16
They sat in the quiet living room, cups of chai warming their hands, the television still on but now forgotten.
The clink of a spoon against ceramic was the only sound for a moment.
Dhruv leaned back, his posture relaxed but his eyes not leaving her.
Vaani sat cross-legged on the couch, holding her cup close to her chest. She looked peaceful, but not entirely at ease-like someone always preparing to retreat if needed.
He took another sip, then glanced sideways at her. "How's Vedant's application coming through?"
Vaani looked up, caught off guard. Her brow furrowed slightly. "Vedant?"
He nodded, giving her an amused smile. "Yes Vaani, Your brother - Vedant."
She straightened a little, still processing. "He... he's good. He's applying right now."
Dhruv nodded. "He mentioned a few universities-Durham, LSE, King's."
Her surprise flickered across her face more openly now. She hadn't known they'd spoken. "Oh. Right. Yeah... those are the ones."
There was a pause. She couldn't hide the question behind her eyes: When did they even talk? But she didn't ask. Maybe she didn't want to make it awkward again. Maybe it was easier to let it be.
Dhruv noticed her hesitation, but didn't press. He let a quiet beat pass before saying, "You went to UCL and Oxford, right?"
She blinked again. "Yes. I did."
"Which one did you like more?" he asked.
She didn't answer immediately. She looked down into her cup for a moment, then back up. "Oxford," she said softly.
He raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Really? Not London?"
She gave a slight smile, and it wasn't just polite-it was real. "London is fast. Energetic. But Oxford..." she looked like she was seeing it in her mind. "It's quieter. Calmer. Prettier in a way. I liked that. It made me feel... steady."
Dhruv nodded slowly, filing that away.
There was something thoughtful in her tone, something almost vulnerable. And the way she said steady stayed with him for a second longer than it should have.
"I see," he said quietly, taking another sip of chai.
They both looked away at the same time, silence wrapping around them again-not awkward now, but reflective.
The kind of silence that makes you feel a little closer to someone without even realizing why.
Vaani looked down at her cup. She wasn't used to him asking about her-about her past, her choices, her preferences. For a moment, it felt like she was more than just the woman who lived in the same house.
Dhruv watched her in the periphery. He didn't know why he asked about Oxford. Or Vedant. Maybe it was curiosity.
She looked up at him briefly, like she was about to say something. But she didn't. She just offered the tiniest smile and sipped her chai again.
Outside, the city buzzed with distant sounds. Inside, two people who barely knew how to speak to each other were learning how to sit in the same quiet.
And somehow, that was enough for now.
Vaani held her cup, fingers wrapped around the warmth, the last few sips of chai swirling gently inside. The silence between them had softened-not heavy, just full of unspoken thoughts, like there was more they could say, but didn't know how to yet.
She glanced at him, hesitating. And then, almost too quietly, she asked, "Where did you study?"
Dhruv looked up from his cup, surprised-not by the question, but by the softness in her tone. He leaned back slightly. "Columbia," he said.
Her eyebrows lifted, eyes widening slightly. "In New York?"
He nodded, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yep."
"Wow," she said, more to herself than to him. Her voice held a quiet awe that she didn't mean to let slip, and she quickly looked away, brushing a hand through her hair. "That's... that's impressive."
Dhruv's gaze lingered on her. "Have you been to New York?"
She paused. Her cup lowered to her lap. "No," she said, softly again.
"Why not?" he asked, almost casually, but there was a little spark of curiosity under his words.
Vaani hesitated. "Oh... no reason," she said, avoiding his eyes. "It just... never happened."
Dhruv tilted his head slightly, sensing that wasn't the full story. He watched her for a moment longer, but when she didn't add anything, he simply nodded and let it go.
"And... did you do a master's?" she asked after a pause, not looking at him.
"Yep," he said. "Berkeley."
Her head turned. "Wow," she said again, but this time it was quieter, tinged with something like admiration. Then she looked down at her cup, and barely above a whisper, she muttered, "You're smart."
Dhruv caught the words.
And even though she didn't mean for him to, he chuckled-soft, low, and unexpected.
Her eyes flicked to his in surprise, and for the first time in a long time, he looked... almost playful.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," he teased lightly.
Vaani flushed, the corner of her mouth tugging into an embarrassed smile. "No, I didn't mean-just... you don't usually meet people who went to both Columbia and Berkeley."
He raised an eyebrow, his tone warm. "You went to Oxford and UCL. That's not exactly light reading."
"Touché," she murmured.
Their eyes met. And for a moment, there was nothing to do but hold the quiet. Not in discomfort. But in surprise.
Because somehow, they were talking.
Really talking.
And that in itself felt like something entirely new.
The cups had grown quiet between them. Steam long gone. The silence wasn't uncomfortable-just thoughtful, stretched and slowed like the moment wanted to last longer than it should.
Dhruv leaned back slightly, still looking at her. "Where did you last travel?"
Vaani blinked, surprised by the question. "Travel?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Just... for fun. Leisure."
She hesitated, then shrugged. "Nowhere recent, really. I mean-I came to India... for the wedding."
Dhruv tilted his head, slightly amused. "Damn. That's it?"
She nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah. That's it."
He raised his brows, like he hadn't expected that answer. "Didn't think someone like you would be so... lowkey about travel. I thought you like to travel."
Vaani gave a soft chuckle, eyes glancing toward her empty cup. "I do, but life's been busy, I guess."
They sat in silence again, something comfortable, something cautious. Neither knew how or when it had stopped feeling awkward to be alone in the same room-but here they were.
A beat passed, then Vaani started to get up. "I... I'll take your cup."
Dhruv looked at her and shook his head once. "No."
She paused, confused. "Oh."
He rose from his place on the couch and took his cup in his hand. "I'll keep my cup, Vaani."
There was a beat of tension, not sharp-but it made her stop moving.
"You're not my house help."
Vaani looked up at him.
Her expression unreadable for a second. Not hurt-but caught off-guard by the fact that he'd even said it.
His tone hadn't been harsh. If anything, it had been matter-of-fact, like he meant for her to understand something else entirely.
And without another word, he turned and walked toward the kitchen, leaving her sitting there with both cups in her hands and something suddenly shifting in the air between them.
Not everything was clear yet.
But something had changed.
~·~
The room was cloaked in darkness, save for the soft glow of Dhruv's laptop screen. The air conditioning hummed gently in the background, blending with the muffled sounds of the city outside.
Vaani was fast asleep beside him-curled slightly on her side, her hand tucked under the pillow, her breath even and soft. Her hair was messy from sleep, one strand falling across her cheek, rising and falling with each breath.
Dhruv sat propped up on his pillows, the screen light casting subtle shadows across his face.
His fingers were still on the keyboard, open to a spreadsheet he'd been meaning to finish, but his focus had long wandered elsewhere.
He looked down at her for a moment, just a quiet glance-noticing the way she sighed lightly in her sleep, the way she looked far more peaceful now than she ever did during the day.
He couldn't place what had shifted between them exactly. Maybe it had started with the chai. Or with her cricket stats. Or when she offered him a single fry with more gentleness than he deserved.
He blinked slowly and without realising it, opened a new browser tab.
At first, it was mechanical-just a distraction from the silence. But his fingers typed something he hadn't expected:
"Oxford travel packages."
The search results populated instantly. He stared at the screen.
Flights from Dubai to London.
Trains to Oxford.
Hotels. Boutique inns. Airbnbs. "Top 10 Things to Do in Oxford."
He exhaled through his nose, the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, not because anything was funny-but because he had no idea why he was doing this.
Why now?
She'd said she loved Oxford. Said it was quieter, prettier. That it suited her.
And here he was, sitting in bed, while his wife-his wife-slept beside him, and he was checking tickets to the place she once called home.
He clicked open a few links. Just browsing.
Just... curious.
It wasn't like he was planning anything. Not really. He was just... wondering. Exploring.
He glanced at her again, this time longer. There was something about seeing her like this, so far from the polite nods and silences and awkward dinners-they'd gone from strangers to housemates to... something he couldn't name.
She shifted a little in her sleep and murmured something unintelligible, pressing her face deeper into the pillow. Her brow furrowed for a second, then eased.
Dhruv's gaze softened before he looked back at the screen.
For the next ten minutes, he didn't switch tabs. Just scrolled quietly through pictures of cobbled streets, old libraries, punting boats, and college quads bathed in afternoon sun.
A different world.
Her world, once.
He opened one more tab-flights for the end of the month. A small, unspoken thought circled in his mind: maybe he could take her there. Maybe she wouldn't say no. Maybe it would mean something.
Or maybe he was just being ridiculous.
He leaned back, sighed, and closed the laptop halfway-not shutting it, just resting it on his lap as he gave one last glance to the woman asleep beside him.
She wasn't just Vaani Joshi anymore.
And maybe... maybe he was finally starting to understand what that meant.
The room had fallen into a settled silence again.
Dhruv had shut his laptop now, lying back on the bed with his phone in hand, the screen casting a dim blue glow over his face.
His thumb scrolled absently through the news, then Instagram, then back to an old article on architectural innovations in workspace design-his mind only half-focused.
Beside him, Vaani slept still, her breathing light and rhythmic at first. But then-subtly-something shifted. Her brow creased. Her breathing grew shallow, uneven.
He paused, his gaze flicking toward her.
Her body twitched once, then again. Her hands curled into fists, clutching the edge of the duvet. A low sound escaped her lips-half a breath, half a whimper-and she suddenly jerked upright, her breath coming in rapid bursts, eyes wide, unfocused.
Dhruv was up in an instant.
"Vaani?" he said quickly, concerned. He sat up beside her, placing his phone aside. "Vaani, hey... it's okay. You're alright."
She looked around the room, still in that post-nightmare haze-sweat glistening faintly along her hairline, chest rising and falling fast, eyes darting around like she didn't quite know where she was.
"Hey," he said again, gentler this time, reaching for the glass of water by the bedside and holding it out to her. "Here. Just breathe."
She blinked a few times, her fingers trembling as she took the glass. He steadied it with her, guiding it to her lips. She drank in small, slow sips, her breath gradually evening out.
"I..." she whispered hoarsely after a pause. "I'm sorry... I don't know what happened. I don't even remember the dream fully, just... something tight, something cold..."
"You don't need to apologise," he said calmly. "Nightmares happen. You don't have to explain."
She looked at him, her eyes still clouded with something unspoken. Shame, perhaps. Or something older, buried deeper. "I'm fine," she said quickly, though her voice betrayed the lie. "I'll just... get some fresh water."
He nodded, not stopping her. "Okay."
She pushed the duvet off and stood, walking toward the kitchen, her movements quiet but tense. Dhruv watched her go-watched the way her hand ran lightly along the wall for balance, the way her shoulders were drawn in, like she was still shaking something off.
He didn't follow her. He didn't know if she wanted space or comfort right now, so he gave her both.
But he didn't take his eyes off the door.
He leaned back slightly, still seated against the headboard.
Something clenched in his chest, and it wasn't just concern-it was the unfamiliar weight of seeing her fragile.
The woman who had been leading meetings, negotiating blueprints, orchestrating contractors and creatives with absolute command-now standing in their kitchen at midnight, quietly calming herself down.
And he hated how used to it she looked. Like she'd done this alone, many times before.
He rubbed his thumb along his jaw and looked toward the kitchen again.
Something had shifted between them.
And he wasn't sure how or why-but he knew one thing.
He wasn't going back to sleep tonight.
??