Chapter One Hundred Eight: The Hickey, The Choking, and The Memory That Flooded Back
The morning after Ella's pregnancy announcement and Shreya's shark-memory, the hotel was buzzing with a different kind of energy.
Joy. Hope. The feeling that things were finally shifting.
Jay woke up in Keifer's arms, stretched, and immediately felt it.
A mark on her neck.
A very obvious mark.
From last night.
"Oh no," she whispered.
Keifer stirred. "What?"
She pointed at her neck.
He looked. Winced. "That's... prominent."
"KEIF!"
"You were very enthusiastic."
"I WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE!"
He pulled her close. "We'll cover it. Scarf. High collar. Problem solved."
"You don't understand. Percy will notice. Yuri will notice. EVERYONE will notice."
"We've survived worse."
"Have we?"
---
They tried.
Jay wore a scarf. A beautiful scarf. Perfectly positioned.
She walked into the breakfast area feeling confident.
Everyone was already there.
Percy. Honey. Akshi. Chethan. Mithun. Shreya. C.N. Rakii. Felix. Bridget. David. Freya. Mica. Calix. Yuri. Even Keiran with Rex and Ganesha.
And Ella and Aries, glowing with their secret.
"Good morning, Jay!" Percy sang. "Nice scarf!"
"It's cold."
"It's 28 degrees."
"INSIDE cold."
Percy grinned. "Sure."
---
They sat down to breakfast.
Food was served—a beautiful spread of fruits, pastries, and traditional Karnataka dishes.
Shreya sat quietly, watching everything.
Mithun sat beside her, as always.
She reached for a piece of bread. Took a bite.
Too fast.
It went down wrong.
She coughed. Then coughed harder. Then started choking.
---
Mithun moved before anyone else could react.
He was beside her in an instant, hand on her back, voice calm.
"You're okay. Cough it out. You're okay."
She coughed again, face red, eyes watering.
He didn't move. Stayed right there, hand steady, presence grounding.
"Breathe. Slow. You're fine."
She coughed once more—and the food cleared.
She gasped, sucking in air.
He was still there. Still calm. Still close.
"Better?"
She nodded, still catching her breath. "Better."
His hand didn't leave her back. "Drink water. Slowly."
She drank.
---
The table was silent.
Everyone staring.
Percy's jaw was on the floor. Honey's eyes were wide. C.N. had stopped eating.
Akshi's face split into the biggest grin imaginable. "MIT HUN! YOU SAVED HER!"
Chethan nodded vigorously. "LIKE A HERO! A ROMANCE HERO!"
Shreya's face, already red from choking, went crimson. "He was just—he was helping—"
"HELPING? HE WAS GLUED TO YOUR SIDE!"
Mithun's ears were pink, but his voice remained calm. "She was choking. I helped."
"WITH HAND ON BACK! SO CLOSE! SO CONCERNED!"
---
And then—
Shreya froze.
Her eyes went wide.
"I remember."
The table went quiet.
"What?" Akshi whispered.
"I remember. This moment. But before."
---
She looked at Mithun.
"Murudeshwara. The restaurant. I choked. You saved me. Everyone teased us. Akshi screamed. Percy fell off his chair. Chethan took notes. C.N. calculated something."
Mithun's face went pale. "You remember that?"
"I remember. I remember—" She stopped. Tears filled her eyes. "I remember them teasing us. I remember being embarrassed. I remember—" She looked at him. "I remember the way you looked at me."
---
The table was completely silent.
Percy broke it. "SHE REMEMBERS! SHE REMEMBERS THE TEASING!"
Honey grabbed his arm. "Percy, let her—"
"BUT SHE REMEMBERS!"
Shreya laughed through tears. "I remember you falling off your chair, Percy. You were so dramatic."
"I'M ALWAYS DRAMATIC!"
"And you—" She looked at Akshi. "You screamed 'ROMANCE' at the top of your lungs."
"I DID! I REMEMBER DOING THAT!"
"And Chethan—you took notes. Like it was important."
Chethan nodded. "It WAS important. Historical documentation."
---
She turned to C.N.
"You said something about statistics. About eye contact duration."
C.N. actually smiled. "I did. 3.2 seconds of sustained eye contact. 87% romantic probability."
Shreya laughed. "I remember."
---
Then she looked at Jay.
"And you—you had a hickey. From Keifer. And Percy noticed and screamed about it."
Jay's face went red. "You remember THAT?"
"I remember everyone laughing. I remember Keiran asking questions. I remember—" She stopped. "I remember feeling happy. Surrounded by chaos. By family."
---
Jay was crying now.
"You remember that whole day?"
"Not everything. But this—the choking, the teasing, the hickey—I remember."
Akshi grabbed her. "SHREYA!"
They hugged, both crying.
Chethan joined. Then Jay.
The sisters, together, remembering.
---
Percy couldn't contain himself. "THIS IS THE BEST DAY! PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT! MEMORY RECOVERY! HICKEY REVEAL! ALL IN ONE BREAKFAST!"
Honey pulled him back. "Babe, let them have their moment."
"I'M HAVING MY OWN MOMENT!"
Keiran tugged Jay's sleeve. "Mamma, why is Auntie Shreya crying?"
"Happy tears, baby. She remembered something important."
"Rex is happy too."
Rex nodded.
Ganesha nodded.
---
Shreya pulled back, still crying, but smiling.
She looked at Mithun.
He hadn't moved. Hadn't spoken. Just watched her with those eyes.
"I remember," she said. "I remember them teasing us. I remember being embarrassed. But I also remember—" She touched his face. "I remember thinking that I didn't mind. That I wanted them to be right."
"About what?"
"About us."
---
His eyes filled with tears.
"Shreya—"
"I don't remember everything. But I remember that. I remember wanting you."
He pulled her into his arms.
Held her tight.
She held him back.
---
The table erupted again.
Akshi was sobbing. Chethan held her.
Jay leaned against Keifer, crying happy tears.
Percy was on his phone. "I'M TELLING EVERYONE! THIS IS HISTORIC!"
Honey let him. For once.
C.N. made a note. "Memory recovery: Choking incident. Emotional significance: High."
Rakii photographed everything. "For the album. 'The Day She Remembered.'"
---
Later, after the chaos settled, Jay found Shreya alone.
On the balcony. Watching the sunrise.
"Hey."
Shreya turned. Smiled. "Hey."
"You okay?"
"I'm more than okay. I remembered something."
"A big something."
"Yeah." Shreya looked at her hands. "I still don't remember loving him. Not fully. But I remember wanting to. I remember feeling like—like he was where I belonged."
"That's love. That's the beginning of it."
"You think?"
"I know."
---
They stood together.
Sisters.
Jay touched her neck. Winced.
Shreya laughed. "The hickey?"
"The hickey."
"You know Percy's going to bring it up at every meal now."
"I know."
"And Yuri probably filmed it."
"Definitely."
"And C.N. will calculate something about it."
"Without question."
Shreya laughed. Real laugh. "I missed this."
"Missed what?"
"The chaos. The family. All of it."
Jay hugged her. "We missed you too."
---
They walked back inside.
Breakfast was still chaos.
Percy was reenacting the choking incident dramatically. Honey was trying to stop him.
Akshi and Chethan were arguing about something silly.
C.N. was showing Rakii his notes.
Felix and Bridget were feeding each other fruit.
David was attempting to juggle. Freya was filming.
Mica was on Calix's back, both of them laughing.
Keiran was running in circles with Rex and Ganesha.
And Mithun—
Mithun was waiting.
Watching the door.
Watching for her.
---
She walked in.
He smiled.
She smiled back.
Didn't remember everything.
But remembered enough.
For now.
---
End of Chapter One Hundred Eight