Chapter 32 - Harshad

Annika was desperately clawing at the cloth. All she wanted to do was get out of that cloth and away from those hooligans and go home safely.

On the other hand, Shivaay was tracing the lines on his palm and giggling, still under the effect of vodka.

Just then a buzzing noise hit Annika's ears and Shivaay started giggling loudly like someone just tickled him.

Shivaay pulled out the vibrating phone from his blazer pocket and stared at it.

Annika's eyes widened. "Aapke pass phone tha ?" ("You had your phone with you all this while ?") She whisper-yelled in surprise.

"Kyu ? Tumhare pass nahi hai ?" ("Why ? Don't you have yours with you ?") Shivaay frowned.

"Nahi. Meri bag wahi hill top pe kahi gir gayi." ("No. I lost my bag on that hill top somewhere.") Annika replied.

"Aww so sad." Shivaay slurred.

"Layiye apka phone mujhe di jiye." ("Give me your phone.") Annika tried to snatch phone from Shivaay's hands but he held it out of her reach.

"Nahi yeh mera phone hai, mein...nahi dunga." ("No, it's mine I will...not give it to you.") Shivaay said like a child.

"Shivaay please !" Annika hissed. "Mujhe phone de do." ("Give it to me.")

"Pyaar se bologi toh dunga." ("If you ask for it nicely, then I will.") Shivaay said sheepishly making Annika sighed with frustration.

"Thik hai." ("Okay, fine.") Annika exhaled before plastering a smile. "Mujhe phone denge aap...Shivaay ji ?" ("Will you give your phone to me...Shivaay sir ?")

"Please nahi bola." ("You didn't say please.") Shivaay remarked.

"Ugh !" Annika exclaimed before taking a couple of deep breaths and said through gritted teeth. "Please... Shivaay... Ji." ("Please...Shivaay...sir.")

Shivaay smiled satisfactorily and handed Annika the phone.

"Finally !" Annika sighed and was about to dial a call to police when Aryan's call came in.

Annika received the call and was about to ask for help to Aryan, when the vehicle suddenly stopped and the cloth was lifted off of Shivika.

Annika quickly hid the phone behind her as she glared at the goons surrounding them.

"Chalo niklo bahar aur koi hoshiyaari nahi." ("C'mon get out and don't try and act smart.") One of the goon hissed.

Annika glared as the goon held Shivaay by his collar and dragged him out of the vehicle.

"Kyu kidnap kiya hai tumne mujhe aur Shivaay ko ? Kya chahte ho tum log ?" ("Why have you kidnapped me and Shivaay ? What do you guys want ?") Annika yelled deliberately, in the hopes that Aryan will listen to her through the received call.

"Chup chap chal." ("Shut up and come out.") The hooligan grabbed Annika's arm harshly and dragged her out of the vehicle too.

Annika, before getting out of the vehicle, pushed the phone under the seat and gratefully the goon didn't see it.

Annika examined her surroundings as the goons dragged her and Shivaay inside, what seemed like, an old factory.

'So typical.' Annika thought to herself. 'Yeh gunde bhi shayad kuch jyada hi picture dekhte hai tabhi toh filmy jagah kidnap karke le aaye hai hume.' ('Seems like this goon loves watching films, he has brought us to such a filmy place.') Annika scoffed.

Shivika were just half way through wherever the goons were taking them when suddenly Shivaay stopped walking.

"Chal jaldi, ruk kyu gaya ?" ("Walk fast, why did you stop ?") The goon holding Shivaay by his collar growled.

Annika looked at Shivaay's face and intuitively understood why Shivaay had stopped.

Annika distorted her face in realisation and took couple of steps away from Shivaay.

"Chal." ("C'mon.") The goon tried to drag Shivaay again but to no avail.

Shivaay stood his ground and suddenly bent over and puked his guts out on that goon's leg.

"EWW !" Annika and the goon yelled in unison.

"Yeh kya kiya ?!" ("What did you do ?!") The goon growled with a nasty look on his face and was about to punch Shivaay when Annika stopped him.

"Unhe baad mein maarna, jao pehle jaake apna pair dhoke aao." ("Beat him up afterwards, first go and clean your leg.") She ordered as she distorted her face and pinched her nose.

The goon nodded before turning to the goon holding Annika.

"Tum inn dono ko tab tak store room mein band kar do, boss kal subah aanewale hai." ("Lock these two in storeroom, boss is going to arrive tomorrow in the morning.") The goon informed the other goon and left to wash his dirtied leg.

The goon holding Annika, carefully took hold of Shivaay's collar and dragged them both to a nearest room, apparently, store room.

He pushed Shivika inside the room and locked the door from outside without any word.

Annika looked at Shivaay cautiously.

"Apko...ab... nauseous feel nahi ho raha na ?" ("You...are...not feeling nauseous anymore, are you ?") She asked slowly while maintaining a healthy distance.

Shivaay shook his head.

"Mujhe neend aa rahi hai." ("I'm feeling sleepy.") Shivaay replied, even though some of the vodka had left his system a lil bit was still there.

Shivaay took his blazer off and laid it on the ground. He sat on that spread-out blazer and looked at Annika, who was now trying to open the door.

"Left side meri, Right side tumhari. Good night." ("Left side is mine. You take the right side. Good night.") Shivaay announced and laid on his blazer and closed his eyes.

"I can't believe it !" Annika squealed in exasperation. "Aap so kaise sakte hai ?! Hume kidnap kiya hai, woh log hume maar sakte hai !" ("How can you sleep ?! We're kidnapped, they can kill us !")

Shivaay opened his eyes and glanced at Annika.

"Mujhe neend aa rahi hai. Kal subah yaha se bahar chalenge." ("I'm sleepy. Will find a way out tomorrow.") He stated. "Agar tumhe kisi ki company hi chahiye hai toh woh dekho waha pe ek cockroach hai." ("If you need company, then look there's a cockroach to accompany you.")

Shivaay pointed at a box which was just a feet away from Annika.

"Coc...cock... cockroach !" Annika shrieked in fear and ran towards Shivaay. "Kaha hai ? Kaha hai ?" ("Where's it ?")

Shivaay pointed at the box again.

"Mujhe cockroach se darr lagta hai." ("I'm afraid of cockroaches.") Annika mumbled absent-mindedly, in fear.

"Tum darti bhi ho ?" ("You get scared as well ?") Shivaay amused with a giggle.

When Annika didn't reply or threw any nasty look at Shivaay, he understood that she was really scared.

"Don't worry." Shivaay sat up. "OmRu ko bhi cockroach se darr lagta hai, toh mein humesha unhe cockroach se bachata hu. Mein aj tumhe bacha lunga." ("OmRu are afraid of cockroaches too but I protect them from cockroaches. Today I'll protect you.") He smiled.

Annika stared at Shivaay with soft eyes.

"Oops ! Tumhe toh OmRu pata hi nahi hai na." ("Oops ! You must not know who OmRu are.") Shivaay realised. "OmRu mere chhote...chhote, cute, cute bhai hai." ("OmRu are my lil..lil, cute, cute brothers.")

"I know." Annika replied. "Meine unke photo dekhe the." ("I've seen their pictures.")

"Accha ?" ("Really ?") Shivaay raised an eyebrow. "Tum mere baare mein sab janti ho na ?" ("You think you know everything about me ?")

Annika nodded with a small hum.

"Galat." ("Wrong.") Shivaay frowned. "Tumhe mere baare mein kuch bhi nahi pata." ("You don't know anything about me.") He told her. "Batao mein duniya mein sabse jyada kis se pyaar karta hu ?" ("Tell me what is most dear to me on this planet ?")

"Apne...paison se." ("Your...money.") Annika answered according to what her research had told her.

"Boo." Shivaay scoffed. "Iss duniya mein, mein sabse jyada pyaar mere OmRu se karta hu. Woh mere bhai nahi, mere beton jaise hai." ("I love my brothers the most in this world. They're not my brothers, they're like my kids.")

Annika furrowed her eyebrows. "Really ?" She asked.

Shivaay nodded. "Tum bhi apni behen se utna hi pyaar karti ho na ?" ("You love your lil sister just the same, right ?")

Annika smiled as she recalled her baby sister and she nodded with a fond smile.

Annika loved her sister just the way Shivaay loved his brothers so when Shivaay mentioned Bhavya, Annika couldn't help but open up.

"Haan. Bhavya na bahot shararti hai lekin utni hi sweet aur caring hai." ("Yes. Bhavya is very naughty but at the same time she's so sweet and caring.") Annika chuckled softly. "Woh mujhe maa saman manti hai, kyu ki humari...humari maa nahi hai." ("She considers me as her mother, cause we...we don't have mother. Our mother is no more.")

Annika's voice cracked at the last part of the sentence and tears welled up in her eyes.

Shivaay stared at her with a sad face.

"Mein samjh sakta hu tumhe kaisa lag raha hai." ("I understand your feelings.") Shivaay replied softly with all the honesty. "Humari bhi maa hume bachpan mein orphanage ke samne...chhod ke chali gayi thi." ("Our mother abandoned us in front of an orphanage...when we were lil kids.") He told her with tears in his eyes.

Annika looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm so sorry." She whispered.

Who could've thought that this egoist, blue-eyed wild cat had a sweet and caring side to him too ?

Even after searching a lot, Annika had found no one who could tell her about Shivaay's childhood or family, so she knew nothing about Shivaay's childhood or family.

"It's ok." Shivaay sniffed and rubbed his eyes. "Ab kya hum soye ?" ("Can we sleep now ?") He yawned making Annika smile.

"Accha thik hai, sote hai." ("Okay, let's sleep.") Annika replied and laid down beside Shivaay on the blazer.

Shivaay too laid down on the blazer.

"Darna mat, mein hu yaha." ("Don't feel scared, I'm right here.") Shivaay mumbled before falling in deep sleep.

♣

Aryan reached home with a tensed face.

OmRu and Nitya were sitting in the living room playing Uno card game and hence they didn't see Aryan coming inside the house.

Aryan had heard one girl's voice on the phone and had understood that Shivaay had got kidnapped along with some other girl.

"Hey Arry bhai." Rudy smiled when he finally noticed Aryan.

Om and Nitya too smiled at Aryan.

When Aryan didn't smile or reply, OmRu and Nitya furrowed their eyebrows in concern.

"Aru..." Nitya stood up from her place and walked towards Aryan, followed by OmRu. "...kya hua ? Aur Shivaay kaha hai ?" ("...what happened ? And where's Shivaay ?")

Aryan gulped and avoided eye contact. He was on the verge of tears himself.

"Arry bhai, kya hua ?" ("Arry bro, what's wrong ?") Om asked, concern lacing his voice. "Bhai kaha hai ?" ("Where's bhai ?")

Aryan sighed audibly. "Woh... Woh Shivaay ko...kisi ne...kidnap kar liya." ("Act.. Actually someone...kid... kidnapped Shivaay.") He replied with heavy heart.

"What ?!" Om and Nitya exclaimed.

Rudy stared at Aryan for a second or so before bursting out in laughter.

Om and Aritya stared at Rudy.

"Tu has kyu raha hai Ru ?" ("Why are you laughing ?") Nitya asked worriedly cause she thought Rudy was so shocked that he forgot how to react on a serious situation like this.

"Woh isliye bhabhi, kyu ki, Arry bhai aur Shivaay bhaiya humare sath prank kar rahe hai." ("I'm laughing cause, Arry bro and Shivaay bhaiya are pranking us.") Rudy chuckled. "Apka prank flop ho gaya bhai, ab batao bhaiya kaha hai ? Woh bahar chhupe hue hai na ?" ("Your prank is flop, now tell us where is bhaiya ? Is he hiding outside ?")

Aryan shook his head with teary eyes. "Mein jhoot nahi bol raha." ("I'm not lying.") He said desperately and narrated the entire story.

By the end of the narration, Om was standing stunned while Rudy was in tears.

Rudy remembered the time when he was kidnapped when he was 9, he was so scared at that time and all those goons were so scary, rude and ruthless. He didn't wish his bhaiya to go through what he had been through.

OmRu both looked scared as hell by just the mere thought of something happening to their beloved brother.

"Bhai nashe mein the aur kidnap ho gaye ?" ("Bhai is intoxicated and got kidnapped ?") Om summed up with panicked face. "Matlab woh khud ko defend bhi nahi kar payenge." ("Means he won't be able to defend himself if anything happens.")

Aritya looked at OmRu and felt bad when they saw OmRu's scared and panicking faces.

Aryan placed hand on Om's shoulder and looked at Om and then Ru.

"Don't worry." Aryan said softly. "Mein hu na, mein Shivaay ko sahi salamat ghar wapas leke aaunga." ("I'm here, I'll bring Shivaay back safe and sound.") He assured.

"Promise bhai ?" Rudy sniffed as tears flowed freely from his eyes.

"Promise." Aryan whispered.

OmRu both hugged Aryan.

Aryan hugged them back, providing them emotional support and strength but he was equally scared too.

Nitya placed her hand on Aryan's shoulder in a comforting manner and gave him a nod telling him through her eyes that everything will be fine.

Aryan returned the nod to Nitya and pulled apart from OmRu.

"Nitu, Ru ka khayal rakhna." ("Nitya take care of Rudy.") Aryan instructed his wife and turned to Om. "Om, hum dono jaake Shivaay ko dhundte hai." ("Om, we both will go and try tracing Shivaay.")

Om wiped his tears and gave a determined nod.

Om turned to Ru and cupped his cheeks. He wiped Ru's tears with the pad of his thumb and said, "Mein aur Arry bhai, hum jaake Bhai ko leke aate hai. Tu chinta mat kar, bhai ko kuch nahi hoga." ("I and Arry bro, we'll bring bhai back. You don't worry, nothing will happen to bhai.")

Rudy nodded, "Jaldi aana." ("Come back soon.")

Om nodded and left with Aryan to bring / rescue his elder brother.

♦

Next morning...

Annika and Shivaay were still sleeping soundly.

Shivika were cuddling cutely.

Annika was using Shivaay's bicep as her pillow. Her right hand was draped on Shivaay's stomach, while Shivaay's left palm was resting on Annika's hand which was on his stomach.

Suddenly the door to the storeroom opened with a loud thud, waking Shivika with a jerk.

Annika and Shivaay sat up on their places and held each other's hand while alertly looking around and saw a few goons and a guy standing in the door frame.

Shivaay was too confused for a moment, his head was paining like anything and his back was also cracking. He looked around and tried to recall how he got there and then he saw Annika, and a few blurred memories of last night came crashing down on him.

He remembered someone throwing a giant cloth on him and Annika and then got another blurry vision of getting dragged to that dirty room and then a few glimpses of his and Annika's conversation.

"Good morning, Annika darling."

Annika and Shivaay's head snapped at the owner of the voice and Annika's eyes widened while Shivaay just stared at the familiar looking guy.

"Tum ?!" ("You ?!") Annika yelled and her shocked face was quickly replaced with an angry one. "Tumne hume kidnap karwaya Harshad ?" ("You kidnapped us, Harshad ?")

Shivaay's head was pounding due to hangover. He looked at the guy but he couldn't recognise him until Annika took his name.

"Harshad ?" Shivaay mumbled and stared at Harshad. "Harshad Saxena ?"

Harshad walked inside the room and clapped slowly. "Arey waah Shivaay." ("Wow Shivaay.") He gave a tight lipped smile. "Mujhe laga tum mujhe bhul gaye." ("I thought you forgot me.")

Shivaay rolled his eyes while massaging his temples. "Ab tumhe kya chahiye Harshad ? Hume kidnap kyu kiya hai tumne ?" ("What do you want now Harshad ? Why did you kidnap us ?")

"Sach batau ?" ("Can I tell you honestly ?") Harshad asked Shivika. "Meine sirf Annika ko kidnap karwaya tha, lekin pata nahi kaise sath mein tum bhi kidnap ho gaye." ("I just wanted to kidnap Annika, but don't know how you also got kidnapped with her ?")

"Annika ki kidnapping ?" ("You wanted to kidnap Annika ?") Shivaay questioned in confusion and looked at Annika. "Lekin kyu ?" ("But why ?")

Harshad walked upto Shivika and sat on one knee before them.

"Kyu ki mein Annika se pyaar karta hu aur ussey shadi karna chahta hu." ("Cause I love Annika and want to marry her.") Harshad answered and glared at Shivika's entwined fingers before separating their hands. "Aur kismat dekho ! Ab mein tumse mera badla bhi le sakta hu." ("And look at fate ! I can now also take my revenge from you, alongside.")

"Badla ?" ("Revenge ?") Annika furrowed her eyebrows with a frown. "Kaisa badla ?" ("What for ?")

"Anu darling, yeh tumhare pati ka, yani mera, purana dushman hai." ("Anu darling, this guy is your husband's, means my, old enemy.") Harshad answered as he took Annika's hand in his and caressed her knuckles.

Annika tried to snatch her hand away from Harshad's but his hold was tight and her strength wasn't enough.

Shivaay's jaw clenched as he witnessed Harshad holding Annika's hand.

Shivaay looked at Annika and saw her disgusted and scared face and realised that Annika didn't want Harshad to touch her.

"Mein yahi hu Harshad." ("I'm right here Harshad.") Shivaay said through gritted teeth and snatched Annika's hand from Harshad's. "Aaram se apna badla le lo...bas Annika ko yaha se jaane do." ("Take your revenge in any way...just let Annika go.")

Annika stared at Shivaay in surprise.

Why was Shivaay trying to save her ?

Harshad's jaw clenched when Shivaay took Annika's hand out of his but he smiled again.

"Shayad tumne thik se suna nahi, Shivaay." ("You didn't hear me, I guess, Shivaay.") Harshad started and looked at Annika with lusty eyes. "Mein Annika se pyaar karta hu, mein ussey shaadi karna chahta hu." ("I love Annika, I want to marry her.")

Annika gritted her teeth and looked away in disgust and anger.

"Aur woh kya chahti hai ?" ("And does she want ?") Shivaay asked.

"Ussey kya farak padta hai ? Mein ussey shaadi karna chahta hu, that's it." ("Why does that matter ? I want to make her my wife, that's it.") Harshad shrugged.

"Mein iss bandar se shaadi toh kya, iski shakal bhi nahi dekhna chahti." ("I don't even wish to see this monkey's face, let alone get married to him.") Annika growled and looked Harshad in the eyes. "Tumse shaadi karne se accha toh mein mar jau." ("I will accept death than accepting you as my husband.")

That was it for Harshad, his calm demeanor wore off and an angry look appeared on his face.

Harshad fisted Annika's hair and pulled on them.

"Ah !" Annika groaned in pain as tears welled up in her eyes. "Chhodo mujhe Harshad." ("Leave me Harshad.")

Harshad held Annika's chin, in his index and thumb finger of his spare hand, tightly and inched closer to her face.

"Waise bhi agar tum mujhse shaadi nahi karogi toh mein tumhe zinda nahi chhodunga. Kyuki agar tum meri nahi hui toh kisi aur ki bhi nahi hogi." ("Anyway I won't spare your life if you don't marry me. Cause if you don't become mine then I won't let you become of anyone else.") Harshad whispered evilly.

"Harshad !" Shivaay growled before pushing Harshad off of Annika and punching him on the face.

Harshad fell on his back. He sat himself up and touched his lips with a hiss.

Harshad's goons were about to pounce on Shivaay but Harshad stopped them.

Harshad's lip was burst and blood was oozing out of it.

"Apni hadh mein raho, Harshad." ("Stay in your limits Harshad.") Shivaay snarled before turning to Annika and asking softly, "Tum thik ho Annika ?" ("Are you alright ?")

Annika nodded and wiped her tears.

"Teri itni himmat Shivaay !" ("How dare you !") Harshad stood up and pounced on Shivaay and held his collar. "Mein tujhe nahi chhodunga." ("I won't spare you now.")

Shivaay too clutched Harshad's collar and both of them started wrestling.

Just then a goon tiptoed behind Shivaay and banged a road on his head.

Shivaay groaned and left Harshad's collar before falling unconscious.

"Shivaay !" Annika yelled with worry and fear as she saw Shivaay losing his consciousness.

----------------------

Hey bubblies !

Yeah, yeah...I know, I'm being too filmy and dramatic nowadays...🙈

Cannot help it, sorry...😝

And also sorry for some mismatched and wrong translations.

Special msg to Rikara and Ruvya fans...
A few chapters will be focused on Shivika and then further chapters will have Rikara and Ruvya, you'll have to wait until then.

Lemme know how was it...

Thanks for reading, voting and commenting and for putting up with me...🙈😅

Until the next update,
Have a safe and great life 😇