I LOVE YOU KITTEN
The room was still echoing with laughter over Rivan's utterly defeated expression when hurried footsteps thundered through the hallway.
"Sir!"
Everyone turned.
Arav came running into the living room, breathing as though he had sprinted a marathon. Without wasting a second, he dropped to one knee in front of Rivan.
"Sir, please forgive me!" he blurted, bowing his head. "I... I couldn't complete your assignment. You can fire me... no, you can kill me if you want but I'm sorry! I tried my absolute best, Sir."
Rivan's relaxed expression vanished.
A dangerous feeling settled in his stomach.
No...
Don't say it.
Unfortunately for him, Arav had no intention of stopping.
"I failed you, Sir! I couldn't buy that ice cream shop!"
Rivan's eyes widened almost imperceptibly.
I'm dead.
Arav kept his head lowered, words tumbling out in panic.
"I've failed as your assistant. Please punish me however you see fit. I'll accept anything!"
The room fell silent.
Virendra slowly raised an eyebrow.
"Ice cream shop?"
Rivan opened his mouth at lightning speed.
"It's not what—"
But Arav was faster.
"Yes, Sir! It's Devyani Ma'am's favorite ice cream shop. Mr. Thakur wanted to buy it as a surprise, but unfortunately Mr. Zaid purchased it before we could. I negotiated with everyone, offered more money, even requested another meeting... but I failed."
He lowered his head even further.
"I'm ashamed, Sir."
Silence.
Dead.
Complete.
Silence.
Every pair of eyes slowly turned toward Rivan.
Aradhya blinked once.
Then twice.
"So..." she said sweetly, "Mr. Thakur was secretly trying to buy my favorite ice cream shop?"
Reyansh folded his arms with exaggerated suspicion.
"Wait... this is the same man who claims he isn't obsessed?"
Devyani couldn't stop herself.
She burst into laughter.
"I knew it!" she wheezed. "You were jealous because I went there with Zaid!"
Rivan shot her a flat look.
"I wasn't jealous."
"Oh?" Devyani grinned. "Then why were you trying to buy the entire shop?"
"It was a business investment."
"An ice cream parlor?"
"It had... potential."
"The only potential it had," Aradhya interrupted with a mischievous smile, "was preventing another man from taking me there."
A faint cough escaped Virendra as he fought a smile.
"That's... a rather expensive way of saying you're possessive."
Reyansh gasped dramatically.
"He lost a bidding war over an ice cream shop!"
Aradhya clasped her hands together.
"Should we get him an ice cream to help him recover from the trauma?"
Even Yashodha had to look away to hide her smile.
Rivan inhaled slowly.
Very.
Very slowly.
His calm expression returned in an instant, carrying the effortless authority that had built an empire.
He looked down at the still-kneeling Arav.
"Stand up."
Arav immediately obeyed.
"You failed."
Arav's face fell.
"But not because you couldn't buy the shop."
Everyone's laughter faded.
Rivan straightened his cuffs with practiced elegance before fixing Arav with a sharp look.
"You failed because you announced a confidential business matter in the middle of my family."
Arav froze.
"I... I'm sorry, Sir."
"I know."
Rivan's voice remained calm, yet powerful enough to silence the room.
"You'll report to my office tomorrow morning."
Arav gulped.
"Yes, Sir."
Rivan then turned toward his family, meeting every amused gaze without the slightest embarrassment.
"If I wanted the shop badly enough..."
A confident smile curved his lips.
"...I could still own it before breakfast."
The room went quiet for a heartbeat.
Then Aradhya smiled with unmistakable pride.
"There's my arrogant billionaire."
Rivan winked.
"I prefer 'determined husband.'"
The laughter returned louder than before while even Reyansh muttered under his breath,
"I hate that he's actually cool."
Virendra stretched and let out a tired yawn, breaking the lingering tension.
"Now let's all get some sleep. We'll decide everything about the wedding tomorrow."
Everyone nodded and began making their way toward their respective rooms.
Rivan quietly fell into step behind Devyani.
Before he could take another step, Reyansh moved in front of him, blocking his path.
"Your room is that way."
Rivan blinked innocently.
"Bhai, tu toh abhi bhi mera bhai hai."
(Brother, you're still my brother.)
Reyansh folded his arms across his chest.
"Bhai tha... ab sala hun Toh chal, izzat se apne room mein nikal."
(You were my brother. Now you're just my brother-in-law. So kindly walk to your room.)
Rivan narrowed his eyes, but a slow, knowing smirk spread across his face.
"I heard your meeting this morning didn't go too well."
Reyansh's brows knitted together.
"What meeting?"
Rivan slipped both hands into his pockets, looking infuriatingly relaxed.
The realization hit Reyansh instantly.
His eyes widened.
"You—"
Without another word, he grabbed Rivan by the collar and dragged him toward the room.
The door slammed shut behind them.
Inside the room
Reyansh shoved Rivan against the wall.
"You seriously tried to buy my man's?"
Rivan effortlessly caught his wrist before the shove could become another attack.
"I tried."
"You billionaire idiot!"
Reyansh swung a punch.
Rivan tilted his head, letting it miss by an inch before driving a shoulder into Reyansh's chest.
Both of them tumbled onto the bed.
The mattress groaned in protest as they rolled across it, exchanging punches that carried more annoyance than actual malice.
Years of friendship made every move predictable.
Every punch had a counter.
Every hold had an escape.
Reyansh managed to pin Rivan for exactly three seconds before Rivan bridged his hips, flipped them over, and trapped Reyansh beneath him.
"You fight slower than before," Rivan mocked.
"I fight smarter."
Reyansh shoved him off with both feet.
Rivan landed neatly on his feet.
"Oh? Then explain why you're still losing."
"Losing?"
Reyansh lunged again.
The two crashed into the wardrobe with a loud THUD that echoed through the hallway.
Reyansh landed a clean punch on Rivan's shoulder.
Rivan answered with a quick jab to his ribs.
Neither hit was meant to injure.
It was simply how they argued.
"This doesn't change anything," Reyansh growled, locking Rivan in a headlock.
"You're still sleeping alone tonight."
Rivan broke free with practiced ease before twisting Reyansh's arm just enough to make him lose balance.
He leaned down with an infuriating grin.
"I never said I wasn't."
Reyansh frowned.
For two long seconds...
Reyansh simply stared at him.
Then he burst out laughing.
"You absolute menace."
Rivan chuckled.
"I've been called worse."
The two men exchanged one last playful shove before collapsing onto opposite sides of the bed, breathing heavily.
Silence settled between them.
He stood, walked to the door, and opened it.
"But you're still sleeping in the guest room."
Rivan groaned dramatically.
"I knew that answer was coming."
"And if I catch you anywhere near my sister's room...i'll make sure you die single"
RIVAN POV
I quietly closed the door behind me.
Click.
The sound echoed through the room that had witnessed every version of me.
The ruthless Rivan Thakur.
The broken husband.
The man who couldn't sleep.
The man who bled in silence.
And now...
A man whose wife had just asked him to marry her again.
I stood there for a long time.
Completely still.
A bitter smile appeared on my lips.
"So..."
I whispered to myself.
"We really survived."
My legs suddenly felt weak.
I slowly walked toward the bed before sitting down on its edge.
For several seconds...
I simply stared at my hands.
These hands...
The memory made my breathing stop.
I looked at my ring finger.
Empty.
It had remained empty for two years.
Not because I had forgotten.
Because I never had the courage to wear another ring.
There was only one woman I had ever called my wife.
Only one.
And today...
She wanted to become my wife again.
I laughed.
A small...
Disbelieving laugh.
Then another.
Soon my laughter faded into complete silence.
I rubbed both hands over my face.
"...She actually asked me."
I still couldn't believe it.
I kept replaying those words.
"Mr. Ex-Pati Parmeshwar ji..."
"Mere pati ji banenge aap?"
Every single time they echoed inside my head...
My heart reacted exactly the same.
Like it had forgotten how to beat properly.
I slowly lay back on the bed.
My eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.
This ceiling.
I had stared at it during countless sleepless nights.
Night after night...
Begging sleep to come.
Begging memories to stop.
I failed every single time.
Today...
For the first time...
The ceiling looked different.
Brighter somehow.
I smiled to myself.
"You really are unbelievable, Kitten."
I had spent two years planning how I would apologize.
What I would say.
How I would earn another chance.
How many years it would take for her to forgive me.
And she...
She destroyed every plan in one sentence.
I closed my eyes.
Immediately her face appeared.
The way she had run toward me.
The way she had cried in my arms.
The way she had held me as though she was afraid I would disappear.
The way she had looked at me while asking that question.
There wasn't even doubt in her eyes.
Only love.
Why?