[FEATURED IN WATTPAD INDIA PROFILE]
❝Pioneering the art of constructing love, my Kanmani.❞
Xavier teased her skin, slowly caressing her cheeks and her lips trembled.
❝You don't dare!❞
And he kissed her.
------
When he had compromised his dreams and...
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Krithika licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry, as if all the moisture had been stolen by the intensity in his gaze. "Xavier..."
"I'm not forcing you into this marriage, nor am I shirking responsibility. We'll meet your parents as planned. The official process for court marriage will take a month anyway," His arms wrapped around her, holding her like she was the answer to a question he'd been asking his whole life. His eyes didn't waver as he added, "I've already spoken to Karthik. He's agreed to be a witness—along with Satya, Priya, and Krishna." His voice cracked just slightly, letting a thread of desperation slip through. "I want you with me. Every night, every morning, every damned second I'm breathing. I want your breath to lull me to sleep... I can't do this anymore—being apart from you."
"I can move in with you," she replied. "If it's about—"
He shook his head. "I thought about that, but no. It's not about this—sex or just... whatever your generation terms it," he smiled. "Call me old school, or even ancient, but I don't want you just to move in. I want you as my wife. I want the whole damn world to know that Xavier belongs to Krithika. That I am yours—completely, unapologetically, irrevocably."
The burning sensation in her eyes made her acutely aware that Xavier was making her emotional.
"I want to come home after a grueling day and find you there, laughing, ranting, or even just existing. I want to cook dinner for you while you steal bites and make coffee for me in that awesome way you think is perfect." His grin deepened, teasing but heartfelt. "I want to walk on the beach with you, hand in hand, without hiding us from anyone. I want to shop with you in the loud, chaotic markets where we argue over the price of vegetables we don't even eat. Even with the damned media breathing down our necks, I want all those mundane, beautiful moments with you. I want us to have stupid fights—over who left the cap off the toothpaste, or why I forgot to text back—and then laugh about how petty we are. I need you to be mine, Krithika. Not half-heartedly, not someday—now."
"Xav..."
"I want us to be a family."
For a second, Krithika wanted to chuck her prohibition in the bin. She wanted to run to the nearest temple with him, with a thalli—the sacred thread—and demand him to seal their fate in three irrevocable knots...take her as his wife.
Because she wanted nothing else but to be his wife.
But then came the shadow of her mother.
Sighing, she let her fantasy crumble. "We can start with the application process. I won't object to that, but—"
