"GUYS—" Shams stopped, frowning at the scenario in front of him. Atif, Ajay and Wahi were gathered at the corner of the hotel room, discussing something intensely. 
"I'm sure it's Nisha." One of them spoke. 

Atif's gaze travelled behind Wahi to see Shams standing near the beam.
"Shams!" He called, gesturing enthusiastically for him to join them. He rushed to the boys as they made space for him to sit.
"What's with this intense discussion?" Shams asked, eyeing his friends who shared a confidential look.

"We have big news!!" Atif spoke.
"Hundred per cent guaranteed." Wahi inserted as Ajay replied, "Extracted directly from the source." 
"I also have big news!" Shams spoke as they all looked at him curiously. 

"What's your news?!"
"What news?" 

They asked together and took a deep breath as Shams continued, 

"Nisha is in love with Kabir."
"Kabir loves Nisha!"

Everyone's eyes widened as they gasped loudly.
"What the hell!?!?!" Atif clasped a palm to his mouth as Ajay fell on the floor. Shams blinked twice, "Kabir is in love with Nisha?!" 
"Nisha... loves Kabir?!" 

Wahi shook his head, "Oh my god... what's the guarantee of your news, Shams?" 
"I heard Nisha say it herself."
"Kabir told me!" Ajay spoke, sitting up as Shams sighed, "How did he tell you?" 

"A while ago, he was texting someone and I peeked and saw Nisha's account. You won't believe this... then he clicked into her picture and started smiling at it. Every night I see him fumbling with his phone, all this while I thought he had some American girlfriend but it was Nisha all along! He even admitted when I pried. He was so proud to admit that he was in love with her. As if he's marrying her tomorrow." Ajay narrated the whole story as Shams gasped, "He has been harbouring feelings for my sister-in-law behind my back? WHERE IS THAT INGRATE?!" 

All of their heads turned to the door of the hotel room opening revealing Kabir. 
He smiled at them, "What is it, guys?" 

"Kabir Zaid..." Shams muttered under his breath with a glare as Kabir blinked twice, glancing at Ajay. 
"Fuck." He whispered, acknowledging his upcoming doom.

———

"Wow, our to-be-bhabi was so cute in her childhood!" Atif laughed, scrolling another picture as Ajay groaned, "Stop! Let me bring out Kabir's childhood photo. It's in my gallery." 
"Wow, they looked similar."
"How? One looks like a chimpanzee, the other looks like a princess." 
"Right... the tale of a princess and a chimpanzee. Hahaha!" Wahi laughed, holding his stomach. 

"STOP IT! LET ME SLEEP!" Kabir screamed, earning a smack from Shams who said, "Shut up, traitor."
"Are you scrolling too?" He squinted his eyes at the other who was scrolling on his phone.
"Of course, I need to check." 

"Omg! Nisha was so adorable. Look!" Atif shoved his phone at Wahi's face and gasped. Kabir scowled, facing his friends. 
They gasped when the phone was snatched from them.
Kabir stared at the phone, noticing a smiling Nisha with smudged cake on her cheeks. It was a picture from her birthday.

He couldn't help smiling at her sight. 

"Ew. He's smiling." Atif gasped, eyeing the man in disgust as Kabir rolled his eyes. They grasped the phone back from his hands and started scrolling.
"Don't like the pictures... she'll think I'm a stalker. Can you just stop using my phone?!" 
"You are a stalker and no, we will use your phone."

"Guys, let's read the chats," Wahi suggested, earning a gasp from Kabir.

Shams inched closer to the other three, "Count me in." 
"Isn't your wife waiting for you, Shams?" Kabir asked in a frustrated tone as Shams smirked, "You wish. She's busy doing something else." 

"OH MY GOD! SHAMS LOOK!" Ajay shouted, making the others flinch. Shams peeked at the phone and gasped, looking at Kabir wide-eyed. 
Atif laughed while Wahi read out, "You make me comfortable, Nisha!" 

"OoOoOoO" They all cooed as Kabir sighed, facepalming himself.
"Stop hindering my privacy. This is not acceptable."
"Nobody cares." Shams rolled his eyes, laughing as they all read out another chat.

Kabir threw a pillow at them which they dodged, sticking out their tongues at him.

Irritated by the whole situation, he let out an annoyed noise and buried his face under the pillow, muttering, "Fuck you all."

The hotel room was a messy chaos and Kabir Zaid was the only victim of the situation.

—Next day—

"We have everything packed, right?" Shams's mother asked as Priti's mother smiled, "Of course. Don't worry. Let's get on the ship now." 

They walked up the stairs of the ship, looking around. The vast sea glittered due to the sun's rays falling obliquely on the water. 
"Beautiful," Priti spoke, smiling widely as Shams looked at his wife, letting his gaze rest on her enlightened face. Nisha noticed them and suppressed a smile, getting up. 

She didn't realize when her dupatta was getting dragged on the stairs as she accidentally tripped on it absentmindedly.
"Ouch—" A gasp escaped her lips when she felt a weight behind her before she could fall. She turned around to find a pair of familiar eyes staring down at her. 
"You're so clumsy for what?" Kabir frowned, tilting his head. Her back was pressed against his chest and she would've lied if she said she didn't enjoy the feeling. His scent engulfed her, erupting a gush of emotions in her stomach.

Those weren't butterflies.

Those were living horses and cheetahs racing inside her chest. This was terrifying.

She couldn't take her eyes off his face as he smiled, "Is there something on my face?" 
Realizing her posture, she immediately inched forward, the loss of his warm presence behind her was a disappointment.
Tucking in a few hair strands behind her ear, she pressed her fervent thoughts deep down. 

From the corner of her eyes, she could the boys gathered together while pointing at them. She frowned in their direction as they scattered around.
"What's wrong with them?" She asked as the man beside her sighed, shaking his head, "Leave them to be. They're useless." 
She walked further into the ship to find everyone sitting on the deck.

There were chairs and a table organized for them.

She sat on a chair, placing her handbag on the one beside her. 

As soon as Kabir's frame came into view, she took the handbag back, nibbling on her bottom lips.
"Ay, Nisha—" His voice was interrupted by the guys surrounding him out of nowhere. Atif ran towards Nisha, sitting on the vacant chair before she could protest. 
She stared at him blankly as he smiled, "Nisha! Long time no see." 
"We ate breakfast together this morning," She spoke, coughing but covered it up by clearing her throat. 

She saw Kabir's glare at Atif and tried not to smile. 

His look was too obvious for her to ignore. 

She noticed her mother chatting with Shams's parents while her father was busy taking a call. Once they all were settled on the ship, it started moving towards the south. 

Nisha glanced at Kabir sitting across from her while the guys surrounded her. They brought more vacant chairs near her and started gossiping about random things. 
Weirdly, all their topics centred around Kabir Zaid. 
"Yeah, Kabir is such a gentleman! He's the best of all." Atif laughed loudly, earning an enthusiastic nod from Wahi. Ajay kept adding more to the stories as Nisha listened to them. 

Her attention wavered from the stories being narrated beside her ears to Kabir and Adil whispering about something between themselves. Adil kept looking at Soha while Kabir kept looking at her. 
Were they talking about girls, by any chance? 

"Kabir is the only one who'd treat women the best." Ajay spoke as Wahi sighed, "Though he never paid much attention to his exes—" He was cut off by Ajay stepping on his foot.
Her eyes perked up at the statement as she craned her neck towards Wahi who was complaining to Atif who gulped. 

"He had exes?" 

Exes. As in, more than one? 

"Um, he only dated two girls... not like it was him who confessed. I think he only accepted out of kindness." Nisha nodded, meeting the confused eyes far from her. 
He seemed unsure of what type of stories revolved around her. 

She gave him a small smile that radiated pure threat. Her cold was torturous but her look was worse and she could feel it through Kabir's expression.

He looked like a prey, awaiting to be hunted down.

— St. Martin's Island —

"Woah, so pretty!" Atif spoke, looking around as they all walked towards the beach. After returning and settling in their cottages, they spent no time roaming around. 
Nisha coughed, sniffing on the tissue as Priti sighed, "You can't come in the water though." 
"I know." She sighed, looking around. 
"Is there no good place without water?" She scoffed, sitting on a sunchair nearby as Priti gave her an empathetic smile, "I won't go to the sea then." 
"What do you mean? It's your honeymoon, though it's more like a family trip. Still, it's your time... go enjoy. I can bear sitting here alone." 

Priti sighed, looking at her sister who frowned, "Move!" 

Shams ran towards them, "Priti! Come!" 
She looked at Nisha who smiled, shooing her away. As soon as they left, she heaved out a sad sigh.

"I hate my life sometimes." She whispered, resting her head on the chair. 
The sunlight fell directly on her, making her scrunch her face. 

Her eyes eased up when a figure hovered over her, blocking the sunlight. 
"Kabir?" She asked as he sighed, shaking his head. She noticed his blue t-shirt paired with white shorts that went well together. 
He scrutinized her face for a brief second as his eyes turned softer, something visceral blooming in those deep orbs. 
"Let's go." He spoke, forwarding his hand. 

Her brows knitted together, "Where?" 
"I have somewhere I need you to come with me." 
"But everyone's here. Why would we go alo—" Her words were interrupted by him intertwining their fingers together as he tugged at her hands gently.
"Maa will se—" She let out a breathless gasp as he started walking, pulling her together with him. 

She glanced back to check if anyone noticed them but everyone seemed too busy. 

They walked somewhere she couldn't recognize. 
"Where are we going?" Her eyes travelled from the unknown bushes and shores to the huge area filled with stones. It was a secluded area near the beach. 
It seemed like another dimension. 
"Where is this..." 
He stopped at a distance, turning around but didn't leave her hands. 

"I don't want to go to the beach either." He spoke, analyzing her face as her lips parted but no words escaped her lips.
"What do you mean?" 
"You ask too many questions. Don't ask any today. I'm not in the mood to answer." He said, letting out a sullen sigh. Why did he seem so dull? She wondered. 

They walked towards the water as his lips inched upward, "This place is so peaceful, isn't it?" 

She hummed, noticing how there were only a few people far from them. 

Unlike the crowded beach, there were comparatively fewer people here. She liked the atmosphere. 

But again, was it the atmosphere or his presence that she liked?

Her gaze fell to their interlocked hands and a feeling pooled at the pit of her stomach. The proximity felt like a dream come true. 
She smiled slightly, knowing well if it was a few months ago, she'd find it utterly ridiculous to even imagine such a scenario. 
But here she was. 

With him.

"Kabir..." She mumbled as he hummed, smiling at her. His smile held the purest emotions in them as she looked away, realizing how down bad she was for him. 
"What do you want to tell me, Nisha?" He asked, his voice firm yet soft in tone. 

A thought occurred to her.

A knot tied in her stomach as she gulped, trying to suppress it down. The insides of her chest twisted and she felt her heart squeeze in anticipation. It wasn't simply a feeling of fear, but much more than that. Her lips quivered as she tried to form the words in her brain without fumbling but it might've taken a long time. 
But as soon as he gave her palms a light squeeze, she let out,

"Who do you love, Kabir?" 

She expected him to say something but her head turned towards him slowly when he didn't respond. 
Their eyes met and she every fervent emotion in her heart burst. Her eyes prickled with tears but she blinked, fighting them back as his eyes travelled from her lips to her eyes. 
His lips parted, but no words escaped for a second. 

There were only a few times when she'd seen uncertainty in his eyes.

And right now was one of them.

He took a deep breath and asked, "What will you do if I tell you?" 
"I'll only know what to do when you tell me." She muttered, earning a soft hum from her. He slipped his hands away from her, causing confusion to form within her. 
If it was her, why did he withdraw his hands? 

She stared at him, mentally praying for the answer that could either be a great or destructive turn for her heart. 
He took a few steps closer to her, standing just behind her and smiled as she stared at him, confused. 
With his fingers, he delicately moved her chin to the front, giving her a view of the clear water. She could see their reflection in it. 

Her eyes widened slightly when he pointed to the water, "Her." 

Her heart skipped a beat. 

Because it was her reflection.

"I love her."