"Aww, whoever sent you this is such a sweet girl, Abhi,"

Vaanya adored the small framed card as she read the sweet letter written inside it in a clean handwriting.

Beautiful.

However, Revanth and Abhir who were earlier thinking they'd get to enjoy her reaction of jealousy, are now utterly terrified of this unexpected reaction of hers.

Abhir and Revanth together stole surprised glances at each other.

"Abhi, you never told me you had other girlfriends too, other than that wedding dancer friend of yours," Vaanya pouted looking at Abhir, passing him the get well soon card, while shuffling his medicines that she had to give him in an hour.

Abhir nervously laughed at her statement, asking Revanth to help him get up and sit straight.

"V- v- vo- vo actually- Vaanu vo-"

"Hmm hmm? Bolo patidev, kya hua? Lakua maar gaya kya achanak?" Vaanya faked concern as she bent down to his eye level, with her hands folded behind her back.

"Lakua?" Revanth confusedly muttered to himself that Vaanya heard.

"Paralysis attack, dear Revanth," Vaanya pressed a bright smile on his way, scaring away the lad.

Revanth gulped down a thick saliva lump through his throat, bending down to whisper in Abhir's ear.

"Sir, ma'am ne mujhe pehli baar dear Revanth bola hai. Or mai aapki tarah bevakoof nahi hu. Mujhe apni naukari or jaan dono bohot pyaare hain. Aapne mujhe jo kaha tha, maine kar diya. Mera kaam khatam, ab aap jaano, aapka family matter jaane, mai jaa raha hun. Mai aapse milne shaam me aaunga firse. Theek hai sir?"

And slowly, Revanth stood straight with a harsh breathing as he was scared to death after seeing her lady boss' such unusual behaviour.

"I'll see you in the evening, sir. Bye ma'am. Love you so much, sir," Revanth lightly jumped as he walked backwards towards the door while waving both his hands in air.

"I hope you live a long life ahead, sir," and he deliberately commented on Abhir's stupidity, mocking him with that playful smile as he finally vacated the room for the couple to help themselves with their shenanigans.

And as soon as Revanth ran out, Abhir was completely alarmed and ready to even fall on Vaanya's feet to apologize to her for his capers.

"Vaanu I—" but as Abhir turned to her side, Vaanya was already on his eye level, holding an injection right in front of his left eye.

"Chup chap baithe raho varna ye injection tumhari aankh me ghusa dungi, samjhe?" She passed him an ear to ear smile, as if she's on cloud nine. But Abhir could foresee her coming murderous behaviour.

Abhir anxiously chuckled at her, slightly shaking his head in a yes, scared that he might go blind at one single mistake done after this second.

"Ab batao mujhe. Kitni ladkiyo ko date kiya hai tumne mere se pehle, or sach sach batana varna aaj tumhe itna torture karungi ki tum maut ki bheek maangoge mujhse, samjh rahe ho na, pati-dev?"

Her lips tightly pressed into a tight smile, injection moving nearer to his eye as she glared at him with an everlasting smile still lingering on her lips.

"Si- sirf Kriti. Or t- tu- tumhari kasam Miss Birla, ek ke baad seedha meri shaadi kara di gayi thi tumse,"

He stuttered, eyes focusing on the needle that was moving towards him centimeter by centimeter.

"KYA MATALB HAI KARA DI GAYI THI TUMSE, HUH? TUMHARI MARZI KE KHILAAF TUMHARI SHAADI HUI THI KYA?"

And Vaanya's smile completely vanished as she squeaked at her husband, who shut his eyes close at her strong pitch. More like, he just wanted to avoid looking in her furious eyes.

"Bolo, you rotten and useless XY chromosome," Vaanya kept back the injection on the tray behind her, cupping Abhir's face in both her hands as she squeezed his cheeks making his lips protrude into an unwilling pout.

"What XY chro- what the-? Tumhe biology me kab se interest aa gaya Miss Birla?" Abhir's face turned into a crying one as his cheeks were completely squeezed by Vaanya. Her eyes shooting daggers straight into his soul to threaten him.

"Muh band karo apna or jitna pucha hai utna jawab do,"

She screeched again, reverting back her one hand to twist his ear with her other hand.

"Aah- aah Vaanu- Vaanu chhod do please- or chillao mat mere pe mujhe darr lagta hai tumse," Abhir cried louder, holding her hand that twisted his outer ear.

"Jawab do mujhe. Kitni girlfriends thi tumhari Kriti ke baad, huh?" The wife yet again growled, her pitch a bit lowered but not enough that his ears would stop bleeding.

"Arey meri maa kaha na ek bhi nahi. Itni achi kismat thodi thi meri ki mai jawani aate hi date kar pata kyuki tumne jo fasa liya mujhe apne changul me, darawani aurat,"

Abhir completed his sentence, but he instantly realised what has he spoken out in fret.

He opened his eyes in a flick, looking at Vaanya's shocked face at his words while she was still lightly holding his ear.

"Tum-" Vaanya initiated. "Tum sorry bologe iss baat ke liye?" She asked, licking her lips as she was trying to contain her anger within.

"S- sirf sorry bolunga to tum meri jaan nahi logi?" Abhir gulped loudly that both of them could clearly hear. "Kaan to ch- chhod do- at least- dard ho raha hai ab-" he requested, cautiously closing his eyes as he feared that there might be a slap, a punch or something coming his way anytime soon.

"Hmm, fine, sure," Vaanya nodded, leaving his ear.

She clapped her hands together to run off any dirt, as she halfway turned around to the other side.

"Agnihotri," Vaanya turned around, a smile again visible on her face that made Abhir shift back on his bed.

"Agar tumne mere liye teen goliyan naa khayi hoti, to ab tak tum zinda laash ban chuke hote iss baat pe, jante ho na?" She kept her hands on her waist, glaring at Abhir as her smile dropped.

"Jaa- jaanta hu, pa- par vo prank kar raha tha mai- sacchi- vo bouquet t- to- vo Revanth laya tha-"

"Jaanti hu mai," Vaanya nodded, blinking twice at his broken statement, surprising him.

"Huh?" Abhir's eyes grew large at her revelation. "Janti hu matalb?" Abhir queried again, his confidence coming back to life with a new confusion.

"Of course I know ki vo bouquet kisi ladki ne to nahi hi bheja hoga at least, kyuki tumhari condition ke baare me sirf family ko pata hai. To koi ladki, tumhare hosh me aate hi bouquet kaise bhej sakti hai, right?"

She bit her lower lip, revealing the truth that made Abhir regret his actions to the deepest core of his existence. And the proof of his guilt could be easily seen on the ECG machine on Vaanya's right.

The normal beeping sound of the machine soon turned hastier, resembling his heart rate going up. The machine showed the numbers on the left of the graph slowly escalated to 100, 101, 102, 105, and at 110, Vaanya rushed to him.

"Abhir relax, are you crazy? I was just pranking you for your own prank. I knew it since the starting that you and Revanth were just acting, so relax Abhir,"

Vaanya anxiously held his fine shoulder, and lightly massaged his chest where he wasn't hurt to calm him down.

"Abhir, I said freaking relax man," she rebuked, watching how the numbers near her heart rate graph were increasing slowly.

And seeing her concern for him, his lips curved into a smile, and his heart finally relaxing as she ordered him. His eyes couldn't leave her face. Seeing and getting excited at how horror-stricken she was.

"I'm sorry," Abhir whispered to gather her attention from the ECG machine onto himself.

"It's okay. I know you're under this heavy medicine dose, so getting agitated and talking gibberish is normal for patients under heavy antibiotics, like you, so don't worry, I didn't mind anyways. You just relax, okay?"

She cupped his cheek, but her expressions still worked up and terrified of losing him, like they were back in the night when he was shot.

"Vaanya, itna dar gayi kya thodi si heartbeat tez hone se?" Abhir questioned as he felt bad for scaring her like this, for no reason.

"Ye to meri normally hi ho jati hai tumhe dekh ke, to  itna pareshaan mat ho, meri jaan," Abhir chuckled to calm her down with his jokes, but she instead pouted sadly at him.

"Come here-"

"No, you can't hug me. You're hurt all over your front side," Vaanya strongly resisted, going away from him.

But could she stop him? Nope.

Abhir didn't let her go off him, and carefully pulled her towards himself, hugging her with ease without hurting himself as well.

"You gave me your heart, wifey. And I promised to keep it safe forever. So if it means to take care of myself to keep your heart safe, then I promise, if you're with me, then I'll heal really quickly just for you, so you don't have to worry about me anymore,"

He whispered, snuggling closer in her neck as he only had her hug him with her hands wrapped around his neck carefully. Nothing else touching each other's body which also kept him safe from being injured again.

A safe hug, it was.

Abhir smiled keeping his chin on her shoulder, but Vaanya hid her face in his nape as she was sad.

Sad that she was unable to hug him in this hard time, but he made it happen without hurting himself, for which she was thankful.

But as she was about to break the hug, she bites his fine shoulder, making him muffle a scream in his mouth.

"What the heck-?" Abhir bites his lower lip, holding his shoulder where Vaanya's teeth left their marks embedded on his skin like a tattoo.

"Kyu? Maza aaya? Tumhe kya laga, useless XY chromosome? Ki mai emotional ho jaungi or tumhe punishment dena bhool jaungi? Huh?"

She smirked, mocking him with her smile as she stood with her hands on either sides of her waist.

"Ab se yaad rakhna Agnihotri, ki tumhari biwi aakhir hai kaun, samjhe?" She smiled, bending lower to his eye level, near his scrunched up face of agony.

"Like I marked you mine with that ink two years ago, don't forget these toothy marks of mine on yourself, and keep yourself reminded of the punishment that you'll get everytime you insult me, understand?" She quirked a brow at him, holding his chin up by forcing her index finger under his chin.

"Next time, I might just stab you if you call me darawani, got it?" She looked at him with a suspicious and challenging eye, at which he scowled back at her.

"Or kya keh rahe the tum abhi? Ki maine tumhe apne changul me fasa liya? Or ki tumhari zabardasti shaadi kara di gayi mere saath? Huh?" Her eyebrows danced while questioning her husband.

"Tum hi to mar rahe the mujhse shaadi karne ke liye, or ab complain kar rahe ho? Or badi jawani jeene ka man kar raha hai tumhara, hain? Jawani aate hi date nahi kar paaye tum kisi ko, huh? Himmat kaise hui tumhari, Agnihotri? Mai tumhari sach me jaan le lungi ab—"

And with that said, Vaanya dramatically circled her fingers around his throat, but didn't touch him at all to prevent any mishaps from happening.

Abhir laughed at her childish actions of pretending to choke his throat as their laughters resounded in the ICU ward.

But to their bad luck, and to hamper their sweet, romantic moment, two appalled screams were heard.

"Vaanu,"

"Bhabhi!"