Happy birthday, dear.
I hope you achieve all your dreams.

Words count - 3600

•Author's pov•

Their laughter echoed throughout the kitchen.

Nikshant was laughing wholeheartedly, not even realizing that he was smiling so freely.

Smiling, Nikshant looked at Aaravi with nothing but admiration. He was feeling something, something he couldn’t quite name.

Aaravi laughed and hesitantly said, "If...you don't mind, may I clean your face?" Her voice was barely audible, but Nikshant heard her.

Nikshant nodded, walked towards Aaravi, and leaned in, his face inches away from hers. Aaravi looked at Nikshant, and Nikshant gazed into her eyes. Her eyes were showing something different, something he couldn’t quite understand.

Aaravi, too, stared into Nikshant’s eyes, wide-eyed due to their closeness. She swallowed nervously and unknowingly shook her head.

Nikshant raised his eyebrows and teased, "Why are you shaking your head like a crazy person?"

Aaravi’s eyes widened even more, and she quickly shook her head, mumbling, "Nothing,"

"Now clean my face or else my back will start hurting," Nikshant said.

Aaravi nodded and pulled the end of her saree’s pallu. She was about to wipe Nikshant’s face, but he grabbed her hand, and a spark of electricity seemed to rush through their bodies. Nikshant quickly pulled his hand back.

Aaravi looked confused, "What happened?" she asked, her voice full of confusion.

"Tumhari saare ka pallu ganda ho jayega kyunki mere face pe ketchup laga hua hai , so don't wipe it," Nikshant said softly, his voice low and cute.

( Your saree's pallu will get dirty because there’s ketchup on my face )

Aaravi smiled and said, "Don’t worry, aapka face mere liye zyaada important hai meri saare ke pallu nahi hai, ganda ho jaane dijiye,"

( Your face is more important to me than my saree's pallu. Let it get dirty )

Aaravi didn’t realize what she said, but her words struck directly at Nikshant’s heart, making him feel even more guilty. Nikshant looked at Aaravi, guilt evident in his eyes, as a lump formed in his throat.

"Okay," he said.

Aaravi realized what she had said and nervously bit her lip. Nikshant's eyes dropped from her eyes to her plump, red cherry lips, and suddenly, all his hormones were surging through his body. He quickly averted his gaze from Aaravi’s lips.

"Now wipe quickly, I still need to make breakfast," Nikshant said, but his mind was still fixated on Aaravi’s plump cherry lips.

"Gosh, what are you thinking, Nikshant?" he cursed himself in his mind.

Aaravi nodded and started wiping his face with her pallu.

Aaravi was focused on wiping Nikshant’s face, while Nikshant’s focus was on Aaravi’s face.

Nikshant knew Aaravi was beautiful, but she looked even more beautiful up close. He was closely examining her face, even counting how many moles she had.

"Ten. She has ten moles on her face," Nikshant thought to himself.

"She has two moles on her nose, three on her right cheek, one on her ear, one mole just above her upper lip, two on her left cheek, and one by the side of her left eye," Nikshant said, his eyes scanning Aaravi's features.

"I have to admit, Nikshant Roy Kapoor, your wife is indeed very beautiful. And why wouldn’t she be, since you’re so handsome yourself," Nikshant praised himself.

"Done," Aaravi mumbled, then looked at Nikshant, and their eyes met. Nikshant’s gaze boring into her soul. Aaravi’s face flushed, and she looked away when she could no longer handle it.

"Now your face is clean, but still wash it with water because you had ketchup on it," Aaravi said, and Nikshant just nodded.

Nikshant moved towards the washbasin, splashed water on his face, and suddenly an idea popped into his mind.

He went back to Aaravi and leaned in. "Wipe my face with your saree’s pallu," he said in a low, husky voice that sent shivers down Aaravi’s body.

"But my saree’s pallu is dirty now," Aaravi replied with a puppy face, showing him her saree’s pallu.

Nikshant leaned in closer and said, "But you said I’m more important than your saree’s pallu, and I don’t care if it’s dirty or not, so wipe my face right now." Aaravi’s lips pressed into a thin line.

"But your face will get dirty again," Aaravi pointed out.

"I said I don’t care. Now wipe it if you want to eat breakfast today," Nikshant leaned in even closer. Aaravi didn’t feel uncomfortable with him being so close, and she didn’t flinch when he came dangerously near. In fact, she was feeling good.

She liked the feelings she had toward Nikshant. She knew that feeling this way for him was wrong, but does our heart ever listen to us? Absolutely not, and the same goes for Aaravi.

Aaravi held the part of her saree’s pallu that wasn’t dirty.

"Can you lean down a bit more?" Aaravi asked, and Nikshant nodded, leaning even closer to her face. Now, Nikshant and Aaravi were looking into each other’s eyes, his gaze sending shivers down Aaravi’s core. Aaravi quickly averted her gaze and began wiping his face with the clean part of her saree’s pallu.

After she finished wiping his face, Nikshant went back to the kitchen and started making poha for Aaravi and coffee for himself.

Nikshant was stealing glances at Aaravi from time to time, while she was lost in her own world of thoughts.

•Nikshant's pov•

After serving poha for Aaravi and coffee for myself, we sat down. She took one bite, and not going to lie, I was desperately waiting for her reaction, but she didn’t show any and just continued eating.

Did she like the food or not?

I don’t know, but my excitement faded a bit. I didn’t show it on my face, though. I just picked up my coffee cup, brought it to my lips, and took a sip. I was still waiting for her to say she liked the food, but still, nothing. Her face wasn’t giving anything away—it was completely blank, no emotions in her eyes. A while ago, she was smiling wholeheartedly, but now she’s back to her grumpy expression.

Should I start a conversation so that she might say whether she liked the food I made?

I cleared my throat to get her attention, but gosh, what’s wrong with this lady sitting in front of me?

I cleared my throat again, and finally, she looked at me.

"Do you have cold? I have some medicine for it, I can give you if you need it," she says, and I gave her a "are you for real?" look.

I mean, I was trying to get her attention, but here she is... Ugh, why is it so difficult to understand girls?

"I'm definitely not having any cold, Mrs. Kapoor, but thanks for asking," I said, and she nodded. With that, I stood up from the chair.

She literally spoiled my mood.

"Umm, Nikshant ji," she called out. I didn’t want to turn towards her, but I immediately did.

"The poha was good, thank you," she said, her eyes now sparkling. I smiled at her in return.

"Take some rest now. We'll go sightseeing tomorrow," I said, because she definitely needed rest. She cried yesterday, and again today in the washroom, so she really needed not just a little, but a whole day of rest.

"No, no, I’m totally fine! We'll go today," she said with a pout, but I denied because she needed rest.

"No, we are going tomorrow," I said sternly, but I immediately regretted it when I saw tears in her eyes. I closed my eyes and then looked at her. Her eyes showed hurt, hurt from my words, but I said  for her own good.

Why are girls so sensitive?

But teri wali zyaada hi sensitive hai.

(  yours are  extra sensitive )

"Hey Aaravi, don’t cry. We’ll go today, please don’t cry," I said in a panic, wiping her tears.

"We will go today, right?" she asked cutely, and I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling before nodding.

"Yes, we will go. Now go and change your saree," I said, and she quickly ran towards the room like a baby.

"This girl," I mumbled, running my hand through my hair, a constant smile on my face.

I also headed to the room, changed into a beige sweatshirt and brown track pants, and combed my hair. Then Aaravi entered the room, and my God, she looked breathtaking in that blue net saree, which perfectly showed off all her curves. I swallowed hard and looked at her—her face was as red as a cherry.

My cherry.

WHAT?!

No, no, Nikshant, she’s not yours.

But she is your wife, so she is yours, Nikshant.

I heard her clear her throat, and she said, "Can you move aside so I can comb my hair?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

HOLY SHIT.

Damn, that was hot.

I moved aside, and she stood in front of the mirror, combing her long waist-length hair and applying vermillion. A small smirk appeared on my face.

That vermillion was screaming that she was mine, only Nikshant Roy Kapoor’s.

She didn’t apply any makeup, just put on some lip balm on her cherry lips.

Not gonna lie, I felt jealous—because of a lip balm, seriously.

No, no, you can’t think like that, Nikshant. Just control your hoarses, Nikshant.

"Let’s go," she said, snapping me out of my trance. My eyes stopped on her neck.

"Where is your mangalsutra?" I tried to ask softly, but my voice came out rude.

"Oh my God, I think I left it in the washroom. I’ll go get it now," she said in a panic voice, but I stopped her.

"You wait here. I’ll get it," I said.

No way I’m letting her go out without her mangalsutra and vermillion, especially when she looks this beautiful. I know the people here in Greece might not even know what vermillion and a mangalsutra are, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let Aaravi go out without them.

I went to the washroom, took her mangalsutra in my hand, and left, standing right behind her.

"May I?" I asked hesitantly, and she just nodded. I mean, she must have known what I was asking for. I gently moved her hair to the left side, and I felt her body tense up, her breathing becoming rapid. I stopped.

"Aaravi, just calm down, okay? Close your eyes and take deep breaths," I said in a calm voice and stepped back.

"You wear it yourself," I said, placing the mangalsutra in her palm.

If she's feeling uncomfortable, it's completely fine. After what I've done, expecting her to be comfortable with me would be wrong.

She hesitated at first, then turned towards me and said, "You can put it on," forcing a smile on her face.

It pinched my heart very badly.

Very badly.

"No, no, you don’t have to force yourself. I know you're uncomfortable," I said, gently shaking my head.

Yes, she doesn’t have to pretend that she’s comfortable.

"I...am...comfortable," she said, her voice slightly stammering.

"Okay, if that’s what you want," I said, and took the mangalsutra from her palm.

I leaned towards her neck. Her breath touched my ear, sending shivers down my spine, and her lavender scent was driving me crazy.

I put the mangalsutra around her neck and stepped back to look at her.

Now she was really looking like a married woman.

I smiled internally.

"Are you ready, Mrs. Kapoor?" I asked, raising one eyebrow, and her face turned cherry red again.

"Ye..s," she said, putting on her stilettos and grabbing her phone.

"Shall we go now?" she smiled, showing all her teeth.

I nodded, and we left the house.

We roamed around the street again, and I held her hand tightly, glaring at every man who dared to look at my lady.

How dare they? Didn't they see she's a married woman? Shameless! Even when I glared at them, they were unaffected, still staring at Aaravi.

I really wanted to pluck out their eyes from their sockets and play with them.

I looked to my left where Aaravi was, carefree, not realizing that some bastards were staring at her.

Careless girl, that thought crossed my mind about her.

"Are you by any chance jealous, Nikshant?" my subconscious asked.

Jealous?

Hell no.

"No, I'm not," I replied to my subconscious.

"Then why are you glaring at every man who dares to look at her?" my subconscious pressed.

"I'm not jealous. It's just that I'm protective because she came here with me, so it's my right to protect her from everything," I said to my subconscious.

"You're just comforting yourself by saying that," my shitty subconscious spoke again.

"Could you please shut up?" I said irritably.

"Are you saying something?" Aaravi asked, pulling me out of my trance.

I shook my head and said, "No. Would you like to go to the beach? There's one not far from here," I asked her, trying to divert my mind.

"Can we really go to the beach?" she asked like a child, and I just smiled and nodded.

We reached the beach, and Aaravi literally ran like a child. I chuckled and sat on the sand, watching her as she went near the sea. She bent down, picked something up, and ran towards me with it in her hand.

She came excitedly, and panting, she said, "Nikshant ji," to which I just nodded.

"Will we find pearls in this?" she asked, showing me a big seashell.

I really wanted to laugh at her innocent face.

"Agar mila toh hum crorepati bann jayenge," she said cutely, and I laughed hard this time.

( If we find pearl in this then, we'll become millionaires! )

She’s talking about being a millionaire, but her husband is a fucking billionaire.

“Nope, because there won’t be any pearls in this,” I said, and her smile faded.

“Phir bhi khol ke dijiye agar kismat chamak gayi toh hum crorepati bann jayenge,” she said, handing me the big seashell.

“But wifey, what will we do being millionaires when your husband is a billionaire?” I said, taking the big seashell in my palm.

( Still, please open it.What if luck changes, we will become millionaires )

I don't know whether I should laugh or scold her.

"So what if you're a billionaire? I can still become a millionaire," she said with a pout.

Who will tell her that one pearl can never make someone a millionaire?

"Open it, please," she whined.

I think I should have remained rude to her, but her smile brings me peace.

Fucking peace.

"What will you do if you don't find a pearl in this?" I asked while opening the seashell.

"I'll search for another one," I shook my head at her silliness.

I finally opened the seashell, and there was nothing in it.

"See, I told you there wouldn't be a pearl in this," I said, handing her the open seashell.

"But I heard that pearls can be found in these," her voice sounded like she might cry at any moment.

"Yes, they can, but not in all of them," I said, patting the space next to me for her to sit. She sat down, and her smile faded.

"So do you really want a pearl?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Then we can go to a shop and buy some pearls," I suggested.

"But I wanted the pearls that come from the seashells, but it's okay," she mumbled with a sad face.

I stood up and extended my hand. "Let's go; I have some work at home."

She nodded and took my hand as she stood up.

We came home and sat on the couch.

"I have some work outside, and I might be late getting back, so you should eat and go to bed," I said.

"Can I come with you? I don't want to stay here alone," she said.

"No, you can't come," I said sternly. "You can talk to the family or your friends."

"Okay," she said, her face hanging low.

"Listen, Aaravi, the work is really important to me, so I can't take you with me," I said, and she nodded.

"Okay,"

"Eat  your dinner on time and go to bed early tonight," I said, to which she nodded again.

"I need words, wifey," I said, my voice stern and rough.

"Ye... yes," she stammered.

"Good."

"Now I’m leaving," I said and walked out of the house.

I don’t know if what I’m going to do is right or wrong.

I came to the beach again, and you guessed it right—I'm going to find a seashell that has a pearl in it.

I don't know why, but I want to fulfill her wish for a pearl. It might be silly, but that's okay.

Sometimes you should do silly things.

I went into the water and started looking for seashells.

I picked up the first seashell I found and opened it, but there was no pearl inside.

(A/N: luck ho toh sabh milta hai dhundho nikshant dhundho mil hi jayega tumhe )

I must have opened at least 100 seashells, but I didn’t find even a single pearl, and now the sun is about to set.

Why is it so hard to find a freaking pearl in a seashell?

I know I could buy a pearl from a store, but I don’t want to. I don’t even know why; I just want to find a pearl by myself, even if it takes me the whole night.

The waves have completely drenched me, but I’m careless.

Soon, everything turned dark, and I turned on my phone's flashlight and continued looking for seashells. Time flew by quickly, and I still hadn’t found a pearl.

It was almost 3 a.m., and I was still searching for seashells to find a single pearl.

It’s very rare to find a pearl from a seashell, but you can find them on the beaches of Greece, and pearls do exist there.

So I won’t give up.

I’ll keep searching until I find one, even if it takes an eternity to find a pearl.

If someone saw me at this time, they’d probably think I’m a mad person.

Well, I am totally a mad person now because I haven’t been able to find a freaking pearl.

I picked up one seashell and opened it, and my eyes widened when I saw the pearl inside.

I fucking found it.

I fucking found a pearl finally.

I just smiled like a freaking child because I finally found a pearl after spending so much time looking for it.

I freaking found a pearl!

I was overflowing with joy.

I closed the seashell and held it tightly.

I finally found a pearl, Aaravi.

I’m coming, Cherry.

My clothes were completely soaked, and they stuck to my skin like a second skin.

I immediately left the beach and headed home.

I couldn't stop smiling.

I mean, why wouldn’t I? I just found a pearl after spending so many hours!

She will be happy, right? She has to be because I fulfilled her wish.

I just wanted to go home and give her the seashell, to see her smiling face.

I wanted to hear her laughter and see her behaving like a child, just like she did at the beach.

I hope you like it, Aaravi.

With that, I came back to the house.

I opened the door with a spare key, walked inside, and turned on the hall lights. As I entered, I saw her sleeping on the couch in an uncomfortable position.

Geez, I told this girl to sleep in the bed, but she never listens to me.

I can’t even pick her up because my clothes are drenched in water.

I shook my head with a sigh.

I walked towards her and gently shook her shoulder. "Aaravi, wake up and go to the room to sleep,"I said softly and tenderly.

She woke up immediately after the first call.

"You're back?" she asked in her sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes and trying to open them, looking adorable while doing so.

"Go, sleep in the room," I said.

"Did you have your dinner?" she asked again, opening her eyes.

She looked at me, and shock spread across her