Chapter 22

A U T H O R

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Nancy lay on the couch, her head resting on Freya's lap. Freya gently ruffled her long hair, humming a lullaby.

"Nancy! Can I ask you something?" Freya's voice broke the serene atmosphere.

Nancy turned slightly to look up at her sister-in-law. "Since when did you start asking my permission, Freya?"

"It's personal, Nancy," Freya replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So what! You don't need to be formal," Nancy said, adjusting her head back on Freya's lap.

Freya sighed hopelessly. "Okay, fine. So tell me, how was your first night?" she asked mischievously.

Nancy sat up straight on the couch, her heart skipping a beat. "Um... it was... umm... nothing special, Freya," she stammered, avoiding Freya's gaze.

Freya smiled and continued, "Are. You. Sure?"

Nancy looked down and shut her eyes tightly. "Yes, of course, I'm sure!" she tried her best to sound normal.

Freya made a sad face, then sat up straight, folding her legs. "So, Mark doesn't like you?"

Nancy's head shot up in shock. "Of course he likes me!" she said determinedly.

Freya pursed her lips to hide her smile. "But you said nothing happened last night. So, how?"

Nancy looked at her in disbelief. "How does that matter? Just because nothing happened last night doesn't mean he doesn't like me. He told me he loves me!" she finished, glaring at Freya.

At first, Freya thought of teasing her, but then she asked calmly, "Oh, is that so? And what about you? What did you tell him?"

Nancy lay back down on Freya's lap. "What about me, Freya? There's nothing new about me. You know it already, don't you?"

Nancy fidgeted nervously. To calm her down, Freya started stroking her hair lightly.

After a long pause, Freya thought to break the silence. "So seriously, nothing happened last night?" she asked playfully again.

Nancy cringed, then held Freya's hands in hers. "Last night was very special, Freya. I will never forget it," she said dreamily, looking into the distance.

Freya looked at their joined hands and asked, "Did he force you?"

Her question left Nancy speechless for a moment.

Nancy held Freya's hands more tightly before speaking, "No! He didn't. He talked to me nicely. He made me understand that... that we are each other's everything and we need to share everything with each other," she explained, recounting Mark’s words.

Freya smiled, seeing her chotu baby had grown up. "Nancy, you know that after marriage, life changes drastically. When you were unmarried, it was all about you, but now you have someone else in your life. He is your family now. You have to think about him and his happiness too. You can't be selfish anymore. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

Nancy didn't say anything, just hugged her tightly. Freya continued, "And there's nothing wrong with being physical with your husband. He has waited for you, Nancy. You know that, right?"

Nancy sat up from her lap, looking down shyly. After a moment of silence, she spoke, "Yes, I know. Yesterday, we... umm... we kissed."

"Really! You knew how to kiss?" Freya squealed like a teenage girl.

Feeling embarrassed, Nancy tried to get up from the couch, but Freya blocked her way.

Nancy replied hastily, "No! I didn't... But... um... leave it. It's nothing."

Freya playfully hit her shoulder. "Okay, okay, no need to be shy!"

Nancy cringed as she noticed Freya grinning at her. "What!"

Freya burst out laughing, and Nancy realized she had been fooled again. "Freya! I won't talk to you!" Nancy turned away to show her fake anger.

"What's happening?" Kevin entered Nancy's room, rubbing his wet hair with a towel.

"See, Kev, Freya is teasing me!" Nancy complained, making Kevin sit on the ground in front of her. She took the towel from him and started drying his hair.

Kevin pulled up a corner of the towel to see Freya. "Freya ji, why are you teasing my bachha?"

"Because I was teasing my bachha! Not yours, okay!" Freya said, hugging Nancy and sticking her tongue out at Kevin.

Kevin cringed his eyebrows. "She's my baby. Okay!"

Freya hugged Nancy tighter. "No! She's my baby!"

"My."

"My."

Nancy huffed, seeing both of them fighting like kids. "Okay, both of you shut up. I'm both of yours, baby. Okay!"

They both hugged her tightly. "We love you, our baby!"

Nancy hugged them back. "I love you both."

Soon, Freya broke the hug and asked them to come downstairs for lunch. After lunch, they retired to their respective rooms.

In her room, Nancy suddenly started missing Mark, so she thought of calling him. She went downstairs and dialed his number from the landline.