CHAPTER 59! HOME AGAIN #2
Shaurya let out a long breath and dragged a hand down his face.
"Unbelievable. He's carrying his wife out the front door, and somehow I'm the one standing here looking unreasonable."
Aryav didn't pause to listen to the rest of the conversation. He walked straight past them, pushing through the heavy front door and stepping out into the cool night air of the driveway.
He carried her over to the passenger side of the large black SUV. Stopping beside the open door, he held her close for a quiet moment while the ambient noise from inside the house faded into the background.
Aadhira pulled back, fully intending to glare at him and tell him off, but the words died in her throat the moment she looked at his face up close.
There wasn't a trace of pride or arrogance in his eyes. Instead, she saw something she had never seen in him before-a raw, quiet fear that he couldn't quite hide.
"You don't have to forgive me for this," he murmured near her ear, his voice barely louder than a whisper in the dark driveway.
"Just don't make me stand there and watch something happen to you."
Inside the car, the silence was heavy and constant.
Aryav kept his eyes glued to the dark road ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
Aadhira sat pressed all the way against the passenger door, her arms folded across her chest as she looked out the window.
The first ten minutes went by without a single word spoken between them. The yellow glow of streetlights passed over the windshield in steady, quiet rhythms.
Aadhira kept her eyes fixed on the empty roads outside.
His voice from the driveway kept playing over and over in her head.
Just don't make me stand there and watch something happen to you.
She honestly didn't know what was scarier-the thought of whatever threat was lingering in the background, or the fact that Aryav was worried enough to act like this.
From the backseat, Ayaan watched the city lights flicker past his window.
"Papa," Ayaan called out, leaning forward against his seatbelt.
Aryav caught his eye in the rearview mirror. "Yeah?"
"I want to drive."
"Ayaan, no," Aadhira said right away, turning around in her seat. "You're ve6 small to drive."
"Mumma. Please, Papa?" Ayaan asked, looking at Aryav with wide eyes.
Aryav glanced ahead, flipped on his turn signal, and smoothly pulled the heavy SUV onto the wide gravel shoulder of the road.
He brought the car to a full stop, shifted the gear into park, and turned off the engine.
Once everything was still, he unbuckled his seatbelt, reached into the back to release Ayaan from his child seat, and lifted him over into the front, sitting the little boy squarely on his lap behind the steering wheel.
"You can hold the wheel right here," Aryav said softly, placing the boy's hands on the leather rim. "Papa's keeping the car right here. We aren't moving."
Ayaan beamed, his small hands wrapping around the top of the wheel. "Mumma, look at me!" he giggled.
Despite everything on her mind, a tiny smile tugged at the corner of Aadhira's lips. "I see you, sweetheart."
"Mumma, you drive too," Ayaan said, reaching out with one hand to grab her sleeve. "We can all drive together."
"Ayaan, I'm fine right here," she said gently.
"Please, Mumma."
She glanced up at Aryav. He was already looking at her, his dark eyes waiting calmly.
With a small sigh, Aadhira leaned across the center console and rested her hand on the side of the steering wheel next to Ayaan's small fingers.
A second later, Aryav shifted his hand slightly, sliding his fingers beneath hers to support her weight against the wheel.
Aadhira went completely still. Her eyes moved up to meet his.
Neither of them pulled away. They just stayed like that in the quiet interior of the parked car, the faint light from passing traffic sweeping across their faces every few seconds.
Ayaan kept babbling happily between them, completely oblivious to the quiet tension holding his parents in place.
For those few minutes on the side of the dark road, nobody moved to pull their hand back.
When the SUV finally turned through the heavy iron gates of the Singhania Mansion, Aadhira felt her pulse quicken.
Three months ago, she walked out those very gates, believing in her heart that she would never set foot on this property again. Tonight, she was coming right back through them.
The car glided smoothly to a stop beneath the wide grand portico.
The moment the engine cut out, Ayaan unbuckled himself and scrambled out of his seat, his small voice echoing into the night as he ran toward the front doors.
"Mumma is home!"
As the little boy ran inside, Aadhira stayed unmoving in the passenger seat, her eyes fixed on the dark dashboard.
"I want a separate room," she said, her voice low and carefully controlled.
"Otherwise, I am not stepping out of this car."
Aryav walked around to her side and opened her door, holding it wide for her. His jaw tightened slightly, but he didn't hesitate. "Fine."
She looked up at him, instantly suspicious of how easily he had given in. "You're really going to give me my own room?"
"Yes."
"And you're not going to argue about it later?"
"No."
She swallowed the lump in her throat, unexpectedly bothered by how quickly he had agreed to her demand.