It was around 6:30 A.M. when I woke up. I saw Shivansh — our faces were right in front of each other. His hair was messy, and he looked so calm. A few strands had fallen over his fair face. I instinctively raised my hand to brush them off, but before I could, he woke up.

“Good morning, princess…” he said in his sleepy voice.

I quickly pulled my hand back. “Good morning, Shivansh…” I replied softly and got up from the bed. “I’ll get freshened up and then wake you up,” I added before rushing towards the bathroom. He nodded half-sleepily.

After half an hour, I came out. My hair was still damp — I had washed it. I’d chosen a red salwar suit for the day. Shivansh was already awake, sitting against the headboard, and his gaze was fixed on me. I could see his reflection in the mirror; he hadn’t looked away even once.

After drying my hair, I applied sindoor in my hair partition and clasped my mangalsutra — the pendant had an ‘S’ studded with diamonds. His eyes were still on me.

“What are you staring at, Mr. Shivansh…?” I asked, turning slightly.

“I’m not staring, princess…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh really?” I narrowed my eyes.

“I’m just… admiring my princess,” he said, his tone playful.

“By the way, who’s your princess?” I shot back.

“You. Who else? Do you see anyone else here?” he replied, getting up from the bed.

“I’m not a princess… I’m just a common girl,” I sighed.

He chuckled as he walked closer. “As you say… princess,” he teased, and disappeared into the bathroom.

As soon as he left, my thoughts started swirling.
Why is he like this? He’s too sweet… even though he’s only known me for a month. But still… I don’t know why, everything feels so good. I just hope everything goes well… not like that day…

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the bathroom door open.

And there he was — wearing a brown formal shirt with beige pants. There was something different about him. For the past few days, I had only seen him in T-shirts and lowers, but in formals… he looked effortlessly handsome. Any girl with a heart could fall for him.

When we’d first met, he was wearing formals too… but today, something felt different.

“Should we go out? Or do you want to continue staring, princess?” he asked, adjusting his hair.

Oh God… freak! I realized I had been staring at him since he came out of the bathroom. Coming back to my senses, I stood up in a hurry — and bumped right into Shivansh. I was about to fall when something strong caught me — his arm.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in his embrace.

“What are you doing, Kavya? You’ll get hurt… relax,” he said softly.

I quickly straightened up. “I… I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry, princess. Just be careful, okay? You could’ve gotten hurt,” he said, his tone laced with concern.

I looked into his black eyes — full of care — and words failed me. I just nodded.

“Now come, your parents might be waiting,” he said, taking my hand in his.

“B-but why are you holding my hand?” I asked, frowning.

He smiled. “I don’t like taking risks.”

I narrowed my eyes, but before I could say anything, he added, “Please, no more questions… let’s go now.”

I blinked at him, God… is he serious? I just lost balance once and look at him! What if I really had an accident—

“Stop thinking rubbish, princess,” he said suddenly, cutting my thoughts short. My eyes widened.

“Let’s go, or else we’ll be late,” he added casually.

I just hummed in response, but one thought refused to leave my mind—
Is he a mind reader or what…?

💞💞💞💞💞💞

After breakfast, we took blessings from my parents and left. On the way back to the mansion, Shivansh suddenly diverted the car toward the market. I frowned a little and asked,
“Where are we going, Shivansh…??”

He parked the car with a smile. “Mmm… I’m taking my wife on a shopping date.”

“Are you serious? Why are you taking me shopping? I already have everything!”

“Then help me shop,” he said, unfastening his seatbelt.

I gave him a questioning look but agreed without arguing and went along. He held my hand as we walked. My eyes stopped at a small earring shop, and when he noticed me gawking, he asked,
“Do you want anything from here?”

I shook my head. “No…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m a hundred percent sure,” I said, smiling and averting my gaze from the shop.

“Kavya… but still, buy something,” he said with a soft grin — and that provoked the inner shopaholic in me. Whenever I saw cute things like these, I couldn’t resist buying at least one or two, and if someone insisted — well, resistance was useless. So, I nodded yes.

After half an hour, I ended up buying just two pairs of earrings — girl things, you know.

Then Shivansh took me to the Titan store. He handed a bill to the salesperson, who said politely, “Please give me a moment, sir.”

After five minutes, the man came back with a small box. “Here, sir, your customized order.”

Shivansh nodded his thanks and took the box. Curiosity immediately kicked in.
“What have you got customized?” I asked.

He smiled and handed me the box. “Look for it yourself… princess.”

I took a deep breath, made eye contact with him — he nodded — and I opened the box. Inside was a beautiful watch. I lifted it carefully and noticed the letter ‘K’ etched onto the display. It was almost similar to his old analog watch, but I’d never seen any brand put random letters on the dial. Maybe he had it customized for someone whose name started with K.

Still curious, I asked, “Shivansh… why is there a ‘K’ on this? Whose name starts with ‘K’?”

He smirked. “Have you forgotten your name, princess?”

My eyes widened. “Shivansh… are you crazy?? Why—”

He gently cut me off. “Shhh… when the ‘S’ shines on your neck without any question asked, why should I hide this tiny spark of ‘K’? So let me embrace it on my wrist.”

A lump formed in my throat, but I somehow managed to say, “That’s… that’s a different case.”

He smiled softly. “No, it’s not. Marriage is a bond where both partners are equal.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but words betrayed me.

“No more arguments, princess,” he said, walking off to pay the bill. I followed him quietly.

While walking back, my mind was still stuck on that.
God, why is he like this? Who spends this much for a watch? And that too customized because my name starts with ‘K’? Is he even real? Who does so much… for a girl he’s known barely a month?

My train of thought was interrupted when he said,
“Don’t think too much, Kavya… it’s just a wedding gift for my wife.”

“And a very, very expensive one,” I muttered, glancing at him from top to bottom.

He chuckled. “Leave all that… do you like kulfi?”

“Shivansh, be serious! You literally just spent two lakhs… on a watch!” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“It’s nothing, Kavya. If it were in my hands, I’d spend my whole property on you,” he said, turning toward me.

I was already annoyed by his lavishness, so I blurted, “Oh, just shut up, Ansh… luckily it’s not under your control.”

The moment the word slipped out, my eyes widened. Oh holy shit.
Did I just… call him Ansh?

He froze, mesmerized. “What… what did you say?”

I shook my head quickly, refusing to repeat. But he insisted, and finally, I muttered, “Luckily it’s… it’s not under your control.”

He raised an eyebrow. “No, before that.”

“Ju—just shut up…” I said, gulping down the lump in my throat.

“No, Kavya. What did you call me?” he asked softly.

“A… Ansh…” I whispered, blinking my lashes.

A slow smile spread across his face, confusing me even more. “What’s so funny? Why are you laughing?” I asked.

He stopped smiling but his eyes sparkled. “I’m not laughing, princess. I’m just… happy.”

“What’s happened to you, Shivansh? You’re scaring me!” I said, my voice laced with nervousness.

“Hey… hey, Kavya, relax. I’m a pure vegetarian, not a man-eating lion. Who’d dare eat such a cute wife like you?” he said with a grin.

I blinked at him, baffled, as he continued, “I liked it… when you called me Ansh. And you can call me whatever you like, princess.”

I sighed in relief. He then said, “Now, answer my question — do you like kulfi?”

“Yes,” I said, finally smiling.

“Come then… let’s go have kulfi.” He extended his hand, I took it, and we walked to the kulfi cart together.

“Get some packed for everyone at home too,” I said as I took my kulfi from him.

He nodded and got a few packed. It was almost evening by the time we reached home.

As we entered, we saw Nikhil bhai. Shivansh’s expression changed instantly. “What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped.

God, what is his problem with Nikhil bhai? He gets pissed off so easily!

“Why are you scolding him?” I said, glaring at Shivansh.

And Nikhil bhai — oh, he was no less. He gave that typical smirk that made Shivansh even angrier.

“See? Look at him! Always ready to tease me!” Shivansh grumbled.

When I turned toward Nikhil bhai, he gave me puppy eyes. “Shivansh, it’s his house too,” I said, trying to ease the situation.

But of course, Nikhil bhai wasn’t done. “Thank you, Bhabhi. And for your kind information, I came here to meet my Bhabhi. Why are you getting jealous?”

“Kamina saala…” Shivansh muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately, I heard that. “What did you just say?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

By then, everyone had gathered in the living room.

Dad asked, “Kavyashree, what happened, beta?”

I walked toward him and said, “Dad, look at him! He’s scolding Nikhil bhai again.”

Nikhil bhai made a puppy face, and Chachu chuckled from the back. “Kavyashree, don’t take anyone’s side. These two boys have been like this since childhood. If you interfere, you’ll just get caught in their chaos. Leave them.”

I nodded and went to the kitchen to get the kulfis served for everyone.

During dinner, Ma asked, “Are you two planning any outing or trip?”

Her question made me a little awkward instantly. Shivansh noticed and jumped in to cover for me. “Not yet, Ma. We have to get back to work tomorrow.”

Ma nodded and turned to me. “What time do you have to reach the hospital, beta?”

“By 10 A.M., Ma,” I said with a smile.

She nodded again, satisfied. After dinner, we all retired to our rooms.

💞💞💞💞💞💞

After dinner, we all retired to our rooms. I had received an important call, so I excused myself and went to the balcony. Kavya was also busy talking to her mother on the phone.

When I returned to the room, I heard her voice — tense and trembling — arguing over the call.
"No, Mummy... I'll not leave my job! Why are you not getting it??"

And the next second, she cut the call. The phone slipped from her hand as she sat on the bed, burying her face in her palms. She was panting heavily.

I quickly grabbed a glass of water and walked toward her. Gently placing it beside her, I knelt down and asked softly,
"Kavya... why are you crying, princess? What happened? Did something or someone hurt you?"

She shook her head weakly, tears still streaming down her face. I held her hand and said,
"Then what happened, Kavya? Why are you crying? Please tell me..."

Her voice trembled as she whispered, "Shivansh..."

"Yes, princess?" I squeezed her hand gently, reassuring her that I was there.

She pulled her hand back, wiped her tears with the back of her palm, and said in a low tone,
"Shivansh... do you have any issue with me working?"

I blinked, utterly confused. Why the hell would she even think that?

"Why will I have an issue with that, Kavya? And why are you asking this... all of a sudden?" I asked, trying to understand her.

"Nothing..." she said, taking a deep breath.

I could see clearly she wasn't telling me the full story. She was hesitating — but I wasn't going to let it go that easily.

"Kavya," I said softly, "let's have coffee. We'll talk over there."

She looked at me from top to toe, already understanding that I wasn't going to give up until she opened up. She sighed in defeat — because honestly, I didn't leave her any other option — and agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, both of us were on the terrace with mugs of coffee in our hands. The night breeze was cool, and the city lights flickered faintly in the distance.

"Now tell me, Kavya... what happened?" I asked, keeping my tone calm, even though I had a faint idea of what it might be. Her parents — who hadn't even bothered to call her once after marriage — had suddenly done so tonight. That itself said a lot.

She took a sip of her coffee and said quietly, "Mummy had called me post dinner..."

I nodded, giving her my full attention.

"She was... pressurizing me to leave my job."

There it was.
Exactly what I'd guessed.

Those people — who didn't care to call their daughter once after she entered a new house with new people — now had the audacity to tell her to quit her job? I swear, if they weren't her parents, I'd have dragged them to the police station myself.

But right now, my priority was Kavya — not my anger.

I took a deep breath and said firmly, "You are not going to leave your job... because of anyone. And by anyone, I mean — me, my parents, your parents, or anyone else. You don't owe explanations to anyone for doing what you love."

She looked at me, furrowing her eyebrows in surprise. I continued, steady and calm,
"Just ignore them. Pretend their words don't even exist. Got it? And one more thing — even after retirement, you'll open your own hospital... and keep practicing privately. Understood?"

💞💞💞💞💞💞

Author's Note

And as the city lights dimmed, two souls sat under one sky — one healing, one silently promising to protect. Sometimes love doesn't need confessions... just quiet assurance, a cup of coffee, and a heart that says "I'm here."

My dewdrops... tell me honestly — is love really about grand gestures, or is it hidden in moments like these, where someone simply refuses to let you fight alone? 💭💫

Here's my insta id  "_lavenderwrites__"