A lavish mansion can be seen which was decked up in lights and flowers allover the mansion. People were chit chatting about something or other, kids were running here and there enjoying their own play. In all these a lady who was looking breathtakingly beautiful in a bridal attire was sitting in a room with some more girls and ladies who were teasing her about her nuptial night. But the lady in the veil was looking scared like hell listening their teasing which wasn't noticed by anyone because of her veil. The bride was none other than Arushi Shekhawat who has become Mrs. Arushi Avyansh Malhotra just a few hours ago. She was getting both hell scared and nervous about all these teasings and thinking what if all these teases are actually true. It's true that she and Avyansh, her husband just got married but they hardly know anything about each other.

Arushi's POV

I know I myself had gave the consent for this marriage and he is my husband but I can't do all these....I had said yes actually I was forcibly made to say yes for this alliance by my dad. My dad, Dr. Digvijay Shekhawat I can't call him dad, I was never allowed to do so if we weren't out or in front of any people. For the sake of eyewash of society, he used to pretend that he loves me a lot but only the boundary of our house knew what and how our relation is.

I was bound to marry Avyansh as just another order of my dad. I don't want to remember how he made me ready for this alliance that hurts seeing all those bruises. That hurts like hell to remember that my dad only used me as a business deal to get higher in financial status. I don't know anything about Avyansh neither my dad let me know anything. Though Tanya ma'am wanted us to meet for a few times and to know each other better, Dr. Shekhawat didn't allow to do so. He was afraid that I would end up doing something which will break the alliance and he couldn't afford that.

And now all these, will he really do something against my consent, but how can he.....he seemed to be a nice guy moreover he is son of Tanya ma'am, he can never disrespect anyone or do something that'll hurt anyone. But all these things they all are saying, I've also heard that it doesn't matter if it's an arranged married or love marriage nuptial night is nuptial night.

POV ends

Thinking all these her grip on her lehenga was getting tighter with each passing second which too went unnoticed by the ladies. Suddenly the door opening sound caught everyone's attention. There he was standing the new groom, Avyansh Malhotra, looking devilishly handsome in the groom's fit. Seeing him the ladies left the room while giggling and Arushi's heart was beating as if it had got into a race with it's own speed beating the counting of beats each minutes. The ladies went from there and Avyansh closed the door.

Avyansh's POV

Right now I am standing in front of my newly wedded wife. I know we have least knowledge about each other but the fact is we are married to each other and we are officially husband wife now. Seeing the giggles and the looks those ladies gave me I'm more than sure that she was having a great teasing session which was possibly not so great for her. By her restlessness anyone can say she's both nervous and scared. But is there anything she needs to be scared about right now.

Well you know the answer Avyansh, today is your nuptial night and the ladies might have said anything to her which is why she was getting scared or possibly uncomfortable. I should expect the same from her how much even do we know each other, we are almost strangers to each other and listening all those unnecessary teasing she had to be uncomfortable anyway.

Honestly saying the situation is same for me as well. I have heard a lot about her by Mom but still in person I didn't know anything about her. It's just that Mom found her a good suit for me and I trust her she'll never do something which wasn't appropriate for me. But another reason was when I saw her for the first time I don't know what I should say this exactly but I felt nice. She was a nice person to be with still I wanted to a bit more about her as the decision of getting married is something really important and like a lifetime decision. What if we didn't get along I can't ruin her life. But I don't know why her father who is now my father-in-law didn't allow it. Still Mom assured me that she's a great person and I won't regret this decision so here I am now.

Maybe this situation is more uncomfortable for her compared to mine. She left her whole lifestyle being dependent on someone she doesn't even know. But okay let the bygones be bygones and let me comfort her first.

POV ends

Avyansh went to her and sat in front of her. They both were nervous about what's next for them. But as soon as he sat in front of her he realised that she was shivering maybe out of fear. He was about to remove her veil to let her breath properly but as he lifted his hand she moved back a little making him sure that she was scared listening all those teasing and stories. So he just took his hand back and passed her a glass of water.

"You okay?" Avyansh asked passing her a glass of water. Arushi somehow managed to lift up her head and look at him listening his question and found him standing with a glass of water.

"Are you okay Arushi?" He again asked forwarding the glass to her. Arushi slightly nodded trying to control her shivers and forwarded her hand to take the glass as she really needed to drink water and calm down herself.

Avyansh noticed her struggle to hold the glass with those shivering hands. Though he found it really weird that she was so scared about all this, comforting her was his main priority right now. He forwarded his hand to remove her veil but then stopped mid-air realising how she got scared and moved back the last time.

"May I?", he asked gesturing the veil that if he could remove it. Arushi looked at him first then looked at his hand and then her veil. He genuinely wanted to help her with all these struggles and sensing this, she gave a slight nod. He smiled a little and removed her veil. He then held the glass in front of her mouth and gestured her to drink. She took a few sips then moved her head back showing that she's done.

Avyansh kept the glass back and lowered down the ac a few degrees seeing the forming sweat beads on her forehead. He came back and again sat in front of her. This time she didn't move back just kept looking at him.

"Are you fine?", he asked and this time Arushi slightly nodded. "Tha....thank...you", she somehow muttered to him earning a soft smile from him, "Nervous?"

She looked at him confused listening this question he raised his eyebrows asking the same question again. She firstly shook her head in no then again shook in yes making him smile at her childish acts.

"It's okay, you can say if you're nervous I won't feel bad about it", he asserted and Arushi lightly mumbled, "A little bit"

"Should I share a secret with you?", Avyansh asked and Arushi almost whispered to him, "Wha......what?"

"Even I'm feeling nervous", he genuinely said and she looked at him amused. Avyansh internally smiled at her innocent expressions and continued, "I know how we both got married, we barely know anything about each other so it's pretty normal to be a bit nervous, right?"

Arushi nodded at his question, at least he understood this. "Don't worry you don't need to be nervous, maybe the ladies teased you more than necessary that's why you're getting scared. But nothing like what they said, is going to happen. You can get changed and sleep, anyway you must've got tired after all these rituals", he assured her again and a small yet grateful smile lingered on her face. He wasn't a bad person, he did understand she needed time for all these.

"Tha......thank you", she mumbled with a small smile which somehow relaxed Avyansh as well that she was getting relax. So he too replied with a smile, "You're welcome and you can get changed into the room. I don't think you'll be able to change this heavy bridal lehenga in the washroom so I'll get changed in the washroom. You can knock when you're done, okay?"

Arushi slightly nodded and Avyansh smiled getting up. He took his clothes but then noticed that her luggage was still unpacked. "Wearing a lehenga like this will she be able to get her clothes out of the bag? I should help I guess", thinking this he called her name, "Arushi"

Arushi who was struggling to get down of the bed with all those heavy clothing looked back at him, "Yes?"

"Umm...actually your luggage isn't set in the cupboard yet, I think it'll be tough for you to take out your clothes from the suitcase. Should I help with the bags?", he asked watching her clearly having a hard time with her dress. Well it wasn't the first time he was noticing it, around the whole time of wedding rituals she was even struggling to walk with it. Arushi looked at her suitcases once then her lehenga which definitely wasn't helping her. Not like with the weight but more with the revealing cuts of the dress and her bruises. It was impossible for her to pick those bags up or get her clothes out from there. So she slowly nodded to Avyansh who was still waiting for her answer, that he can help. He too nodded and got her bags on the bed opening them for her, "Here now you can get changed"

"Thank you", she genuinely expressed her gratitude to him for his concern towards her. This wasn't something she has got much in her life. "You don't need to thank me for every single thing", Avyansh said and Arushi looked at him confused. "This was the third thank you of the night in the four sentences you've said till now"

"I'm......I'm sorry.....I.....I-", Arushi fumbled with her words not knowing what to say and of course she didn't want to offend him but Avyansh just chuckled, "Hey I was just pulling your leg, I didn't mean it in a serious way"

Arushi made an 'O' face after understanding what he actually meant but he then again added, "But I meant about not thanking me so much. I ain't doing anything major or out of the box. It's just my duties"

She didn't reply anything against it, she couldn't say him that whatever he's doing or thinking that it was the bare minimum, she never got that 'bare minimum' in her life as well. So she just lightly nodded and Avyansh went to get changed leaving the room for her.

Arushi somehow got changed into her casuals then knocked on the washroom door as Avyansh had said. Getting the knock Avyansh came out and found Arushi standing in front of the mirror removing her makeup. He gave her a slight smile before taking his seat on his side of the bed.

After removing her make-up and getting freshen up, Arushi too joined him sitting on the other side of the bed. The hesitation and nervousness was clearly visible on her face that made Avyansh understand that she still wasn't completely relaxed yet.

"Are you still nervous?", he asked and for some unknown reason Arushi flinched at the question. Avyansh looked at her confused but as she quickly composed herself, he couldn't read those expressions on her face. "N....no, I'm fi....fine", she replied in light voice.

"So you always fumble with your words while taking?", he asked with a hint of curiosity to which she again shook her head in no, "No"

Avyansh looked at her raising his brows in questioning and concern. But unfortunately Arushi got more scared by that and eventually blurted out everything, "I'm.....I'm nervous be....... because I.....I know nothing about......about you.....and those aunties.....those aunties said it's our nup.....nuptial night so I...... you....we have to-"

Before she could say more her silent cries turned into sobs making him utterly surprised by the suddenness of her action. Avyansh could understand the nervousness but there was nothing to cry about when he had clearly said they weren't going to do anything like that. But her continuous cries piercing through his heart didn't give him the time ponder over those questions.

"Arushi.....Arushi listen please stop crying, there's absolutely no reason to cry. I won't do anything without your consent, I know my limits and I won't cross them. You please calm down", he gently said after sitting in front of her to face her. But it wasn't of much help as she couldn't stop her cries. Though the room was soundproof, if this continues she'll make herself fall ill.

"Arushi look at me!", he sternly said and she looked up at with her doe wet eyes still shedding tears. He so badly wanted to hug her and calm her down but he held back his urges for her sake. She was already scared about this topic only so he couldn't hug or hold her right now with or without her permission. Finally when she looked at him, he forwarded his hands asking "May I?" as a gesture to wipe her tears. Her eyes travelled back and forth between his eyes and hands, she blinked her eyes when she felt safe by his gaze.

Avyansh softly wiped off her tears and looked at her in the most assuring way possible. "Don't cry please. Those aunties literally have nothing to do except every time they see a bride they have to speak all these nonsense. Please don't take them seriously and stop crying. I won't force you for anything in this relationship". He cooed her and thought she had started calming down, his last sentence hit her.

He won't force her!

She didn't mean it that way. She was just scared and she blurted out whatever was going on in her mind. It shouldn't have sounded like she was accusing him for anything.

"I.....I didn't mean it that way......I wasn't acc......accusing you....it wasn't......it wasn't like that.....I was scared.....I uttered nonsense......I swear it wasn't how it had sounded.....I didn't-", she hurriedly quivered only to get cut off by another comforting touch on her face.

"Shh....shh....shh.....calm down! Calm down Arushi!", he said wiping the tears that rolled down her cheeks and continued, "I know.....I know you didn't mean it that way but it's better to be clear about things. I know the way we got married, it was quite abrupt you don't know what kind of a person I am and I totally understand your fear about that. Getting married do give us the right to force ourselves on our wives but I don't want a forced relationship like that. I want us, both of us to try making things works in a smooth pace, not by any boundation but by our own will. I don't believe in claiming body without claiming the soul. Before claiming you physically I want to know your soul, I want you to know my soul. Let's try to do that, can we?"

His eyes held a hope for yes from her side and the comfort he was giving her since the first time they had met for the alliance, made her say yes to his proposal.

"Yes", a small word but Avyansh felt relief washing all over him and it was quite evident in his smile, "Let's try this then"

He sat back beside her and made her have some water from his hands only then wiped rest of the lingering tears from her face, "I get it, it isn't easy to leave a whole household where you've been born and brought up and it'll take you time to get comfortable here. And I'm okay with it, take your time we now have a lifetime to know and understand each other"

"Thank....you for....understanding and I'm sorry about how I had sounded that time", she genuinely felt bad about how her fear took over her words and sounded like that. Somewhere in her heart even she knew, he would never force himself on her. But it was just her fear and the situation made it look even worse.

But to her surprise he just smiled away her apology, "No need to apologise, you have all the rights to voice out your fear and doubts. I like it better this way, talking things out rather than keeping it to ourself and dying slowly, is always a better option. But from the next time just try saying it without wasting gallons of tears. They're precious you shouldn't waste them on such petty issues", he said the last line with utmost softness that Arushi felt overwhelmed by the sudden care and understanding she was getting from him. Apart from her best friend, it was just Avyansh who was being this soft and understanding to her. And she was of course getting relaxed and comfortable with him.

Avyansh too understood that she was a person of few words which can be a characteristic as for now. But if it was true then initially he had to initiate the conversations to provide her at least a decent amount of comfort. So he spoke up again, "BTW I have a solution for your problem"

"What? I didn't get it", Arushi spoke being not so sure about what he meant by that. He internally smiled at her confused face, she definitely looked cute like that. But then he focused to answer her question, "I mean we are married now and its a lifetime thing so let's start afresh."

"How?", she asked curiously. "Let's start from the beginning. To get comfortable with each other we need to know each other better and the perfect start for it is 'Friendship'. So let's pretend we aren't married and we're just strangers which is almost true. We have almost zero knowledge about each other except our name and profession. Let's forget that as well and start from the absolute start"

Arushi smiled widely listening this. This was the first time Avyansh was seeing her smiling this widely and somewhere in his heart, her smile gave him a sense of peace. Seeing the excitement in her eyes he forwarded his hand to start the plan, "Hi, I'm Avyansh Malhotra"

Arushi too smiled and shook her hand with his, "Hi I'm Arushi Shek-", she stopped in between realising it wasn't her identity anymore. She wasn't just daughter but also a daughter-in-law now. Her eyes suddenly turned moist and a lump formed in her throat, "I mean Arushi Mal.....Arushi Malhotra"

"Or maybe you can be Arushi Shekhawat Malhotra", Avyansh suggested and she looked at him amused, "Don't stare at me like that! It's not necessary to leave behind your old identity to embrace a new one. You can be Arushi Shekhawat as well as Arushi Malhotra which means you can be Arushi Shekhawat Malhotra", he completed and the smile was back on her face, maybe a wider one if possible.

"Hi I'm Arushi Shekhawat Malhotra", she shook her hand with him having a smile which made him smile well. "Nice to meet you Arushi. I'm a Special Agent in Indian Army by profession"

"I'm a Cardiologist"

"Dil ki doctor", he playfully said which she too nodded reciprocating equally, "Dil ki doctor"

[Doctor of hearts]

"Let's start from the basic, Mom had told me you really love ice cream", Avyansh said and even though Arushi nodded, her mind went back to a bitter memory related to ice-cream.

It was 10 years old Arushi asking her dad to buy her an ice cream. Her dad bought her an ice cream uninterestedly but mistakenly it fell from her hand. Her dad saw this and got furious. And before she could get out of the sadness of losing her ice cream, a slap landed on her face making her burst into tears.

After that incident she had almost stopped having ice creams but all thanks to her best friend Sid who knew how much she loves ice cream and would get her ice creams sneakily hiding from her father.

A shiver ran her whole body remembering that incident. Suddenly her trance broke with Avyansh's voice. She looked at him and found him standing with two cone ice creams.

"Umm......I'm not quite sure about the flavor you like but chocolate is universal favourite so I just thought you might like it as well", he unsurely said rubbing his nape but Arushi took the ice-cream with a smile, "It's my favourite as well"

"Thank God you liked it. You can tell me if you have any other favourite flavour for the next time", he added and she nodded acknowledging his offer. "I love all ice-cream flavours in general except strawberry ones, I don't like them. Rest all flavours tastes fine to me", Arushi said and Avyansh nodded at her, "Note taken"

Arushi couldn't help but to leave a small chuckle on how he was nodding his head with that 'understood' expressions. Avyansh looked at her happy yet confused seeing her chuckling, "Is there anything funny?" He asked and she hurriedly composed herself, "No, sorry, i just remembered something. By the way where did you get the ice-cream at this hour of night?"

"Actually I too love ice creams but whenever we bring ice creams at home that idiot, I mean Fahad, my best friend, he eats up my share of the ice cream as well. So because of him I've to keep my ones hidden. I've a small fridge in my room, it always has some ice cream and chocolates. Even though it's hidden, now I've to share my whole life with you so I guess I can share this secret to you as well. I hope it's safe and you're not going to change your team against me", he lastly kinda warned her and she shook her head in no raising her free hand in air, "It's safe with me, don't worry"

Avyansh smiled at her actions and said, "Better. Come on eat now otherwise it'll get melt down then you won't have any taste" Arushi too smiled at him and they both started enjoying their ice cream.

"This last part of the cone is just like heaven on earth", he said relishing the last bite of the cone and Arushi too agreed to him, "Right, this is the best part and my favourite part"

"It's universal favourite actually"

Arushi nodded in agreement. They finished their ice creams then Avyansh decided to sleep as it was quite late and they both were tired due to all the rituals.

"It's quite late and we're tired as well. So let's sleep now?", he asked and she nodded before he continued, "You can sleep on the bed I'll move to the couch"

Saying that Avyansh got up to take pillow and extra blanket but Arushi stopped him.

"Avyansh"

Avyansh stopped as soon as his name from her mouth fell in his ear for the first time. Though it had hesitation, he could swear to God that his name never sounded so good to himself. His heart surely did a backflip on how smooth his name sounded from her. Arushi on the other hand was playing with the sides of her dupatta out of nervousness, it was the first time she was calling him by his name.

Putting a pause on his flipflopping heart, he turned to her after composing himself. "Yes?"

"I.......I was saying that.....that you......", she fumbled over her words making him confused and ask, "Everything okay? You need anything?"

"No actually I was saying you don't need to sleep on the couch, we can share the bed", she somehow muttered looking here and there being shy. But Avyansh misunderstood her shyness with discomfort and politely denied the offer. "It's not needed, I can sleep there don't worry about me"

"You just said a while ago we need to share our whole life so sharing bed shouldn't be a problem", Arushi asserted looking at him but he still wasn't much sure about it, "But you-"

"I trust you, I know you won't do anything that'll make me feel uncomfortable. Sleep on the bed I've no problems with it", she said and he could see the trust in her eyes so he too agreed. They walked toward the bed but Arushi again stopped there making Avyansh stop as well.

"Is everything okay?", Avyansh asked and Arushi again looked nervous, "Umm......which side would you prefer?"

"Uhh....you can choose whatever side you want, I'm okay with either side", Avyansh said making Arushi more confused. Seeing her getting more confused Avyansh understood she won't be able to decide one so he interrupted, "Um......I guess I can go with left side, will you be okay with right side?"

Arushi nodded with a relieved look and they both laid down at their decided sides. Avyansh wished her good night on which she too mumbled a slow good night. As they both were tired, soon sleep engulfed them both.