Chapter 41 - Perhaps Love

Shivaay was just preparing some snacks in the kitchen for everyone when Annika arrived there.

"Shivaay ! Kya kar rahe hai ?" ("Shivaay ! What are you doing ?") Annika asked enthusiastically.

"Bhavya ne bataya ki tumhe cheese paneer wraps bahot pasand hai toh socha kyu na aj tumhe Shivaay special paneer wraps khilaye jaaye." ("Bhavya told me you love paneer cheese wraps so I thought why not to serve you Shivaay special wraps today.") Shivaay smiled.

Annika's eyes lit up like a child's.

"Mein bhi apki help karti hu." ("I'll help you.") Annika said and grabbed the pan without a second thought to put it aside.

As soon as she touched the pan, she shrieked in pain and let go off it abruptly.

"Woh garam tha !" ("That was hot !") Shivaay yelled and took her hands in his. He looked closely at her palms with utmost concern and gently blew on them. "Jyada jala toh nahi ? Jal raha hai kya bahot ?" ("Did you get yourself burnt ? Is it burning ?")

Annika, on the other hand, was frozen on her spot. Shivaay's touch always made her heart melt.

She was enjoying all the attention she was getting.

Annika couldn't help but smile when she saw concern and worry in Shivaay's eyes but there was something more to it....perhaps, love ?

Had he fell for her, just as hard as she had ?

No, no, what was Annika even thinking ?!

Love ? Seriously !

"Earth to Annika !" Shivaay snapped his fingers before Annika's eyes.

"Huh ?" Annika blushed.

"Mein kuch puch raha hu, jal raha hai kya bahot ? Hum doctor ke pass chale ?" ("I'm asking something, is it paining ? Shall we go to a doctor ?") He asked.

"Doctor ?" Annika rolled her eyes and took her hands out of his. "Aap shayad bhul rahe hai ki mein ek doctor hu." ("I think you're forgetting that I'm a doctor too.")

"Sach kahu toh na mujhe vishwas hi nahi hai ki tum doctor ho." ("Honestly, I don't believe that you're a doctor.") Shivaay replied. "Doctors kitne responsible aur samjhdaar hote hai aur tum..." ("Doctors are so responsible and mature and you...")

Annika frowned and then glared at Shivaay.

"Aur mein kya ?" ("And me what ?") Annika narrowed her eyes at Shivaay. "Nahi boliye na, boliye na mein kya, mein bhi toh sunu." ("Say it, me what ?")

"Tum bilkul naa samjh aur gairjimmedar ho." ("You're irresponsible and immature.") Shivaay stated.

Annika gasped.

"Mein gairjimmedar aur naa samjh ?!" ("Irresponsible and immature ?!") Annika growled.

"Haan. Bilkul baccho jaisi ho tum." ("Yes. Just like a kid.") Shivaay said. "Bhavya tumse jyada mature hai." ("Bhavya is more mature than you.")

That was it for Annika.

"Mein bacchi hu ?" ("I'm a kid ?") Annika challenged.

"Haan." ("Yup.") Shivaay replied.

"Mein bacchi hu ?" ("I'm a kid ?") She repeated her question.

"Sunai nahi deta ? Haan, ho tum bacchi." ("Didn't you hear me ? You're a kid.") Shivaay smirked.

Annika looked around in annoyance and saw leftover flour in a platter.

"Mein bacchi hu na." ("If I'm a kid.") Annika said and grabbed a fist full of flour. "Toh ab yeh bacchi bachpana hi karegi." ("Then I'll act like one too.") She said and threw all the flour on Shivaay.

Shivaay closed his eyes tightly as soon as the flour hit his face. He slowly opened his eyes and looked in the mirror, which was hanged on opposite wall for decoration, only to gasp at his own apperance.

Shivaay had his face smeared with flour and there was flour on his shirt and appron too.

"Annika !" Shivaay boomed and grabbed fist full of flour too from the same platter.

He aimed the flour at Annika but, sadly, Annika ducked down and the flour went past her.

Annika stood up again with a cheeky grin and poked her tongue out at Shivaay, making him more angry.

"Annika !" Shivaay yelled out before chasing her all around the kitchen.

After chasing for 5 minutes, Shivaay finally cornered Annika between himself and a wall in the kitchen.

"Ab kaha jaogi ?" ("Where will you run now ?") Shivaay asked in husky voice and with a smirk as he slowly took steps towards her making her backout in the wall.

Shivaay placed his hands on the either sides of her on the wall as he caged her.

Shivaay would've never acted like this under normal conditions but he himself didn't know what had gotten into him.

He liked the way Annika was staring at him, with all the love shining in her orbs for him. He wanted to freeze the moment and keep her caged in his arms. He wanted to protect her all his life and wanted to have her by his side his entire life.

She looked so gorgeous, so fragile and vulnerable with her emotions showing up in her eyes but that only made her look more beautiful, if that was even possible.

Annika's lips still held a small smile but her eyes showed her messed up feelings.

Annika's heart was pounding madly with each step Shivaay took towards her.

Shivaay didn't even hesitate when he leaned closer to Annika and rubbed his flour stained cheek on her soft ones, staining her cheek with the flour as well.

Annika closed her eyes tightly, her heart thundering against her ribs, as Shivaay came close to her.

Now both of them had flour on their faces.

Shivaay pulled apart and adored Annika, his face an inch away from hers.

Shivika shared an eyelock as they communicated thousands of words through their eyes and watched each other's heart beat in each other's eyes.

"Oh.."

"My..."

"God...."

"....Bhai ?!"

Shivaay and Annika jumped apart instantly, when the voices hit their ears and they both stared with wide open eyes at the people who had caught them red-handed.

"OmRu-" Shivaay squeaked before clearing his throat and continuing in normal voice. "-Bhavya, Gauri tum sab yaha ?" ("-Bhavya, Gauri you all here ?")

"Hum bas puchne aaye the ki apko koi help toh nahi chahiye." ("We had just came to ask if you need a hand to help you out.") Gauri was the one to break the silence with a smirk.

"Pr lagta hai..." ("But seems like...") Bhavya too smirked and with a teasingly look said. "...aap dono ko help nahi, privacy chahiye thi." ("...you need privacy more than help.")

Shivaay and Annika turned red as they freaked out and looked at each other and added some more distance between themselves.

"Aisa kuch nahi hai !" ("It's nothing like that !") Shivika protested together in total embarassment.

OmRuRiVya burst out in laughter, took the plates full of snacks and left Shivika alone.

"Enjoy yourself." Rudy said before leaving. "But don't enjoy too much." He winked before running away while giggling.

"Rudy !" Shivaay shrieked with red cheeks, while Annika hid her face in her palms.

"Yeh sab apki galati hai." ("It's all your fault.") Annika complained from behind her palms. She was still smiling and blushing.

"I...I'm sorry." Shivaay stuttered before leaving the kitchen himself.

Shivaay felt strange.

He wasn't supposed to do that !

How could he ?!

"Yeh kya kar raha tha mein ?" ("What was I doing ?") Shivaay questioned himself as soon as he locked himself in his bedroom. "No, no, no, no...yeh galat hai. Mein aur Annika ? Nahi, nahi. I should stay away from her." ("No, no, no, no...this is wrong. I and Annika ? No, nope. I should stay away from here.") Shivaay decided.

♠

Om smiled as he re-read a poem which he had penned down for his girlfriend, Gauri.

"O ! Kya kar rahe ho ?" ("O ! What are you doing ?") Rudy asked as he peeped at the paper from over Om's shoulder.

"Kal meri aur Gauri ki 1st monthly aniversary hai." ("It's mine and Gauri's 1st monthly aniversary tomorrow.") Om smiled. "Isiliye mein Gauri ko yeh meri likhi hui poem gift karne wala hu." ("So I'm going to gift this poem to her. I've written this myself.")

Rudy plopped on Om's bed and made himself comfortable.

"1st monthly aniversary aur aap unhe poem gift kar rahe ho ? How unromantic !" ("It's your 1st monthly aniversary and you're gifting her a poem ? How unromantic !") Rudy exclaimed. "Apni nahi toh at least meri image ka toh khayal kar lete. The Romantic Rudy boy ka bhai itna unromantic, how uncool." ("You should've at least considered my image if not yours. You're the Romantic Rudy boy's brother but you're so unromantic, how uncool.")

Om turned to Rudy with a sarcastic smile and joined his hands.

"Toh apka kya suggestion hai, mere Love Guru ?" ("What do you suggest, my love guru ?") Om asked sarcastically.

Rudy sat up straight with a pride smile glued to his lips.

"Why to fear when Rudy boy is here." Rudy puffed his chest out. "Mere pass apke liye ek mast idea hai, Gauri bhabhi ko aisa surprise denge ki woh ekdum khush ho jayengi." ("I've an amazing idea for you, we'll give her a brilliant surprise.")

Om stared at Rudy with no excitement whatsoever as he waited for Rudy to explain his plan.

"Kal shaam aap Gauri bhabhi ko ek romantic moonlight date pr leke jayenge." ("You'll take Gauri sister-in-law for a romantic moonlight date tomorrow evening.") Rudy said. "Dinner date on a beautiful lake side, under star filled, moonlit sky. Just you and bhabhi. How Romantic."

"Hello Mr Romance king, parso humare exam hai. Aur meri padhai nahi hui hai, samjha ? Plus bhai mujhe kabhi exams se pehle bahar nahi jaane denge." ("Hello Romance King, day after tomorrow is our exam. And I'm unprepared for that exam, alright ? Plus bhai will never let us go out on an exam night.") Om remarked.

"Exams toh aate rahenge, O, kya apki 1st monthly aniversary fir aayegi ?" ("Exams are constant, O, but your 1st monthly aniversary won't come again, will it ?") Rudy frowned. "Socho O, aap exams ke liye ek bar padhke bhi pass ho sakte ho." ("Think O, you can pass your exams on one time study as well.")

Om stayed silent as he thought over Rudy's words.

Om really wanted to make Gauri happy but...

Was ditching exams for that right ?

"C'mon O, aap humesha exams mein acche marks laate ho, humesha har assignment sabse pehle submit karte ho, 100% attendance hai apki, aap humesha padhai karte rehte ho kya aap ek break deserve nahi karte ?" ("C'mon O, you always score in your exams, submit every assignment before anyone else, you've 100% attendance in college, all you ever do is study don't you deserve a much needed break ?") Rudy asked hopefully. "Sirf ek bar ke liye aap padhai nahi bhul sakte ?" ("Can't you forget studies for once ?")

Om's temptation of going out on date with Gauri finally won over his senses.

But still a question stood strong on its ground.

"Bhai ka kya ? Kya woh mujhe jaane denge exam night ko bahar ?" ("What about Bhai ? Will he let me ho out on an exam night ?") Om asked.

"Aap uski chinta mat karo." ("Don't you worry about him.") Rudy smirked. "Bhaiya ko mein handle kar lunga." ("I'll handle Bhaiya.")

"Kaise ?" ("How will you do that ?") Om raised an eyebrow.

Rudy's smirk deepened and he raised his collars.

"Rudy ke charm se." ("With my charm.") Rudy gave a cheeky grin.

Om shook his head as he chuckled at his baby brother.

Rudy stood up and said. "Kal sham date ke liye tyyar rehna, mein date ki saari tyyari kar lunga, okay ?" ("Be ready for your date tomorrow, I'll arrange everything for your date, okay ?")

"O..." Before Om could complete, Rudy had already stormed off. "...kay." Om shrugged.

Om's sane side was screaming at him that whatever he was doing was wrong but the reckless side, which had came alive after so many years, told him to just step out of the goody 2 shoes and enjoy for once.

♦

"Hum aisa nahi kar sakte, jeth ji." ("We cannot do this, brother-in-law.") Pinky said with teary eyes.

Tej, Janvi, Pinky and Shakti were in Tej's bedroom. They were discussing the issue at hand behind the locked doors.

"Haan, Tej." ("Exactly, Tej.") Janvi sided Pinky. "Humare bacche hai woh...hum unke sath aisa nahi kar sakte." ("They're our children...we can't do such a thing with them.")

"Haan, bhaisahab." ("Yes Bhaisahab.") Shakti spoke up. "Hum unpr, fir se, annay nahi kar sakte." ("We cannot do injustice with them. Again.")

"Tum sabko kya lagta hai ? Mein yeh sab karna chahta hu ?" ("What do you all think ? I'm dying to do this ?") Tej grumbled. "Mein khud bhi nahi karna chahata yeh sab lekin mein majboor hu. Jara socho, hum jaante hai ki woh log kitne khatarnak hai, agar humne unka kaam nahi kiya aur unhone humare bacchon ko kuchh kar diya toh ?" ("Even I don't wish to do it but I'm helpless. Think about it, we all know how dangerous those people are, what if they harm our kids if we disobey them ?")

Janvi, Pinky and Shakti fell silent on that point.

"Hume yeh karna hi hoga." ("We have to do it.") Tej said.

"Lekin agar unhone fir bhi humare bacchon ko chot pohonchayi toh ?" ("But what if they harm our children even after obeying them ?") Shakti puzzled. "Bhaisahab, humare bacche safe hai, Shivaay ne hum sabko bodyguards diye hai, Oberoi villa ke aas paas humesha tight security rehti hai." ("Bhaisahab, our kids are safe, Shivaay has given us all a bodyguard each, also Oberoi villa is always under a tight security.")

"Sahi keh rahe hai, Shakti ji." ("Shakti is right.") Pinky nodded. "Sab abhi safe hai lekin agar humne unka kaam kiya toh sab chhin jayega humare bacchon se. Tab na toh unke pass security hogi aur naa hi kuch samjhne ki taakat." ("Everyone is safe right now but if we do what they want us to do then everything will get snatched from our kids. They won't have security after that and neither any power to understand anything.")

"Haan, Tej. Hume thodi himmat dikhani hogi. Kab tak hum unke isharon pe nachenge ?" ("Yes, Tej. We need to show some courage. How long are we gonna dance on their tunes ?") Janvi spoke up. "Hum ab unka kaam nahi karenge." ("We won't obey them anymore.")

Tej went over everyone's words.

He himself was against doing all of this, so it was pretty obvious that he was convinced with their thoughts.

"Thik hai." ("Alright.") Tej exhaled. "Hum unka kaam nahi karenge." ("We won't do their work.")

Janvi, Pinky and Shakti exhaled a smile.

Tej too gave out a small smile.

He had a feeling that they are going to regret this later but he was no different than his son, he ignored his intuition and decided to side with his heart for once.

♣

Shivaay was in his bedroom finishing off some work.

He hadn't faced anyone since that incident in the kitchen with Annika.

He was still embarassed of his deeds and just felt like digging a hole and hiding in it until he forgets about it. He was a human after all ! A very shy one.

He had cursed himself numerous times for losing self-control and cornering Annika like that. He was just praying that Annika didn't feel unsafe with him after that incident cause he seriously didn't wish to lose their friendship.

But if he was to be honest, he had enjoyed the moment. He was not able to get the image of blushing Annika out of his head. She looked so damn gorgeous when she blushed.

He was a bit sad though, cause Annika hadn't showed up ever since he had left her alone in the kitchen.

He had started to think that she had started hating him.

Oh God !

That's why people always lecture you on having self control cause it gets painfully unbearable to face yourself when you do something regretful out of sheer recklessness !

Shivaay sighed as he tried to put his thoughts aside.

Just then a knock sounded on the door.

Shivaay's head snapped towards the closed door with a smile. He was expecting Annika on the other side of the door.

It was time for Shivaay's meds after all and Annika never compromised with medicines. Never ever.

"Come in." He yelled gladly.

The door opened ever so slowly and in came Khanna.

"Khanna ?" Shivaay muttered disappointedly, while still anticipating Annika to walk inside with glass of water and meds any moment.

"Sir, humne uss photo wale admi ka pata laga liya." ("Sir, we found out about that person in the picture.") Khanna informed.

That caught Shivaay's attention and he stood up.

"Really ?" Shivaay smiled.

Khanna nodded. "Uska naam Jhonny hai aur woh Lonavala ke local gang, zombies, ka member hai." ("His name's Jhonny and he's a member of a local gang of Lonavala called zombies.")

Shivaay took the file given by Khanna and read through the information of zombie gang and Jhonny.

"Sir, aap kahe toh kya mein police ko inform kar du Jhonny ko pakadne ke liye ?" ("Sir, if you permit, shall I ask police to catch this Jhonny guy ?") Khanna asked.

"Nahi, Khanna." ("No.") Shivaay said firmly. "Mujhe khud uss Jhonny se puch tach karni hai." ("I wanna interrogate this Jhonny myself.")

Khanna nodded.

"Sir, apki medicines bhijwayi hai Annika ma'am ne." ("Sir, Annika mam has sent your medicines with me.") Khanna said as he pulled out medicines from his pocket and poured a glass of water.

Shivaay frowned.

Annika had really started avoiding him ?

Did she hate him now ?

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

Behind the scenes

Shivaay (chasing Shivani, the author, around the entire Oberoi villa) : How could you, Shivani ?!

Shivani (running, giggling and shrieking all at the same time) : How could I what ?

Shivaay (stopped running and collapsed on the couch, huffing and puffing) : You know what you did.

Shivani (collapsing across from Shivaay) : I know what I did.

Shivaay (sadly) : You ruined my friendship with Annika.

Shivani (softly) : Hey, I didn't ruin it. I just took it to next level, that's all.

Shivaay (sighs in frustration before glaring at Shivani) : When will you start considering my feelings ? I'm not ready for this. At all. And neither is Annika.

Shivani (smirks lazily) : I write what I wish and you do what I write so stop complaining and suck it up.

Shivaay (grumbles under his breath) : I wish I had an understanding and sane writer.

Shivani (raises an eyebrow) : You said something ?

Shivaay (rolls his eyes) : Not a word against you ma'am.

Shivani (grins) : Good. I'm hungry. Will you cook something for me ?

Shivaay : Do I've an option ?

Shivani (cheekily) : I'm afraid not. (Giggles)

Shivaay sighs and grumbles before dragging himself to kitchen.

BTS Ends

Hey bubblies ! 😆😆

How are you all ?

I hope you all are doing fine. I just got the entire story figured out and outlined so I shall not have any problem in keeping the story on track and I shall not face any writer's block too...😁

Did you like the little intense moment of Shivika ?

Sorry, if you found it bit out of sense. I'm really bad with romantic stuff as I'm more of action, thriller and drama lover than romance lover so...bear with me.

Until the next update
Have a safe and great life 😇