Tears welled up in Jay's eyes as he slowly unbuttoned his suit. One by one, he removed every piece of clothing from his body and let them fall to the floor. Then, with trembling hands, he began removing Shivani's clothes. Her eyes were still closed—her body frozen like ice after being locked in the freezer for so long. Once her clothes were off, Jay gently lifted her in his arms and laid her down on the pile of clothes he had spread out on the floor. He then laid down beside her, covering her with his warmth.
In a choked voice, Jay whispered,
"Shivani… forgive me. Today, once again, I'm about to do something without your consent… something I never wanted to do."
He paused, tears slipping down his cheeks.
"The day we got married, I took a sacred vow before the holy fire that I would never touch you without your will. Even on our wedding night, I lost control. I wanted to tell you the whole truth… but I was terrified. What if, after knowing it, you did something terrible to yourself? That fear has always haunted me. And today, I'm asking for your forgiveness again."
He held her tightly in his arms and continued softly,
"Even if it costs me my life, I won't let anything happen to you. Not today."
Jay wrapped his arms around her cold body and slowly began to warm her up with his own. He held her close—so close that their hearts almost beat in sync. For the next hour and a half, he kept transferring his body heat to her, gently, patiently, lovingly. His body was exhausted, drenched in sweat—but he didn't stop. He wouldn't stop.
Eventually, Shivani's eyes began to flutter open. As she slowly regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was Jay's face, resting inches away from hers. Tears spilled from her eyes as realization dawned. Jay's eyes were still closed; he didn't know she was awake. Shivani raised her hand, cupped his face, and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
The touch stirred Jay. His eyes opened and met hers.
Overcome with emotion, Shivani threw her arms around him and cried,
"Sir… I was so scared. I thought I'd never see you again… never get to tell you what's been in my heart all along—
I love you, Sir. I LOVE YOU."
Jay's eyes welled up too. He held her face gently in his hands and whispered,
"I love you too, Shivani… I love you too."
They gazed into each other's eyes for a long time, both of them overwhelmed by emotions that had been held back for far too long.
Jay brushed a few stray strands of hair from her forehead and asked gently,
"Are you okay? Are you feeling cold?"
Blushing, Shivani nodded softly,
"I'm fine."
Then she added shyly,
"Sir, from today, please don't call me 'aap' anymore. Call me by my name."
Jay smiled,
"Alright. From now on, I'll call you by your name—Shivani."
Then he said playfully,
"And you… you're not allowed to call me 'Sir' anymore. It makes me feel like your school teacher."
Shivani giggled,
"Okay… Sir!"
Then winked and added,
"But I still won't call you by your name. I'll just call you 'Ji'!"
They both burst into laughter.
Suddenly, Jay's phone began to ring. Still holding Shivani close with one arm, he reached for the phone with the other and answered it.
"Hello?" he said.
A worried voice on the other end yelled,
"Jay! I've been calling you like crazy! Why weren't you answering? Did you find Shivani?"
Jay chuckled,
"Yes, I found her."
Aman, furious, replied,
"If you found her, why didn't you call me? Do you even know how worried I was? All kinds of thoughts were running through my head—what if something bad happened to her?"
Jay tried to calm him,
"She's okay now. We're both together. No need to worry."
Before Aman could say anything more, Jay hung up after a short explanation.
He turned back to Shivani and they cuddled close again, whispering sweet nothings to each other until sleep gently claimed them both.
---
The Next Morning
Jay and Shivani slowly opened their eyes, still wrapped in each other's arms. Jay kissed her forehead lovingly and softly ran his fingers down her back.
Realizing Shivani had no dry clothes to wear, Jay called Aman and asked him to bring something for her—her sari was completely soaked from the freezer.
About an hour later, Aman arrived at the location and parked his car on the roadside. He immediately called Jay.
"Jay! I'm outside."
Jay responded,
"Wait there. I'm coming."
He gently took his arms away from Shivani and helped her into his shirt. Then he quickly got dressed and stepped outside.
Shivani tried to stop him, but her voice was too faint—Jay didn't hear her.
When Jay reached Aman, Aman took one look at him and burst into uncontrollable laughter, covering his mouth.
Jay looked at him, clearly annoyed.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you laughing like an idiot?"
Aman replied between giggles,
"You'll see…"
He handed Jay his phone with the front camera turned on.
Jay took the phone, looked at the screen—and froze.
His entire face was covered in kiss marks—lipstick smudges all over!
Jay blushed furiously, trying to look away. Aman, grinning, teased,
"Here we were, panicking like fools—and look at you lovebirds! Singing 'I love you' like parrots on a branch!"
Jay rolled his eyes, handed the phone back, and grumbled,
"Are you done with your nonsense? Now give me the clothes and get lost."
Aman mocked dramatically,
"Wow! So now that your work is done, you're kicking me out?"