A few days passed by since our lovable confession, our relationship developing into a strong bonding of unbreakable love and emotions. I had become his craziest fondness and our intimacy growing into a deeper endearment. He never failed to impress me while making love to me like the way I wished him to do it. We had nurtured ourselves into each other's strongest support and dwelt in each other's hearts.

One such fine day, I was working on the files Anand had given me when I heard the door's knob turning open and Karan reappeared into our room. He pulled a chair next to my desk and gazed at me with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Do you want to say something?" I asked him, my eyes still scanning the white sheet of the file.

"I want to but you should complete your work first. I don't want to disturb you." He peeped into my file before grabbing a book from his shelf to read.

We maintained silence for almost an hour before I folded my files and relaxed myself on the chair. He was reading a book in a serious mood, not realising that my work was completed.

"What are you reading?" I asked him, biting the cap of my pen.

He glanced up from the book before answering, "This is an official book from the crime branch. I was going through some rules and regulations."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Oh well, you are very responsible towards your duties."

He smiled, pulling my chair towards his. "Yes darling I am... I am responsible towards my family too. My wife and..."

I was confused with his playful wiggling. "And what?"

He pulled me again and I landed on his thighs, facing him. "And our children."

My cheeks flushed with crimson color and he caressed my cheeks with his lips, tickling me at my tummy. "You are still drooping in shyness, Preeta."

"No I am not..." I zipped his lips with mine to nullify his comments. We shared a long and intensifying kiss until we ran out of breath.

"So are we ready to become parents?" He said and I nodded willingly to confirm my decision. Taking me in front of the mirror, he took out a gift package from his pocket and held it before me. It contained a pair of beautiful platinum pendants which were meant only for couples.

"I guess this is for us." I was smiling widely, the ornamental gift had surely enchanted me.

Settling my hair on the front right shoulder, he latched the part of woman's pendant around my neck and gently pecked the spot of the knot. I moaned with the reflexive sensation and my image in the mirror came to my view.

It was a sterling platinum pendant with fine shades of love arts, the ornamental chain settled perfectly around my neck. The jointed pendants signified the coalescence of two hearts into one, the conjoining of two souls.

"Now make me wear it." He swung the chain in air and I did so for him.

"This will keep us bonded together and remind us of each other when we are away," he said embracing me.

"Don't ever say that, Karan. It is difficult to even stay a moment away from you." My eyes welled up in tears and he wiped them lovingly.

"Don't take me in a wrong way. I mean to say whenever we are away for work, we'll remember each other. Your love will keep me going strong during tough times and I'll return to you in time." He was raking his fingers through my hair in consolation.

"I love you..." My lips automatically chanted the three magical words, my head resting against his chest.

"We are yet incomplete without one important thing, Preeta." He stated before taking out an another box, the box that contained vermilion, one of the prized possessions of a married Indian woman.

He filled my hairline with the crimson powder and said merrily, "Now we are complete, sweetheart. I had always wished to see my mother draped in a gorgeous saree, her hairline filled with vermilion...but I don't even know who she was. I want to fulfill all my wishes with you, love."

The sacred mark of vermilion is the ritualistic symbol of marriage for every married Indian woman and she is considered incomplete without it. I know I was one of those lucky wives whose husband was considering himself to be incomplete without the pious symbol. He proved again that his love was pure, so genuine for me.

It was late in the night and we were sleeping on the bed side by side, my head resting on his chest. He mumbled softly into my open hair. "We have to inform Sir that we are continuing our marriage."

"I know but I don't want to be teased by him again." I said pouting my lips and he chuckled before his fingers drew circles on my shoulder.

"Is love bite the reason and you fear that he'll get to see ample of those on us?" He was teasing me and I slammed him against the skin of his chest.

"You are way too naughty." I frowned my forehead and he let out a suppressed chuckle.

He kissed my forehead in the next moment. "Don't worry, I will manage him. He must have understood by now that we are very much in love. After all, we have been living together even after the case has been solved. Secondly, he had managed to see those love bites on me way before our agreement into continuing this marriage."

He pressed his lips against mine to placate my embarrassed mood. I knew Mr. Karthik would surely tease us when we disclose our relationship to him. I was scared of all his silly jokes, but the most important thing was that he loved both of us dearly. We were like his children and he would do anything to support us.

Karan and I made love again that night with full enthusiasm and with a developed version of the ardent of love. I loved to live into his affectionate embrace, his protective shelter was a pure bliss for me. I had not fallen in love with him for only once but I was falling for the same person daily. Our love was not built in a day but it had developed over time, creating our very own beautiful love story.

I was getting addicted to his art of making love to me. I was habituated to wake up every morning and inhale the first breath of the day while snuggling comfortably in his arms. He had made it compulsory in his daily routine to kiss and make love to me the first thing in the morning. He often told me that it used to work as his revitalizer to keep the entire day going for him.

__________

On one such good day, Mr. Karthik reappeared again in the bungalow and met us in the hallway. His gaze was intently fixed on me and he started speaking in his usual remarking tone, "You both don't need to fumble. I have already interpreted it. That vermilion mark on her says everything."

Karan nodded his head and I bit my lower lip before we both blurted out in unison. "I hope you are not angry or upset with us!"

Mr. Karthik rested his back on the sofa and laughed to his heart's content. He was successful in surprising us each time he met us. He finally spoke at the end of his laughter, "To be honest, I had chosen you both for this day only. If you really had chosen to separate, I would have come down harshly upon you. Thankfully you both didn't and chose to stay in the relationship."

"Why would you have done that, Sir? It was supposed to be our decision whether to stay in or leave the marriage," Karan said, looking at me once.

I supported him. "We would have separated if the relationship didn't work, Mr. Karthik."

"Separation is not the solution to any problem and I already knew that you would be falling in love with each other. Two innocent hearts after living under the same roof and sharing the same room were bound to fall in love. Without my intervention, Mrs. Luthra wouldn't have agreed to take up such a case and I suppose she had fallen in love with Karan on the very first day."

I had never believed in separation or divorce because they were just a few bits of papers. Relationships were built with the abstract threads of love which were unbreakable and inseparable. Love was always selfless with only one aim, to keep the beloved happy and protected always. We needed to only have trust and honesty, and things would fall in place on their own.

Mr. Karthik left the house late in the evening after wishing us for our married life ahead. I was lying on the bed when Karan held my arm. "Was Sir really saying the truth that you had fallen for me on the very first day?"

I snuggled in his arms. "I don't know but your appearance had really attracted me. Mr. Karthik understood it when he saw us sleeping next to each other in the hospital room. He thought that it was only I who would be able to console and embrace you forever."

He slipped his hands around my shoulders, my forehead touching his chest. "He was definitely right. You are the only one who can console and embrace me forever. I realised it when I was getting cured and becoming habituated to you."

I laughed. "I didn't know your part of the story!"

"Now you know it but tell me one thing, Preeta. Will you take up such a case again in the future upon Sir's insistence?"

I tugged at his nose before answering, "Mr. Karthik already said that he did it on purpose. He had plotted to unite the two of us and his plan worked out for real. I would have never taken up this case if he hadn't insisted or blackmailed me. Do you think I will agree again in the future?"

"I won't even allow you for it. You are mine and only I have every right on you. But I'm scared, Sapna. I know you'll be going to the districts to look after your patients when you receive your resume letter. Will you console your patients in the same way you ever did to me?" I could see the possessive expression forming over his puckered face.

I grimaced wryly. "All the patients won't be my husband and they won't be sharing their pains with me. You were a special case, idiot."

He pulled the blanket over us and confessed again. "I love you..."

I reciprocated the same as soon as he mumbled, my ears waiting impatiently to hear those magical words from him. That beautiful and romantic night, we experienced our love making again. Every time we were into each other, it gave us a new feeling of pleasure altogether. The reason might be because love had different faces each time.

___________

Everything was working fine for my balanced love life until when Mahira paid us a visit on a bright morning. The other female friend of her had accompanied her but there weren't Prithvi or Uday with them. Karan was working out on the terrace and I was sipping on a cup of cappuccino when they came inside to disturb our peace, or rather my peace!

"Hey Sid, how are you?" Mahira yelled amicably, running across the terrace to hug him. It was her main task which she needed to perform every time she met him.

Instead of letting her hug him, Karan bent on his knees to gather the dumbbells scattered on the floor. His muscular body was bare and full of sweat, giving him a handsome hunk look and making it possible for any girl to yearn to cling on to him.

Mahira stopped inches away from him, shooting me raging expressions with her darting killer eyes and compelling me to chuckle under my breath. She sounded extremely vexed this time. "Karan!"

She could perceive the naughty grin playing on my lips, her nerves burning in flames of great temper. She took time to compose herself before yelling again, "Karan, why are you ignoring me?"

Karan put his dumbbells aside and asked frowning, "Where am I ignoring you?"

"You have never prevented me from hugging you earlier but nowadays you try to find excuses to move away from me." Mahira was directly accusing Karan but I knew her main target was only me.

I could have sent out a well articulated answer to her but I was waiting for Karan's response this time. I knew he truly loved me and he wouldn't surrender to Mahira's silly demands again.

Karan scratched the back of his head before saying, "It's not like that, Mahira. You are an adult now and will get married some day. You used to hug me earlier and I used to care for you because you are so younger to me. I've seen you since childhood and I still care for your well being. But... We can't continue doing the same hugging thing even in adulthood too."

His meaningful polite remarks must have surely irked her and she couldn't help but rebuke him. "I only came here with Anjali to find out if you are alright. Last time during the party, there was an attack on you and we didn't speak much to each other after that. I'm really worried for you and you are behaving as if you have got everything in your life in the form of this bloody girl."

"Mind your language, Mahira! You can't keep insulting Preeta for no valid reason. She is my wife and I can go to any extent to protect her dignity. Where were you when the gunshots happened or during my struggling times? You left quietly seeing my pains while my wife stayed by and hurt herself in the process!" Karan spoke for the first time in my favour and right on her face. My heart was jumping in joy with the happiest victory.

Mahira said nothing to him but marched towards me and began with her dirty reprimands. "Are you happy for having snatched Karan from me?"

"You are his friend and I am his wife. There is no question of snatching him from you because he always maintains his friendship with you all. Why do I feel that it's you who wants to snatch my husband from me?" I said with a slight smirk.

Mahira shot her palm higher in the air to slap me when Karan held her hand. "Dare you touch her again, Mahira! You had a good image before me but you want to spoil it yourself. I have always adored you like any elder would do to the younger. I have seen you growing up in front of me, I have felt how you helped me with studies and many other things. I had a corner in my heart for you because of your greatness towards me... But you have spoilt everything after the way you behaved with Preeta today!"

Mahira was fuming with extreme rage but I was beaming with enormous cheerfulness. Karan had thrown the answer at her for which I had always waited with bated breaths. She bent towards me and whispered in my ear only audible to me. "I will not spare you, bitch! You have snatched my Karan from me."

She warned me before leaving the place with Anjali and without wishing Karan a diligent goodbye. She was totally pissed at him for his stern behavior with her but he had ultimately gained a respectable position in my heart again.

Karan drew me closer to him and kissed my cheek. "I know you have always felt insecure due to Mahira but that's how she is. I never wanted to be rude on her but I couldn't even allow her to harm you. She is very stubborn sometimes and will do anything to get what she wants. I have always preferred to maintain silence before her because she can be very dreadful at times."

He hugged me lovingly and I was safe in his arms. But the day's heated arguments with Mahira left me worrying about the fact of what she would do next to take revenge on me. Karan's words for certifying her character were scaring me as I kept my fingers crossed for time immemorial!

_____________

To be continued....