Author's note: Y'all know what? I realized this story deserves a better ending. So here you go.

~~~

Several months later,

12th November

"Dona di, is there any curd in the refrigerator?" Shreya asked as she entered the kitchen in a hurry. It was almost dinnertime, and her last-minute realization was raita would be a good option as a side dish. But when she saw Dona was making coffee at this untimely hour, she curiously asked, "Who are you making coffee for?"

"Oh, boudimoni (sister-in-law, said in a more formal way)! Don't ask me." She huffed and poured the milk into three cups. "Babu has guest over."

Guest? At this hour? Shreya's brows furrowed. Who could it be?

Dona added, "And, yes. We have curd. Why do you want it?"

"Uhm- just make some raita. Will you?"

"Sure, what else you want me to add to it?"

"Mm," She thought for a moment before naming the ingredients, "Cucumber, cherries, and some pomegranate seeds. Add some chopped mint leaves. And spices, of course, black pepper, cinnamon, chat masala. And cumin too."

"Will be done in no time. Don't worry." Dona assured. "But first, let me take these cups to Babu's workroom."

"Ah- don't bother about that. Give me the tray. I'll take them." She volunteered. Not just to reduce Dona's burden, but also to abate her curiosity about this guest.

She took the tray and headed towards Abhiraj's workroom. Usually these days, he mostly worked from home, except those times when the board of directors held meetings at office. However, Abhimanyu's schedule had no change in it. He'd wake up early in the morning, perform his morning routine, go to work and return around 8 in the evening. All of their interactions happened at night, not that, they talked too much. She understood it from the very beginning that her husband wasn't talkative kind. He wasn't even like an ordinary man. Only way through his heart was earning his trust.

As he expressed very little, it was difficult for her to understand him in the beginning. But then, she learned how to give him time and space to come to his terms. Usually, he'd take a few hours to get easy with her regarding some matter. Sometimes that time would prolong for a day or two, but he'd always come round. In the beginning, it did cause pain and heartache. But then, she learned to cope with it. She had no other choice. Since the beginning, she had been warned several times that her life would differ greatly from her expectation of her married life, and yet she swallowed the pill.

If she stayed truthful to herself, she had no complaints against Abhimanyu except his indifference towards almost everything in life. It wasn't like he treated her badly. It was just, he remained... distant. Even after a year had passed of their marriage, he was still uninterested in showing or expressing emotional engagement. It wasn't just with her; he remained the same with everyone.

Despite all the hardships, she couldn't overlook the fact that she still loved that man. She knew, he loved her too, considering, at times of their intimacy, he'd let himself get vulnerable with her. He'd whisper something very unlikely of him, like 'I appreciate the time when I'm with you' or 'I'm willing to try''.

Although the occurrences were infrequent, but every time they'd have sex, it'd leave her yearning for more. Abhimanyu had a tendency to keep her on the edge until she completely gave in, her mind turned hazy and whole body burned, only then he'd make her feel like the most cherished person on earth. He'd eventually take the control of her body, then, thoroughly worship her... to the point where she'd be compelled to completely forget the painful heartaches he had imparted before. It happened quite a few times, and now she feared, she was addicted to this unique kind of temptation.

Abhiraj's working room's door was closed, she knocked on it twice until Abhiraj's voice called out from inside. "Come in."

Shreya entered the room and met with the three very distinct men from her in-law's side. Abhiraj, Vijay and Abhimanyu were sitting around the table and from the serious ambience, it appeared they were discussing something urgent.

"Oh, Shreya. Come here," Abhiraj said. "Why did you bother yourself? I asked Dona..."

"It's okay Papa."

Vijay turned towards her and gave her an appreciating smile, which she politely returned. Her eyes strayed towards Abhimanyu who took a brief glance at her before focusing back on the papers.

She put the tray on the table and served a cup to each of them.

Vijay said, "Sit here." He moved his chair aside so that there was some room between him and Abhimanyu. She pulled the empty chair and squished it between them before settling down.

Vijay started, "We were talking about your marriage contract with Abhimanyu. Good thing you came."

His words startled Shreya quite obviously. She glanced between Vijay and Abhiraj nervously. Her heartbeat quickened and anxiety crawled under her skin. Why were they discussing their marriage contract at this time? What was there to discuss about? A horrible thought crossed her mind. Did they want her to part from Abhimanyu? But...

Her chain of thoughts got interrupted by Vijay again. "Today is the completion of one year term. We have asked Abhimanyu. His opinion is...well," he hesitated for a moment before adding, "we saw that coming. So, we weren't even surprized. But your opinion matters the most."

Abhiraj chipped in. "I have talked to Isha. She doesn't want to impose any decision on you anymore. It'll be solely your decision whether you want to file a divorce or not. If you want to, we can arrange that as early as possible."

"I-" Her eyes widened in panic. She shifted her focus on Abhimanyu. He was sitting there with no expression whatsoever. His stoic nature made the situation worse. She didn't know what he was thinking or what he told Abhiraj and Vijay. She was under this false confidence that she actually began to understand him. But now, even sitting so close to him, she felt helpless and completely clueless. Fear gnawed at her consciousness. Did she really know his heart? What if he wanted to part from her too? She couldn't think straight. Her eyes were trained on Abhimanyu while she was embarrassingly aware of the other two pairs of eyes on her. But at this moment, she was too preoccupied to care about her father-in-law and his best friend's perception of her.

She continued staring at her quiet husband, expectant of some kind of reaction from him. But his aloof nature made no acknowledgement of her sufferings.

She took a deep breath and averted her gaze from him. "I want to have a word with Abhimanyu before I take a decision."

Vijay made a meaningful exchange with Abhiraj and nodded. "Yes, of course. Take your time. You can tell us tomorrow."

She nodded. Her hands had turned cold.

Abhiraj asked Vijay. "You're staying the night, right?"

Vijay shifted his eyes to Abhiraj and said, "Well, I wasn't planning to..."

"Stay. I'll ask Ram to open the guest room."

Shreya took a brief glance at Abhimanyu before turning towards the older men. "I think dinner is ready. Let me go and call didiya and Dev."

Abhiraj nodded. "See if your maa can join us. Vijay is also here."

She nodded and stood up. "Please come down for dinner."

"We'll be there shortly. You may leave now."

As soon as she exited the room, her fear and anxiety hammered down her heart rapidly. She had no idea what Abhimanyu told them. Vijay said it was expected from him. Did that mean... her chest tightened at the thought.

No matter what happened between them, the universal truth was, she couldn't live without him. Placing her hands crossed over her heart, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back. 'I still need you.' Two drops of tears rolled down from the corner of her eyes making her conscious of her surroundings. She hurried to wipe them off before stealing a crestfallen glance at the closed door behind her. 'I hope you know this.'

~~~

Throughout the dinner, she did not look at him. Because it was useless. Only when he'd say something on his own, would she be able to understand his heart. And she was anticipating that moment the whole time until they'd be alone in their room.

As soon as Abhimanyu took off his shirt, she confronted. "What do you want?"

He turned and fixated his steady stare on her. Her inside wavered for a split moment as she took in the stars twinkling in the depth of his eyes. His eyes could be so cruel.

"What do you want?" He repeated her question as he dropped the shirt on the bed without looking away.

She blinked in disbelief. "I thought you knew."

His eyes wavered as he broke the eye contact and turned towards the wardrobe. He opened it and picked a t-shirt and shorts. Seeing he wasn't going to respond anything, she probed again, "Abhi... please say something. I can't understand unless you say it."

He closed the wardrobe slider and turned around. "What do you want to know?" His voice was the same old monotonous.

"About what Papa and Vijay uncle asked. Were you always planning to get part from me?"

Suddenly he threw the clothes in his hand on the bed and took two long strides towards her. Before she could understand what was happening, he grabbed one of her hands and led her out in the balcony.

"Abhimanyu, what are you..."

"Sshhh..." He hushed her and gazed at the starlit sky. Her eyes dropped from his face to his bare shoulder. His head tilted back slightly making his jaws look more prominent. Her breathe caught in her throat. She didn't deserve him. He was too good for her. Suddenly her existence felt too tiny compared to his. He was handsome, rich, famous, and she... a nobody. Her eyes burned all of sudden as the realization hit her. She blinked several times to keep her from tearing up.

A stretchy moment of silence passed between them, and he was the one to break it first. "Has Gyan contacted you?"

"He did."

"Is everything okay there?"

"He said so."

They fell silent again. His eyes were still gazing at the stars and never strayed from the sky. Why was he so different? Although his uniqueness was problematic, it was the same thing which drew her closer to him. He loved nature and knew how to immerse himself in it. She lost her heart to this man. His substantial presence in her life was intoxicating and she was certain, it wouldn't have worked like this, if it was someone else.

"Do you miss him?" He asked again.

She didn't know why was he enquiring about Gyan right now, but she tried her best to answer honestly. "It's only been a few days he went back. I'm sure he's doing alright. Are you missing him? Do you want to talk to him?"

"No," was his firm and clipped response.

After a momentary pause, she gathered some courage and asked, "Do you want me to leave?"

Their hands were still intertwined. At her question he tightened his hold and turned around. "Do you want to leave me?"

She looked into his eyes. They were spilling some incomprehensible truth she had ever witnessed. She shook her head but prevented herself from saying anything.

He blinked and looked down, then took her other hand as well and held them up. Her breathing quickened as panic surfaced in her mind. What was he thinking?

He started slow, "Maybe I'll never be able to express myself to you, but you have to understand my silence." He paused for a second before continuing, "I may not be interested in experiencing all sorts of human emotions, but I relish the time I spend with you. Shreya..." He looked up and stared directly in her eyes. "I'm trying in all my efforts, but it's not working, and I don't know how to do it either."

She blinked, flabbergasted. She didn't know what to say. Her heart thudded inside her chest loudly. "You... Abhi... I... what..." Incoherent words came out of her in whispers. This was, perhaps the first time, he was expressing himself resulting her brain to go overdrive. She was losing her thoughts.

"You have no idea how much you mean to me." His words hung around the air between them causing her eyes to well up in no time. Her vision turned blurry as he added, "Your presence in my life, matters to me. You matter to me. I know I'm not good at making you feel special but..." he dropped one her hands and reached, cupping her cheek which was now stained from free-flowing tears, "I want you. I want you to stay. In my life. Forever. Can you do that?"

She leaned into his touch and sobbed even harder.

He smiled one of his rarest smiles and moved his thumb to wipe off the tears. "I think, I love you. All of you. Even this crying mess."

She couldn't hold herself anymore. She rushed forward and crashed into his chest, inhaling his scent.

He continued, "I might not express this more often, but it's there. I appreciate for everything you've ever done for me and my family. In return, I couldn't give you what you deserved. But I promise, I'm willing to try more."

"Don't say that," she said into his vest which came out as an incomprehensible muffled noise.

"What was that?" He enquired.

She sniffled and tightened her hold around his waist. "You don't say that."

"Which one? That I love you, want you?"

She shook her head. "That you didn't give me what I deserved."

He grazed his hand over her hair. "Okay."

"I love you," she blurted. "I love you so much. Never scare me like that, never again!"

"Mn." He hummed, then said, "Star gazing was a good idea."

She pulled away and looked up at him. He glanced at the sky then looked back at her. "Wasn't it?"

She wiped off her tears which weren't really listening to her and kept falling tirelessly.

He took in her crying mess intensely before demanding, "Can I kiss you?"

A blush crept up her cheeks as she nodded shyly. He took a step forward closing the gap between them and raised her chin up on his curled-up index finger. She searched his eyes yearningly before closing her eyes and waiting for him to take the initiative, which he shortly did by claiming her lips softly.

Their lips moved leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world. Bodies pressed against each-other, they cherished every trace of the moment. In that same moment, she understood, she wanted so much more of him as much as he wanted her back. There was love, and she wanted all the infinite ways it could be gained. Their love was like fire. The fire was scary; at the same time, it was addictive. And she was ready to burn in it. Cause she knew, she wasn't alone anymore.

Meanwhile, he had raked his hands around her and held her waist softly. The cool night breeze swept above and around them, shivering her. He released her only to earn a complaining moan from her.

"What? Does that feel good?" He asked in a whisper.

She nodded obediently and chased after him which he dodged making her frustration grow. She opened her eyes while clutching his vest into her fists. "Don't stop."

His mouth tilted up at the corners but made no efforts to move. So, she leaned forward on her tippy toes and showered him with endless peppery kisses all over his face, his forehead, brows, eyes, cheeks, nose, jaws... her special attention had always been the cut on his right brow. She raked her hand into his hair and pulled him down before capturing his lips. He smiled into the kiss and let her do whatever she wanted. She released his lips and giggled. He responded with a grin. This was new.

She flung her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his chest before resting her head on there. His hands rested on the small of her back while she listened to his heartbeats in bliss.

Stargazing was really a good idea.

~~~

Author's note: This is not the ending. Wait for more!