（4） First night （Orange story）
Atharva gently dropped Maya onto the bed and then sat silently in front of her, watching.
Maya shot him a brief look, then straightened.
"I need to change."
"Okay. Then do it," Atharva replied calmly.
"Do it? What do I even do?" Maya snapped. "I didn't know attending someone else's wedding would end with me getting married. I don't have anything to wear."
Atharva studied her for a second, then walked to the wardrobe. He pulled out one of his white shirts and held it out to her.
Maya frowned.
"Just the shirt? And what about the bottom?"
Atharva's gaze darkened slightly.
"That... I don't want you to wear."
"What?" Maya's eyes widened.
"Yes," he said smoothly. "After all, it's our first night. I should at least see my wife in something... sexy."
Maya shoved the shirt back toward him.
"Keep it. I'll sleep in this lehenga."
Atharva's expression hardened.
"Oh? What did I say earlier? If you make a third mistake... what will I do?"
The memory flashed in Maya's mind. Her fingers tightened.
Without another word, she quickly grabbed the shirt and turned to leave.
Atharva caught her wrist.
"Where?"
"To change."Said maya
"Do it in front of me," he said coolly. "Why do you need the bathroom?"
Maya stared at him in disbelief.
"Have you lost it? What nonsense are you saying?"
"What's wrong with what I said?" he replied evenly. "You're my wife. I have every right to see you... completely."
"Let go of my hand."exclaimed Maya
"Nope." His grip remained firm. "You'll change in front of me. Otherwise stay in the lehenga... and if you do, I'll consider it your third mistake. And then... you know."
Maya slowly closed her eyes, swallowing her anger.
"Fine."
Atharva's brow lifted.
"Right here?"
"You didn't leave me any other option," she said coldly. "But at least let go of my hand. How am I supposed to change with one hand?"
A slow smile curved on his lips. He released her and leaned back on the bed, arms folded comfortably.
His eyes dragged over her from head to toe.
"Change it."
Maya glanced at him once - his gaze was still fixed on her.
She inhaled deeply, turned her face away, and muttered under her breath,
"What the hell..."
Atharva shifted slightly, turning his back halfway.
The moment he did, Maya bolted toward the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Click.
Locked.
Atharva walked toward the door but stopped when he realized.
"You didn't do a good thing, biwi," he called.
From inside, Maya shot back,
"You don't deserve good things."
Just then - knock knock.
Atharva turned and walked to the main door.
"Say."
Veer stood there with a tray.
"Bhai, Ma sent dinner... and haldi-kesar milk. Ah... for the night."
Atharva raised a brow.
"Do you seriously think I need it?"
Veer cleared his throat awkwardly.
"No... but maybe bhabhi does. And anyway... it's part of the ritual."
Atharva took the tray.
"No one should come to my floor now."
Veer nodded quickly with a small smile and left.
Atharva locked the door, set the tray aside, and glanced once more at the bathroom.
Still locked.
With a quiet exhale, he moved toward the closet to change.
---
Maya paced back and forth in the oversized white shirt, mind racing, already planning her escape.
Just then - her phone rang.
She picked up instantly.
"Anvi, thank God you called. I'm in huge trouble!"
"Trouble?" Anvi's teasing voice came through. "I thought first nights are supposed to be fun. Where did the problem come from?"
Maya groaned.
"Your brain is filled with nonsense. Can't you ever think straight?"
"Okay fine, leave that. What happened?"
Maya quickly told her everything.
"What?!" Anvi nearly shrieked. "So you're in just a white shirt... and that too jiju- I mean, his?"
"Jiju? You made the relationship official already?" Maya snapped.
"Well, the marriage already happened, didn't it? Relationships have to be formed," Anvi said shamelessly.
"Stop the nonsense and give me a solution first."groaned maya..
"Solution..." Anvi hesitated. "Honestly, I've got nothing. If you were near the closet you could've worn something else. What's even in the bathroom?"
"Exactly! There are no clothes here. And at that time my brain wasn't working."said Maya
"Then nothing can be done."sighed Anvi..
Maya groaned softly.
"This shirt is only till my knees... how am I supposed to-"
Knock knock.
Atharva's voice came from outside the bathroom.
"Biwi. Why is it taking so long?"
Maya panicked.
"Uh... I-"
Anvi whispered quickly,
"Say your stomach is upset."
Maya squeezed her eyes shut.
"My stomach... is upset."
The moment the words left her mouth, she slapped her forehead.
"Anvi, I swear I'll kill you."
From outside, Atharva's calm voice came again, laced with suspicion.
"But you didn't even eat anything, biwi. How did your stomach get upset?"
Anvi burst into muffled laughter.
"Who even asks that!"
Maya snapped toward the door.
"Why does it matter to you? Just give me time!"
Then hurriedly into the phone -
"Anvi, think of something. Please."
Outside, Atharva's expression slowly sharpened.From the faint sounds within the bathroom...He had already figured it out.
Maya wasn't sick.She was making excuses - and talking to someone on the phone.
Maya - "Anvi!"
"I'm thinking, wait," Anvi whispered from the other end.
Just then-The bathroom door suddenly opened.
Atharva stepped in.
"Who are you talking to, biwi?"
Maya's eyes widened. She spun toward the door.
He stood there with his arms folded, dressed only in lowers. His hair was slightly messy, his perfectly sculpted body - sharp abs and defined biceps - impossible to ignore.
Maya quickly hid the phone behind her back.
"Y-you... how did you open the door? I locked it!"
"You only locked the clutch," Atharva said casually. "Not the upper bolt."
His gaze sharpened. "But my question was... who are you talking to this late at night?"
Maya instinctively stepped back.
"N-no one."
Atharva's eyes slowly traveled from her face down to her legs.
A low whistle almost escaped him.
"Damn... you're looking freaking hot." His voice dropped. "Now how am I supposed to control myself?"
Maya shoved him hard.
"Control yourself however you want - just stay away from me!"
But before she could move, Atharva caught both her wrists and pulled her closer.
The phone was still connected.
On the other side, Anvi was hearing everything - barely containing her shock.
Atharva leaned slightly closer.
"Do you know about the orange story?"
Maya blinked in confusion.
"N... no. What is that? I've never heard it."
A slow, dangerous smile curved on his lips.
"Of course you haven't. I invented it."
Maya frowned.
"What is it?"
Atharva's voice turned deliberately soft.
"You peel an orange... completely. Remove all the white threads... and then slowly taste it... savor it."
Maya's brows pulled together.
"Wh-what? Everyone does that. What's new in it?"
His eyes darkened as he leaned closer.
"The new part is..."
A pause.
"You are my orange."
Maya's eyes flew wide.
On the phone, Anvi slapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
Maya immediately pushed him again.
"Don't you dare even think about it!"
Atharva chuckled low in his throat.
"Oh, I've thought about a lot already." His gaze burned into her. "What do you think I was doing in the mandap while the pandit was chanting?"
"Praying. What else?" Maya snapped.
He leaned closer, voice turning velvet-dark.
"No. I was thinking... how I'll slowly taste every part of my orange."
Maya shoved him back hard.
"Stay away from me! Or I'll kill you!"
Atharva placed a dramatic hand on his chest.
"Ouch. That hurt... right here."
Fuming, Maya stormed out of the bathroom.
In her anger, she completely forgot the call was still active.
She threw the phone onto the bed and began pacing the room.
"Maya... Maya..." Anvi's faint voice called from the phone - but Maya didn't hear.
After a moment, Anvi finally cut the call.
---
A few seconds later, Atharva walked out of the bathroom.
Maya immediately turned.
"Why didn't you wear a shirt?"
Atharva casually dropped onto the couch.
"Because you're already wearing one."
"Don't you have another?"said Maya..
"I do," he smirked. "But if I wore it, how would I flaunt my abs in front of you?"
Maya scoffed.
"Yeah, like I'm dying to see."
Unbothered, Atharva calmly began serving food onto plates.
"Want some food?"
"I'm not hungry."said Maya
"You haven't eaten anything since afternoon..." His eyes flicked up meaningfully. "...so I thought maybe you're hungry for something else?"
Maya glared.
"You are such a disgusting person."
He only smiled wider.
"Only for you, darling. Now come eat with me... otherwise I know many ways to feed you."
Maya stared at him for a long moment.
Then, silently, she walked over and sat on the couch, picking up the plate.
The moment she took the first bite-
Her hunger surged back brutally.
In the chaos of the wedding, she hadn't eaten since afternoon.
Without thinking, she began eating quickly.
For a few moments, she completely forgot...
That someone else in the room hadn't taken his eyes off her even once.
---
After a while, Maya leaned back, placing a hand on her stomach.
"Finally... my tummy is full."
Atharva tilted his head.
"Really? But I didn't do anything."
Maya's eyes snapped open.
"Every time - double meaning! Don't you know anything else?"
His smile turned slow and dangerous.
"Oh, I know a lot. Just give me the chance to show you."
His voice dipped lower.
"I'm sure once you see my talent... you'll start begging."
"Beg? Why would I do that?" she shot back.
"Because you'll love it." His gaze locked onto hers. "And you'll say - please don't stop daddy... please give me more."
Maya immediately clamped her hands over her ears.
"Ugh! I can't stay with you even for one night!"
Atharva leaned back comfortably.
"But now... you have to stay with me for a lifetime."
Maya muttered under her breath,
"That... time will tell."
"What did you say?"Exclaimed Atharva
"Nothing." She quickly moved to the bed. "I'm sleepy. I'm going to sleep. You figure out your own arrangement."
Atharva's brow lifted.
"Figure out my own arrangement... meaning?"
Maya looked straight at him.
"Meaning you find somewhere else to sleep. I'm not sharing the bed."
Atharva__"Aanha?"
Maya_"Yes."
Atharva_"So where exactly should I sleep?"
She gestured around.
"It's a huge room. There's a couch. There's the floor. Sleep anywhere."
Atharva let out a soft, amused breath.
"In my own bed... you won't give me space? Such authority?" His eyes gleamed. "Just now you were saying you don't accept this marriage, don't accept rituals... so where did this wifey right come from?"
Maya glared.
Without another word, she grabbed a pillow and blanket.
"Fine. You sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."
Atharva watched her quietly as she walked toward the couch.
Then-Very deliberately-
He picked up the bowl of soup from the tray......and tipped it over the couch.Spill.
"Oops," he said calmly. "That got dirty."
His eyes lifted slowly to her.
"Now where will you sleep?"
Maya stared at the mess - then at him.
"You! You did that on purpose!"
Atharva's slow, devilish smile returned.
"Obviously."His gaze darkened.
"Otherwise... how would you end up on the bed with me?"
Maya's eyes blazed with anger.
"Atharva Raisinghani... you are crossing your limits now. I'm staying quiet - don't take advantage of that."
Atharva slowly rose from the couch and stopped right in front of her.
His voice dropped, cold and controlled.
"I haven't even crossed the 'L' of my limits yet." His gaze hardened. "Otherwise your screams would already be echoing in this room."
A beat.
"I'm asking nicely - come to the bed." His tone turned dangerously soft. "Because the moment I start using force... trust me, you won't be able to handle me."
Maya looked straight into his eyes.
They were slightly wet now - but her voice, when it came, was quiet and sharp.
"And what else can you do anyway... except be forceful?"
For a second, something flickered in Atharva's eyes.
But Maya had already turned away.
Without another word, she walked to the bed and lay down at the extreme corner, her back rigid, her body stiff with silent resistance.
Atharva watched her for a long moment.Then he switched off the lights.The room fell into darkness.
A moment later, he lay down on the opposite edge of the bed.
One blanket.Two people.Miles of distance between them.After a while, Atharva turned slightly toward her.
Maya still faced the other side.
Completely still.He closed his eyes.
But on the other side of the bed...
Silent tears were still slipping from Maya's eyes.
She had pressed her lips tightly together to stop the sound, but her shoulders trembled faintly.
The wedding.Her family's helpless faces.Their tears.Kavya.Everything kept replaying in her mind like a cruel loop.
And the tears just wouldn't stop.
A few moments later-
Without opening his eyes, Atharva spoke, his voice low in the dark.
"Maya... stop it now. Stop crying."
Maya said nothing.
Her quiet sobs only grew softer... shakier.
Atharva's eyes opened.
A flash of irritation crossed his face.
"You won't listen?" His tone sharpened. "This time if I even slightly feel that you're crying... it won't be good for you."
From the darkness came her faint, broken reply-
"As if anything is good right now..."
Something unreadable passed through his expression.
Then, flatly-"Then face it... and sleep."
For a long moment, nothing moved.
Slowly... quietly...Maya wiped her tears.Her breathing gradually steadied.
And sometime later-Exhaustion finally pulled her into an uneasy sleep.Not long after-
Atharva's eyes, too, slowly drifted shut.