Zeeshan's POV

Uh, so I didn't do it on purpose. Her picture had been my wallpaper ever since she was my student at the CBI academy.

Now I know my actions were contradictory to my words, and I wouldn't justify the words I spoke, but at the same time, I will not deny the fact that Ayesha Mehra is the one for me, and I've known it since day one.

Everything I did was under the illusion of protecting her, though it took me a while to figure out that she doesn't need it. The only thing she needed was me by her side.

Like right now, she's avoiding eye contact with everyone present in this room, who'd been looking at her with teasing smiles.

They do not dare tease me for obvious reasons.

My eyes followed her every action, the way her cheeks were heating up, the way she purposefully scribbled on her notepad.

A chuckle escaped me before I cleared my throat, bringing everyone's eyes back to me, but my eyes? They were where they should be, on her.

"Shall we start?" I asked. None of them said a word.

"What? I have a beautiful fiancée, and I am a man who appreciates his luck," I added, making her look up, finally.

And our eyes met, her shy ones against mine. Though I could feel heat crawling up my ears and neck, I ignored it completely, just like the hooting surrounding us.

She looked at me and then moved her eyes, indicating our surroundings.

That was my cue to start talking on that damn presentation.

"Okay, back to work," I said sternly, tapping my hand on the table. Everyone straightened up, nodding their heads.

"The reason why we are here is because the kidnapping case is not limited to kidnapping or ransom. Instead, it involves a huge trafficking scandal. Naman, Vidit, and I have worked overtime gathering the major information after our doubts were confirmed," I said, nodding at Naman, who continued after me.

"At least more than a hundred kids have been kidnapped from all around India this month. No ransom calls, no blackmailing. They are just kidnapping those kids, which means only one thing. Now we know that this is much more than just kidnapping, but we need to investigate more diligently to get these kids out of that hellhole before we lose them."

Soon, Naman and Vidit took turns explaining the evidence we had and the information we needed to gather.

I knew it all. I'd gone through the presentation while Vidit was snoring like a broken tape recorder beside me on our flight.

Okay, fine. He wasn't snoring, but you get me... right?

Anyways, I was not going to waste my time looking at that boring presentation. So, I looked at her instead.

It was downright creepy, I know, but logic stopped existing, especially when she's in front of me after three months. My heart cannot get enough of her.

"Teri majnoo giri khatam nahi Hui na?" Vidit said, elbowing me with his pointy elbow.
(Still not done with your Loverboy habits?)

"Oww. Idiot. Focus on the presentation," I muttered, pushing his hand away.

"The presentation is over," he deadpanned. I didn't hear a word because my focus remained on her.

She was talking to Ritika, her lips curved into the biggest smile.

"Stop ogling at her. We are sitting in the front, and you are being obvious," he warned.

"Woh muskura rahi hai, Vidit," I whispered, not wanting her to hear me, my own lips curving into a smile that exists only in her vicinity.
(She's smiling, Vidit.)

"I might have to drown him in ice water to bring him back to his senses," he muttered, walking away.

Much to my bad luck, soon we had to get back to work. All of us got busy with the case in hand, momentarily forgetting about everything except the children waiting for us to rescue them. None of us took breaks. We just kept working until it was around midnight. We had to force them to go back to their rooms and rest.

"See you tomorrow," I said as Ayesha and I parted ways with Vidit and Ritika, who nodded. Ritika wanted to reply, but Vidit just dragged her away.

And that asshole calls me aashiq.

"Where are you staying?" Aayat said, putting her hand in my outstretched one.

"Third floor, room 309."

"Oh wow, our rooms are on the same floor. Isn't that crazy?" she replied, smiling widely.

"Definitely," I said, nodding along.

So I might've requested Bharat to change rooms with me. Thankfully, he agreed easily for some reason, but she doesn't need to know that yet.

"Kuch khaoge?" I said.
(Would you like to eat something?)

"The canteen is probably closed."

"I can be your personal chef, milady," I replied, leaning towards her from the side as we waited for the lift.

"Mumma told me about your skills, dear chef," she teased, my heart melting at the way she had started calling Mumma-Mumma instead of Aunty.

"Mumma aur unki bahu ko iss gareeb ki chugli nahi karni chaiye," I said, sighing.
(Mumma and her daughter-in-law needs to stop talking behind this poor man's back.)

"You wish," she said dismissively.

We both chuckled at our absurdity.

We reached her room sooner than I wanted. Putting my hands behind my back, I said, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Come back after you freshen up. I have some snacks stocked up." She shook her head and walked in first.

"Okay." I grinned and immediately went back to my room to have the fastest shower I could, then changed into my random black pajamas and a T-shirt.

I mean obviously, I would be an idiot to waste even a single second.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, I knocked on her door.

"Come in," she said, opening the door wider.

"So..." I said, tilting my head sideways.

"So?" she asked confusedly.

"Dhangse mile bhi nahi aap mujhse subah se." I said, leaning against the wall.
(You didn't even meet me this morning.)

"And give them another reason to tease me? No, thank you." She glared, which was anything but scary.

"Aap has rahe ho?" she gasped, pointing her index finger while simultaneously walking towards me.
(Are you laughing?)

"I wouldn't dare," I said, folding my arms across my chest.

"Ek toh aapse ye log kuch bolte nahi hai. Hitler ki tarah ghoorkar unko chup kara dete ho aap, mera kya?" she was still glaring, her index finger in front of me, keeping me in place.
(First of all they would not even say a word to you. You just shut them up with your infamous glares but what about me?)

It's not like I would be anywhere but here. I would trade everything to be in her vicinity, but right now, for the love of God, I cannot take her seriously, not when she's looking at me with that cute glare, barely reaching my shoulders.

"Upar se aap unko aur reasons dedete ho mujjhe tease karne ka. Uske baad khud toh rakshas wali aankeiin dikha ke side ho jaate ho." She continued, completely unaware of my thoughts, thankfully.
(And on top of that, you give them more reasons to tease me. And as usual after that you show them your demonic glares and get away with it.)

"Did you see how they acted today? They were acting as if your life revolves around me." She sighed.

And they think right.

So I hooked my index finger with her cute finger and said, "That's true, my life does revolve around you and only you."

"I was trying to stay angry." She sighed, her lips forming a small pout, which was far too adorable according to me.

"I am sorry, my jaan. I will zip my mouth the next time you plan on scolding me," I negotiated.

She nodded, walking away, but before she could, I grabbed her hand, stopping her.

"You were hungry. We can talk later," she muttered, trying to free her hand from my grip.I didn't let her.

"Teen mahine se sukoon k liye taras raha hu, Isse zyada aur tadpaya aapne toh mai seh nahi paunga, Aayat." I said, not hiding my vulnerabilities in front of her.
(I've been dying to get some peace in your arms. Please don't make me wait more, I might not be able to take it, Aayat.)

Without a word, she draped her arms around my neck. As if on cue, my body melted in her arms. I dropped my head into her neck, pulling her closer to me with my hands resting around her waist.

I was holding her close to my heart after three damn months. It felt as if every damn thing in my head had vanished away, and the only thing it could think of was her hand softly ruffling my hair, making me close my eyes.

"Will you stay with me today, Zeeshan?" came her muffled voice after I don't know how many minutes of us simply cherishing the love we have.

"I plan to stay with you for as long as I am physically capable of, my jaan," I whispered, stating the only promise I planned to keep for as long as I was breathing.

"Thank you," she said, tightening her hold around me.

"Do you mind if I pick you up and take you to the bed?" I asked, my left hand simultaneously caressing her hair.

Pulling away, she placed her hand on my cheek. My face instantly leaned into her warm hand, desperately seeking comfort at every chance I got,"Apna haq jatana kab seekhoge aap?"
(When will you learn to claim what's rightfully yours?)

"Aapki ijajat ke bina mera koi haqq nahi hai aapse judi kisi bhi cheez par." I looked at her, hoping that my eyes reflected the sincerity with which I spoke.
(Without your permission, I have no right over anything that is a part of you.)

She mumbled, "You always make me speechless."

Chuckling at her words, I said, "Still waiting for your yes."

"Yes."

And I didn't waste a single second before lifting her up in my arms.

Carefully, I walked towards her bed and gently made her sit before settling comfortably in front of her.

Ayesha's POV

We sat there in front of each other, quietly savouring each other's presence. It was peaceful, just him and me without anyone's prying eyes.

But his continuous gaze was making it hard for me to look up. The raw admiration in his eyes made my heart skip multiple beats.

"Not hungry anymore?" I asked when I just couldn't take it anymore.

"For your presence? Always. For food? Nah, I can manage," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Chai piyoge?" I asked.
(Would you like to have some tea?)

"Aap kabse chai pine lage?" He narrowed his eyes.
(Since when did you start having tea?)

"I am craving some chai." I, in fact, am not. But he doesn't need to know that, especially when his face looks visibly drained.

"Only if you let me make it," he said. His narrowed eyes didn't let me protest, even though I wanted to.

"Go ahead. The kettle is all yours. All the ingredients are in the second cabinet," I said.

Even though I don't like drinking chai, I had all the ingredients stocked up since those were the days when, to feel his presence, I drank chai, which for some reason never tasted good, but at least it was comforting.

While he made chai, I gave him company and filled him in on all the gossip going around the CBI office. Well... except us.

"And you know Bharat, that idiot always used to tease me because of my alarm that rang at 9:55 p.m. daily..." My mouth needs to learn when to shut the fuck up.

"Because of your what?" he asked, confused.

Avoiding his eyes, I mumbled, "Nothing, just random jokes."

"Uh-huh?" he asked, trapping me against the wall by keeping his hands on either side of me.

"Yeah. Chai is boiling," I shrieked.

That was my failed attempt at getting his attention back on the chai, but this idiot just turned the kettle off and raised his eyebrows, slightly tilting his head.

"What?" I said, looking down because I just could not look at him to save my life, not when his eyes were so intense, so full of admiration.

"So, you had an alarm scheduled for our video call," he replied.

"No."

"No?" He was teasing me, and this man was not even hiding it.

"Fuck off," I muttered, pushing him away.

He chuckled but thankfully went back to the chai.

And then we talked about everything and anything while we drank our chai. None of us wanted the moment to end for obvious reasons.

We didn't realise how long we talked because I didn't even realise when I drifted off to sleep. The last thing I remember was being snuggled up in his arms and talking about our initial interactions.

I didn't even realise when I was properly tucked into bed, but the next morning I was alone in my room, my blanket cocooning my body and the damn used mugs washed.

A note lay on my bedside table, saying,

"I love you."

Not a single word more, just those three words, but somehow they made my day ten times better, just like the man I am hopelessly in love with.

How are you guys?