one year later

Monsoon was arriving in Lehri again, and all the festivities that light up its streets and every smallest of shops were just two months away.

Nihar had promised Misha that they would celebrate it together this time and go to venture the streets and have the famous chaats and phuchka together.

She wrote down her to-do list and pasted the sticky end on the study lamp for herself when she would visit Nihar's rented apartment, it was their shared space now but Misha hadn't moved in with him yet, she couldn't.

Small cities came with their allures as well as nuances, it was not possible to have dreams so big in their small Lehri.

A small smile graced her lips when she saw his sleeping figure as she entered his room. It was early in the morning and she had spent the night as his mother was visiting him, she had done it quite a few times, therefore, the reason he had officially introduced her to his mother as someone he wanted to spend his future with.

His mother owned the bakery downstairs and they were planning on shifting to Lehri again after his father retired in a few months. Whenever his mother came into the city, Misha would find a way to join her as well and share the small guest bedroom with his mother.

this was their way of sharing a small space

She peeked outside the door and did a quick tour of the guest room just to make sure his mother was still sound asleep, she closed the door with a soft click and tiptoed to Nihar's room again.

She closed the door to his room and looked at him longingly, she was grateful for all the twists and turns that came in their journey and she was not afraid of the ones that would come in the future if he was there with her.

It felt like an eternity since she had kissed those lips and touched him, slowly she slid into the empty space beside him on his king-size bed. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him, all the flesh and warmth molded into each other as she nuzzled her nose in the crook of his neck.

A shudder passed through him in his sleep when she lightly bit his earlobe and whispered a 'good morning' in his ear, he wrapped his arms around her tightly in response then they spent the rest of the early morning in each other's embrace.

She didn't realize when she had fallen asleep but woke up to lazy fingers running up and down her spine, it was Nihar.

When he saw her stir, he bit her earlobe in return and kissed her behind her ear where she loved to be kissed.

They stayed like that until they heard the click of the guest room opening and got up languidly to prepare themselves for the day.

They were fine with having even these small moments, this was their way of having an even smaller world in the small Lehri.

.

.

.

After getting ready to leave for the day, Misha had packed up her bag as well as helped Nihar's mother to pack hers since it was the last day of his mother's day in Lehri.

The elder woman hugged her son and then Misha and gave a last longing look at the pair before she got on the yellow taxi, Nihar had called for beforehand.

After the yellow taxi merged in with other taxis, colorfully painted buses, and rickshaws, Misha turned toward Nihar. She looked at their intertwined hands who had found a way to each other during this all and gave him the bright smile of hers, one that showed her crooked teeth.

"Are you free this evening?", she asked as they climbed up the stairs to the floor over the bakery.

Nihar made a thinking face but she knew better than that the answer was already on his lips. He smiled mischievously at her and confirmed with a childlike 'yes'.

In seconds, he had closed the door and captured her pink lips in his and fondled them with his own until they turned bright red, the same shade that looked good on her sunburnt skin. After which, Nihar stayed at home because of the short holiday he had taken to spend with the precious women in his life and sent Misha to earn the bread of the house.

that was their inside joke that they still laughed about at times

Misha bit her tongue again and shook her head in annoyance once she was out of the door as she stood at the threshold between the door and the stairs.

The small jewellery box in the hidden pocket of her bag felt heavy, all she wanted was to throw open the door and make him wear the ring, and the rest he could decide by himself.

but one should complete one journey before starting a new one

She felt the box through the bag and a surge of confidence washed over her, she brought out her phone and called the ones whose opinions mattered the most after Nihar.

" Hello, Maa..."

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finally! welcome all my wattpad loveliess and others who have come here from reading my book on wattpad. this story is the shortest one i've ever written but cherished the same <3

if you want to continue reading about Misha and Nihar and their life in Lehri, give me a follow to unlock the next chapters which i will be adding later in the future

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love from runahem