Azaan lay quietly with Aayat wrapped securely in his arms, her cheek resting softly on his chest as she slept peacefully. But his own mind was far from calm. Even with her warmth pressed against him, his thoughts kept circling restlessly, refusing to settle. He closed his eyes slowly, hoping darkness might help him think clearly, but instead, it only made the knot inside him tighten. Something about Driti bothered him, not in a way that caused irritation, but in a way that raised too many questions he couldn’t ignore.

This girl, Driti… nothing about her seemed greedy. He had checked her past himself. Her father once had immense wealth, money flowed like water in their house and yet she never acted spoiled or arrogant. She was simple, honest, soft-spoken, almost painfully pure-hearted. He truly couldn’t understand how someone like her could agree so easily to marry a sixty-year-old man. Was it her helplessness? Or did she genuinely believe this marriage would bring her happiness?

Just as he sank deeper into his thoughts, Aayat shifted in her sleep. She turned his face gently toward hers, pressed a small sleepy kiss to his cheek, and then cuddled back into his chest. Azaan smiled immediately. No matter how much tension followed him through the day, the moment Aayat lay in his arms, the world always fell quiet. And for his best friend Agni, he wished for that same kind of peace, a calm that only love could bring. Holding Aayat closer, he brushed his fingers through her hair, but his thoughts again drifted back to the girl who didn’t fit into any logic he understood.

Driti had no money, no support, no resources. Her father had disappeared. Her mother was struggling from one place to another just to survive. Her younger siblings were suffering with her. So maybe… maybe she was getting married for them, not for herself. That possibility was stronger than anything else. Of course money would give them comfort, food, clothes, school fees everything would become easier. But sacrificing her entire life for it… marrying a man old enough to be her grandfather? Was any girl foolish enough to destroy her future like that? Or was she truly that desperate?

Lost in thought, he looked at Aayat again and kissed her forehead gently. She moved instantly, curling closer once more, mumbling in her sleep, “Add the milk powder properly… keep stirring it… my Azaan loves rabri…”

Azaan laughed softly, his heart melting at her innocence. Even in her sleep, she thought only about him. He tapped her forehead lovingly, coaxing her into deeper sleep, and within minutes she drifted off again. He carefully slid out from beneath her and walked to the small bar counter in their room to pour himself a small drink. But before the glass could even touch his lips, two familiar arms wrapped tightly around his waist from behind. He didn’t need to turn, he knew Aayat couldn’t spend even one moment on the bed without him at night. He smiled, turned around, and saw her sleepy face resting against his chest.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered softly.

Her eyes remained half-closed as she pressed herself into him. “Why are you worried…?” she murmured.

“Because of Agni,” he admitted, kissing her forehead gently.

She instantly opened her eyes fully and looked up at him carefully. He chuckled softly, placed his glass back on the counter, and lifted her chin as he spoke. “Please go lie down. I’ll come in a little while. And tomorrow, don’t wake up early. Also… I need to follow a strict diet for a few days, so no sweets for me. Tell the cook not to make anything sugary for me.”

“What?” she gasped dramatically. “Good you told me… I was planning to make rabri for you tomorrow… actually myself… I learned a special rabri recipe today just for you.”

She immediately started explaining the recipe with full excitement, her hands waving in the air, her voice filled with enthusiasm. Azaan couldn’t stop smiling while watching her. She loved doing everything for him, even though whatever she cooked always turned out a little wrong. Azaan didn’t mind her mistakes; what bothered him was how stressed she became whenever something went wrong. He cupped her cheeks gently, trying to calm her.

“That’s very sweet,” he said softly. “But now that I told you, you can relax. I’ll eat it some other time. For now, just rest. I’ll be there in a moment.”

Then she narrowed her eyes and asked, “But tell me at least, why are you worried about Agni bhai?”

Azaan knew very well that until she understood everything, she would not go to sleep. There was no point hiding it. She would stay awake worrying, and he couldn’t let that happen.

“I don’t want my sweetheart to stress over anything,” he said, brushing her cheek gently. “Your only job is to enjoy life and take care of me. You don’t need any trouble.”

“But if you’re worried, then I’m worried,” she insisted firmly. “It’s the same thing. Now tell me exactly what is wrong.”

Her innocence and purity always forced him to fall in love with her again and again. He couldn’t resist her for even a second. He lifted her by the waist and sat her on the bar counter, spreading her legs gently so he could stand close to her. His hands slid around her thighs as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips before he finally spoke.

“It’s something small… but it’s bothering me. Just like I’m very happy after marrying you, I have all the happiness in the world now. Earlier I had money and fame, life was easy, but now… now I have love, so life feels beautiful. But my best friend… my brother… my Agni… he has everything: wealth, power, respect but he has no love. He runs away even from the thought of it. And a few days ago, for the first time, he showed interest in a girl.”

Aayat’s eyes widened with curiosity. Azaan continued gently.

“I checked everything about her. She is really sweet… innocent… simple. Just like you… She once had a lot of wealth too, but fate turned cruel and they lost everything. Her father ran away. Her mother is struggling to survive. The girl couldn’t even finish her graduation, so she works at a pizza shop to earn something. She has two younger siblings whom she is raising alone. I wanted Agni to slowly get closer to her. But today… I found out that the girl is getting married… to a sixty-year-old man.”

The moment Aayat heard that the girl was being married off to a sixty-year-old man, her reaction was explosive. She didn’t even wait for Azaan to finish his sentence. She immediately started hitting him with all her strength, her small fists landing on his chest, shoulders, and arms like rapid-fire punches.

“Aayat…” he tried to stop her.

But she didn’t let him speak.

“A sixty-year-old man is taking your friend’s future wife away,” she shouted angrily as she kept hitting him, “and you’re just standing here like the hero of some tragedy movie, crying in slow motion with your face down… If you want to be a hero, then be an action movie hero, not a sad one.”

Her hits were not stopping. Azaan quickly caught both her wrists and pulled them down to her waist, trapping her hands with one of his. With his free hand, he tilted her face toward him so she would finally stop fighting. She struggled, wriggling angrily, trying to free herself… but he didn’t let her go. Instead, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers—soft at first, then firm enough to silence her completely.

Her struggle faded almost instantly. When she finally stilled under him, he kept his lips brushing hers, not pulling back, his breath warm against her mouth as he whispered.

“My Love… if I wanted the girl kidnapped, it would be the easiest thing in the world. That’s not what I want. I want my brother to fall in love with that girl. You’re not understanding me. If she gets kidnapped, she’ll get scared, how will she fall in love then? We can do all those crazy plans later. Right now, I don’t even understand how to stop her wedding when she herself agreed to marry a sixty-year-old old man out of helplessness.”

Aayat pulled back just enough to glare at him.

“Then why don’t you just shoot the old man?”

Azaan blinked. He stared at his wife, his soft, tiny, innocent Aayat who was looking adorable yet extremely dangerous at the same time. He finally let out a helpless laugh.

“My wife becomes very dangerous when she’s angry.”

“Get down from me,” she snapped.

Before he could react, she jumped off the counter, stomped her foot hard onto his toes, making him yelp and bend down instantly. Aayat sat on the floor right in front of him with a serious expression, thinking hard. Azaan crouched down in front of her, studying her face as she came up with some plan in that little head of hers.

After a moment, she looked up at him firmly.

“You’re taking me to that girl tomorrow. I want to check myself what’s happening.”

“Aayat…”

He tried to object. But she cut him sharply.

“Did you not understand the first time I said it?”

Azaan had no answer. Absolutely none. Before he could argue, she grabbed his wrist, stood up, and dragged him all the way to the bed. She pushed him down, climbed over him immediately, rested her head on his chest, pulled the blanket over both of them, and declared angrily.

“Now you’re not going anywhere. Stop thinking. You have a lot of work tomorrow. You will rest tonight. If you try anything else, I swear I will call Agni bhaiya right now and tell him exactly what you’re planning, and you already know the first thing he’ll do after hearing your plan is shoot you.”

Azaan burst into soft laughter, unable to control himself. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed the top of her head, pulling her even closer. While she closed her eyes angrily and pretended to sleep, Azaan simply lay there, holding her, already planning tomorrow carefully in his mind.

Because Aayat was right.

Something had to be done.

And tomorrow… the real plan would begin.