Veer Heer Singh POV

A month ago, wedding night, Time 1:00 am

Her crying made me ache; seeing her crying so much made my chest tighten. It’s always like that, her tears are my weakness, I don’t like her cheeks wet but pink from blush only. 

I know losing someone is the worst thing you can feel as a human. So, I told her that we are going to a new home, and she stopped crying immediately; that's how innocent she is. 

This same innocence changed my mindset. The man who never wanted to marry, but for her, I changed that. She needs protection, and  I will be that roof; she needs relations, and I will be all of them for her. 

When we moved near the car, and my eyes didn’t find her, for a moment, I lost my composure. The calmness I wore has vanished into thin air. That’s how much power she holds over me. 

The weather is also not good, it’s cloudy, and rain can start anytime. My eyes were roaming in every direction, and I found her dupatta, abandoned on the grass. So I followed almost running, my calm heart got restless, not because of running but because of strange protectiveness, “I can’t lose her.” 

I was struggling to catch my breath, then I saw her, “Heriye, galat baat, bina bataye kaha chali gayi thi aap?”

(Heriye, wrong thing, where have you gone without telling me?)

Her smile bloomed the second she saw me. Then my eyes notice a gray kitten, small like a newborn, in her arms. 

She was holding her like a little precious thing. When I denied her, she immediately started crying, so I said yes. But this cat needs a vaccination. 

Then I picked her up in my arms and made her sit in the car seat. She looked up in the sky and whispered, “Hope you are seeing me, Nina. See, I have a husband and baby. I also have a family, like others.” I know some people uttered bad words in the past, but not anymore. I’ll separate each tongue from its mouth that tries to hurt my Heriye. 

After one hour of driving, we reached, and my Heriye fell asleep, but that little Bebo is wiggling in her lap. 

“Heer, get up, we reached your new house.” She opened her eyes, holding Bebo in her arms, and we entered. Her eyes went wide when she looked at the villa. 

“Abhi late ho gya hai na, kal subha aap sabse mil lena.” Hearing my words, she gets tense because her interaction with people is restricted by Nina. She didn’t want her to feel she was weird, so she made her an introvert. It was not her choice but a time requirement. Every time she sees a new face, she gets tense.

“They all are good people, no one will say a single word to you, you are now Heer Veer Singh, my wife.” 

She gave me a happy nod in just 2 seconds. 

(It’s late tonight, you can meet everyone tomorrow morning.)

We reach the third floor, “wow, ye toh bhout bada hai.” After hearing us, VJ comes from our room, touches Heer’s feet, “Bhabhi, I’m VJ. Veer bhai is my big brother.” Heer just passed an awkward smile to him and a curt nod. I also gesture to VJ that she will get comfortable in a few days.

(Wow, it’s so big.)

“Bhabhi, I brought so many blue suits for you, they are in your room.” VJ finished her words, and Heer ran towards the room. 

“Bhai, from Bhabhi’s home, I bring all the stuff, her tablet, and books also.” Before I could reply to VJ, we heard Heer crying from the room. Our eyes met, and we also ran inside the room. She was sobbing. What just happened here? She was so happy just a moment ago, and now again crying.

I cupped her face, “Kya hua humare bachee ko.” 

(What happened to my baby?)

She was looking towards VJ, “ye humara chudiyo se bhare box nhi laye hai, hume wo chaiye,” holding my hand, she came in the side of the room, “dekhiye yaha sab hai, humari books, pens, paints or tablet jo aapne hume diya hai, par…”

(He did not bring my box filled with bangles.)

(See, everything is here, my books, pens, paints, or the tablet that you gave me.)

I looked at VJ, and he understood and left from there. I gently hold her face in my palm, her cheeks turned red due to excessive crying. I leaned and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Wo toh purani ho gaye thi na, or aapko shayad pata nhi hai shadi ke baad sab kuch naya-naya phente hai.” I continue kissing her forehead. 

(They turned old, maybe you are not aware that after marriage, we all wear new-new things.)

She began to relax and stopped crying. She looked to meet my eyes, “ache, hume kisi ne bataya hi nhi.”

(Okay, no one told me about this.)

“No worry, Bachee, ab se aapko kuch bhi pouchna ho toh hum se pouch lena, hum sab kuch aapko batayege.” 

(No worry, Baby, from now on, if you want to ask something, then ask me, I’ll tell you everything.)

I wiped her eyes with my thumb, “aapko, aapna naya ghar nhi dekhna kya?”

(You don’t want to look at your new house?)

She started caressing Bebo, who was near her feet. Then holds her in her arms, “chaliye, ab hum tino ghar dekhte hai.”

(Let’s go, now we all three look at the house.)

“Bedroom?” I asked. “Blue hai,” she replied, looking at all four walls. Her heart didn’t see beyond blue. Obviously, I had to be prepared. 

The bedroom is pastel-blue in color. The walls, ceiling, and bedding are all different shades of blue, creating a calm, ocean-like vibe. Large windows with white sheer curtains let in soft light, brightening the room, especially the sunlight. 

Opening the bathroom door, “aaiye bathroom dekh lijiye.” 

(see the bathroom.)

She entered, “aarey wahh, bathtub and shower together.” I know she wants a big bathtub with a shower, so she can take a shower with her feet dipped in water. Next was the dressing room, with a bathroom door, and there is a door of the dressing room, “here.” 

“Ye bhi blue color mein, aapko kse pata hume blue pasand hai.” A blind person can also tell that she likes blue because she always wears clothes in blue. She doesn’t wear any other color. 

(This is also blue. How did you know I like the color blue?)

Next was the living room, from here our floor starts, “yeh bhi acha aur bada hai Dr. Veer.” I already made sure that every corner on this floor gets sunlight, because her old house was open and she loves to sit in the sunlight with her plants.

(This is good and big too.)

“Come,” holding her hand, I made way toward the open roof. 

When we stepped, her mouth opened in an O shape. “Ye…ye..” The next words never came from her mouth.

“I know grass is just a carpet, but all the flowers here are real.” She loves roses, but the rose plant has thorns; she might hurt herself with them. I can’t bear a single scratch on her; that’s why I purposely avoid them. Her eyes were glowing with happiness. “Wait for me, I’ll come in one minute.” 

I bring a bowl, a warm sheet, and milk. I called her to another corner. This is a tiny glasshouse outside. It has big, clear windows all around, so you can see inside. 

A comfy blue-gray couch and chairs with big pillows, like a little living room outside. It looks fancy, cozy, and perfect for relaxing, but the main reason was her. She loves sunlight, and the roof can get hot in the summer, so I have built a room with glass so she can enjoy her view without bearing the heat from the sun. 

I added some milk to the bowl and placed it on the table. “Our Bebo must be hungry. Let’s feed her.” 

She nodded, dropped the Bebo near the bowl, and, with her tongue, started flicking it over the surface of the milk. 

I fold the warm sheet and place it on the sofa, “she will sleep here for tonight.” 

“Nhi, nhi, yaha nhi, humare bed ke pass rahegi Bebo, aagar usko thand lag gayi toh?” she said, shaking her head. 

(No, no, not here, she will live near our bed. What if she caught a cold here?)

“It’s closed, see all sides were covered with glass,” I turned her face to the side, “see, you can see when you were lying on the bed.” She didn’t answer me because she is not convinced yet. 

“I forgot to tell you, Bebo didn’t get her vaccine yet. If she scratches you with her nails and bites you, then you have to get at least 50 injections.” 

Her eyes turned wide, and she stepped back from Bebo immediately, who was still drinking her milk. I know it’s a lie, you only need 2 to 5 injections, but for now, this white lie is required. 

“Okay, kal subha sabse pehle hum Bebo ko vaccine lagvayege.” Saying that, she starts walking. 

(Okay, tomorrow morning, the first thing we do is her vaccine.)

Then she stopped and picked up that folded sheet on the floor, “here, agar sofa se bebo gir gayi toh use choot lag jayegi.” I chukled at her concern. She truly loves her Bebo. 

(Here, what if she fell from the sofa? She will get hurt.)

The rain started, so we rushed inside the room. I close the door tightly. When I entered the room, I saw Heer was folding our tangled dupattas. The knot is still tied. She opened one of the bags of her new clothes and put that bag in the top shelf of the cabinet. 

“It’s time to feed my first bachee,” she looked at me with narrowed eyes. Then I showed the food in my hand, and she rushed to me, and we both sat on the bed. She was eating so fast because she was hungry. 

So many things happened today. My wife, she basically lost her old family, but she gained a new one: Me! And Bebo. 

We are eating our first meal together as husband and wife. I have shared many meals with her, but this was special. 

She was sitting there, still chewing, and then she pops up, “Bas, kya ab hum naha le?” I know she is excited for the shower over the bathtub; she wanted water to come from both ends.

I grabbed her hand. “After eating, we should not take a shower; you might fall ill, then I might have to give you an injection.” 

She snatched her hand back, as I'd just tried to give her the shot right then and there. “Acha, acha, aaj aap pura din injection-injection hi karte rahege kya?” 

(Okay, Okay, today you're just saying injection-injection the entire day.)

She gets a little feisty when she doesn't get her way. It's like she can't hear the word no. Typical woman's behaviour, but my eyes never wanted to leave her. 

She rested her hand on her love handle and gave me a look, “Ab hum naye kapde toh pehan le, kya usme bhi aap hume injection lagega?” 

(Can I wear my new clothes, or will you give me an injection?)

I just nodded, and she turned, patting her feet on the floor with force. 

It was 2:25 am. I already changed my clothes outside when she was changing inside. She came and lay on the bed. I also lay on the other side of the bed. 

But she moved, and her back touched my chest. Then I noticed she was wearing a bra, but at night, no woman should wear that. I have to talk to her about that. Without exchanging a word, we slept in silence.

.

.

.

Present Time

Nighttime at Roy's house:

Viraj Janaat Singh POV 

I was ringing the bell for the past five minutes, “Did she already sleep? It’s only 7:00 pm. Maybe she was tired and slept early.” So I go to the park and pick the main door key from the pot.

Thanks to Dad, I knew where the keys were.

I entered just to meet with silence. She didn’t come back. I should wait for her. Now I can officially and legally enter this house because it’s my sasural and I am her legally husband. 

Before that, I should check her room, maybe she was sleeping inside. Going upstairs, I open her room door. It’s empty like a house. 

She hasn’t come yet. Should I wait for her?

Yes! Every husband in this world waits for her wife. 

Then I noticed her room is tiny, like her. Standing here feels odd, like I’m some kind of alien. This bedroom has a soft, feminine, and luxurious aesthetic with a blush-pink and neutral palette. The Queen-size bed rested in one corner with a few pillows and a cushion. She built this room with her own money. 

There was a rug. “Why did she have this when she tripped over it?” 

Her bed was directly facing the big window. Sunlight must fall on her bed directly, which must bother her daily. 

There was a study table has just been placed in front of the bed, and beside this, a full-length mirror with a cute rug. Another rug. 

Next to the mirror, her few hair accessories hang on the wall. I should check the washroom too. Knocking on the door of the washroom, but only met with silence.

So I pushed the washroom door open and found three shelves filled with products. Carefully, I checked all the products and placed an order for them. “She should feel comfortable in her new home.”

 I’ll make sure all her needs are fulfilled without even asking. It’s not like I’m doing this for the first time, because of bhai, I already experienced that. I still remember I forgot to pick the box filled with bangles, and Bhabhi started crying.

Setting my hair with my hand, “Little things matter to women, I’ll not be able to see her being sad on this unnecessary stuff.” 

I was so lost checking her room that I forgot that she is not home. “Should I call her?” Then I heard the front door lock sound.

As I approached the doorknob, it suddenly flew open in my face, directly on my nose. “Ahh, my nose.”

She entered with that smell, my brows furrowed, “Is she…she is…drunk…at this age.” 

She turned to the balcony, a little stumbling, holding the railing with one hand and pointing her index finger to the sky with the other. “Yo..you.. My moonie. Are you still following me? Good, good.” Now, gesturing thumbs up.  

Moonie? Maybe indicating the moon.

“I should bring lemon water for her,” I whispered and made my way toward the kitchen downstairs.

After five minutes, I brought lemon water upstairs and called her,  “Janaat?” I called softly, but there was no reply. Passing through the balcony curtain saw her curled up on the small swing. 

Should I wake her up?

But what if she gets scared to see me?

Maybe she will not recognize me. It’s not like she knows me from ages. According to her, we have just met two times. And at the third meeting, we became a married couple. 

I don’t know how to handle a drunk Janaat. A flicker of a moment caught my attention; her eyes opened hazily. I quickly hid behind the balcony curtain. I never imagined that I would hide like a thief in my in-laws' house. 

She stood up on her feet, wearing only white socks. She looked up and, with wall support, entered the room. She stopped near the bed and faced the vanity mirror, a bright smile spreading across her face. That smile lit up the night, and without any awareness, a tiny smile slipped from my lips as well.

She cupped her cheeks and checked her face from left to right. It was a side of her I had never seen before.

Suddenly she dropped her hands from her face and started pulling the dress from her waist, “pee.. I have to pee.” 

Wait. What? Pee?

She was struggling and pulling her dress. 

Should I help her? 

But how can I? 

You can’t, she is just a baby.

That’s the point, she is a baby and drunk, she needs my help.

Before I could come out from the curtains, she started twirling, “wee, wee, my skirt is looking flowing.” Did alcohol do something to her? 

She shook her head, “Ohh! It’s a dress. I have to remove shorts under the skirt.” murmuring this, she entered the washroom. 

For a moment, I stopped breathing. I placed the glass of lemon water on the bedside table. “I should wait for her to sober up.” With that, I was out of her room and standing against the wall just to the side of the door like a protective guard. “I’ll wait here, maybe she will need something.”

“Awoo, why is the door moving? Stop! Stop moving, door. You hit my knee.” I stood at the door for a moment, just watching her. She was completely wasted.

Then she sat on the bed and took a sip of lemon water that I placed, and lay on the bed. I stood there on the door like a guard watching her till she fell into a deep slumber. 

After waiting for some time, I walked forward slowly near the bed and crouched in front of her. My gaze fixed on her peaceful face. A tiny pout formed on her lips, and she truly looked like a Baby.

“At the age of twenty, you drink. Not acceptable, Heaven.” I whispered it more to myself than to her.

Seeing you like this, something is changing. 

Maybe something warm or something unavoidable.

Then, suddenly, I spot the red mark on her knee. Maybe because she bumped into the door earlier, when the door was moving, she wasn’t.

I opened the side table drawer, and my eyes fell out of my eyeballs. This is full of lip products. I don’t think I can find any ointment here.

After lots of effort, I finally found the ointment. Sitting beside her knees, I opened the tube and dropped a pea-sized amount of cream on my index finger. I began to apply gently to her knees. 

My hands were steady, but my eyes were intense. She should be more careful. She winced slightly, maybe feeling the sting. My jaw clenched, her little inconvenience making me angry. I unfolded the duvet and pulled it over her small frame. This will keep her warm.

(bedside table drawer)

I sat near her face on the floor beside her bed. I didn’t know why I was sitting on the floor, staring at her like this. I didn’t even know why I felt the urge to protect her now, and in the past.

She was murmuring in sleep, but that didn’t reach my ear, so I just leaned toward her lips, “It’s cheating. Ase thodi hota hai.” 

What cheating? Did she have a boyfriend or some friend cheat on her? 

I didn’t know why her sleepy and drunken words affected me this much. I needed to figure out what was going on in her sleepy head.

I guided my strange thoughts aside, but couldn’t control my eyes as they were stuck on her. She again made a strange noise in her sleep; maybe she is having an odd dream. 

Then I felt her rubbing her feet together, and her forehead had crease lines like something was bothering her. 

“Are socks making her uncomfortable?” I lifted the duvet from her feet, and with my fingertips I removed the socks. Her feet are tiny, shorter than the size of my palm. Her nails were coated with white; she really liked white. Again covered her feet with the duvet.

I registered a little longer than I was already sitting in the same place near her face, again.

Yes! again.

She silently rubbed her cheek on the pillow as her loose, curly strands tickled her. I bent lower near her face, and I blew air so her strands moved away from her face. Failed miserably.

After the first failed attempt, I use my index finger to remove a hair strand, not before rolling that strand, making it curly. Gosh, I want to do this earlier, too. Now, there was a soft and comforting smile on her lips.

Problem solved. 

Then my eyes fall on her cleavage. My throat turned dry, and I gulped down, leaning against her side table. I was about to get up, but then she moved inches closer to me, and my gaze fell on her lips. Her full lips remind me of the time when she painted them fainted pink or maybe red. That red color makes them edible.

Stop here.

She is just a baby. Only twenty years old.

Remember that man. Stop acting like a libidinous teenager. 

Fortunately or unfortunately, the next moment, my hand goes near her face, and my thumb starts caressing her cheeks. She has rosy white cheeks, but her skin color is still pale. She really needs healthy eating habits. I didn’t even notice that I was so close to her face until her breath blew near my neck. 

Stop, or you will wake her up. 

I noticed her lips moved again, and I leaned again to hear her, “ase thodi surprise marriage hoti hai.”

Surprise marriage?

Not for you, but sure for her. Who marries a man they met just twice before marriage?

Again, she murmured, “mera lehhh…” but the complete word didn’t come out of her lips. 

Then she moved, pulled one pillow under her knee, and hugged another pillow close to her chest. Now her steady breath tells me she is in a deep sleep.

That’s not how a wedding night is supposed to be. She is completely wasted, drunk. And me?  I'm on the floor beside her bedside. Just watching her breathe peacefully.

Her face is buried in the pillow, those curls all over the place. It's always been like a curtain, hiding her away from the world. I am so used to them; they work like a veil on her face whenever I watch her from a distance. 

Now, I am here in her world, desperately wanting to be here for the past 1.5 years. I try to avert my gaze, but  I can't take my eyes off her.

This time, blinking even felt like a sin. Again, her lips moved, blabbering something in sleep. My heaven has become my wife. The word “husband,” “her husband,” was ringing in my ears like a bell. 

Just a few months ago, she was a promise made out of instincts. And now she has become my whole world. I become hers. 

Protecting her was the main reason, but that wasn't just about protection anymore. It was… something else. Something I couldn't name. A pull, maybe, a connection definitely. 

I'm dying to reach out, to trace the curve of her eyelid with my finger, to kiss her temple. Just to make sure she's real. To make sure this isn't some elaborate dream I'm going to wake up from.  

One and a half years. That's how long I've wanted this. And here I am, on the floor, content just to watch her breathe. 

This whole marriage thing matters so much to me; it made me hers, hers to claim. It became a way to keep her safe, but I feel more than that; it's a feeling I can’t explain, at least not yet. 

I want to guard her from every noise, every doubt, every second of loneliness that might frighten her awake. Guarding a baby is what feels like that exactly, I’m feeling now. I know one thing for sure. This isn't just about protection anymore. This is about something deeper.  

I sat there, on the floor beside her bed, and a fierce, tender current ran through me. I felt like I was guarding heaven itself– my Heaven, now my wife.

To be continued…

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

⬩➤ Do you think it's just a responsibility or a duty towards her?? I don’t think so!!

⬩➤ Up next ~ Heer and Veer's first morning after the wedding. And what will happen when Janaat wakes up?? 

⬩➤ For spoiler and extra stuff, you can follow me on Instagram. ID is ~ autthorsahiba_