The Strangers - Across the Silent Heartbeat-Chapter 31: The Night That Changed Everything

" Look at her; she blushes! Our little Ayesha, finally a wife!" Priya, Ayesha's cousin. She teased as she adjusted the pleats of Ayesha's red and gold wedding saree.

" I remember when we were girls, you said you would never marry!! And now look at you, the most beautiful bride of the season. "

The dressing room was full of laughter. Aunties, cousins, and friends stood around Ayesha, talking with excitement and joy. Every woman in the room had some advice to give; some of them were teasing her, and Ayesha, overwhelmed yet filled with warmth, could only smile through her blushing cheeks.

" I never thought this day would come", Ayesha whispered, her fingers touching the golden embroidery on her saree. " Sometimes, I still can't believe it."

Her best friend Saira squeezed her hand. " But it has come, and you deserve every bit of happiness."

" Remember, child, a wife must be gentle but strong," Aunt Sita said, winking at the other women. " Like the perfect dosa, soft on one side, crisp on the other!"

" And flexible!" added another aunt, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. " A good marriage requires... flexibility."

More laughter erupted as Ayesha lowered her head, her hands tightly holding the silk of her saree in embarrassment.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

" What does that mean?" Ayesha asked, her voice soft through the giggles.

" Oh, you'll find out tonight!" one of the younger cousins said, making everyone laugh harder.

" Stop it, all of you! Can't you see you're making her nervous?" Ayesha's mother, Rina, scolded, though her eyes showed she was also happy.

She slowly walked to her daughter, placing her hands gently on Ayesha's shoulders. " Though I must say, the way your Arjun looked at you during the ceremony... I don't think you have anything to worry about tonight."

" Mom!" Ayesha protested, her face burning hotter than before. But the women only laughed louder.

Rina tilted her daughter's chin up, her eyes suddenly serious. " Are you feeling okay? You look a little tired."

The room grew quiet. Everyone knew about Ayesha's condition. The cancer was in remission, but the worry never fully went away.

" I'm fine, Mom. Really. I'm just excited... and maybe a little scared," Ayesha said.

" Why are you scared? You didn't marry a stranger. You married the man who loves you", her mother said softly, squeezing her shoulders to comfort her. " The man who didn't give up on you even when you pushed him away."

Ayesha took a deep breath. It was true: She loved Arjun more than anything. Their love story started with simple messages on the " Strangers " chat app. She, a Bangladeshi girl, had connected with him by chance. Those late-night chats had slowly grown into something beautiful.

" I pushed him away so many times," Ayesha said quietly. " When I found out about my illness... I thought it was kinder to let him go."

" But he didn't go," her mother reminded her. " He stayed."

Memories flooded Ayesha's mind. She remembered how she had suddenly stopped messaging him after her diagnosis, believing he deserved someone healthy, someone with a future. She had disappeared without explanation, only to return weeks later when she missed him too much. This pattern repeated, leaving Arjun confused but never deterred.

" He never knew why I kept disappearing," Ayesha said, more to herself than to the others.

" Not until that day at the Freshers' event."

The women in the room exchanged knowing looks. They had all heard the story of how Arjun and Ayesha finally met face-to-face after months of only communicating via messages.

" Who would have thought my guest lecture would change both your lives?" Rina smiled.

" When I brought you along, I never imagined your mysterious chat friend would be sitting in that very audience."

" It was like fate," Saira sighed dreamily. " The way you recognized each other instantly."

Ayesha smiled at the memory. She had been so nervous to join her mother on stage that day. Then, in the crowd, she saw him, the same eyes she had seen only in small profile pictures, now looking at her with shock and recognition.

" I didn't even think," Ayesha said. " I just ran to him."

" And now look where running to him has brought you," her mother said, gesturing to her wedding clothes. " To the happiest day of your life."

The teasing continued until one of Arjun's younger sisters peeked into the room. " Hello, stop making my sister-in-law nervous! It's time. She has to take the milk to the brother's room."

At those words, fresh giggles filled the room. Ayesha held a silver tray with a glass of warm milk that was placed in her hands. Her mother adjusted her dupatta one last time before kissing her forehead. " Go, my love. This is your moment."

" What do I say to him?" Ayesha whispered, suddenly feeling very young and shy.

" Your heart will guide you," her mother replied. " Just remember, marriage is not just about love, though that's important too." She winked, making Ayesha blush again. " It's about being together through everything, just as you two have already been. Now go, before the milk gets cold."

Ayesha walked slowly and carefully toward the bedroom. Her saree made a soft rustling sound with each step.

The house was now quiet. The sounds of happiness ceased, and there was a soothing veena music wafting from the prayer hall. In front of her was a large door, adorned with fresh jasmine flowers that lightly swayed with the evening air.

She held firm and clutched the tray.

" This is it. No more fear, no more distance. Just us. Tonight, I begin again, no longer the fugitive girl, but the woman who chooses to stay. With him. For all eternity," she panted.

Ayesha breathed deeply and pushed the door open.

Arjun was in the room, by the window, in a simple dark kurta. The lamp cast a soft light on his face.

When he turned around on hearing the door open, his dark brown eyes locked with hers, and a smile spread slowly across his face. The kindness in his eyes calmed her instead of making her nervous.

" Hello," he whispered gently, his tone smooth and low.

" Hi," she replied, suddenly shy despite their long journey together. This was different. They were husband and wife now.

Ayesha moved a little closer, her heart beating fast.

" You need to take it, " she spoke softly, proffering the tray. " Aunt Sita said that it is custom."

Arjun grasped the glass, but rather than drinking, he set it down and took her hands in his softly. " Are you nervous?"

She hesitated before nodding slightly. " Maybe a little. Actually... a lot."

His fingers touched the back of her hand and a shiver ran up her spine.

" Don't be afraid," he said. " Tonight is not about tradition, Ayesha. It's all about us."

She looked into his eyes, and in an instant, all nervousness and fear were erased. A path was being made for them, a path that they would tread together, step by step.

" I was tight with tension the entire day," Arjun whispered, asking her to sit beside him on the bed.

" I couldn't help but think about our journey and how we almost lost each other so many times."

Ayesha's hand found his. " But we didn't. We're here now."

" When you disappeared that last time," Arjun said, his voice becoming thick with emotion, " I thought I'd never hear from you again. And then to see you at that event, to hear your mother introduce you..."

" I still remember your face," Ayesha said with a smile. " You looked like you had seen a ghost."

" I thought I had," Arjun admitted. " After all the time you hadn't responded to my messages, after all the times I had waited. and then there you were, real and lovely, before my eyes."

Ayesha's eyes grew soft again as the old memories flooded back." Do you remember what I did?"

Arjun chuckled. " How could I forget? You ran through the entire audience, jumped off the stage, and threw yourself into my arms. Right in front of everyone. Your poor mother looked so shocked."

" I couldn't help it," Ayesha said, feeling the same rush of emotion she had felt that day.

" Seeing you there, after all those months of talking only through messages... I just had to hold you, to make sure you were real."

" And you wept," Arjun murmured softly, caressing her cheek. "You continued saying 'I'm sorry' repeatedly."

" I'm sorry, " Ayesha whispered. " I'm really sorry for pushing you away, for going missing, for not letting you know about my sickness."

Arjun swallowed, his emotions rising. " I was so scared back then... scared that I'd lost you forever." When you told me about your cancer, right there in that crowded auditorium..."

" I had to," Ayesha said. " I couldn't hide it anymore. I needed you to know the truth before things went any further."

" And I told you it didn't matter," Arjun reminded her." That I loved you, all of you, even your struggles."

He held her face tenderly, the tip of his thumb tracing across her cheek. " And now, we're here... I didn't leave. I never will."

One tear rolled down Ayesha's cheek, but Arjun softly dried it before it fell. " Hey, no tears tonight. This is our beginning."

She nodded and smiled, tears filling her eyes before she blinked them away. " I just can't believe this is real. That we made it here, after everything."

" Remember all those messages we wrote?" Arjun asked, his voice warm with memory.

" I still have everyone," Ayesha smiled. " Those messages kept me going through the darkest days. Technology is nice, but there's something special about holding words you can touch."

" I wrote to you every day," Arjun said. " Even when I wasn't sure if you were well enough to read them."

" And I read every single one," Ayesha assured him. " Sometimes, many times over. My nurses used to tease me about my romantic Indian boyfriend."

" And now, you have your romantic Indian husband, " Arjun said with a radiant, adoring smile.

Outside, the rain started falling slowly, air was filled with the scent of jasmine and sandalwood. Arjun leaned forward and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear." Your hair has grown so beautifully."

" Everything has grown," Ayesha said. " My hair, my strength... my love for you."

Arjun moved closer, his forehead against hers. " Let's just be, Ayesha."

Their breath combined, warm and honey-sweet. Ayesha could still catch the sandalwood paste of the ceremony scenting his skin, blended with something that was simply Arjun.

She shook her hands slightly, putting them on his shoulders.

" I'm still anxious," she confessed again. " We've never... I mean... we've always been so careful before."

Arjun smiled gently. " We have all the time in the world. There's no need to hurry."

But Ayesha shook her head, mustering her courage. " No, I want this. I want you. I've waited so long to be completely yours."

Arjun's eyes softened but held something deep and intense. " You've always been mine, Ayesha, just like I've always been yours."

He raised his hand, fingers running along Ayesha's face, his thumb grazing her cheek as if committing each curve to memory. His dark, deep-brown eyes held hers, full of love, patience, and something much, much more, something that made her heart race.

" How long have I waited to see this moment? " he gasped, his words hardly above a whisper.

" Not only tonight, not only after we are married. but since the day I knew I could never live without you. "

Ayesha could hardly breathe. His touch was warm, and his words were heavy; too much, but in a beautiful way.

And then, as if time had slowed down for them alone, Arjun stooped.

He leaned and slowly and gently pressed his lips onto hers. The kiss was hesitant and soft, then gentle. But as Ayesha responded, her arms moving around his neck, it deepened into something stronger.

His hands reached her waist, pulling her closer as their kiss increased in strength, Ayesha sensed the warmth radiating through her body, something new and exhilarating that accelerated her heartbeat.

" Is this okay? " Arjun whispered against her lips, always respectful, always thinking of her comfort.

" More than okay, " she whispered back, her voice trembling with new feelings.

Their second kiss was bolder. Their breaths were faster as they discovered this new part of their relationship. Arjun held the back of her neck, his fingers getting caught in her hair, while Ayesha holds his kurta tightly.

They both gasped for air as they finally broke. Her cheeks glowed red, not from shyness but from something new and exciting, and her lips were warm and soft.

" You are so lovely, " Arjun breathed, his eyes tracking the glow of her face and the glitter of her wedding jewelry in the sunlight. " Sometimes, I still can't believe you chose me. "

Ayesha smiled, her fingers tracing his lightly. " I didn't just choose you, " she whispered softly, her voice warm and serene. " I fought for you. We both did it. "

Arjun nodded, his face becoming serious. " And I'll always fight for us, for our happiness, for your health, and...for everything. "

Ayesha smiled as a quiet, romantic moment passed between them. " Yes, " she breathed, resting into his arms. " Let's just be. "

Rainfall was falling gently outside, kissing the ground softly. Inside, they hugged each other tightly, their love pure and strong, as if it would never fade.

At that moment, everything else did not matter.