Author's pov

"Wow,"

That's what Aratrika said when they reached their desired destination which was a surprise for Aratrika.

The expression on her face and the beautiful smile on her face were enough to tell Saptarshi that his surprise didn't go to waste. It was worth it.

"Millennium park. Really?" Aratrika exclaimed gleefully as they entered after showing the ticket at the entrance.

"Yes, Really. Did you like it?" He asked her just to be sure.

"Like it!!! I loved it. I always wanted to come here but never got a chance to do so. Thank you so much for bringing me here." Aratrika said with a bright smile as she hugged Saptarshi by the side.

" Aahaa!! If you give this kind of response for bringing you here, I will bring you here daily." Saptarshi teased Aratrika, wrapping his hand around her shoulder which made Aratrika blush.

Located on Strand Road, next to the Hooghly River is a beautiful park named Millennium Park. The park is 2.5km long and lies on Hooghly’s eastern shore opposite to the Railway Club and near the Fairlie Ghat. The famous Howrah Bridge can be viewed from the park. The park is located in the BBD Bagh area of Kolkata, near the General Post Office and the Calcutta High Court.

The park is named Millennium Park since it is a gift from the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA/CMDA) to the citizens of Kolkata on completing a millennium, the park was inaugurated on 26 December 1999. The park is a part of the first phase of Kolkata’s Riverside Beautification Project.
[ Source : Google]

They entered inside only to be mesmerised by the beauty of the river Ganges. The sky was turning into shades of orange indicating the time of Sunset . The river was looking beautiful due to the reflection of the orange sky.
The cool breeze of winter was adding the icing on the cake.
Aratrika took out her phone and started to capture the scenic beauty.

When she was busy admiring the beautiful surroundings,  Saptarshi was secretly capturing her beautiful smiling face which was glowing in happiness in his heart and of course in camera.

Finally his heart was at peace when he saw her genuinely happy face which was devoid of tension, sadness and fake smiles which he was seeing from the last night.

He smiled in satisfaction.

"Let's go there. " Aratrika said and took Saptarshi's hand while dragging him to the bench which was empty.

After sitting on the bench, they talked about themselves, some random things while keeping her head on his shoulder and him holding her hand.

After sometime, they went to enjoy the boat ride which was altogether a different experience for Aratrika and Saptarshi both. Lighting of the Howrah Bridge was reflecting on the Ganges , the cold breeze and the sounds of the water were making their boat ride worth remembering. They enjoyed the ride holding their hands with a smile on their face and also captured the memory by clicking a selfie of their happy smiling faces with the illuminated Howrah Bridge enhancing the background.

"Let's eat something. " Saptarshi offered  after their ride came to an end which made them sad a bit as they were enjoying the ride way too much. Aratrika agreed instantly as her mouth was already watering because of the delicious smell of the street foods.

They ordered the food from the food zone inside the park. After their order arrived, Saptarshi paid for it and both of them decided to have the food while sitting near the bank of the river so that they could enjoy the beauty of the evening.
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"Saptarshi, stop the car."

Aratrika yelled out ,making Saptarshi startled . As a result he stopped the car to the side with a sudden break.

They were on the way back home.

"What happened? Are you okay? " Saptarshi asked in concern, turning towards Aratrika.
But he frowned in confusion when he saw her trying to open the locked car .

"It's locked." He said and unlocked the car. Aratrika face palmed herself with a giggle.

"But what do you want?" He asked in confusion. He was being impatient.

" I want to have ice cream…it's been ages since I had one. And ice cream in winter is a deadly combo." Aratrika said while licking her lips.

Saptarshi huffed and said, "Ice cream!!! Just for ice cream you yelled like that!! God!! You scared the shit out of me. I thought something happened to you."

"Mr. Police, you need to take a chill pill sometimes. " Aratrika said with a wink and got down from the car. Saptarshi was about to get down but Aratrika stopped him.
"It's my treat."

Saptarshi was about to deny but the puppy eyes and curled lips of Aratrika made him agree with her with a huff.

Aratrika smiled and went to buy the ice creams.

After some time, Aratrika came back with the ice creams and sat inside the car.

"So many ice creams?" Saptarshi asked her in surprise.

Aratrika looked at him as if he had gone mad and said, "For Mamoni, Baba, Pimoni, Boromasi and Sanchita..for both of us as well. " Saying this she kept the ice cream inside the car freezer.

Saptarshi smiled and pecked her lips unannounced which made Aratrika startled and blush.

"What was that for?" She asked shyly.

" Why ? Do I need a reason for kissing my wife?" Saptarshi said with a fake arrogance.

"No….I was just surprised." Aratrika said with a smile.

"Tell me, how much did you enjoy today?" He asked her, holding her hands.

Aratrika smiled and said, "It's the best…trust me. I can't thank you enough for this. "

"You don't need to thank me." He said. " But you can kiss me ….thanks can be said by this as well." He said mischievously.

Aratrika turned once again and tried to snatch her hands  away but Saptarshi gripped them tightly.
"No no…blushing won't work. I need my kiss."

"You are so shameless….we are in public ,Saptarshi.
Behave." Aratrika scolded him.

Saptarshi raised his eyebrows in amusement, seeing her scolding him but still didn't leave her hand.

"The glasses are tinted…So nobody will see us. " He said .

Aratrika sighed as she saw how he was. She leaned towards him to kiss his cheek.

But before her lips could touch his cheek, he turned his head abruptly, making her lips touch his which made Aratrika surprised.

Soon she gave herself into the kiss of love.

Forgetting the hustle bustle of the city of joy, both of them immersed themselves in expressing their love for each other through the passionate kiss.
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" Mom, Dada and Boumoni are back." Sanchita yelled loudly as she opened the door for Saptarshi and Aratrika. They looked at each other in confusion.

They walked towards the living room where Siddhartha, Sanonda, Lolita and Sanchita were present.

"So what? Why are you shouting?" Piyali walked towards them with the cups of coffee.

Sanchita shook her head with a sheepish smile, making Piyali shake her head.

"Want some?" Piyali asked Saptarshi and Aratrika. Saptarshi nodded but Aratrika kept looking at her.

"Want some coffee or not?" Piyali asked her this time loudly. Aratrika nodded and took the coffee from Piyali's hand.

Piyali purposely made some extra coffee so that if they came back, they could have it.

"So how's the date?" Sanchita asked them with a smirk.

" Beyond Amazing." Saptarshi said, looking straight into Aratrika's eyes and took a sip of the coffee without breaking the eye contact.
Unable to take the intense gaze of her husband, Aratrika broke eye contact with a blush .

Sanchita and Sanonda noticed the exchange between them. They bite their lips to stop themselves from laughing.

Everyone was having their coffee while talking about random things. Aratrika was silently listening to them and answering when she was asked something directly.

All of a sudden she felt a touch on her hand. She looked at Saptarshi and asked what happened, wiggling her eyebrows.

Saptarshi indicated Aratrika to give the ice creams to Piyali. Aratrika's eyes widened in fear and she shook her head to the sides with a pleading look.
He blinked his eyes ,indicating everything would be alright but Aratrika gave him a pleading look by curling her lips with puppy eyes.

"What are you both trying to do? And what's in your wife's hand, Saptarshi?"

The sudden question from Piyali made them startled.
Shaking his head in disappointment, Saptarshi took the packet from Aratrika's hand and walked towards his mother.

"Aratrika bought ice cream but was hesitant to give it to you." Saptarshi said to his mother.

Piyali, who was surprised to hear that, took the ice cream from him and looked at Aratrika who was looking down. She understood that the girl was nervous. Others smiled but were tense thinking what would be Piyali's reaction.

Everyone in the house knew that Aratrika was a working woman and they encouraged her..in fact Piyali didn't stop her as well.

Piyali shook her head with a small smile on her lips and took the ice cream from his hand. Without saying anything, she walked towards the kitchen. Others were confused .

After sometime she came back and said, looking at their confused faces, "What? We will have the Ice cream after dinner. "

They smiled widely and Aratrika looked up in surprise.

As Aratrika and Piyali's eyes met, Aratrika passed her a smile and to everyone's surprise ,Piyali smiled back.

Saptarshi smiled widely upon seeing the scene and silently sent a thank you to God .

How's the chapter?

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Next update will be on next Monday.

(As I have some emergency at home and need to handle it first. Hope you all will understand as you do.)

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Thank you for reading.