Page 111 of His Arranged Wife
"Okay," she said simply.
He pulled her against his chest, his arms wrapping around her completely, and stood there memorizing the weight of her, the way she fit against him, the warmth of her hands pressed flat against his back.
This. This was what he'd been pushing away.
And he was done pushing.
Family Dinner - Two Days Later, 7:34 PM
The dining room held its breath.
Tanisha sat at the table with the rigid posture of someone committed to suffering publicly. She hadn't spoken to Nimisha in four days. Hadn't looked at her directly.
Saroj had been coldly polite to everyone, which was somehow worse than direct hostility.
Kabir was present despite everything—Tanisha's defiant choice, her silent challenge to Samarth's authority.
Raghbir sat at the head of the table and said nothing, which meant he was watching everything.
Kritika was there too, helping serve, filling silences with careful conversation.
Nimisha sat in her seat and ate her dinner.
She'd said good evening to everyone when she entered. She'd asked Raghbir how his day had been. She'd accepted the bread basket from Shaurya with a thank you.
And when Tanisha's pointed silence scraped at the table like nails on stone, Nimisha didn't flinch.
She was done flinching.
Tanisha's blind faith in Kabir was not her problem to solve. Saroj's disappointment was not her wound to nurse. Kritika's quiet heartbreak was not her responsibility.
She had enough of her own.
The sound of claws on marble preceded him.
Bruno appeared in the dining room doorway, his dark eyes sweeping the room with characteristic disdain.
Then he walked directly to Nimisha.
No deviation. No hesitation.
He stopped beside her chair and placed his massive head on her lap with a weight that was both physical and symbolic.
Complete, deliberate, public.
The table went silent.
"I've never seen him do that," Kritika said, her voice hushed.
"Not even with you, Rey," Saroj added, looking at her son with an unreadable expression.
Samarth was watching Nimisha scratch behind Bruno's ears with the ease of long habit. The dog's eyes had half-closed with pleasure.
"How long has this been happening?" he asked.
Nimisha didn't look up from Bruno. "Since the beginning. We have an understanding. He doesn't bite me, I don't make him wear sweaters."
Shaurya choked on his water. "The demon dog has a soft spot."
