The Next Morning

Janvi stood barefoot on the bed, fear flooding her wide eyes. Her hands trembled uncontrollably. Rishi was at the gym, unaware of the chaos she was facing alone.

As the door clicked open, Rishi stepped inside, wiping his sweat with a towel—only to freeze when he saw her trembling on the bed.

“Janvi?” he called, confused.

The moment her eyes met his, she screamed—

"RISHIIIII!"

He flinched and rushed to her side, jumping onto the bed.

“Dove, relax. What happened? Why are you so scared?” he asked gently, his voice a calming contrast to the panic in her breath.

Without saying a word, she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

“Tell me, baby. What happened?” he murmured, rubbing her back soothingly.

“Woh… w-waha chi-chipkali hai…” she stuttered, still clutching him.

“Use hatao waha se!” she screamed into his shirt.

“Shhh, jaan... relax. It’s just a lizard,” he whispered, still calm. “Itna kya dar rahi ho?”

“Tumhe lagta hai main dar rahi hoon? Mujhe dar nahi lagta chipkali se,” she replied indignantly. “I just don't like that ugly creature!”

“Ohh, aisa hai?” he teased. “Theek hai, to jaane do us ugly creature ko. Voh khud chali jayegi.”

She slapped his chest lightly, pouting. “Bhagao na usko, please!”

He smirked, gripping her waist. “Aap pehle neeche to utro.”

“N-nahi! Voh chipkali bed ke neeche hai!”

Rishi scanned the room and spotted the lizard on the balcony glass. “Woh dekho, balcony se chali jayegi,” he pointed out.

Janvi peeked and gasped again. “Woh wapas aa jayegi! Bhagao usko!”

“Theek hai,” he said with a sigh. “To mujhe jaane to do so I can throw her away.”

She hugged him tighter. “Nahi, aap mat jao. Yahin raho.”

“Use hataun bhi aur kahin jaun bhi nahi? Kya karu main ab?” he chuckled.

“Main nahi jaanti. Bas voh chipkali hatao—kaise bhi!” she insisted dramatically.

He grinned. “Voh dekho, chali gayi.”

Janvi peeked again. The lizard had indeed vanished. She sighed in relief and finally let go.

♡

After a shower, Janvi emerged fresh and glowing. She wore a deep maroon salwar suit adorned with delicate golden embroidery and a soft bandhani dupatta. The morning light kissed her features gently, enhancing the red sindoor in her hairline, the mangalsutra resting on her collarbone, and the bridal chooda on her wrists—each symbol glistening quietly, echoing her new bride’s grace.

Rishi had changed into a crisp black formal outfit, exuding effortless charm.

After a hearty breakfast with the family, everyone left for work.

♡

Inside his office cabin, Rishi slammed the door shut behind him, breath heavy. He undid the top two buttons of his shirt and tossed the blazer onto the couch.

Pouring himself a glass of water, he gulped it down and sank into the chair. Just when he thought he’d catch a moment of peace, a notification blinked on his phone screen—a reminder for the next meeting in 10 minutes.

He didn’t respond. His tired eyes lingered on his phone wallpaper. A soft smile curled at his lips.

Not his car. Not any luxury item.

But the most precious thing in his life—his wife.

Her radiant face on the screen eased the tension in his forehead. He reached into the drawer and pulled out something small, yet priceless—her hair clip. The one she had accidentally clipped to his shirt and forgotten.

He clipped it onto the fabric over his heart and whispered to himself, “Mujhe uski yaad aa rahi hai.”

At 3 PM sharp, he gently removed the clip, placed it back in the drawer, and straightened up. Putting his blazer on, he walked out to face the next wave of meetings.

The day dragged—boring, draining, and hectic.

♡

At 7 PM, he stepped out of the boardroom. His phone, on DND all day, now showed a missed call.

From her.

He didn’t call back. Just entered his cabin, fixed his hair in the restroom, and sat down.

A knock.

“Come in,” he said, eyes still on the file.

“Sir,” said Pranav.

“Hm?” Rishi hummed.

“Sir, ma’am called. She asked why you haven’t come home yet.”

“It must be mom,” Rishi muttered. “What did you tell her?”

“No, sir. It was Janvi ma’am.”

Rishi paused. “Did she ask anything else?”

“She asked if you’d had lunch. I told her... you hadn’t.”

“Oh… okay,” he said quietly. “I’ll talk to her once I get home. I don’t have the energy to call.”

Pranav nodded and left.

♡

By 8 PM, Rishi rolled into the mansion’s parking. He stepped inside, blazer slung over one arm, fingers running through his hair. The house was quiet.

Sinking into the living room couch, he closed his eyes to rest—until he heard the soft clinking of bangles.

Janvi stood beside him, pouring water into a glass. Silently, she handed it to him. He drank. Before he could thank her, she picked up her phone and walked upstairs—without a word.

He followed quietly.

In the room, she stepped into the closet, folded her dupatta, and placed it aside. Rishi watched from afar and decided to freshen up first.

When he came back, she was arranging something in the closet.

“Dove,” he called gently.

No response.

“Jaan?” he tried again.

Still silence.

She grabbed her dupatta, wrapped it around herself, and walked into the balcony, picking up a book. Returning inside, she placed it on the shelf.

Rishi walked behind her, softly singing—

"Kaahe khafa aise, chulbul si bulbul?

Kaahe na tu maane batiyaan?"

He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back to his chest. She gasped.

“Narazgi ka kaaran batayengi aap?” he whispered against her ear.

She shivered. “Accha, abhi bhi nahi man rahi?” he teased.

“Lunch kiya aapne?” she finally asked, turning to him.

“Ohh, toh isiliye naraz thi aap?” he smiled guiltily. “I’m sorry—jaan, Dove, baby, sweetheart… jo bhi kehna ho keh lijiye, bas laptop aur cabin se mat kariye.”

She tried to push his hands away, but he held her tighter.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated softly.

He placed a kiss on her shoulder. “I’m really sorry…”

Then another kiss on her neck.

“I’m sorry…”

She turned and looked up at him. “Khaana khaa lijiye pehle.”

“Bilkul nahi. Jab tak aap maanogi nahi, tab tak nahi khaaunga.”

“Yeh kaisi zidd hai?”

“Man jao na, yaar. Subah se bhookha hoon. Please.”

Standing on her toes, she cupped his face and kissed his cheek. “Agli baar mat karna aisa kuch.”

He nodded, pulling her close and kissing her forehead.

That night, they had dinner together, sharing stories from their day. Later, Janvi was reading while Rishi worked on his laptop.

She closed her book and stepped out into the balcony, calling her mother.

Janvi (J) | Rashmi (R)

R: “Bolo beta ji, bade dino baad yaad aayi apni maa ki!”

J: “Mumma yaar, yaad toh roz aati hai. Aap theek ho?”

R: “Haan beta, sab theek hai. Tu bata, tu theek hai? Rishi?”

J: “Main toh theek hi hoon, aur woh bhi. Kaam kar rahe hain.”

R: “Par betu, teri awaaz thaki-thaki si lag rahi hai.”

J: “Aaj zyada kaam tha office mein. Meeting bhi thi. Upar se venue check karne jaana tha. Thak gayi hoon.”

R: “Khaana khaya?”

J: “Haan, abhi khaaya. Rishi late aaye the office se.”

R: “Accha! Ghar pe sab theek hai?”

J: “Sab theek hai. Pehle aap batao, aapki saas theek hai?”

R: “Haan, woh bhi theek hain. Teri dadi jaldi so jaati hai ab.”

J: “Accha hai, main waha nahi hoon!” [Both laugh]

“Dove,” Rishi called softly from the room.

J: “Accha mumma, main rakhti hoon. Good night.”

R: “Good night, beta.”

♡

Janvi walked back inside to see Rishi sitting on the couch.

“Bolo,” she said.

“I was saying, agar tumhe sona hai toh main ghar ke cabin mein jaake kaam kar lunga.”

“Laptop band kariye,” she replied.

“What?”

“Laptop band kariye,” she repeated, crossing her arms.

“But—”

“So jao. Pura kaam ek raat mein thodi hoga. Waise bhi, mujhe akeli neend nahi aayegi.”

He smiled and finally shut his laptop. Turning off the lights, he joined her on the bed.

She nestled into his chest.

“Good night,” she whispered.

He held her close. “Good night, Dove.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's it for today's chapter

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