"It's uncanny to me sometimes. Adjusting in a new house ain't as easy as I thought." Priti murmured, staring at the ceiling fan. 
Nisha followed her elder sister's gaze, heaving out a soft sigh. 
"Well, are your in-laws good to you?" 
"Of course. Shams's mother is no less than my own. She's awesome. But, there are things to compromise, for instance, their cooking is different from ours. And they eat dinner within ten pm whereas we prolong it to twelve sometimes." 

"Routines, food... everything is challenging in a new household." She spoke, staring at her sister who nodded in approval. 
"Yeah, but my in-laws are understanding and I'm not pressured much. A few relatives appear to be toxic but it's fine. As long as Shams knows I come first, I can handle some shit." She spoke confidently.

Nisha smiled, "Of course, my strong sister you are." 
"Men would never understand the compromises a woman has to make to live with his family. Especially in the desi households where we're expected to take the responsibility of an entire household on our shoulders. We deserve so much more than this." Priti's statement made Nisha wonder. 

Was she strong enough to cope with the complications of life like her sister? 

"Women are indeed the strongest." She smiled to herself, shrugging off the anxious thoughts overtaking her brain.

"Anyway, how are things in your life? Work, love?" Priti turned around, laying upside down as her chin rested on her arms. The younger one sighed, "Work? Disastrous. But, I've had a thought. I don't want to apply for any other company right now, I've worked hard for two years already. Ever since I was twenty-four, I've given my all to this shitty company and now, I don't want to anymore. Maybe, I want to spend my upcoming birthday peacefully and then... start something new. By myself, if possible." 

"Really? That's crazy. Have you seriously given it a thought?" Priti asked, earning a soft hum from the other.
"I don't know. I need rest right now. Every time I remember that incident, it just... feels like a glass shard being inserted into my chest. And sometimes, I wonder if I'm starting to regret speaking up for myself. At least I'd have a job. But I know I was right and I had to speak up. I know I did the right thing. But it takes time to heal from things which you've always prioritized." 

Sadness engulfed the environment as Priti patted her sister's hand with a smile, "You're amazing, Nisha. I know you could have doubts but... you're inspiring and so independent. You are a dream of so many women out there."

"Of course. I've had enough of this world-dominating women. Who said we're any less? If every desi woman decides to stand up for herself and takes the tough step of empowerment, the subcontinent we live in will excel undoubtedly." Nisha smiled, resting her head on the bedboard. 
"I've always dreamt of being independent. So that no man or in-laws could ever dominate me. Maa taught us the same, right?" Priti chuckled, earning a nod from the younger.

"But that's not entirely why I want to start something on my own. I might've been inspired by Kabir. He took the risk and he's trying his best to succeed in his career. If it was earlier, I wouldn't have had the courage to risk it and start my interior designing career. Seeing him gives me hope in a way. I might not succeed but I'll give it a try." A wistful smile appeared on her face.

Priti patted her younger's hand, "You'll succeed. I believe in you, Nisha." 
"Thank you, I guess?" She chortled. 

After a short pause, she again spoke, "Kabir asked me to decorate his studio for him so I might do it for now. No serious work plans, yeah."
"Wow, that's cool. I didn't know Kabir was that important."

She frowned, "Huh?"

Priti took a sharp breath and spoke, "Well, I don't know. It just seems like you really like him." 
Nisha looked away, thinking about it for a moment, "Who knows?"

A soft smile adorned her smile when Kabir's face flashed into her mind. And for what she knew, Priti was right.

She really liked him.

A lot.

—Time skip—

Kabir grinned, staring at the lady approaching him with a huge grin on her face.
"Kabir!" The words rolled down her tongue, bringing an ecstatic feeling within him. He smiled, got out of the car and opened his arms wide.

The next thing he knew, the familiar floral scent he loved filled his nostrils. 
"Nisha... we're meeting after so long." He whispered, moving further to get a proper look at her face. She shrugged, "It's been only a week, what's so long?" 
"I missed you so much though." 

He hugged her tightly as she squirmed, keeping her firm hold around his torso constant. 

"I missed you too." She muttered.

Tucking her loose strands behind her ear, he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and backed away, "Let's go now." 
She nodded as he opened the car door, gesturing for her to enter.
"What is this new drama?" She squinted her eyes at him, earning a chuckle.
"This is my service for you, my lady."

A chortle in disbelief escaped her lips as she sat inside, watching him shut the car door and walk towards the driver's seat. 

The car started and her gaze again flew to his veiny hands gripping the steering wheel. She would've lied if she said his hands weren't hot.
Kabir Zaid had the dreamy hands every woman would go weak for. 

He glanced at her repeatedly while driving. 

"How was your week?" She asked as he smiled, "Nice... didn't we talk on Facetime?"
"The last three nights, you didn't pick up my call and this morning, you apologized for it." 

He pressed his lips, "Oh, right. I'm sorry though. I wasn't on my phone at all." 
"It's okay. I forgive you." 

He looked down, pressing his lips awkwardly as he parked the car nearby. The evening light surrounded their environment, illuminating the empty parking lot. They were earlier than most people, giving him an upper hand in his upcoming plan.

With a soft smile, he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned towards her, "Stop." 
A furrow appeared between her brows.

"I'll do it for you." He leaned in closer to her, smiling slightly as he unbuckled her seatbelt in an awfully slow motion.
Her back stifled at the sudden proximity — gaze wandering around nervously. Gripping onto the soft fabric of her kurti, she watched his gaze flick from the seatbelt to her face. 
He gave her a small smile which depicted every thought he had right now.

And the thoughts weren't very innocent.

Now she knew his real intentions of increasing their proximity.

"Quite scheming, aren't you?" She let out a breathless murmur, earning a devious smirk from him. He hummed, glancing at her lips. 
She swallowed, leaning against the seat as his face inched closer to hers. 
"You know, I couldn't stop thinking about kissing you. Ever since we..." He stopped, meeting her gaze again. Her chest heaved up and down rapidly as a luscious layer coated her eyes. 

The soft quiver of her lips was an unspoken pull for him.

He took his moment, leaning closer to her until their lips were touching each other's like a featherlight touch. 
She closed her eyes immediately, giving him complete access to take in her lips. Within a fraction of a second, their lips were moulded together. 

An inaudible groan escaped his lips when her lips synced with his. 

Her soft lips had a taste of the strawberry lipgloss she always used. His hands automatically cupped her cheeks. He felt a delicate tug in his chest when she arched further into him, giving in to the kiss with an intimate passion. The passion he was feeling.

He smiled between the kiss and whispered, "You're such a good kisser now." 

"Just confident." She whispered back.

As soon as they pulled away, he rested his forehead on top of hers, meeting her dazed eyes. 
"Nis—" His voice was interrupted by his ringing phone. Rolling his eyes, he backed away and reluctantly checked it as she smiled, "Fix that expression."
"Can't." He glanced at her with a playful smile but it soon died down as he noticed the caller ID. She wondered what it was about but kept quiet, observing how hesitant he seemed. 

"Is everything alright?" She asked.

He hummed, "Excuse me for a moment." 

She nodded, watching him exit the car as he stood nearby, talking on the phone. She couldn't help noticing his distressed face and how he kept rolling his eyes now and then. 
There was a confusion Nisha always had about Kabir.

He seemed to get calls he avoided. And she never knew what it was for.

She watched him hang up and again talk to someone before putting the phone into his pocket as he approached her.
"Sorry for that. Let's go." 

She wanted to ask him but didn't know if he'd like to share so she subdued the urge.

With a small smile, she was about to exit the car but he was fast enough to open the door for her.
"You're crazy." She giggled.
"And you love it." 

He forwarded his hand as she interlaced their fingers, "What if someone we know sees us though?" 
"We'll invite them to our wedding." He casually asserted.

"Shut up—" 

He laughed at her surprised reaction as they walked into the building complex. 

"What will we be doing today?" She asked, looking around the place as he raised his brows, "Something really fun." 
As they walked towards one of the sections, a gasp escaped her lips.

"No way... the escape room?" 
"Yep." He winked. 
"No way, I'm disgusting at this—"
"Same. We'll have lots of fun being stuck inside." He said, humour surfacing in his voice as she laughed, shaking her head in denial. 

They booked the tickets and stood in line as their turn came, "Um... let's go." 

She looked at him confused when a lady smiled at them and said, "Your hand, please." 
Kabir smiled, gesturing for her to forward her hand as he did.

"Why though?" She whisper-asked, inching her hand forward as the woman shook her head, "The left one for you." 

She took out a handcuff and cuffed their wrists together.
Nisha let out a confused huff, "No way... did you get the—"
"Handcuffed package? Yep." 

He tried not to chuckle at her astonished expression.
"You're one of a kind..." She whispered as he interlaced their hands, "This way, it won't hurt." 
"Fucker." She whispered, earning a wink from him.

"Also, the escape rooms of this country kinda suck so we can enjoy more since we suck too." She smacked his chest lightly as he huffed, enjoying her disbelief. 
They entered the dark room as she swallowed, "Why is this room so red... and dark?" 
"Horror vibes. Are you scared?" 
"No." 
"You can hold onto me if you're— AH!" Kabir flinched, inching closer to Nisha who was busy having the most dramatic flinch of her life as a noise erupted their conversation.

"You're worse than me!"
"I was protecting... you." 
"Be honest, you were scared." She pried as he sighed, "Okay... but... um..."
"I'm scared too." She whispered as they stood together, looking around.

"We're both cowards, it's fine. If I can't protect you, I'll die together with you."
"Fuck you." She shoved the middle finger at his face he let out an awkward laugh, "I don't mind if you do—" 
"Shut up!" She gasped as he laughed, holding her closer when another noise was heard.

"We need to ignore the noise and crack the shit to escape." She said as he hummed, looking around, "Is there any clue for the next room?" 
"There should be." She replied. 

They walked together, searching around.

"Ouch, slow down!" She groaned when he abruptly rushed towards the opposite direction. He immediately stopped, turning around and hissed apologetically, "Sorry! I forgot..." 
Rolling her eyes at his statement, she asserted, "Sure, stupid ass." 
"Stop cursing me out, nah!" He pointed towards the left, "I think we might find something there."

They both rushed together and started searching for things as he said, "Did I bother you with the handcuff thing?"
"Yes, a lot." She answered, taking a proper look at his face. He seemed to be pondering on something. 
Smiling slightly, she again said, "Well, it's not that bad cooperating with you this way. Though I find you absurdly eccentric sometimes, I love it." 

She glanced back at his face to see a surprised Kabir trying to suppress his smile. 
'Cute.' She muttered under her breath and rumbled through a few things, "Help me move this." 
"Sure." He used his free hand to move the box as they retrieved a piece of paper. 

She showed it to him as they read, 

'3 doors at the right of the left at the end of the room's hallway. Hints to the right door lie within your intelligence.' 

They both read it together and looked at each other, immediately moving towards the hinted direction. At the end of the dark hallway, they reached a small place with three doors. 
"Kabir, can you turn on the flashlight on your phone?"
"Alright." 

He took out his phone from the pocket and turned on the flashlight, holding it right in front of her face as she shrieked, "Move it!" 
He laughed, "Sorry..." 
Shaking her head, she looked around, "Help me with the light, please. This room's too dark for my eyesight." 

He held the light for her as she looked around.
"I think something could be under those fake rocks." He pointed as she nodded, checking around. To their surprise, a few chits were found under them.
"Smart." She commented, earning a proud huff from him.

They arranged the chits, crouching down together as he read it out,

'Door 1- A hungry lion's den who hasn't eaten in years.' 

'Door 2- A bottomless pit.' 

'Door 3- Haunted ghosts waiting to prey on humans.' 

'Note: The key can only be used once as once inserted within the door, it will be stuck inside permanently.' 

"What on earth?" Nisha rolled her eyes as they both sat down, staring at the chits. 
"Should we open door 3? The haunted ghosts don't even exist." Kabir inserted as the other one shook her head.
"Probably we'll fail before entering the second round if we go there," She replied.

"A bottomless pit is the first no." 
"Haunted ghosts are also a no." 
"But the lion is also a no!" 

"Let's read the chits again."

They both stared at the clues together as she said, "A lion that hasn't been fed in years... um..." 
"I would probably die if I wasn't fed in years. God knows how they even—" Kabir stopped, snapping towards Nisha whose jaw was wide open.
"You cracked it!" She grinned, "The lion's dead 'cause he's been unfed for years. So we can easily go! It's the first door." 
"Crazy! But what if..." Her grin faded as she looked down unsurely.

Giving her hand a tight squeeze, Kabir muttered, "No worries." 
"If we lose, we lose together. Whatever happens, happens." He smiled as they got up together. She tried to reciprocate his smile as he unlocked the first door. 

"This one's it." She said as they entered another room.
"See? Be confident. Even if we lose, we'll lose with confidence, okay?" 

She nodded, "Lose with confidence. Sounds quite... unideal but sure."

"There's a vault." She pointed at the end of the tiny decorated room as they approached the vault. A paper was kept on top of it that said, 'Crack the vault'.

A few numbers were plated beneath, confusing them. 

'Forever, together, to love one another.'

"How is this supposed to help us?" Nisha asked, looking at her boyfriend who was contemplating something. 
"We're supposed to find a four-digit code with this." 
"Yeah but... if it was I love you, I would've guessed 143. But..." She sighed, earning a hum from the male beside her.

Kabir stared at the words and said, "I've seen this before. It's actually a rare code..." 
"Huh?" She looked at him, perplexed. 
With a soft smile, he asserted, "I researched a few codes for love confessions before I confessed to you. Just in case... I was prepared, though it didn't work. I guess it might work this time." 

She stared at him, not uttering a word.

Somehow, his statement caused an eruption in her brain. Did he learn some love confession codes for her? It would've sounded stupid any other day but right now, She felt touched. 
"So... what's the code for this one?" 
"That's the thing. I need some time to recollect." 

She was prepared with the vault as he said, "Forever... 4." 
"Together... 2." 
"To love... 2."
"One another... 1." 

"Four, two, two, one." She spoke and inserted it as the vault opened. 

"Why did they put this type of thing here?" 
"Probably because this is the couple's escape room." 
She shrugged at his answer and smiled as they found a key to open the locked door nearby. They rushed towards the door and started unlocking it as Nisha held his arm, "Wait... do you hear some strange noises coming from the other room?" 
He attentively listened, nodding.

"What is that...?" 

They both looked at each other and at the door as he gulped, "Should I..."
"Burst it open." She said. 
He nodded, about to kick the door open but instead, he pushed it gently with his knee making her sigh.
As soon as the door opened, both of them shrieked loudly.

There was a long hallway and a few rooms around in a shabby damp area with lots of zombies roaming around.
"What the fuck?!" Nisha whisper-yelled as Kabir gulped, "Who pays them to do this shit...? Ah, they look scary." 

They gulped together, glancing at each other. He interlocked their hands tightly and whispered, "Let's face it together." 
"Together, yeah." Nisha nodded, swallowing hard.