𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭�...

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Also giving vote target for the first time - 13.

꧁In doubt, love whispers louder ꧂

The car ride was quieter than usual.

Lavika sat beside Ishaan, her arms crossed loosely, her eyes darting toward him every few seconds.

He was driving with his usual confidence—calm, collected, the edge of his jaw ticking as he shifted gears.

But something was different.

His silence wasn't the comfortable one they usually shared.

It was distant, detached.

She frowned slightly.

Maybe it was just her overthinking again.

She had a habit of doing that—creating storms in perfectly sunny skies.

Still, the unease in her chest wouldn't leave.

She convinced herself to brush it off and looked out the window instead.

The car eventually slowed in front of a warm-looking café tucked in the corner of a quiet Mumbai street.

Draped in soft fairy lights and adorned with subtle desi elements like terracotta lanterns, brass bells, and marigold accents, it looked like something out of a film set.

Lavika stepped out slowly, eyes scanning the empty seating area through the glass walls.

"No one's here?" she asked softly.

Ishaan nodded, locking the car. "I booked it. Just for us."
{giggle be like: kaash muhjpe bhi itna paisa hota}

She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Planning something dramatic?"

He gave her a crooked smile. "Just wanted peace. And you. That's all."

Inside, the café was glowing with warmth.

Soft instrumental music played in the background—something classical with tabla undertones.

The waiter brought them to a corner table layered with colorful cushions and low wood.

A diya flickered on the table, casting shadows across their hands.

They ordered quickly—mojito for Ishaan, pineapple juice for Lavika, some red sauce pasta, margherita pizza, and a few other small bites.

While waiting, Lavika leaned back, sipping from her glass slowly.

The cold pineapple juice touched her lips and tongue sweetly.

She held the straw for a second longer than needed, gazing ahead.

Ishaan looked up, momentarily distracted from his phone—and stilled.

His gaze dipped to her mouth wrapped around the straw.

"You trying to kill me?" he muttered.

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Nothing," he mumbled, tearing his eyes away. "Just... keep doing what you're doing."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but he was already busy looking at his phone again.

The screen lit up with a message.

And then—he laughed.

Loudly.

Carelessly.

A kind of laugh that came without hesitation.

Lavika's heart dipped.

"What's so funny?" she asked, too quickly.

Ishaan smirked, still chuckling. "Ivaan sent a reel. His nonsense humour, as always. Made me laugh."

Her lips pressed into a line.

"What?" he asked, noticing the flicker of doubt in her eyes. "Kya hua, jaan?"

She looked at him, her expression soft but loaded. "Bas... lag raha hai jab se chle hain ghar se, aapka dhyan meri taraf nahi hai. I don't know... kuch badla sa lag raha hai."

He frowned, immediately reaching out for her hand. "Arey, meri jaan. No. Aisa kuch bhi nahi. Come here."

She hesitated for a second, then shifted over to his side of the table and sat beside him.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple gently. "You're overthinking. And because you're overthinking, I'll over-explain. Fair deal?"

She gave a weak nod.

"Office ka kaam tha. Eshaani text kar rahi thi—she's trying to manage some meetings. Time crunch ho raha hai. She said we can't delay any longer, so I might have to leave a bit earlier than I planned."

Lavika tilted her face toward him. "Hmm. Eshaani... she's close to you, right?"

He blinked. "Work-wise? Yeah. We've worked together for almost five, six years now."

"So... she's single?" Lavika asked, a little too casually.

Ishaan's smile twitched. "Why?"

"Bas dekh rahi hoon... mere hone wale pati ke aas-paas kaun rehta hai jab main nahi hoti."

He raised his eyebrows, amused. "Possessive doctor activated?"

She shrugged innocently. "Self-defence mechanism."

He sighed. "I don't know about her personal life. She keeps it private. But... ek secret hai."

Lavika turned her head sharply. "What secret?"

"Woh... usne kabhi pasand kiya tha mujhe. Long time ago. Nothing serious. And nothing happened."

Her stomach knotted. "She liked you?"

He nodded. "It wasn't love. Just admiration, maybe. Aur kab ki baat hai. Back when we had just started working together."

Lavika stayed silent, her eyes fixed on her untouched juice.

Her throat felt dry despite the cold sip she'd taken earlier.

"She never crossed a line, Lavs. Never. Mujhe tabhi se samajh aa gaya tha, par I made boundaries clear."

His tone was gentle.

Reassuring.
But she still couldn't look at him.

"Hey," he said again, squeezing her hand. "Look at me."

She finally did.

"I love you," he said, firmly. "Sirf tum. Aur koi matter nahi karta."

A quiet second passed. Then another.

He leaned forward and kissed the back of her hand, eyes not leaving hers. "And you don't need pineapple juice to taste sweet. You already do."

Lavika rolled her eyes and let a small smile escape. "Tum bahut cheap ho."

"Tumhare liye hi."

🧸ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི

They ate in silence for a while.

But the air between them had shifted again—back to playful, back to light.

Lavika stole the last bite of pizza. Ishaan complained.

She fed it to him.

He still pouted.

Then kissed her wrist to make her giggle.

After a while, Ishaan leaned back and asked, "Jaan... tumhara birthday bhi toh aa raha hai. Kya plan hai?"

Lavika shrugged. "Bas dinner maybe? Kuch simple. Honestly, I haven't thought much about it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Simple doesn't suit you. I was thinking something more... exclusive."

"Bas ab aur surprise mat dena," she said, half-threatening, half-melting.

He smiled slowly, gaze still on her. "Tum jealous hoti ho na... bohot cute lagti ho."

"Main cute nahi hoon," she argued.

"Bilkul meri lagti ho. Aur mujhe sirf wohi chahiye."

Her cheeks flushed. She didn't reply.

🧸ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི

Lavika leaned against Ishaan's shoulder as they sat in that dimly lit café corner, the scent of margherita pizza still lingering in the air, mixing with hints of sandalwood from the brass diya flickering between them.

She fiddled with the edge of her kurta, lost in her thoughts.

Ishaan noticed.

Of course he did.

"You're quiet," he murmured, eyes fixed on her hands. "And not in the cute way."

She let out a small exhale. "I don't know, Ishaan... kuch cheezein sir pe chadh jaati hain, you know? Main kabhi kabhi... thoda zyada feel kar leti hoon."

He turned toward her, cupping her face gently. "You're allowed to. Mujhe koi problem nahi."

Her gaze met his. "Mujhe darr lagta hai. Not from you... but from losing what we have. Mujhe lagta hai kabhi kabhi ki maybe you deserve someone calmer, sorted, more mature. Someone like Eshaani, maybe."

His eyes darkened—not in anger, but in something deeper. Intensity. "Don't you dare."

Lavika blinked.

"Don't ever compare yourself like that," he said, voice low and controlled. "You think I want calm? You think I want mature and distant? No. I want you. Your chaos. Your jealousy. Your tangy pineapple-juice drama. Your bad timing, your good heart."

She smiled despite herself. "Pineapple juice drama?"

He smirked. "Bohot sexy lag rahi thi when you were sucking the straw"

"Ishaan!"

He laughed loudly as she smacked his shoulder, cheeks flushed.

But the laughter soon faded into something more intimate as he leaned closer.

"Tum meri ho. Itna hi kaafi hai. Aur jo tum soch rahi ho na... woh sab main kab ka soch chuka hoon. Tumhare bina main kuch nahi."

Lavika swallowed hard, her eyes threatening to mist.

Then Ishaan pulled her in—softly, like he was holding his whole world in his arms.

They stayed like that for a long time, the background music growing quieter, almost reverent.

He ran his fingers through her hair, letting the silence do the talking.

She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat—steady, strong, real.

After a while, she spoke.

"I know main possessive hoon."

"And I love it."

"Main emotional bhi hoon."

"Exactly why I love you more."

"And main kabhi kabhi pagal ho jaati hoon."

"I'm already mad for you."

She smiled, tracing small circles on the back of his hand.

Ishaan looked down at her with warmth dancing in his eyes. "Also... I wasn't kidding. Your birthday? Not letting it go simple."

"I said dinner's fine!"

"And I heard: surprise me like hell."

Lavika narrowed her eyes. "You're mine."

"And you're mine."

🧸ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི

They stepped out of the café hand in hand, the warm breeze brushing past them as if the night itself had softened in their presence.

Lavika glanced up at the sky—a scattered painting of stars—and smiled quietly to herself.

Ishaan opened the car door for her like always, a small, instinctive gesture that still made her heart flutter.

He helped her in, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear before closing the door gently.

As he moved to the driver's side, she watched him.

Calm. Collected.
Unbothered.

But still—somewhere in her heart, a question sat.

Not loud.
Not painful.
Just... quietly waiting.

They drove in comfortable silence for a while.

Her head rested against the window as streetlights flickered past in golden streaks.

Ishaan reached over, placed his hand on her thigh gently, and gave it a soft squeeze.

"Don't disappear in your head, jaan," he said softly.

Lavika turned to look at him, her lips curving into a knowing smile. "I'm not. Just... thinking about how safe it feels right now."

He smiled. "Because you're with me?"

"Because I'm with you," she echoed.

A pause.

"Also because I had half the pizza," she added, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled. "You had more than half. But I'll allow it. Only because you looked so damn cute sipping that pineapple juice."

She groaned. "Don't start again."

"I'm just saying," he said, shifting gears with a smirk, "watching you suck on that straw like you were about to commit a sin—how do you expect me to behave, haan?"

She turned her head dramatically toward the window. "You're shameless."

"And you love me for it."

She didn't deny it.

They reached home not long after, the night hugging them close. Ishaan parked the car and switched off the engine, but neither of them moved.

They just sat there, eyes locked.

She leaned closer. "Thank you for tonight."

Ishaan tilted his head and said "don't say thankyou"

"Also listen i love you my raspberry"

She gave him a small smile, her fingers reaching up to graze his jaw. "And thank you for explaining... for holding me when I doubted you and those things."

His hand covered hers. "Main tumse kabhi nahi thak sakta. Tumhari har baat, har mood, har insecurity—sab kuch mera hai. Tum ho toh main hoon."

Her heart melted a little more in that moment.

That's the thing about Ishaan—his love didn't scream, it whispered.

Constant. Steady. Deep.

And as they finally stepped out and walked hand in hand toward his apartment. Lavika felt the silence between them bloom with unspoken promises.

There were still things unsaid.

Still truths to uncover.

But tonight wasn't for that.

Tonight was for the love that wrapped around them like the night sky—vast, quiet, and undeniably theirs.

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💌Ishaan and Lavs💌
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Sorry for being so inactive on 카지노후기 lately and not providing updates. It's just that I've been feeling really low on motivation—mainly because the response hasn't been that great. And honestly, even 카지노후기 itself isn't working the way it used to. The vibe feels off, and that spark I once had just isn't there right now. But I'm hoping to bounce back soon, because writing still means a lot to me.