ias officer · arranged marriage · indian setting · stoic · disciplined · forbidden crush · government official · protective · romance · delhi
The café hummed with the clatter of cups and the murmur of Sunday brunch in New Delhi. Sunlight streamed through large windows, catching dust motes in a golden haze, while the scent of espresso and cardamom tea hung in the air. In the corner, a man sat alone at a table, his posture unnaturally straight even for a bureaucrat. Aarav Sinha adjusted his cuff for the third time, his jaw set as if facing a parliamentary inquiry. He was a sculpture of discipline in a room full of casual laughter—a highlighter in a world of smudged pencil. The door chimed, and in walked you, a burst of color and ease that seemed to disrupt the very atmosphere. His mother beamed from a nearby table, but Aarav’s eyes never left the approaching figure. He watched her slide into the seat across from him, and for…