CAKE
VIYANA SINCLAIR
He laid his head comfortably on my lap while I adjusted my glasses and continued scrolling through the endless files on my laptop already feeling a headache building slowly behind my eyes.
Seriously how was there this much pending work?
I had gone to the office for literally one single day and suddenly the entire company was acting like civilization would collapse without me handling everything personally.
Even after coming home I was still working.
At this point I genuinely wanted to resign from my position, abandon corporate life completely and become a full time housewife for my husband.
Honestly?
That sounded far more peaceful than dealing with shareholders and board meetings.
I sighed heavily while typing another mail.
Adithya reached up and touched the bridge of my glasses curiously.
"You wear glasses?" he asked softly.
"I am selectively blind," I muttered in irritation while continuing to stare at the laptop screen. "I can read without glasses but prolonged screen time gives me headaches."
"Hm."
His fingers absentmindedly brushed against my nose gently before he looked up at me again with those soft eyes of his.
"So," he asked quietly, "how was your day?"
"Terrible."
He chuckled softly. "Did your employees welcome you back with smiles?"
I snorted immediately. "No. They looked at me like-"
I straightened my face dramatically.
" 'Oh god. This woman came back.' "
Adithya burst out laughing. "Poor employees."
I sighed again and closed the laptop for a second before rubbing my forehead tiredly. "Honestly the entire day was exhausting. Meetings after meetings. Everyone kept staring at me like I returned from war."
"You technically disappeared for one year." He said.
"I know but still." I groaned. "One old man literally started crying emotionally during the meeting saying the company finally got its soul back."
Adithya laughed harder now. "You are definitely dramatic enough to be a corporate boss."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Excuse me?"
"You walk like you own countries." He said.
"I technically own enough money to buy one." I shrugged.
He looked up at me silently for one second. Then suddenly smiled softly in that quiet way that always made my chest feel warm.
No matter how many powerful people surrounded me during the day, somehow this man smiling up at me while resting on my lap still felt like the most precious thing in my entire life.
I gently brushed my fingers through his hair absentmindedly while he closed his eyes comfortably.
"You look tired," he muttered softly after a moment.
"I am."
"Then stop working."
"I can't."
"You can."
I sighed dramatically.
"Mr. Justice Saviour," I muttered while looking down at him, "do you have any idea how difficult it is to run companies?"
"No." He said immediately.
"At least you are honest." I chuckled.
"I only know how to take care of one stubborn woman." He said.
I paused slightly. Then slowly smiled despite myself.
This man would genuinely ruin me with softness one day.
"But," I muttered dramatically while looking down at him with mock sadness, "you are not a good husband."
He frowned immediately and poked my cheek with his finger. "Why?"
"You don't even know my birthday." I sighed.
His expression instantly changed. "You never told me."
"You never asked," I replied calmly while adjusting my glasses again.
For one second he simply stared at me silently. Then slowly he sat up from my lap properly and looked at me with genuine seriousness now.
"When is your birthday?" he asked softly.
I glanced toward the clock on the wall casually. "In two hours." I shrugged.
The poor man blinked."What?"
"My birthday starts at twelve." I said.
"VIYANA."
I burst out laughing at the horror on his face. "What kind of wife casually drops this information two hours before her birthday?"
I chuckled softly at his panic.
"Relax, Adithya," I muttered while reaching for my laptop again. "I don't celebrate birthdays."
The moment I opened my laptop again, he immediately snatched it from my hands, closed it shut and tossed it carelessly onto the other side of the bed.
"Hey-" I gasped.
Then he sat down directly in front of me on the bed with a serious expression.
"Same pinch," he said. "I also don't celebrate birthdays."
I blinked at him. "Then?"
"But I want to celebrate yours." He added.
Something inside my chest softened embarrassingly at the sincerity in his voice.
I looked away casually before he noticed.
"What are you going to do?" I asked teasingly. "Throw a huge party?"
He immediately shook his head in horror. "No."
I laughed softly. "Then?"
"Maybe..." he muttered thoughtfully, "buy a cake?"
I hummed in response while watching him carefully. He looked so genuinely invested in making me happy that it almost made me emotional.
And that was dangerous.
Because people like me survived by staying emotionally guarded.
But this man?
This man quietly slipped through every wall I built around myself without even trying.
"But," I added suddenly while leaning back slightly, "why don't you bake one for me instead?"
His expression froze immediately."I don't have a microwave oven."
"Find ways, mister." I said.
He stared at me silently for one second.
Then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You just want to watch me suffer."
"Yes." I nodded.
"That's toxic." He scrunched his nose.
"I threatened you into marriage. You expected healthy behavior?" I raised my eyebrows.
He snorted softly while I grinned shamelessly. Then suddenly his expression softened again. "What flavor?"
I blinked slightly. "Hm?"
"What cake flavor do you like?" He asked.
I honestly paused for a second because I just teasingly asked him to bake a cake but he is taking it seriously.
Birthdays in my life were always extravagant and expensive but strangely impersonal.
People ordered luxury cakes worth thousands without even asking whether I actually liked the flavor just to impress me so that I would have business ties with them.
But Adithya sat there looking at me like my answer genuinely mattered.
"Chocolate," I muttered quietly.
His face lit up slightly. "Easy."
"You literally don't know baking."
"I am a fast learner."
I laughed softly while he kept staring at me with that quiet determination.
"You are seriously going to attempt baking at midnight?"
"Yes."
"In this tiny kitchen?"
"Yes."
"Without microwave oven?"
He paused. Then frowned thoughtfully. "...I will manage."
Oh god.
This man was unbelievably cute sometimes.
I giggled happily while watching him stand up from the bed with sudden determination like this man was about to prepare for war instead of baking a cake.
"Okay then," he muttered while taking his phone from the table. "I am going to the nearby store to buy a few things."
I hummed absentmindedly and finally opened my laptop again to resume working while Adithya stood there calculating something on his phone with a deeply offended expression.
"I could have simply bought a cake worth seven hundred or eight hundred," he muttered dramatically. "But no. My wife wants me to buy ingredients worth two thousand and spend two hours baking without a microwave oven."
I laughed softly under my breath. "Suffering builds character."
He walked toward me while still grumbling under his breath before suddenly stopping directly in front of me.
"Come with me." He demanded.
I looked up from my laptop. "Where?"
"To the shop." He said.
"No," I replied immediately while taking off my glasses tiredly. "You go alone. I have work."
His face instantly fell.
"Come, Viyana," he whined softly already sounding painfully clingy. "I will feel lonely."
I stared at him in disbelief. "You are literally going to a grocery store. Not war."
"Still." He whispered.
I tried looking back at my laptop screen but he suddenly leaned down and rested his chin dramatically on my shoulder.
"Please."
God.
This man weaponized softness unfairly.
"I have meetings tomorrow morning," I muttered weakly while trying to focus on the screen again.
"You own the company. Cancel them." He said immediately.
"That's not how companies work." I gasped.
"You are rich enough to make it work." He shot back.
I glared while he continued standing there stubbornly waiting for me to agree. Then suddenly he wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind and buried his face near my neck.
"Come with me," he mumbled again quietly. "Please."
My heart genuinely weakened a little. Because the truth was nobody had ever wanted my presence this casually before.
People wanted my money.
My influence.
My surname.
But Adithya?
This man simply wanted me beside him while buying cake ingredients at midnight and somehow that felt more intimate than every luxury experience I had in my entire life.
I sighed dramatically before finally closing the laptop. Immediately he looked up hopefully.
"You are emotionally manipulative." I groaned.
His entire face brightened instantly. "So you are coming?"
"I hate you." I muttered while adjusting my clothes.
"That means yes." He chuckled.
I stood up from the bed slowly while he grinned so happily that I almost laughed again.
He looked absurdly adorable over something as simple as grocery shopping.
"Let's go," he muttered impatiently before grabbing my wrist and pulling me off the bed before I could even protest.
I sighed dramatically and allowed him to drag me outside.
Since the grocery store was only a few houses away from ours, we decided to walk instead of taking the bike.
The night air was pleasantly cool against my skin and the streets were quieter than usual, illuminated by the warm yellow glow of the streetlights.
The moment we stepped onto the road, he slipped his fingers between mine naturally and continued walking as if holding my hand was the most normal thing in the world.
I looked down at our joined hands before glancing at him suspiciously.
"You are acting like a possessed fellow," I muttered.
"Possessed by you," he replied without missing a beat.
I groaned loudly. "You should be embarrassed."
"Not really." He shrugged.
I couldn't help but chuckle as we continued walking together. For a few moments, neither of us spoke. The quietness felt comfortable, the kind that only existed between people who genuinely enjoyed each other's presence.
"One girl in my hospital keeps asking me out on a date." He suddenly said.
I stopped walking immediately. My head snapped toward him so fast that I nearly gave myself whiplash. "What the fuck?"
Adithya blinked innocently at my reaction. "Don't overreact."
"Don't overreact?" I repeated in disbelief. "You casually dropped that information in the middle of a peaceful walk and you want me not to overreact?"
He looked completely unbothered. "Yes."
I narrowed my eyes dangerously. "Which girl?"
"The same one." He said.
I frowned. "The same one?"
"The one whose texts I always ignored." He added.
Recognition immediately dawned on me.
I stared at him for a second. "That girl?"
He nodded casually. "Yes. That girl."
I rolled my eyes and looked away immediately.
Of course.
That woman.
I remembered him mentioning her before.
The persistent colleague who apparently possessed the survival instincts of a potato because she continued pursuing a man who very obviously had zero interest in her.
"And?" I asked flatly.
"She asked whether I was free on Sunday." He said casually.
I scoffed. "And?"
"I said no."
"And?"
"I said I already had plans."
"And?"
Adithya looked at me in confusion. "Why do you keep saying 'and ' ?"
"Because clearly there should be more information after that." I said.
He laughed softly. "There isn't."
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Did you tell her you are married?"
His expression immediately changed. "No."
"Why?" I gasped.
"Everyone there knows you," he said as he continued walking.
"And if I suddenly tell them that I married Viyana Sinclair, every gossip group in that hospital will start discussing nothing except us for the next few months.
Every tea break conversation will somehow include our names.
I can already imagine people creating theories about how we met and why we got married.
I don't want that kind of attention, Viyana.
Maybe after a few days, when things settle down a little, I will tell them. "
I looked at him for a moment before sighing softly.
Honestly, I couldn't even blame him for that. Our societies were practically breeding grounds for gossip. If the truth came out suddenly, Adithya would never hear the end of it.
"So how exactly did you avoid her all this time?" I asked as we continued walking beneath the streetlights.
Adithya let out a tired sigh and shook his head.
"I already told her directly that I wasn't interested in her," he said.
"I didn't even try to be vague about it.
I told her politely but clearly that I had no interest in pursuing anything with her.
But for some reason she refuses to accept it and keeps sending my friends to convince me to go out with her. "
I raised my eyebrows. "She sends your friends?"
"Yes," he said with an exhausted expression. "Every few days some new person suddenly appears and starts giving me relationship advice as if I asked for it."
I couldn't help but laugh. "And what did you tell them?"
"I told them I have a girlfriend," he said simply.
The corner of my lips lifted immediately. "Just girlfriend?" I asked.
"Yes," he nodded.
"Not wife?"
"No," he said.
"Not legally kidnapped husband?"
"Viyana," he glared at me.
I laughed louder as he rolled his eyes at me.
"Honestly, I think saying I have a girlfriend was enough to make them stop bothering me," he said. "At least that's what I hoped. Unfortunately, now they are all obsessed with finding out who she is."
"Poor you," I said dramatically.
"Poor me indeed," he said with a sigh.
By then we had reached the grocery store. I pushed the glass door open and stepped inside while Adithya followed beside me with a shopping basket in his hand.
The cool air from the store's air conditioning hit my face instantly as I looked around at the shelves.
"Alright, Master Baker," I said while crossing my arms. "Let's see if you can actually make a birthday cake without burning down the kitchen."
"Have some faith in your husband," Adithya said confidently.
I looked at him. Then at the basket. Then back at him.
"You just searched 'how to bake a cake without an oven' on your phone five minutes ago," I said.
His confidence disappeared immediately.
"That information was supposed to remain private," he muttered.
I chuckled and shook my head in mock disappointment.
Out of everything we came here to buy, this man somehow managed to sneak a lollipop into the basket like a mischievous child.
After buying and paying for everything, we walked out of the store carrying the bags together.
The night had grown quieter now. Most of the houses had switched off their lights and the streets were almost empty except for the occasional barking of distant dogs.
I immediately unwrapped the lollipop and placed it in my mouth.
A smile spread across my face.
The taste instantly brought back old memories.
"When I was a kid, I used to eat these and pretend I was smoking a cigarette," I said while looking ahead.
"I used to do that too," he chuckled.
I laughed loudly.
For some reason the thought of a little Adithya walking around with a lollipop pretending to smoke was ridiculously funny.
My gaze wandered toward the empty road ahead. A sudden childish urge crept into my mind.
Without warning, I released his hand and took a few steps forward.
He immediately looked at me suspiciously. This man knew me too well.
"What?" he asked.
I pointed toward the road dramatically. "I am going to run."
His expression instantly turned exhausted. "No."
"And you should catch me." I added.
"I absolutely won't."
"Three," I grinned.
"I am not running in the middle of the road trying to catch you." He shook his head.
"Two." I counted.
"You will definitely trip somewhere and then I will be the one carrying you home." He said still walking slowly.
I laughed. "One."
And before he could stop me I turned around and started running. The cool night air rushed against my face immediately. My laughter echoed through the empty street as my hair danced wildly behind me. For a few glorious seconds I felt completely free.
It was just me running down an empty road at midnight like a reckless teenager.
Then I glanced over my shoulder and immediately burst out laughing because despite all his complaints Adithya was running behind me.
"VIYANA!" he shouted.
His voice was half annoyed and half amused.
"COME BACK HERE!"
"No!"
"YOU ARE GOING TO FALL!"
"I WON'T!"
"You definitely will!"
I laughed harder and ran faster.
The grocery bag in his hand swung wildly as he chased after me.
Honestly, if any of his hospital colleagues saw him now, they would never believe this was the same calm and mature man who handled emergencies every day.
And suddenly my chest felt warm. Because a year ago this man was a stranger. Now he was running behind me in the middle of the night carrying cake ingredients because he wanted to bake me a birthday cake.
I looked over my shoulder to tease him again and immediately regretted it because somehow he was much closer than I expected.
"Oh shit." I instantly ran faster.
"Somebody save me!" I shouted dramatically into the empty street. "This man is trying to kidnap me!"
"YOU ARE MY WIFE!" Adithya shouted from behind.
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT LESS SCARY!" I shouted back.
I laughed uncontrollably as I tried to run faster, but my legs were already tired from sprinting.
Within seconds his footsteps closed the remaining distance. Then suddenly his arm wrapped around my waist.
A startled squeal escaped my mouth as he caught me effortlessly with one arm while still holding the grocery bag in the other hand. Before I could protest, he lifted me slightly off the ground and spun me around once.
The world blurred for a second. I burst out laughing. When he finally put me down, both of us were breathing heavily from running.
The night air felt cool against my flushed face while Adithya stood there trying to catch his breath.
"You are such a menace," he muttered between breaths.
I grinned shamelessly.
His hair was a mess. His cheeks were slightly red and despite the annoyed expression he was trying to maintain, I could already see the amusement hiding underneath it.
"I love you, Adithya," I said suddenly with a bright grin.
For a second he simply stared at me. Then he rolled his eyes dramatically.
I noticed the small smile threatening to appear on his lips.
"I love you because you bought me a lollipop." I added as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
He chuckled as his hand came up and brushed a few strands of hair away from my face. Then he smiled softly.
The real smile. The one he reserved only for me.
"I love you too," he said quietly.