"How are you so early today, Aryansh?"

Sneha Shekhawat asked on seeing her son coming early from the office. He usually comes around 8'00 at night but today he arrived at evening 6'00.

"Maa, I..."

Before he could answer, Piya, his darling wife, who came for the evening tea, greets him with high enthusiasm and his not-so favorite word

"Hi Marshmallow!"

The moment Aryansh heard his wife call him "Marshmallow," he gritted his teeth. Piya is looking refreshed after a long nap. The early morning had been filled with intense emotions, and she needed the rest after a tiring seeing with her husband. But now, seeing him brought back the playful side, and all she could think of is that cute nickname.

"Stop, don't say that word", he warned her

"What? Marshmallow?", Piya gives an innocent look at his warning.

The ladies in the room laughed, relishing the light-hearted bickering. It is rare to see the two of them exchange such playful banter, like an old married couple. They are very attentive to each other, always finding small ways to express their love. Piya made sure to send lunch to Aryansh's office on time, while Aryansh never failed to surprise her with flowers, chocolates, and notes.

"Junaid sent a party invitation" he announced ignoring his wife's teasing

"Only to you?" Piya scrunched her nose, assuming it was just for him.

"For both of us! Why would I go alone?"

"Who knows? You two are quite close" 

His Aunt, Sunaina, chimed in, making Piya's eyes widen and jaw dropped in shock

"Aunt, please!"

Aryansh sighed, quickly covering Piya's mouth with his hand.

"Close your mouth and drop that expression. He's just my friend."

"When are you both going?" Sneha asked.

"In 2 hours, Maa."

"Have fun!" his mother says.

"Sure!"

Aryansh replied and sat down to have the coffee while glancing at Piya, who is now buzzing with excitement while talking with his family.

He knew the evening gossip sessions, where his Grandma, Maa, Aunt, and Piya would gather to discuss the day's events. Their conversations are filled with laughter, opinions, and the occasional dose of drama.

"She is such a bitch" Aryansh raised an eyebrow at his Aunt's words. He doesn't understand from there these women get the stories when they spend most of the time at Mansion.

"Yess, Aunt! During mooh-dikhai (post wedding Indian ritual), she was asking weirdest questions and I just stared at her blankly, wondering why she wanted to know how I met Ar... Marshmallow"

Piya was going to say Aryansh but seeing him busy on the phone, she said her favorite word. Aryansh stepped away but not before throwing a glare. The ladies chuckled seeing his annoyed face.

********************

Aryansh and Piya headed out for the party, and he couldn't resist teasing her as he gave the small taste of punishment for irritating him with the word Marshmallow. He enjoyed being a dictator in the shower whereas Piya regretted calling him Marshmallow.

"Jaana, don't you want to say anything now?"

He asks and Piya gives him a scornful look and turns to gaze out the window.

"You are very bad!"

He chuckle upon hearing her complaint and said "My apologies, Mademoiselle, but I did warn you in the morning"

When Piya didn't respond, Aryansh pulled over the car at the side, and gently turned her face towards him.

"I love you."

"Wha.........." 

Before she could finish the question, he kissed, catching her off guard. She playfully hits his chest after the smooch. 

"You ate my lipstick!" She quickly began reapplying it.

"Not so kiss-proof," he mumbled and started the car again.

"This is kiss-proof but not smooch-proof!" Piya defends her favorite lipstick, making Aryansh chuckle.

When they arrived at the party, Aryansh's expression shifted to one of surprise at the crowd gathered there. He knows some people whereas others are strangers to him. Anyways he is not interested in building new relations tonight. He came to wish Junaid for his business success and will leave in some time with Piya. He planned to spend a romantic night with his wife in his pent house.

"What happened?" Piya asked, noticing his calculative gaze.

"Nothing," he replied, but she could sense his planning mind..

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Shekhawat!" Junaid greets them with a smile, embracing Aryansh in a bro-hug while Piya shakes his hand cordially.

As they chatted, Piya noticed a woman nearby chuckling and snorting, her gaze lingering on Aryansh with a hint of something inappropriate. Piya raised an eyebrow, but her husband is too busy in talking with Junaid.

"I'll be back in a minute," Aryansh whispers in her ear, pulling her back from her thoughts. He received a call so he went outside to attend it.

"Sure," she replies while watching him walk away.

Piya takes a seat, unfortunately that is right beside the woman who had been watching them. They exchange forced smiles, and Piya quickly turn to her phone, hoping to avoid any awkward conversation. The woman, however, is relentless.

"It must be hard for you to fit in, right?" she ask, a smug smile playing on her lips.

"Excuse me?" Piya puzzle by her question.

"I mean, you come from a middle-class family, and your husband, Aryansh Shekhawat, belongs to one of the wealthiest families in the country. It must be difficult to adjust to his high society."

"No, it is not hard."

The woman's smirk drop, and the room fills with laughter, a few people even whistling in surprise. Just then, Aryansh returns and sit beside Piya, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Are you okay?" he ask, noticing her serious expression.

"Yes" she answers, leaning in to peck his lips, feeling reassured by his presence.

The tension fades, but Piya couldn't shake the feeling that the night is just beginning. The real smile from her face disappeared after the brief encounter with mean and rich brat, who is still giving dirty looks to her husband. She is sitting in between to hide her husband from the evil-eye and her husband is busy in reading the emails on his phone and roaming his hand around her waist.

"What happened, Sweetheart?"

Aryansh asked on seeing her sitting silent without any talk which is quite unusual for her. She loves to talk and also good with building rapport.

"Nothing, just a little headache!"

Piya answers so that her husband doesn't worry but fate has different plan because rich-brat heard their conversation and chime in without permission.

"It's hard for middle class people to attend these parties as these are out of their status and budget. Isn't it Piya?"

Rich-brat thought that she can belittle Piya and impress Aryansh with her high society comment. She is a Junaid's friend sister and came to the party with her brother. She saw Aryansh Shekhawat on the magazines and television and from then she had a crush on him. She heard from her brother that Aryansh Shekhawat is not fond of poor and middle class people. He doesn't talk to people who are below his class in the parties and thought that she can impress him with her high class etiquettes. 

Whatever she heard about Aryansh Shekhawat is certainly true but one thing she missed to know is that above all his personal despises, his wife, Piya Shekhawat, holds superiority. His love and craziness for her is above all. He will kill the person who think to hurt his wife. 

"Who the f**k are you to talk like that with my wife?"

"I'm sorry Aryansh, she doesn't know what to talk and when to talk", her brother apologizes

"IF SHE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO TALK THEN TEACH HER AND IF SHE IS A LUNATIC THEN SENT HER TO AN ASYLUM" 

Rich-brat's brother tries to handle the situation. He apologizes on his sister's behalf to both of them but Aryansh's anger doesn't calm down.

"Aryansh, please calm down"

Piya gets goosbumps in fear on hearing her husband's loud voice and is afraid to see his furious expression. She forgot how furious Aryansh Shekhawat can be but now she got the recap. She rubs her palm near his heart and holds his shoulder to calm him down.

Aryansh's eyes soften seeing his wife. He pecks her forehead to show that he is all right and there is nothing to be afraid of him. He sense the shivering in her hands so he kisses her palm.

Junaid interrupts, "How about a dance?" to lighten the mood. Everyone quietly leaves the room, and Junaid orders wine and food for the couple.

"So, how are things between you two?" Junaid asks, attempting to ease the tension.

"Very good," Piya replies while nibbling on appetizers.

"Nice. Piya, I wanted to ask you a favor," Junaid began.

Aryansh rolled his eyes, already guessing what is coming.

"What favor?" Piya asks.

"Well, I'm your husband's best friend—"

"Childhood friend," Aryansh corrects him.

"Childhood best friend," Junaid shot him a look before continuing, 

"Could you give me Misha's number?"

"What will you do with her number?" Piya narrows her eyes.

"Call her, obviously!" Junaid replies, tipsy and too friendly.

Aryansh playfully punches him. "Go take a rest, Junaid."

Ignoring Aryansh, Junaid continued, "Piya, I'm your friend too. Help me out! I helped Aryansh when he wanted to impress you."

"What did you do?" Piya asked, curiosity piqued and wanted to know what help her husband took from him to impress her

Aryansh thought that he might say some rubbish but he didn't expect that Junaid would dig his grave tonight because his wife will soon kill him.

"When you went to Turkey, I accompanied him to follow you," Junaid replie in a flow, not realizing the repercussions his friend will face .

"What!"

"JUNAID..."

"What did you say? He came to Turkey and followed me?"

Piya recalled the Turkey incident when she felt scared by a stalker. Her mind connected the dots, and she turned towards Aryansh to confirm.

"Were you the one who scared me?"

"I... Jaana... you're taking it wrong."

"Yesss," Junaid answered on his behalf before dozing off on the sofa.

"Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"How dare you? Who gave you the right to do that? To scare me?"

"I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to see if you were alright or not."

"By stalking and scaring me?"

"No."

Piya's heart raced as she processed the revelation.

"Then what were you doing?" she pressed, narrowing her eyes.

Aryansh shifted uncomfortably, his voice barely above a whisper. "I thought... maybe if I watched from a distance, I could help."

"Help? By lurking around? That's not help; that's an invasion!"

Junaid stirred slightly on the sofa, mumbling something incoherent, oblivious to the tension brewing in the room.

"I just wanted to make sure you were safe, Piya!" Aryansh insisted, desperation creeping into his tone.

"And you thought hiding in the shadows was the way to go? You could have talked to me, Aryansh. Like a normal person!"

His silence hung heavily between them, and Piya's frustration bubbled over.

"I can't believe you thought this was okay. You crossed a line."

He looked genuinely pained. "I didn't think it would come to this. I just... I care about you."

"And this is how you show it? By stalking and scaring me?"

A heavy silence fell, with Junaid still snoozing peacefully as Piya struggled to sort through her feelings.

"Maybe I was wrong to think that," Aryansh finally admitted, his voice low.

Piya sighed, torn between anger and concern. "You need to understand boundaries. I want you to care, but not like this."

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