---
**Chapter 28: The Morning After**
The morning light filtered in through the sheer curtains, a muted golden hue brushing against the sheets tangled around Aanya's bare legs.
She blinked slowly, the stillness around her feeling foreign. For a split second, she forgot where she was—until she turned her head.
Arjun was already awake, lying on his side, watching her like she might disappear.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Everything came rushing back.
The phone call. The kiss.
The desperation. The surrender.
The way her name fell from his lips like a whispered prayer.
And now… this.
"Morning," he said, voice hoarse, sleep-lined.
She sat up instantly, clutching the sheets to her chest, creating space between them as if it could erase what had happened.
He didn't move. Just watched her.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
He raised a brow. "Lying beside my wife."
Her heart stuttered at the way he said it—not possessively this time, but like it meant something sacred. Like he meant it.
Aanya got up quickly, walking toward the window. London's skyline loomed outside, damp and misty, mirroring the confusion she felt.
She heard the bed rustle behind her.
"You regret it," he said quietly.
She turned. "Yes."
He stood now too, pulling on his jeans without looking at her. "Why did you call me then?"
"That was a mistake."
His jaw clenched, the muscle twitching near his temple. "It didn't feel like a mistake last night."
"That's because you don't know when to stop," she snapped, voice shaking. "You never do."
He stepped closer. "And you don't know how to admit you still care."
"I don't!" she shouted.
"Then why are you crying?" he asked.
She blinked. He was right. Her cheeks were wet, tears rolling silently.
She wiped them away roughly. "Because I feel like I betrayed myself."
His expression softened. "I never wanted to be your prison, Aanya."
"But that's exactly what you were."
"I know," he admitted, voice cracking. "And I'm sorry."
She looked away, biting her trembling lip.
"I didn't come to London to trap you," he added. "I came to understand you. I came… to fix what I broke."
"And what if I don't want it fixed?"
He swallowed hard. "Then I'll still try."
---
Later that day, Aanya sat alone in a café near campus, nursing a coffee she hadn't touched. Her mind kept replaying everything.
His hands.
His words.
The way he looked at her after—like she was more than just his wife. Like she was *his person*.
She'd promised herself she'd never be that girl. The one who folds after one night. The one who lets old feelings confuse her.
But the truth was, she had never really understood the depth of Arjun's love until now. It was obsessive, yes. Messy. Controlling at times. But underneath all that, it was… real.
Too real.
Still, real love didn't justify everything.
Her phone buzzed.
A text from Neeta.
_"Nikhil told me Arjun's in London? Are you okay?"_
She stared at the screen for a long moment before typing back,
_"I don't know."_
---
Back in his temporary co-living space, Arjun paced the floor, frustration clawing at him. He knew she would pull away. He'd anticipated it. But the pain of waking up beside her and feeling that cold distance again—it burned.
Raj's voice echoed in his head from last week's call.
"You can't force love, Arjun. You've already made sacrifices. Maybe it's time to let her go."
But he couldn't.
Letting go felt like dying.
Instead, he sat at his laptop, fingers flying across the keys. He wasn't done building yet—not his startup, and not this marriage. London was only the beginning.
She didn't know it yet, but he was already building something *with* her in mind.
A reason for her to stay.
---
The next few days passed in a blur.
Aanya buried herself in classes, projects, late-night case discussions with her group. But even then, Arjun's shadow lingered.
He didn't call.
He didn't show up.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Because she expected him to chase her. He *always* did.
But now…
Now she was left wondering why the silence hurt more than his persistence.
She checked her phone again. No messages.
And for the first time, a strange ache bloomed in her chest.
---
On Friday evening, she found herself walking toward the Thames, wind biting at her skin. She wasn't sure why she was here—until she saw him.
Standing at the riverfront.
Alone.
As if he knew she'd come.
Their eyes met.
She didn't speak. Just walked up beside him and folded her arms against the cold.
"I didn't think you'd want to see me," he said, not looking at her.
"I didn't," she said. "And yet here I am."
He gave her a side glance. "You look tired."
"So do you."
"I've been working," he said. "Launched the new division today."
"In London?"
He nodded. "Yeah. A tech-legal AI tool. The kind you'd probably use someday when you're a CEO or something."
She raised an eyebrow. "You think I'll run a company?"
"I think you'll build one that puts mine to shame."
She looked away, the compliment landing too close to her heart.
Silence hung between them, only broken by the distant rumble of traffic and the river lapping against the dock.
"Arjun," she said finally. "That night… it can't happen again."
His jaw clenched, but he nodded. "Okay."
"You have to let me figure this out on my own."
"I will."
"And you have to stop waiting around like I'm going to choose you."
His voice was quiet. "I'm not waiting."
She turned to him.
"I'm preparing," he said. "So that if—when—you do choose me, I'll be the man you deserve."
Something in her chest cracked open then. The honesty in his eyes. The rawness.
"You make it hard to hate you," she whispered.
He smiled sadly. "You make it easy to love you."
She looked away before he could see her soften.
---
That night, Aanya lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her thoughts swirled in chaos.
The truth was, a part of her *did* want to forgive him.
But forgiveness wasn't enough.
She needed trust. Space. A reason to believe that this wasn't just another phase of his obsession.
She needed to know that he loved her not because he feared losing her—but because he respected who she was becoming.
And Arjun?
He needed to prove that.
Not just with words.
But with time.
---
**[End of Chapter 28]**