Something Terrifyingly Permanent | Last Part |

Recap – His gaze locked onto hers, not masking the longing in his eyes. Leaning closer, he whispered to her, “I heard you saying no to Abhay when he asked you for a dance last week at Dr. Anjali’s birthday party.”

Content Warning – 16+

| Last Part

Tu ashi javli raha…

“What does that make you? A liar? What does that make me? Special?” he added before she could respond, angling his neck to follow her eyes when she looked away.

Mi kashi shabdaat saangu bhaavna mazya tula…

“I just wasn’t in the mood for a dance that day,” she said, continuing to look at everywhere except him.

“Let me guess why you weren’t.” He hummed, feigning to carefully think. “Could it be because… we were fighting?”

“When are we not fighting?” she hit back.

“It doesn’t get to the stage where we stop talking for days that often, does it?” His fingers brushed against her cheeks as if they wanted to brush away the day that fight had emerged. “You got the fever because I wasn’t talking to you, didn’t you? Dr. Kaushik had told me that stress often gets you a fever.” He could barely utter the second line.

“Did you take care of me because you felt guilty?” The sudden realization made her look at him.

His momentary silence had her step out of his hold after getting his hands off her only to have him pull her to himself the next moment.

“Hear me out before making assumptions, can you?” His palm pressed against her cheek as he made an attempt to make her look at him. “I did feel guilty because I should feel guilty but me taking care of you had very little to do with it. I took care of you because it’s my right to do so… because I wanted to do so.”

The hurt in her eyes pierced his heart just as watching her burning in fever had, back then.

“Trust me,” he added, pressing his thumb under her eye from where a teardrop escaped, “you know I don’t lie.”

Her fever had refused to subside for the first two days. Staying by her side the whole night, he had reflected on his mistakes, vowing to himself that they would never see such a time again. He would never stretch a fight to the point of her falling sick because of it.

“I can’t stand when you don’t talk to me,” she confessed in a broken voice almost on the verge of breaking down, “gharaat itki loka aahe bolayla pan tu nahi bol-las ki mala sahan nahi hot aata!”

“It’s my fault, I know,” came his quick response filled with regret which was so unlike him.

He had been reflecting on his behavior and their fight for several days but hadn’t been able to apologize to her. It felt like a difficult conversation to have.

What made him feel more guilty was the fact that he had acted indifferent despite seeing how cruel his silence had seemed to her.

She had been way more affected than he had thought of her to be but his ego was the obstacle that stood between them and almost too strong to get rid of.

“Can you not do that again?” she asked, placing her hands on his shoulder. “Can you not be indifferent to me… ever again?”

“I can and I will,” he said, keeping his palms on her hands as if assuring her before he took them to circle back around his neck.

Tu tuzya samjun ghe re lajnarya ya fula,

“Jar tuza tya divshi mood kharab nasta… tar tu Abhay sobat dance kela astaas?” he asked before guiding her into an outward twirl, creating a momentary distance between them before pulling her back into his arms.

“Depends on what kind of dance we’re talking about here,” she whispered into his ears as she leaned closer, beginning to enjoy his evident jealousy by then.

His fingers brushed the bare skin of her arm, tracing down to her wrist. A slow, deliberate touch. “How about this kind of dance?”
She barely had time to think before he twirled her, sending her into a graceful arc before dipping her low. Her head tilted back, her hair having its own little dance as his arms held her securely.

Antaricha gandha mazya aaj tu pavna waha…
Tu asa javli raha…

“What if I say… I wouldn’t have?” Came the much-awaited response as their eyes locked for yet another time.

“I’d have to reward you then,” he said as his gaze lingered on her parted lips for a long moment before he swiftly pulled her upright.

Her heart drummed against her ribs as she caught something oddly familiar in his eyes. Something that had been lingering between them for too long.

His hand lifted, hesitating for just a fraction of a second before his fingers brushed against her cheek. His touch was light, barely there as if still debating if he had the right.

She knew she should look away. Step back. Perhaps, make a straight run to their room. But she could do none of that. Instead, she leaned into him, her eyes fluttering shut as his thumb traced the curve of her cheekbone.

She spent no time calculating the cost of that one move as she gave in to her intrusive thoughts.

Just as he dipped his head, her eyes snapped open and she pressed her palm on his shoulder, stopping him right in his place. “I need to ask you something.”

Still in the trance, he needed a moment to get out of it. “Hmm?”

“Who is Saayli?”

“How would I know? I don’t know any Saayli!” he said, trying to recall if he knew any.

“Of course, you do!” She narrowed her eyes, unsure if he didn’t actually remember or was being deliberate in forgetting. Her mind went back when she overheard the Kanitkar women mentioning Saayli.

He cocked a brow. “How many times have I told you… prashna ti vicharychi astaat jyanchi uttara aaplyala samorchyakadun apekshit astaat! Jar uttar already tuzyakade aahe tar mag vichartech kashala?” He stepped aside. “Ruined such a good moment for nothing,” he muttered, visibly upset as he walked toward the railing.

She glared at him in disbelief. “What do you mean by for nothing?” she asked, her tone a bit loud as she followed him. Did he have any idea how long it had been bugging her? “I’ve heard… she was… close to you?”

“And who did you hear it from? Your Dearest Kukki Gang? How come you still haven’t understood them?” He leaned on the railing, shaking his head. “They deliberately put garbage in your brain and you don’t even get it!”

“Not a word against them!” she warned, poking his arm. “Did you hear me? NOT… a word against them! And they didn’t tell me anything. Does it even matter who told me? Tu bas he saang kon hoti hi Saayli?”

He darted a glance at her from the corner of his eye. “Why am I being interrogated like I’ve murdered someone?”

“So you do admit that you’ve done something?” she continued to probe further.

Ridiculous! Plain ridiculous! He could see why they said that the only way to win an argument against your wife was to avoid having one in the first place. “Listen, Apurva. I genuinely don’t remember any Saayli!”

“Oh, how convenient! You just forgot a girl who came to your house, sat next to you and studied with you?”

Came to my house? Studied with me? He frowned, rubbing his temple as he desperately tried to remember who exactly Apurva was referring to.

Dammit! He couldn’t believe his memory was betraying him at such a point.

“I bet she wasn’t pretty enough. Had she been a stunning goddess, I bet you’d remember every detail or maybe you just had so many girls around you that she got lost in the crowd!” she added.

His lips curved in a smile that annoyed her more than she already was. “Apurva, aapan jase asto na jag aaplyala tasach dista! Just because tu aani tuze mitra-maitrini college madhe hech sagla karayla jaata doesn’t mean sagle tech karayla jaatat”

There was a long moment of silence that followed which was oddly uncomfortable for him.

“You used to teach her?” she asked, her voice laced with sheer irritation as if she was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode the moment he answered that question.

Almost as if he sensed that, he decided to put an end to the argument. He looked at her, holding her arm. “I genuinely don’t remember her. I tutored quite a few people back then – both girls and boys. I am sure we weren’t friends or else I’d remember her. I should remember her even otherwise but I don’t know… I just can’t. It has been quite a few years.”

“How could you?”

“Huh?” Confused, he watched her pushing his hand off her arm.

“You’re not allowed to teach anyone except me. Take back everything that you’ve taught her!”

Her adamant declaration sounded more like an order he would die if he disobeyed.

He stood utterly flabbergasted for several long seconds, trying to process what she said. “Kay bol-lis?” he asked as if hoping she would confirm that he didn’t hear it right which would be reliving.

“You’re not allowed to teach anyone except me. TAKE BACK EVERYTHING THAT YOU’VE TAUGHT HER!” She made sure the emphasis on every word was strong enough to convey how serious and intentional she was with what she was saying.

He tried to suppress his chuckle but it seemed beyond his capability especially when he looked at her. How could she say something like that with a straight face?

“Two things! 1. Is it even possible? 2. Why am I not allowed to teach anyone except you? Talking about that, you don’t even come to me to study. Don’t you prefer your best friend because apparently, he is not strict?” He shrugged off his shoulders, citing everything as a matter of fact.

“1. Do I care? It’s up to you to see how to make it possible. 2. You’re too busy to teach me.” She countered back.

“Ridiculous! When was the last time I refused to teach you saying I was busy? Stop making things up, Apurva!”

“Am I making things up? Did you just say I am making things up?”

“That’s exactly what I said and that’s exactly what you’re doing!”

The duo fell quiet after arguing back and forth with neither of them ready to take it easy.

After what seemed like an uncomfortable long minute, he heard her mumbling in a barely audible voice – a question that left him both amused and shaking his head at the same time.

“You used to… hold her hand while teaching her?”

He tilted his head to take a good look at her. Her head bent with her eyes narrowed at the ground as if the mere thought of him holding someone else’s hand was evoking the fury within her she could swallow the entire world with but her fingers fidgeting with her dress made her look the exact opposite – too pitiful to handle.

Despite the fact that he would have so truly enjoyed both stretching the conversation and her unreasonable jealousy, he gave up at the very sight of her foolish distress.

“Sagle kay tuzya best friend sarkhe nastaat jyanna dusryanche haat pakdun shikvayla laagta!”

“That is not the answer to my question!”

“Yes, it is, you fool!” He flicked her forehead before he walked away.

Ugh! She groaned in frustration, turning to see where he was going.

He had lowered himself on the mat by the time her eyes found him. She marched to the mat and stood near him with her hands on her waist. “What do you even mean?”

She kicked his leg when he simply stared at the sky as if she was both invisible and inaudible to him. “Khadoooos!”

He sighed, dragging his gaze from the sky to her and the next thing she knew – she felt a sudden tug. A gasp escaped her as the world tilted and in the blink of an eye, she was pulled down beside him.

His precision was admirably impeccable – an effortless grace that left no room for chance. Her head had landed perfectly against the warmth of his outstretched arm.

For a heartbeat, she lay still, the world around them shrinking into nothing but the quiet hum of the night. The distant rustling of leaves, the occasional chirp of a cricket, the soft whisper of the wind–it all faded into the background, too insignificant compared to the moment unfolding between them.

Pressed against him, she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat-a stark contrast to her own. Hers had abandoned all sense of composure, hammering wildly against her ribcage.

“It seems like I can never convince you with my words,” he murmured, his voice carrying a quiet determination, each syllable laced with something deeper, something unspoken. His gaze held hers as if silently letting her know that if she wanted to stop him, it was the time, “So let me try a different way!”

Before she could even process the shift in the air between them, he moved.

His body angled toward her with deliberate intent, drawing himself closer, stealing the space–the distance–she had relied on to keep her thoughts steady. A soft gasp barely escaped her lips before he silenced it, his mouth capturing hers in a kiss that was neither rushed nor hesitant. It was a slow unraveling of restraint, a lingering declaration, a silent conversation where words had long failed.

Her fingers curled against his shirt, grasping onto something—stability, reality, him. Her mind barely had time to catch up with reality. The utter shock had her body stiffening for a fraction of a second before melting into the unfamiliar sensation.

The warmth of his lips against hers sent a shiver cascading down her spine. The night air pressed around them, cool against her skin, but it did little to temper the heat unfurling between them, a wildfire sparked by a single touch.

His lips moved slowly and carefully, coaxing rather than demanding, knowing that she was standing at the edge of something unknown and he chose to patiently guide her across.

And just like that, every argument, every unspoken emotion, every resistance melted away into the quiet magic of a single kiss under the moonlit sky.

It wasn’t until her trembling palm pressed against his chest that he pulled back, letting her catch her breath. She exhaled shakily, struggling to steady herself but her body refused to calm down. The kiss lingered, not just on her lips but in every fiber of her being.

“Quite inexperienced, aren’t we? Despite having had a dozen boyfriends! Just as I expected!”

She was still processing the intoxicating realization of what just happened, still drowning in the aftershocks of his touch when his voice broke through her haze.

Her brows instantly furrowed. Annoyance flared in her chest, pushing aside the nervous thrill of her first kiss. “Yeah, and you… quite experienced! I can only imagine how many girls–”

She barely got the words out before he closed the distance between them again in one swift motion and she stayed utterly defenseless for yet another time as his fingers curled around the nape of her neck, pulling her in.

Unlike the previous time, the kiss was far from gentle. It was fierce, demanding and utterly consuming. Gone was the slow, measured patience from before. Instead, his lips crashed against hers with an intensity she didn’t even know if she could handle. It was raw, passionate – an answer poured into the kiss than spoken aloud. Like he was proving a point. Like he was daring her to question him again.

Her breath came in short, unsteady bursts when he finally pulled away. His forehead rested against hers for a fleeting second before he enveloped her in his arms right away, not bearing another moment of separation.

“I kind of like this way of answering your stupid questions,” he murmured, his voice a deep rumble against her ears, “I haven’t had a single girlfriend in my life. And you’re talking about many?”

She felt her breathing returning to its normal pace with his revelation which was oddly comforting before he continued, his tone exasperated yet laced with something almost tender, “I only have a wife, okay? Get this into your head for once and all.”

He tilted his head slightly as his lips brushed against her temple before whispering against her skin, “Everything doesn’t have to come from experience. Some things are self-taught.”

Her fingers clenched the fabric of his shirt, her mind spinning as she absorbed the weight of his words. The conviction in his voice left no room for doubt, no space for insecurities. He meant every syllable.

And, in that moment, as she stayed wrapped in his embrace, her heart still unsteady yet undeniably full, she realized–maybe she didn’t need any more answers. Maybe, just maybe, she had all she needed right there.

“You’re the only woman who has ever been this close to me, and you’re the only one who ever will be. You hear me?” His voice was unwavering.

He searched her face, watching the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes, the remnants of doubt she still held onto. He couldn’t blame her–not when he had let that ridiculous misunderstanding of hers about Netra and his relationship fester instead of shutting it down immediately.

He tightened his grip on her, his fingers gently rubbing her arm. “I should’ve cleared this up a long time ago, and I hate that I let you believe otherwise.” His tone softened, laced with regret. “I never had a thing for Netra. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

He needed her to know, to believe him because the thought of her doubting his feelings had become unbearable. He could no longer stand her being unsure of her place in his life.

His lips curled into a small, almost hesitant smile before he finally spoke, his voice softer, more vulnerable than he intended, “This is the first and the best date of my life. Thank you for this!”

For a moment, she stilled against him, his words sinking in as if she wasn’t sure she had heard them correctly. Slowly, she raised her head from his chest to meet his gaze as surprise flickered across her face.

He let out a small laugh, knowing very well that she was still having a hard time believing that he had never been into these things before her.

Brushing his thumb lightly against her cheek, he raised his brows as he teased, “Kay? Bolnar aaho aapan kahi? Kevhacha mich boltoy!”

He searched her face, waiting and hoping for a response but she only stared at him. Her lips slightly parted as if on the verge of saying something but she didn’t utter a word and the next thing he knew was that she had buried herself against his chest, her hands slipping around his waist in a quiet, wordless surrender.

His breath hitched, caught off-guard by the way she clung to him.

What did he want her to talk about?

Their first kiss? The one that had left her breathless, overwhelmed and clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping her grounded?

The series of confessions he had made? Each one peeling back another layer of the walls she had built around her heart?

Her feelings for him that she had been suppressing for so long? The ones she had been too afraid to spill into words/

Even though she was acutely aware of what she felt for him, she bet she couldn’t articulate it as effortlessly as he did. She hadn’t anticipated any of what had happened that night. She hadn’t expected that her own heart would betray her by responding so instinctively to him.

The only thing that had occupied her mind the whole day was the fact that he was upset and that she wanted–needed–to take his mind off everything that had been weighing him down.

She had planned just a quiet distraction. She hadn’t thought for a second that in the process, she would lose herself in him, in the intensity of his presence, in the warmth of his touch.

Yet, there she was—held against his chest, his heartbeat steady beneath her ear, his arms wrapped around her as if he had no intention of letting go.

And… she didn’t want him to either.

“Do you think we need to… modify our contract?” she hesitated before asking, her voice barely above a whisper, remembering the conveniently forgotten reality of their marriage.

It was built on signatures and not whispered promises but the line between what was supposed to be and what was becoming seemed to have blurred.

From the start, their marriage had been nothing more than a well-calculated agreement. A neatly laid-out plan.

She would stay for a year, pass her exams with the first-class and then as per the contract she herself had drafted – they would part ways.

No mess. No complications. He would let her go as easily as she had walked into his life.

Who knew they would be seamlessly woven into each other’s lives?

A soft chuckle rumbled in his chest, vibrating against her as he held her close. His fingers traced slow, absent-minded patterns along her back as if he was etching himself into her very being.

“Do you think we still… need that contract?”

The contract that had once been her safety net, her guarantee of a clean exit – she had never doubted it before.

Before.

She pulled back slightly, just enough to see his face, searching his eyes for something–anything that might tell her that he didn’t mean it.

That it was just another fleeting moment.

That he would take it back.

But he didn’t. Instead, he sighed, his fingers threading gently through her hair.

“What if we get into a huge fight someday and…” She trailed off, unable to finish. The words slipped out before she could stop them, laced with hesitation, with something dangerously close to fear.

“And you leave?” he guessed, filling in the words she couldn’t say. His voice held no accusation, no frustration-only quiet understanding. His arms tightened around her, pulling her closer as if shielding her, as if wrapping her in a cocoon where the world–and even her own doubts–couldn’t reach. “You think I’ll let you?”

It was neither a challenge nor a plea. It was a fact.

Simple.
Unshakable.

He studied her in silence, giving her the space to speak but she stayed utterly quiet.

“It seems like you still don’t believe me,” he murmured, his gentle voice screaming the patience that made her heart ache, pressing another soft kiss to the top of her head, “that’s alright. I don’t mind convincing you for the rest of our life.”

And that was when she knew she had lost.

To him.
Completely and irrevocably.

The realization settled deep in her chest, warm and terrifying all at once. She had tried to keep her distance, to remind herself that it was temporary, that their time together had an expiration date.

That she couldn’t–shouldn’t–let heart get involved.

But it was too late. She could no longer tell where the contract ended and where they began.

She would never forget that night.

The night she stopped running.
The night she finally let herself fall.
Because she trusted herself with someone.

Because that someone’s promises felt too sincere to doubt. Too steady to ignore.
Because that someone’s words felt like vows etched in the way he looked at her as if she was something precious, something irreplaceable.

As if losing her was an option he would never consider.

Because when she looked into his eyes, she didn’t see uncertainty. She didn’t see the contract or conditions.

Because all she could see in those eyes was something terrifyingly permanent – a future that no longer felt temporary.

The end…

Part One

Part Two

It has been so long since I could bring you something to read. I don’t have to explain much. You guys pretty much know what has been happening in my life lately but I am so glad I could write this despite my problematic health. I hope you enjoyed reading<3

Do share your comments. I’d love to hear what you think about this.