39. Shopping day!

Anika

The girls and I decided to visit a single country instead of touring all of Europe. We wanted to fully enjoy one place with minimal travel, so naturally, we chose our favorite destination - Switzerland.

We had to leave the day after tomorrow, so today was dedicated to shopping for matching clothes and essential items.

Jai had promised to take the three of us shopping, and he's keeping his word. Aarav decided to tag along, obviously because he'll miss his girlfriend. I could literally see it on his face.

The five of us piled into the car, with Jai driving, Aarav in the passenger seat, and us girls in the back.

Today was all about shopping. The guys decided to join us because, as they put it, they'll miss us.

The way Aarav was looking at Nisha made me smile. I had never seen him so infatuated with a woman before. He was always busy with work or hanging out with me or his other friends. He had never been like this with a woman, which made me even happier because Nisha deserves the best.

Nisha smiled back at Aarav, and they shared a goofy moment, not caring what anyone thought. That's exactly why I found them so adorable.

"Can you guys stop? I'm going to puke," Diya replied sarcastically. Diya loved annoying them so much. They were literally the Jules, Ava, and Alex of our group.

We arrived at the mall around 12 pm, knowing we had a lot of shopping to do, so an early start was essential. We had two main goals for the day: shop and eat. Plan sorted.

We started off at H&M because Diya was a H&M girlie. She had a baddie style, and all her outfits were killer.

Nisha, on the other hand, was more modest in her fashion choices. She usually avoided outfits that revealed her curves. When it was just us, she did wear them, but not when we went to parties.

Varsha, who joined us later, had come here with her friends before and then joined us. We trusted her taste more than anyone else's because she was a fashion student and had the best eye for clothes.

The six of us started looking for clothes, with the guys trailing behind us.

Jai kept following me like a lost puppy. "What's with the expression?" I asked him. He seemed different.

"Nothing" he replied.

"Are you okay?" I asked, curious.

"Yep" he said, pulling me closer for a hug, resting his face in my neck, and sighing.

"What's wrong baby?" I asked, brushing my hand through his hair. I had never seen Jai so silent.

"I'll miss you. So much!" he said, hugging me tighter.

"You have no idea how much." I replied, hugging him back tightly. He kissed my forehead and let me go.

"Let's go buy my girl clothes now." he said, and I smiled.

His way of showing affection was the princess treatment. By that, I didn't always mean he bought me stuff. He listened to me, talked and communicated with me, never let me go to bed upset. The way he talked to me and his embrace is the safest place ever.

All these things made me fall for him more and more every day.

"You're sure you want to shop with me?" I asked him.

"Do I have any other option?" he teased back, and I playfully hit him.

"You're stuck with me, Mr. Singhania."

"Is that so?" he started tickling me.

"Yep, there's no escaping me now," I teased back, and he smiled.

"Escaping? I'm keeping you for life, princess. Get used to me," he winked at me. Oh, this man. I was so head over heels for him.

"Lovebirds, I love you both so much, but if you're done, let's get back to shopping," Varsha interrupted us.

"Yes yes." Jai flushed a little.

For the next hour or so, we selected outfits and then tried them on. In the end, I bought two tops and a pair of jeans. Nisha bought a co-ord set, and Diya, let's just say she was done shopping for today. She had three bags of clothes and was all set for the trip.

After visiting a couple more stores and buying some matching outfits, we decided to have lunch.

The food court of the mall was excellent. All of us had our favorite cuisines, and after lunch, we decided to visit one more store before heading home.

While us girls were using the restroom together, I bumped into someone on my way back.

"I'm sorry—" I started, but as soon as I looked at the person, my heart started racing. Out of all the people in the world, I had to bump into him?

"Look who it is!" Ashish said.

"Excuse me, I need to leave." I replied, trying to move past him, but he abruptly stood in front of me.

"We meet after so long, and no chit chat?" Ashish asked, smirking.

What did he want to chat about? After tormenting me for months he wants to chit-chat?

Ashish was the guy who pursued me relentlessly in college, telling me he loved me. He followed me around in the last year of my college - the year I had my glow-up, and suddenly people started to notice me.

He used to follow me everywhere when Aarav was not around. I decided to deal with him on my own and gave him a warning once. Twice. He didn't listen. The next time I told Aarav to deal with him.

Aarav was furious that I hadn't told him earlier, but after I did, he gave Ashish a serious warning. Ashish made things difficult for me afterward. He taunted me, said mean things, and even started bullying me. I graduated soon after, and life went back to being good.

Now I was meeting him after years, and the hostility in his gaze remained.

"Move," I tried to move, but he blocked me again.

"Let's talk, babe. It's been a long time, and I've heard a lot about you," Ashish said, smirking. I'd slap that smirk off his face.

"I don't want to, so fuck off." I replied angrily.

"Oh, marry a rich guy and then maintain an attitude. Nice motive you have there."

"What the hell—" I was about to slap him hard when Jai grabbed his collar from behind and pushed him away.

"Jai—" I didn't continue. I wouldn't ask him to stop. Why would I?

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Jai grabbed his collar and pulled him closer.

"Your beloved wife's ex-boyfriend," Ashish replied.

"You mean the one you couldn't get?" Jai laughed sarcastically.

"Why do you think she married you? Because she loves the money that I didn't have," Ashish retorted, laughing.

"So here's the thing, asshole. You get one more word out of your mouth, and you'll face consequences,. Jai said in a serious tone.

Ashish should have stopped. He really should have. But then Nisha and Aarav entered the scene.

"Oh, the second friend is here with her boyfriend. Or should I say bank?" Ashish said to Nisha.

I could feel the heat radiating from Jai's body. Jai slapped him so hard that he fell down, and when he got up, he probably realized he couldn't win against Jai, so he ran.

Then I took Jai to the nearest bench and sat next to him.

"Hey, you good there, big guy?" I tapped his shoulder. I knew I shouldn't be joking, but seeing him so fierce was scary.

"Hmm," he replied.

"Shall we go home?" I asked him, and he nodded.

I informed the others, and we left for home. I was mad at Ashish for ruining my day, but then again, I didn't give a shit about his opinion.

As soon as we reached home, Jai put the bags in our room, and we settled on the sofa.

"You okay there, little one?" he poked my shoulder, and I smiled a little.

"Yeah" I replied.

"I'm sorry for getting all serious. I should be the one consoling you. I got all angry, and I'm sorry, princess," he said, rubbing circles on my back while hugging me.

"No, that's fine."

"Tell me, I know there's a lot going on in that mind," he said, and he wasn't entirely wrong.

"I didn't marry you for money," I said. I really didn't.

"I know you didn't, baby. I know you." he replied, kissing my forehead.

"He's an asshole for saying stuff to you, and he'll never come near you ever again, okay?" he said, and I nodded. I was sure Jai wouldn't let him.

"And Anika, I want you to remember that nobody disrespects you. Not even me, okay? If I ever do something disrespectful, please smack the shit out of me," Jai said seriously.

"Mmm" I nodded and hugged him.

We stayed in each other's embrace, and then I fell asleep. His arms were the best place to be in. A part of me didn't want to go on the trip without him.

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Hello guyssss, I know I've barely been posting but being in college and simultaneously working on a book is difficult. I'll try to post as much as possible.

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