* 𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎.

was there anything worse than being stuck with someone you didn’t even love for the rest of your life ? as safe as she felt with her husband , the ache of being left alone always made her keep her own heart at arms length from his . close , but never close enough . a safe gap between them , where she was satisfied ( for now ) with listening to the murmurs of his heart . the brunette smirks slyly , primarily to herself , with a playful scoff emitting from the back of her throat .  ʿ uh huh . sounds a lot like a certain someone i know .  ʾ  the patil household was always beautiful , as simple and vacant as it was in a sense , there were remnants of people being in it that made it a home . suhani can’t remember much of the house she grew up in , just the empty halls and endless gardens that ran on forever . quick steps take the pair to the terrace , it was her favorite part of it . a thumb runs across his larger hand , soothingly in a way she wanted to remind him she was still there .  ʿ missed me that much ??  ʾ hani teases softly , fingers feeling empty once his own unclasp from her hand .  ʿ you look so tired , arun .  ʾ her attention to the view before them is short lived as she turns her neck over to look at her husband , small frown evident on her features .  

it could have been because of the vows they took together years ago at this point , despite how unusual their predicament was . their marriage worked out for their families before it worked out for them , and suhani was one who couldn’t say no so easily to her grandmother , who only approved of arun out of the other suitors lined up for the former shenai girl that her parents hand plucked themselves . he was the only one she wanted , too .  ʿ  terrace !  ʾ  the dimples on her cheeks deepened as a very light giggle escaped her lips , not something that usually fell off of suhani’s lips . despite being married , hani didn’t see arun as often as she would have preferred ( she’d never say it , not even to him ) with his work and the critical care her father-in-law remained in . life at the apartment wasn’t the worst it could be , but it became dull at night . no matter how bright the moon and her stars could be at night , still , it paled in comparison to arun’s mere presence . instead of as a wife , as a person , she made sure to make time to check in on him . 

while not voicing it , she sees the way her husband takes care of things , admires it frankly . it’s something she could never do , as selfish as it sounded . she loved her parents , but there was a limit to her love . an extent to how far she’d go for them . suhani would never say it , but she’d never break any tears or sweat blood in their name . she figures , they wouldn’t do it for her , anyways either . tightened knuckles knock on the front door three times , letting out a final breath as she hears the creaking of oak and there , beholding like divinity , was arun .  ʿ brought your favorite ,  ʾ hani’s smile is a small one , but genuine nonetheless . she still wasn’t entirely sure why , but seeing her husband each time felt like it was the first time all over again , even though she’d known his face all her life .  ʿ come on , let’s go eat .  ʾ eyes take in his features and a soft sigh escape her lips , content washing over her . yet she can’t shake off the vision , his eyes more sunken in and tired than she’d like them to be .