POV: ARHA DEEWAN
i jerk awake, breath ragged, coming in small gasps. Sweat glands on my forehead and neck.
Another nightmare.
Of someone chasing me, pushing me off the sea cliff.
Choking me, suffocating me.
Dark Figures whose faces I can't see.
Trapped in a place where no one can hear me. no matter how loud i scream.
(Well, it's not like someone has ever heard my screams even in real life.)
Honestly, i am used to it. Like everytime, I will survive it by myself. Now it has became a habit of accepting whatever life throws at me.
Or what else I can do?
My thoughts are broken by Arjun's voice."arha, are you ok?" His voice hoarse from sleep.
As I make sense of my surroundings, with my breath still ragged and fragments of that dream clutching to the corners of my mind.
"Is it a bad dream? Here, drink some water." He says, standing up from the couch he was sleeping on and handing me the water.
I take a few sips and give it back, trying to steady my pounding heart. The clock on the bedstand read 3:14 am.
He sits beside me and takes my hand in his. "Are you ok?" He asks, worry evident in his eyes but what if it's fake. I just can't believe that someone is actually caring about me.
"Yeahh... Huhh iam good. It's just another nightmare." i say, looking down at our hands.
"If you want, we can go see a doctor." He says. "No no, no need for that. It's common to me. I have been having these types of dreams since childhood." I say.
I had informed my parents about this and they just shook it off saying it's because i watch too many horror movies when the longest horror movie i have ever seen is past it's intro.
"If you have any problem whether it's with people here or anything else just tell me. Don't hesitate." He says, looking straight into my eyes.
Tears prick at my eyelids and i quickly look down, nodding my head.
I don't deserve him. What did i even do to deserve him?
He saved me when I was at my worst, when I was nothing but just a stranger to him and gave me a place to call it my home but he didn't expected anything in return.
"Can I ask you something?" I say.
"Go ahead and next time, don't ask permission."
"Why did you choose me?" I ask.
"Huhh why did i choose you?"
"Well, i don't know." He chuckle.
"But do you want me to be honest about it?"
"Yess," my voice barely coming out of my mouth. Afraid of what might be the reasons why he married me.
"I don't know if you know how much your voice, touch, even just a look at me does to me. Just a mere look from you at my side and my heart beats like i have ran a marathon. Slight touch from you makes me imagine things which are darker than the sky above and you have the audacity to ask me why i choosed you? Honestly I don't know but i know one thing for sure that no matter what happens I am not gonna LEAVE YOU."
By the time he completes, i find myself staring at him blankly. "Arha?" He taps my shoulder to make me come out of the imagination I have gone to.
"Where did you read that?" I ask.
"Huhh?" He brows frown together.
"I mean in which book, did you read that." I state flatly and he stares at like i grown another head.
"My mind book." He said.
"Ohh really, who is the author?" I ask, sarcasm dripping from my tone.
"Arjun Singh" he replies with the same sweet voice.
"Achaaa, is it his first book? Never heard about him before." I ask not backing off. Curiosity evident in my voice like this is a normal conversation, like we are a normal couple who are talking at 3:30 AM when usually humans sleep and ghosts wake up.
"Yes and fortunately that author turns out to be your husband." We just stare at each other for what felt like hours but just a few seconds then we burst out laughing.
Well, iam that bitch who can't believe that someone wants her. Strangely, i crave for someone to want me, love me, need me like the men need their women in my friction books but when someone actually does the things i crave then i push them away. Build walls so high that they can't climb. Because u don't know if it's tainted or real care, don't know if it's sympathy or real love.
^_________^^_________^^______^
IN THE MORNING.
we complete our morning routine and head down for breakfast. My outfit is simple yellow kurti with white cargo pants.
As we reach the dinning area the sound chatter fills the air with the smell of stream. "Bhabhi ji?" Zavi says, midway of sitting. Everyone attention turns to me. Feeling nervous i ask "what happened?"
Standing straight, he comes to me
"did you just descend from the heaven."
"Ohh man, you scared the blood out of me." I huffed, smacking him on the head.
"Ouchh! bhabhi, iam serious about that question." He says, rudding the spot and we all laugh at his reaction.
Arjun takes the head chair and i head to the kitchen to help move the dishes. Aunty and chachi are preparing tea and coffee while some maids are moving in and out placing the plates on the dinning table.
Sensing my presence they turn back. I murmur a small good morning. "Good morning beta!" They both say in union.
"Did you sleep well?" Aunty asks, guiding through the kitchen. "Yes aunty. Not bad" i say.
"After breakfast, ask arjun to show you around the house." Chachi says and i nod my head.
"And call me ma not aunty. Ok?" Aunty says I mean ma. "Ok ma."
We complete our breakfast with zavian's tactics, uncle's savage replies, Kabir revealing truths about zavian's birth and zara's teasing. All the while arjun looks always landed on me at last making me look like an tomato to which I so hardly tried to hide. "TRIED" but failed miserably.
Breakfast at the Singh mansion felt nothing like the breakfasts I had grown up with. Back at my house, the dining table was always polished and perfect, but so was the silence. Every conversation was a lecture—about grades, reputation, or manners. Every word weighed heavy, like it was being judged before it even left your mouth.
But here it was different.
Zavian was busy coming up with ridiculous tactics to steal food from Zara’s plate, uncle kept dropping savage one-liners that made everyone choke on their juice, Kabir casually revealed “truths” about Zavian’s birth like it was some breaking news, and Zara… she never missed a chance to tease. The whole table was filled with laughter, mock arguments, and a kind of chaos that felt more like harmony.
And I liked it. More than liked it—I wanted this. I wanted dining tables that echoed with jokes and teasing, not stiff rules. I wanted to be part of this madness, where love was shown not through strictness, but through laughter. For the first time, I didn’t want the meal to end.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:-
HEY CUTIES, AUTHOR HERE
HOW IS THE CHAPTER?
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Bye bye tata
Care take..
-ZYRA
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