.ShivIka.
The lights of oberoi mansion flickered during the stormy night illuminating the two young men paced along the corridor waiting for some sign which signaled that they were needed. One tall and lanky, with all the concern in his heart mirrored in his eyes and the other well built yet fidgety, his eyes darting to the huge mahogany door behind which was their most beloved brother
The tension was palpable and Om silently wondered how the other members of the house were asleep now. He felt as if he was surrounded by fire, the same which he had seen burning in his brother's eyes tonight. He had only caught glimpses of Shivaay and he knew that this was the night that he had predicted a long time ago.
He recollected the scene.
Spying on Shivaay and Anika has become a sort of routine for him and Rudra now. What had begun as a sort of spectatorship to world wars had later turned into silent cheering matches where both of them waited for the pair to realize what they meant to each other. Even though they had made a decision not to intrude in their brothers private moments anymore (The sight of Shivaay leaning in to kiss Anika and Anika not resorting to the usage of chandini had been too much for him and Rudra) they somehow ended up being there at the right time. Or rather the wrong time.
They had been discussing what next to ask love angel when the brothers heard their Anika Di speak in an uncharacteristically cold tone.
"I think it is about time that you fix the date Billuji"
Om and Rudra exchanged a helpless look. They inched closer to the room from which the voice was coming from. The pause which followed was so long that they wondered whether the day that Shivaay had predicted had actually arrived. Anika losing her marbles.
But then shivaay spoke, making them wonder whether it was their own brother who had lost it.
"Billu ki shaadi hogi
Billu ka sehra sajega
Billu khodi chadega
Bill dulha banega...right?"
Shivaay was glaring at Anika while she was looking at the ground- her usual energy absent. There was a sort of defeat in the way she stood, her shoulders slumped. Her lips were set in a straight line. This seemed to infuriate shivaay further as he grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him , caging her in his arms.
"What the farakh" om and rudra said at the same time before they hastily closed each others mouths..
Anika who was looking up at Shivaay in shock suddenly broke her gaze and looked around.
"Kuch suna aapne?"
"What..no! " Shivaay was frustrated. Om could sense that the anger within Shivaay was getting uncontrollable, reaching his boiling point slowly.
"As expected. Aapke kaans toh france mein hein na" Anika giggled, a sound so fake it made Om flinch.
" Just shut up now!And.. And listen! So you don't know why i am not fixing the date?"
"Aap yeh kya keh rehe ho.. hum panditji thodi na hein, jo aapke man ki baat theek se padh lein"
Om wanted to walk up to her and shake some sense into her, tell her to stop sounding so painfully fake. The happiness which she injected into her voice was more fake than Tia's new nose.And that is really saying something.
Shivaay apparently felt the same. His hands went from her waist to her arms and they formed a vice-like grip around them. His eyes were burning with a fire which could have burned the whole house down.She flinched. He was hurting her. But his brother had reached his saturation point. Very few knew how Shivaay was at his worst. Maybe not even Rudra. But Om had seen it. And now it was happening again. Shivaays grip on Anikas hands loosened. His eyes froze over giving off a misty sheen. He was looking at her but his mind was somewhere far away.
"So you don't want to talk about it Miss Anika. Fine. I will be getting married in two days.Ah yes, that is this Friday"
Anika however could not fathom the change that had happened to Shivaay and she nodded and stepped away from him. Om could see the tears that were falling from her eyes now. Next to him Rudra stiffened, horror evident on his face, making him look almost comical.
"Dont waste time crying now. I want everything to be perfect. Forget what i said. I want everyone there. Relatives, friends, celebrities..everyone. I want you to design the invitations. I need a sample by tomorrow morning. You need to decorate the mandap..Yes you..The bed too..you should decorate the bed too Anika.." Shivaay trailed off.
By now the tears were freely streaming down Anikas face but both of them stubbornly ignored it as if it were just a minor inconvenience. She was nodding furiously, agreeing to things which he had already said. They watched as she mumbled that she had to go now, and something about Sahil. She was walking towards the door where Om and Rudra were hidden and they quickly scrambled away to avoid being noticed.
"Anika.."
Shivaay's voice rang loud and clear cutting into the silent night.
She turned around. They could just see her face from where they were hidden. She was standing right next to the door.
"Maybe you should give tips to Tia on how to kiss me. Right before the Suhaag Raat i mean. I quite enjoyed kissing you, you know. And if i remember right, you did too."
Om turned away from the scene, pulling rudra around too. They did not need to see the damage that their brother had caused now. They heard Anikas anklets chime as she ran away from their brother. Then came a loud thud of a door slamming shut and then nothing.
Om and Rudra looked at each other and he could see that even their little brother had understood. What they had seen was Shivaay's horrible attempt at bringing anika to her knees. An attempt to get her to confess first. Everything was out in the open yet they both refused to address it.
"If Shivaay bhaiyya can play dirty, then so can we" Rudra said, to which Om wholeheartedly agreed. And so they waited for their brother to finally calm down enough to open the door for them.
About an hour had passed when suddenly the sound of glass breaking alerted the boys. They banged on the door until it was opening by a disheveled looking Shivaay, his eyes wild and his hair tousled as if he had repeatedly run his hands through it. He looked at both of them for a moment then stormed back into the room and grabbed the lampshade and threw it to the floor , where it shattered into pieces.
Rudra made a move towards Shivaay which Om stopped quickly. Shivaay who was looking at the broken pieces now looked at his brothers, a little confused. Why hadn't they stopped him? Things were definitely not going according to his calculations. Then a look of defeat clouded his face and he sank down to his bed. Om and Rudra sat down on his either sides and Om put a comforting arm around him.
"You done, Drama queen ? " He asked, chuckling a bit.
Shivaay didn't bother to respond to the question.
"Om.. Rudra.. Do you know how many girl friends i have had?"
Rudra made a huge show of counting until he said "Um...4?"
"Yes.. And do you know what was in common between all of them?"
"umm..."
Before Rudra could have cracked an untimely joke Shivaay replied, his voice rising with every word.
"EVERY. SINGLE. THING. Every damn thing!! Hell i think all of them even used the same damn perfume! I mean all of them smelled the same to me anyway ..and damn Anika! Damn her and her jasmine scent! Do you know how..how intoxicating she smells? I might sound a bit weird here but i..i just don't care.!'
"Shivaay" Om cut him off "What are you trying to say?"
"That i love her ok?! " And with that Shivaay got up and started pacing across the room, his face paler than..Well more than usual.
" Well you have just stated the obvious. Ab problem kya hein?" Om asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized what his brother was going to say.
"She just doesn't admit that she wants me. I mean .. i have done everything i could to make her say it. I have been nice .. I have been harsh. And she just.. damn she drives me crazy! I just can't believe my standards have fallen like this.."
Shivaay was muttering whatever was going on in his head but what he said didn't go unnoticed by Om who was just about to reprimand him for what he said but Rudra had already started speaking.
"Haan bhaiyya your standards may have fallen but Anika didi has high standards. That is why she prefers you over the Aarav guy."
Shivaay stopped in his tracks and looked at Rudra in silence. The only sound for a while was the rustle of the curtains while Shivaay seemed to take time to comprehend what Rudra had just said.
"Who is Aarav?"
Om held back the grin which threatened to appear on his face. He knew exactly what Rudra was doing. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Woh Anika didi's friend. He is also apparently some rich guy from Mumbai. Didi told me he is her childhood friend. She said he is interested in her. And she also told me that he is very handsome too. But she told me that she is confused on what to do. Finally she told me that it depends on who confesses first. You or him. I guess ab he has an upper hand. Do din mein you are getting married hein na?waise bhi Aarav will suit Anika didi more i think..She had shown me a photo of his.Smoldering eyes, sexy body and best of all bhaiiyya he is about 6 feet tall!"
And in a flash Shivaay and his car keys were gone. Through the window they could see the guards opening the gate for Shivaay and then his car speeding towards a certain Paanika's home.
Om glanced at Rudra to see him grinning, his eyebrows raised, obviously waiting for Om to applaud his move.
"Cheapde" Om Said laughing out loud, leaving a dumbfounded Rudra behind. He could imagine Shivaay's expression on hearing him quote anika. He was almost sure it wasn't possible but once or twice it seemed as if his dear brother was a little jealous of him being close to Anika.
The things love does to us.
...
Part 2:
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/137071352
I am writing after a LOOONGGG time so please no chappals if it was horrible😆 And sorry if there were any typos or mistakes :)
Read and Review🤗
.Gayu.
