The way I used to live

Daksha's POV:-

It had been ten days since we got married. Those days, Arjun and I came close to one another. He was always so protective and caring towards me. My days passed with his usual teasing.

We both resumed our professional lives. Since today was the weekend, we both were at the house only.

Ammu went out to hang out with her friends. Attayya went to meet Sudha Aunty and my Mom. So, we both were alone at the house.

Arjun was studying his upcoming case. So, I was feeling bored. I went to the kitchen to pass my time by cooking something

I decided to make an apple pie and took out all the necessary ingredients. I prepared the dough for the crust and sliced the apples.

I prepared the sauce and took the rolling pin to roll out the bottom crust. After that, I took out the pie plate and arranged the crust on it.

I filled it with the apple and sauce mixture, and covered it with the dough strips in a woven lattice pattern over the top. After brushing the egg mixture over it, I kept it in the oven to let it bake.

Meanwhile, Arjun too came searching for me. After seeing me, he stood behind me and wound his arms around my waist while resting his head on my shoulder.

"What are you making?" he asked me.

"You will know it soon," I replied to him with a smile and leaned more into him. He too smiled in return.

"Wanna grab some coffee?" I asked him after a while to which he shook his head in denial.

Seeing the timer alarm go off, I came out of his embrace and went to take the pie out. After checking that the pie was baked perfectly, I let out a satisfactory laugh and placed it on a plate.

Again, I sensed his presence behind me. He looked at the pie for some time and asked me.

"Is it an American Pie.?" he asked with a teasing smile. I glared at him and smacked him hard.

"Geez! What's with you?" He asked me while rubbing the spot where I gave him a smack.

"What American Pie? Can't you think of another thing?" I asked him while scrunching my nose in disgust.

"Hahaha..what to do! That movie stirred quite a lot of commotion at that time," he told me after giving me an awkward smile.

"Gross," I spat at him and cut the pie into pieces with a pizza cutter. Seeing this, he stretched his hand to grab the pie but I slapped it away.

"You can't eat it right away. Let it cool down," I told him to which he rolled his eyes and stormed into the living room like a sulking child.

"This guy really got a sweet tooth," I thought in my mind and laughed at his antics.

After preparing hot chocolate for both of us, I served the pie on the plate and took it to him. He was lounging on the couch lazily while flipping through the newspaper.

I put that plate on the teapoy and stretched my hand in front of him to give the hot chocolate. He took it with a scoff.

While sipping on to it, he looked at the plate and turned his face to the other side as if he wouldn't eat it even if I begged him to have it.

Noticing him throw a tantrum, I sat beside him and placed the plate on my lap. I only brought two pieces of the pie. So without giving him a glance, I gobbled them up in front of him.

Seeing this, he turned his attention to me and looked at me with a frown.

"You ate it all? Where is my share?" he asked in an accusatory tone.

"I thought you didn't want it," I told him coolly while sipping my hot chocolate.

"When did I say that? Bring it to me," he whined.

"Didn't you? Then my bad! I thought you did and had your share too. So, the remaining part is for Attayya, Ammu, and Malathi ma. You can have it the next time," I told him smugly.

"What a petty woman!" He grimaced at me and went upstairs to our room.

I smiled and leisurely completed my hot chocolate. After that, I went into the kitchen. Upon serving the pies on another plate, I took it to our room.

Arjun was talking to someone over his phone while roaming around the room. When he saw me, he huffed in my direction and stood at the window.

I sighed at his behavior and placed the plate on the desk which was near the bed. After that, I took my phone and laid on the bed while scrolling through it.

After finishing his call, Arjun came to the bedside and eyed the plate. Seeing it, he smiled gleefully. After taking the pie into his hands, he gave me an 'I know it' look.

He had them in delight while occasionally praising my cooking skills.

"God! Daksha! I loved them a lot. They are so delicious." He gave me a full-blown smile and laid beside me.

I smiled at him and kept my phone aside. Suddenly, he pulled me to him and hugged me tightly. I snuggled more into him and closed my eyes while enjoying the moment.

"Let's go somewhere?" he asked me out of where.

"Really?"

"Yeah. The location is completely up to you. It is so boring here. Even the drama queen isn't at home. So?" He looked at me, waiting for my answer.

"Okay. Since you gave me a chance to choose the place, you have to come with me whether you like that place or not," I informed him and he agreed to it immediately. "Wait then. I will be ready in a jiffy." Saying this, I marched into the washroom after taking my dress.

I washed my face and changed into a simple churidar. By the time I came out, Arjun was also ready in his casual attire.

I stood in front of the mirror and applied a lip balm. After combing my hair, I left it open and applied sindoor in my partition. I wore my dupatta and grabbed my handbag.

"Perfect." Saying this, he showed me a thumbs up and held my hand.

Together we went out and informed the watchman about us going out. After that, he took his car out of the garage while I waited outside.

After he brought the car, I ushered him to the passenger seat and occupied the driver's seat.

"God, please save me. Wait, it's better if I send a message to my friends to look after my mother and sister," e talked to himself dramatically. He smiled when I glared at him.

Ignoring his words, I started driving to the local market where they sell handmade clothes and goods.

Upon reaching that place, I parked the car at the side and we both got down from the car. He just looked around as if he was so familiar with this place.

"You should have told me that you were going to bring me here," he told me.

"I thought you wouldn't come if I informed you about this place beforehand," I told him sheepishly, to which he shook his head.

"You know, your Attayya always prefers local shops to those shopping malls. So, I grew up visiting this place a lot of times," he said with a smile and I released a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear. Actually, along with my girls, I used to visit this place. They sell a lot of good products here. When I thought about buying something for Ammu and Attayya, suddenly I remembered this market," I said to him.

"Okay. Let's get going." After rubbing my head, he said to me.

We both went inside and as usual, it was full of hustle and bustle with a lot of people. It was such a lively place.

There were so many stalls, selling mouth-watering local delicacies. I gulped looking at them. He might have noticed my hungry look because he took me to one of the stalls and bought them for me.

I had them while feeding him occasionally. He went to a shop and bought a water bottle for me. I gulped the water and put that bottle in my bag.

After that, we marched forward while he was still holding my hand protectively.

"Arjun! Look there!" I exclaimed enthusiastically when I saw a stall that was selling candy floss. So, I immediately grabbed his shirt and nudged him in that direction.

"No. You already ate junk food right now. I turned a blind eye to it but it's enough. You can have it next time. It's not good to have too much of them." He chided me and I bent down my head like a wronged child.

Seeing this, he sighed and took me there reluctantly to which I smiled in victory.

"This is the last time," he told me strictly after handing me the candy floss and I nodded at him even though I didn't pay any heed to his words.

I took it from him and had a big bite of it. It melted on my taste buds immediately. I smiled in delight and placed it in front of Arjun for him to have a bite of it. He shook his head and turned his face to another

side.

"Girl, you have it, yaar. I don't like it," he said.

"One bite won't kill you. Have it." Saying this, I ripped it with my fingers and placed it in his mouth forcefully.

He had it with a frown but his smile gave away the truth.

"You liked it, right?" I asked him excitedly.

"It is not that bad." Hearing his words, I scoffed and finished my candy.

After that, we went to the handloom shop and I bought a lot of clothes for Attayya, Mom, and Ammu. While coming out, I saw a men's scarf hanging on the display.

I asked the assistant in the shop to bring it to me. He brought that to me and I caressed it lightly. It had a smooth texture and grey color which would suit Arjun's personality perfectly.

Thinking of this, I immediately went to him and wrapped it around his neck, completely ignoring his defiance.

"It's looking so good. Pack it for me." I smiled in satisfaction and asked the shopkeeper to pack it.

"Daksha, what's the use of it? I am not a young guy to wear it," he mumbled in my ear.

"Arey, you are just 29. Stop behaving like an old man," I told him.

After paying the bill, we marched out of the stall and walked ahead, while holding the shopping bags in our hands.

Suddenly, I saw a man blowing bubbles in different shapes by using the big bubble wand. I stopped in my tracks and started looking at it excitedly.

"Aren't you an adult? How come you are still behaving like a small girl?" he asked me and pinched my cheeks. I glared at him but at the thought of teasing him a little, I smiled at him.

"Isn't a small girl good? I still have to give birth to a baby girl for you and Attayya in the future. Then you have to take care of two children," I told him in a teasing tone.

"You don't know how to be shy." Saying this he placed his other free hand in his pocket and lowered his gaze down to glance at me.

That arrogant expression he had on his face was as if he were saying - Who wants to have a baby with you?

But there was a hint of happiness in his eyes, like the stars in the night sky, sparkling and attractive. I smiled at him and hugged his arm.00000☐☐☐☐☐☐