that she forgot to look away.

He reached out and tapped her nose with one finger..

She blinked.

"you're so cute Pari" he said.

She opened her mouth, closed it, feeling her face burning. She probably looked like a tomato. There was nothing she could do about that...

"You are so mean," she said.

"I haven't done anything," he replied.

"You're doing it right now," she shot back.

"What am I doing???"

"You know what you're doing," she said,..

He looked at her for a moment with those warm dark eyes. Then he gently pinched her cheek softly between his thumb and finger. Not hard, just enough. She swatted his hand away, and he let her....

"Rana sa!" she said.

"Hmm?"

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

She let out a frustrated sound, looked away, and he laughed again, and she hated how much she enjoyed it...

"Go get dressed," he said, his voice gentle. "You'll get cold standing here."

"I was trying to get dressed," she said to him. "You walked in."

"You walked out without clothes."

"Into an empty room."

"Clearly not that empty."

She had no response to that. She pressed her lips tightly together and stared at the closet door, telling herself she was not smiling. She was definitely not smiling...

She walked to the closet, making sure not to look at him. She took out the first saree she found, tucked it under her arm, and turned back toward the bathroom...

"Paridhi."

She stopped.

"You have a leaf in your hair."

She quickly reached up with her free hand, feeling in her wet hair for a leaf that was probably not there....

When she heard his exhale behind her, she realized what he had done. She turned around slowly...

He stood there with his hands in his pockets, his face neutral, but his eyes gave him away...

"There is no leaf," she said.

"There might have been," he replied.

She stared at him for a long moment.

"You," she said, "are a lot."

"So I've been told," he replied with a smirk.

She huffed and turned back, walked to the bathroom, closed the door behind her, leaned against it, and covered her burning face with her free hand...

Then she smiled widely, causing her cheeks to hurt, and changed as quickly as she could.....

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