Ahanay couldn't believe that he had said that. The word felt so strange on his tongue as if he had uttered something foreign. Your husband. That was something he never imagined he would tell to the tiny girl, so tiny yet brimming with madness. He recalled how she had pounced on him like a tigress when he had switched their plates at the table. But unlike a tigress, she loved potatoes. The way she had smacked those plump lips made him want that too. The lips and the potatoes.

At that thought, his phone buzzed in his pocket like a large bee and as he removed it and read the name on the screen, the bee stung him with guilt.

"Hey," he said, picking up the call and clearing his throat. "How are you?"

There was silence on the other side, silence so loud that he could hear it.

"Hey," he repeated, unable to bear his own guilt stinging him so hard that a lump lodged itself in his throat. "It's not how you think it is."

"So you married her," her voice was low, hollow.

"You wanted me to," he whispered, anger catching his voice fast and harsh. "I would have never married her if it wasn't for you."

"It was for you."

"Me?" He scoffed, walking towards the window. "I don't care if that bastard didn't leave me this company. I just wanted to live with you, somewhere quiet."

"We will," her voice was gentle now, almost soothing. He loved her voice, it reminded him of light drizzle streaming down a windowpane. Whereas the girl he had married now, her voice was a thunderstroke, invoking havoc and migraines. "You deserve your father's company after all the efforts you put in. It's yours."

"You're upset that I married her."

There was a prolonged pause on the other end. "Yes."

"Then why did you ask me to marry her?" He nearly shouted in frustration, his hands balling into fists. "Don't give me the company crap now. All I wanted was a peaceful life for us. I was ready to leave all of this for you."

"You deserve the company, Ahanay!" she cried out, her words shaking as if a gust of wind blew through the drizzle. "You have worked so hard for this company. You deserve it."

Her words echoed in his ears, yet they sounded so empty to him. He felt like a drum, her words beating and resounding off the surface, yet so empty within. But she was right, he deserved this company. Day and night he had worked to grow this company from what his father had left it- a ruinous reputation and a bleak future. He had built those rubbles back to a strong empire and now his father couldn't take that away from him because of some tiny girl.

And now he had to execute his carefully crafted plan, his plan to execute Naina.

"I'll do as we planned," he said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "I'll kill her soon."

There was a long pause on the other end, so long that he cut the call, unable to bear it. He hated her when she did that, her silence. After all, this was their plan. He was going to marry Naina, spend a couple of days or so (till the ownership of the company was transferred to him) and then kill her. She was so tiny, it would be easier to dump her too.

With those thoughts that clouded his mind and vision, he entered the restaurant again, resolved to put some distance between themselves and plot ways to kill her.

"One more kaapi!" Naina shouted at the waiter with a coffee moustache, wriggling her shoulders and singing to herself, "kaapi, kaapi, kaaaaaaapiiii."

Ahanay quickly looked down at the floor and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was almost going to chuckle at her childishness. What had he gotten himself into?

"That's racist," he said after recovering, sitting on the chair opposite to her and watching her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

"It's not racist," she said, looking at the menu. "I'm just adapting here."

"You're not going to drink another coffee."

"You may be my "husband,"' she began with sass, leaning forward on the table. "But you can't boss me around."

This time, he leaned forward, almost closing the space between them. Her eyes shone up close, he never knew the darkest eyes could shine the brightest. For a second, he couldn't speak, but then he raised his eyebrow and said, "It is I who have to listen to the noises that you make in the bathroom."

Those brightest eyes now ignited such huge flames that scorched him first before she headbutted him like a little bull.

"Ow!" he cursed, surprised both at her sudden move and how strong her skull was.

"I'm leaving! I'll kill you if I'm here a moment longer!" she shouted, about to storm away when the waiter approached with another coffee. Despite the steam that rose above the cup like a thick cloud, she grabbed it and drank it in one gulp. For months later, he wondered how she had done that, it was the hottest cup of coffee to ever exist.

"Wait," he commanded, quickly grabbing her wrist as she was about to leave.

She shook her wrist, trying to free herself. "If you're going to apologise to me, it's too late!"

"No?" He said, amused. He didn't carry cash with him like most rich people and had left his credit card at the room above. "You have to pay for this."

"What? Me?" She looked horrified and that amused him more.

"Do you have change?"

"But you're my husband. You're supposed to pay for all of this."

"So you're a racist and a sexist," he observed, leaning back on the chair as if he was sitting on a recliner.

With what sounded to him like a growl, she slapped few notes on the table and floundered out of the restaurant, leaving him amused and confused.