Chapter 43 - Unspoken Realizations
Ira let out a sleepy sigh, snuggling deeper into the warmth wrapped around her. She was barely awake when she felt soft lips pressing against her forehead.
A lazy smile tugged at her lips.
She didn’t need to open her eyes to know who it was.
“Aarav…” she mumbled, still half-asleep.
“Mmm?” his voice rumbled near her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Let me sleep…” she whispered.
His response?
A kiss.
Right on her cheek.
Ira groaned, turning her face away, but before she could, he caught her chin and placed another kiss.
And then another.
And another.
By the time his lips reached the corner of her mouth, Ira’s eyes flew open.
Aarav smirked down at her, his face mere inches away. His eyes held a mischievous glint, something she wasn’t used to seeing.
“What… what are you doing?” she stammered.
“Kissing my wife,” he replied nonchalantly and stole another peck.
“Aarav!” she gasped, pushing at his chest.
But he only chuckled and kissed her again.
“What’s gotten into you today?” she huffed.
“I feel good,” he murmured, nuzzling into her neck before pressing another lingering kiss on her skin. “And you taste sweet.”
Ira’s cheeks flamed.
Was he always this shameless in the morning?!
She tried to glare at him, but he simply looked too satisfied—like he was thoroughly enjoying torturing her.
“You should be getting ready for work!” she scolded, trying to escape his hold.
“I am getting ready,” he said, lazily pulling her closer. “After kissing you a little more.”
Ira gasped as his lips brushed against hers, teasing but not deepening.
She clenched her fists, trying to control the erratic beating of her heart.
“I won’t let you go until you kiss me back,” he murmured, his voice husky.
Ira glared at him. “Aarav Malhotra, you are impossible.”
“And you’re adorable when you’re blushing.”
Her breath hitched as he leaned in again, his lips dangerously close to hers.
Giving up, she pressed a quick peck against his lips.
“Now let me go,” she muttered.
But instead of letting her go, he kissed her again.
“Aarav!”
“I didn’t say how long the kiss had to be,” he smirked.
Ira groaned. She was doomed.
Office –
Aarav should’ve been working. Should’ve been focusing on the million things that needed his attention.
But his mind?
It was stuck on his wife.
Ira had never teased him before, but today?
Today, she was acting like a damn tease without even realizing it.
From flashing him innocent smiles across the office to adjusting her dupatta in ways that made him clench his jaw—she was driving him insane.
And the worst part?
She didn’t even realize what she was doing to him.
So when she walked into his cabin, completely oblivious to the way she had been testing his patience all day, he knew he was in trouble.
“Mr. Malhotra,” she said with a sweet smile.
Aarav’s fingers twitched on the pen he was holding.
“Mrs. Malhotra,” he replied, his voice dangerously low.
Ira blinked innocently. “Why do you look so… tense?”
Aarav leaned back in his chair, his eyes dark and heated. “You tell me.”
She tilted her head, genuinely confused. “Did something happen?”
Oh, she was going to kill him.
“You’ve been messing with me all day,” he accused.
Ira’s eyes widened. “I have?”
Aarav narrowed his gaze. “You really don’t know?”
She shook her head, biting her lip, and that was his breaking point.
Before she could react, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his lap.
Ira let out a gasp, her hands automatically resting on his shoulders. “Aarav!”
“You have no idea what you do to me, do you?” he murmured, his fingers tracing slow, lazy circles on her waist.
Ira swallowed hard. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She had only come to ask if he wanted coffee!
But here she was, trapped in her husband’s arms, with his dark, intense eyes pinning her in place.
“Aarav, let me go,” she whispered.
He smirked. “Not until you admit that you were teasing me.”
Ira huffed. “I wasn’t teasing you.”
Aarav raised an eyebrow. “Then why were you smiling at me like that?”
“Because I’m your wife?!”
His smirk deepened. “Exactly.”
Ira gasped when he pressed a firm kiss to her cheek before finally letting her go.
Her heart was racing, her face burning.
Aarav, on the other hand?
He looked way too smug.
Vihaan walked into Aarav’s cabin just minutes after Ira left.
“Bro, you okay?”
Aarav exhaled deeply. No. He wasn’t okay.
Not when he had this strange storm raging inside him.
Vihaan sat across from him, studying him closely. “This is about Bhabhi, isn’t it?”
Aarav clenched his jaw but didn’t deny it.
Vihaan smirked. “You love her.”
Aarav’s expression turned cold. “Love is a distraction.”
Vihaan shook his head. “Then why are you acting so damn restless every time she’s not around?”
Aarav stiffened.
Vihaan leaned forward, his voice turning serious. “Remember what you did to Ritika when she tried to humiliate Ira?”
Aarav’s jaw tightened at the mention of Ritika. He had destroyed her reputation for trying to belittle Ira.
“She deserved it,” Aarav muttered.
Vihaan nodded. “Exactly. But Aarav, you didn’t do that because of duty. You did it because you care about Ira.”
Aarav stayed silent.
Vihaan sighed. “You can lie to yourself all you want, but the truth is—Ira has become your weakness.”
Aarav closed his eyes.
Weakness? Or something much more?
Because right now, he couldn’t imagine a life without her.
And that thought… scared the hell out of him.
---
The teasing from the morning, the warmth of Ira’s presence, and the brief moment of peace he had felt—it all vanished the moment he received a call.
His entire aura shifted.
Cold. Calculated. Dangerous.
His fingers clenched around his phone as his second-in-command spoke.
“Boss, we have a problem.”
Aarav’s jaw tensed. “Talk.”
“A traitor. We caught him trying to leak shipment details. He’s at the warehouse.”
Aarav didn’t reply. He simply ended the call, grabbed his coat, and strode out of his office.
Vihaan, who was about to enter, noticed the dark look in his brother’s eyes. “Aarav—”
“Take care of things here,” Aarav said, already walking past him.
Vihaan frowned. He knew exactly what this meant.
Someone was going to suffer tonight.
---
The Warehouse
By the time Aarav arrived, the traitor was already in shambles.
Blood stained the concrete floor beneath him. His breathing was ragged, his body trembling as he knelt before Aarav Malhotra—the man who decided whether he lived or died.
Aarav’s presence alone was suffocating.
His cold eyes scanned the pathetic man. “Speak.”
“B-Boss… I—” The man choked, unable to form words.
Aarav stepped forward and grabbed his face roughly. “I don’t like repeating myself.”
The man whimpered. “I—I didn’t betray you! I swear!”
Aarav chuckled. A dark, humorless sound.
“Then explain why I found evidence linking you to the police?”
The man paled.
Aarav leaned in. “You sold me out.”
The man broke. “B-Boss, please! I have a family!”
Aarav’s expression didn’t change. He had heard this excuse too many times.
His voice was eerily calm. “So did the men you put in danger.”
Then, without hesitation, he slammed his fist into the man’s face.
Blood splattered. A sickening crack echoed in the room.
Aarav stood up, fixing his cuffs like nothing happened. “Break his hands. Make sure he never holds a gun again.”
The traitor sobbed, begging for mercy.
Aarav’s cold gaze never wavered. Mercy was a privilege. One he didn’t give easily.
His men nodded. “Yes, Boss.”
Without another glance, Aarav turned and walked away, leaving behind only the echoes of the man’s cries.
Back at Home –
It was late by the time he reached home.
As soon as he stepped inside his bedroom, his eyes landed on Ira.
She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a book in her hands.
She looked up, her face lighting up instantly. “You’re home.”
Aarav just stared at her.
The stark contrast between his two worlds hit him like a punch.
Just minutes ago, he had been commanding men, ordering punishments, spilling blood.
And now, he was here, in the warmth of his home, looking at his wife—the only thing untainted in his dark world.
Ira frowned at his silence. “Are you okay?”
Aarav exhaled and did the only thing that calmed his storm.
He walked up to her and pulled her into his arms.
Ira stiffened for a moment but then relaxed against him.
His grip on her was firm, like he needed this—like he needed her.
She gently ran her fingers through his hair. “Aarav…?”
He didn’t answer. He just held her a little tighter.
Because after everything, this was the only place he ever found peace.
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