Chapter 9
Surbhi
Three months.
Sometimes it amazed me how much life could change in such a short time.
If someone had told me on the day of my wedding that I would one day wake up excited to unlock the doors of my own bakery, I would have smiled politely and dismissed it as wishful thinking.
Back then, I had believed marriage would mark the end of my dreams.
Instead, it had quietly become the beginning of them.
I stood outside the bakery, staring at the elegant sign that carried my name. The morning sunlight reflected against the large glass windows, where rows of freshly baked breads, colorful pastries, cookies, cupcakes, and beautifully decorated cakes waited inside.
Everything looked exactly the way I had imagined it.
No.
Better.
I had spent countless nights planning every detail with Yasha, experimenting with recipes, selecting interiors, deciding on the menu, and learning the business side of running a bakery.
There had been days when I doubted myself, convinced I wasn't capable enough, but every time that happened, someone reminded me why I had started.
Usually, that someone was Ranbir.
He had believed in my dream long before I had found the courage to believe in it myself.
"You look like you're about to cry."
Yasha's teasing voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I laughed, wiping the corner of my eye before an actual tear could escape.
"I might."
She wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"You're allowed to. People cry at weddings and movie endings. Crying because you've achieved your dream is a much better reason."
Before I could respond, another familiar voice echoed through the bakery.
"I hope nobody starts crying before I taste the desserts."
Vihaan walked in dramatically, followed by Aarush, Ruhaan, and Nitin.
Just like always.
Loud.
Comfortable.
Completely incapable of making a normal entrance.
Vihaan looked around with exaggerated seriousness before pointing toward the display counter.
"I volunteer to sacrifice myself by tasting everything."
Ruhaan laughed.
"You've been volunteering for that job since college."
"And I've never let anyone down."
Aarush shook his head.
"The only thing you've never let down is your appetite."
Everyone laughed.
Even I couldn't stop smiling.
Nitin walked over to one of the display shelves, his eyes widening as he looked at the assortment of desserts.
"Bhabhi, did you really make all of these?"
"I had help," I admitted.
He looked at me with complete admiration.
"This place looks incredible."
"Thank you."
Vihaan picked up a slice of chocolate truffle cake after asking for permission and took an enthusiastic bite.
A moment later, he dramatically placed a hand over his heart.
"I've changed my mind."
Ruhaan raised an eyebrow.
"About what?"
"I'm moving in here."
Yasha rolled her eyes.
"You're not."
"I have to. Society deserves a man willing to support local businesses."
"You mean society deserves someone willing to eat for free."
"Exactly."
The laughter that followed filled every corner of the bakery, and for the first time in years, I realized that happiness no longer felt unfamiliar.
It felt... natural.
Customers slowly began arriving throughout the morning, and seeing people genuinely enjoy something I had created with my own hands was an indescribable feeling.
Some praised the pastries.
Others asked about custom cakes.
A little girl insisted that my strawberry cupcakes were "the prettiest cupcakes in the whole world," and I was fairly certain that compliment alone could have carried me through an entire year.
Amidst all the excitement, my eyes searched for one person.
Ranbir.
He wasn't speaking much.
Instead, he stood quietly near the entrance, greeting guests, making sure everything was running smoothly, and stepping in whenever someone needed help.
That was exactly who he was.
He never tried to stand in the spotlight.
He simply made sure everyone around him had the chance to shine.
At one point, I overheard Vihaan speaking to a customer.
"You know," he said proudly, "our Surbhi bhabhi has worked incredibly hard for this."
The customer smiled.
"It's a beautiful place."
"It is," Vihaan agreed before looking toward Ranbir. "Although someone here deserves credit for constantly pushing her to chase this dream."
I turned instinctively.
Ranbir immediately shook his head.
"No."
Vihaan ignored him.
"If it weren't for him constantly reminding her that she could do this, I'm not sure she'd have opened this place so soon."
Aarush smiled.
"He's right."
I watched Ranbir look almost embarrassed by the attention.
"I didn't do anything."
"You did," Yasha replied softly. "You believed in her before she believed in herself."
Those words stayed with me for the rest of the day.
Because they were true.
My parents had loved me, but they had never understood my dreams.
Society had told me they were impractical.
Fear had convinced me they were impossible.
Ranbir had simply looked at them and said, Let's make them happen.
There was no grand speech.
No dramatic promise.
Just quiet support.
And somehow, that had changed my life.
By evening, the bakery had finally emptied.
The last customer left after placing an order for a birthday cake, and Yasha locked the entrance before stretching tiredly.
"I think opening day was a success."
"It definitely was," Aarush agreed.
One by one, everyone congratulated me before leaving.
Vihaan promised he would return tomorrow.
Ruhaan reminded me to save him extra brownies.
Nitin hugged me before running after the others.
Soon, only Ranbir and I remained.
The bakery had grown wonderfully quiet.
I looked around at the empty tables before turning toward him.
He was watching me with the same gentle smile he always wore whenever I baked something new.
I walked over to him.
"Thank you."
He smiled.
"I didn't bake anything."
I shook my head.
"You know that's not what I mean."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I took his hands in mine.
"When I married you, I thought my dreams were over."
His expression softened.
"I truly believed that the rest of my life would be spent becoming whatever everyone else expected me to be."
I looked around the bakery.
"But today..."
My voice trembled slightly.
"...I'm standing inside something I once thought I would only ever imagine."
I looked back at him.
"This exists because you believed in me."
"No," he said gently. "It exists because you worked for it."
"I wouldn't have even tried if it weren't for you."
He smiled without arguing.
A comfortable silence settled between us.
I realized there was one more thing I had been carrying in my heart for weeks.
"I want to tell you something."
"I'm listening."
I smiled, feeling my heartbeat quicken.
"For a long time, I thought I would never be able to trust another man."
His fingers tightened around mine.
"Then you came into my life."
I felt tears gathering in my eyes again, but this time they weren't born from fear.
They came from gratitude.
"You never tried to change me."
"You never asked me to heal faster."
"You stood beside me when I couldn't stand by myself."
I took a slow breath.
"And somewhere along the way..."
A smile found its way onto my lips.
"...I stopped surviving."
"I started living."
His eyes never left mine.
"I truly love you, Ranbir."
The words felt lighter than I had imagined.
Natural.
As though my heart had been waiting to say them for a very long time.
"I love you."
For a brief moment, he simply looked at me.
Then he smiled in a way I had never seen before, a smile so full of relief and happiness that it made my own heart swell.
He gently cupped my face.
"I've been waiting to hear those words," he admitted softly, "but I was prepared to wait for as long as you needed."
I laughed through my tears.
"You won't have to wait anymore."
He leaned closer, giving me every opportunity to move away if I wanted to.
I didn't.
Instead, I closed the remaining distance between us.
His lips met mine in a gentle, unhurried kiss, one that carried no desperation and no demands, only the quiet certainty of two people who had finally found home in each other.
As he rested his forehead against mine afterward, I looked around my little bakery one last time.
Three months ago, I had thanked him for giving me the courage to breathe again.
Today, standing beside the man I had fallen deeply in love with, I realized he had given me so much more than that.
He had given me back my life.