Chapter 20 WHERE I BELONG
ADITYA
Neel is terrible at keeping secrets. I realize this about three minutes after telling him mine.
He is sitting on the floor of his room with his back against the bed, building something extremely questionable out of Lego pieces while I lean against the doorframe pretending to casually exist there.
He keeps glancing at me. Then grinning. Then glancing again. I shake my head and a smile forms on my lips because this guy and his antics. Finally he drops the Lego piece entirely and says in a stage whisper that is somehow louder than normal speech, “Is today the day?”
I sigh and push myself off the doorframe. “Yes.”
His eyes widen like I just told him we’re planning a heist. “This is historic.”
“Please don’t announce it to the entire neighborhood.” He scoots forward on his knees until he’s right in front of me, looking up with a seriousness that is both impressive and slightly terrifying in a seven-year-old.
“Didi will cry.”
“That’s very likely.”
“And then she will hug you.”
“I hope so.”
“And then she will hug me because I helped.”
I blink. “You haven’t helped yet.”
Neel tilts his head like I’ve offended him deeply and pats my knees as if he's imparting some sagely advice, “I helped emotionally and I gave you my blessing, afterall she's my sister.”
I laugh under my breath and sit down on the floor across from him. The truth is I’ve been thinking about this moment for days. Ever since that night in my office when she cried because someone made her believe she was nothing more than a responsibility in my life.
The idea still makes my jaw tighten. Divya doesn’t realize what she did to my world.
She walked into it carrying grief and responsibility and quiet strength and somehow rearranged everything inside my chest without asking permission.
And I never actually asked her to marry me.
Not properly. Not the way she deserves. The first time was survival.
This time needs to be a choice. Neel studies my face carefully.
“You look nervous.”
“Of course I’m nervous.”
He nods thoughtfully. “That means it’s important.”
“It is.”
He leans closer. “Okay tell me the plan.”
I rub the back of my neck. “I already prepared most of it.”
That earns me immediate respect. “Oh.”
“I bought the ring two days ago.” Neel gasps like this is the most romantic thing that has ever happened in human history.
“You are very organized.”
“I try.”
“And the location?”
“The terrace.”
He nods approvingly. “That is dramatic.”
“Exactly.” I nod, even when I know it's not entirely dramatic, but something I feel Divya would like.
“And lights?”
“Already done.”
“Candles?”
“Yes.”
“Flowers?”
“Minimal flowers.”
He squints at me. “You should have consulted me earlier.”
“I’ll remember that for other important occasions."
Neel stands up suddenly.
“We should go check it.” Twenty minutes later we’re on the terrace making final adjustments. The fairy lights stretch along the railing in warm golden lines.
The small table near the corner holds the things that matter most tonight: the ring box, the book of poems I wrote for her, and the little bottle of attar I made that still smells faintly of roses and old paper.
Neel walks around inspecting everything like a very tiny wedding planner. “This is acceptable.”
“That is the highest praise I’ve received today.”
He leans over the table. “Where is the ring?”
I pull the velvet box from my pocket and show him. His eyes nearly fall out of his head. “That is extremely shiny.”
“I thought she might like it.”
“She will.”
Then he looks at me very seriously. “Are you going to say something romantic?”
“I prepared something.”
“Good,” he says firmly. “Because if you just say ‘will you marry me’ it will be disappointing.”
I stare at him. “You have high expectations.”
“I learned from movies.”
I laugh quietly. “You are a terrifying advisor.”
We hear the front door downstairs open.
Neel freezes. “She’s home.” My heartbeat immediately kicks up. “Okay,” I say quietly. “Your job now.”
Neel straightens his shoulders like a soldier receiving orders. “I understand.”
Then he runs down the stairs like a thunderstorm. “DIDIIII!”
So much for subtlety. I run a hand through my hair and try to calm the ridiculous pounding in my chest.
It’s absurd. I run a publishing house. I negotiate contracts with people twice my age. And yet the idea of asking one woman a question has my hands slightly shaking. Her footsteps come up the stairs slowly. Then she appears at the top of the terrace.
And stops. The moment her eyes take in the lights and the candles and the ridiculous effort I clearly made. Her expression shifts from confusion to surprise. Then to something softer. “What is all this?”
Neel grabs her hand immediately. “Welcome.”
She looks down at him suspiciously. “Welcome to what?”
“A very important evening.”
She laughs softly and finally looks at me. “Aditya… what did you two do?”
I walk toward her slowly. “I needed your brother’s help.”
Neel beams. “I am extremely helpful.”
Divya shakes her head, smiling.
“I can see that.”
When I reach her I take her hand gently. Her fingers curl into mine automatically like they always do. The small familiar gesture steadies something inside my chest. “Do you remember the day we got married?” I ask quietly.
Her eyebrows lift. “How could I forget?”
“That day happened very fast.”
“That’s a very polite way of describing chaos.”
I nod. “It wasn’t the kind of beginning you deserved.”
She tilts her head slightly and smiles gently. “I didn’t mind.”
“I did.”
Her expression shifts. “Why?”
“Because I never asked you.” The wind moves softly across the terrace, carrying the faint scent of night flowers from somewhere nearby.
I take a slow breath. “We got married once because we needed something. But somewhere between Lego towers and late-night tea and you yelling at me for leaving my books everywhere…”
Her lips twitch. “…something changed.” Her eyes search my face.
"Let me guess, you fell in love with me?" She smirks and I laugh.
I look directly at her. “Yes, I completely, utterly, hopelessly, fell in love with you.”
Behind her Neel makes a very loud emotional sound. “YESS.”
Divya laughs through the sudden shine in her eyes. “Neel.”
“What?” he protests. “This is beautiful.”
I squeeze her hand gently. “And now I want something different.”
She watches me carefully. “What?”
My heart beats once.
Hard.
Then I kneel.
Her breath catches instantly. “Aditya—”
“Let me finish.”
I open the ring box. The stone catches the fairy lights. “Divya,” I say quietly, “you walked into my life looking for a book that reminded you of your father.”
Her smile trembles. “And somehow you became the story I never want to stop reading.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “You turned a house that was supposed to be temporary into a home I never want to leave.” My eyes land on Neel, standing behind us, beaming like he has recieved the best lego set in the world, “And you and that little menace behind you somehow became the best part of every single day.”
Neel wipes his eye dramatically. “This is extremely emotional.”
I laugh under my breath before looking back at her. “So I’m asking you now. Not because we have to. Not because circumstances pushed us together. But because I choose you. Every day."
The smile on her lips is all I have ever craved for. “Let’s get married for real this time.” For a moment she doesn’t move. She just stares at me like her heart is trying to catch up with what just happened. Then she shakes her head slightly in disbelief.
“You’re already stuck with me.”
“I’m happily stuck.”
“Aditya.” She whispers.
“Yes?”
“Yes.” She beams at me. The word lands softly. But it feels like fireworks exploding inside my chest.
“Really?”
“Yes,” she says again, laughing through tears.
Neel explodes behind us. “SHE SAID YES!” I slide the ring onto her finger. It fits perfectly. She pulls me to my feet immediately and throws her arms around my neck.
“I love you,” she whispers against my shoulder. The words hit harder than anything tonight.
“I love you too.”
Neel launches himself into the hug like a human cannonball. “I HELPED!”
“You absolutely did,” I laugh.
Divya kneels and pulls him into her arms. “You are the best brother in the world.”
“I know,” he says proudly. I wrap my arms around both of them.
The fairy lights glow above us. The city breathes quietly in the distance.
And standing there between the woman I love and the small chaos machine who helped me build this moment, I realize something simple and overwhelming. Love didn’t arrive in some grand sweeping moment.
It built itself slowly. In laughter. In arguments over Lego instructions. In quiet evenings that turned into something permanent. And now, looking at Divya’s smile glowing under the soft lights of our terrace, I know one thing with absolute certainty.
This is where I belong.