Shivika SS: 3 Months Later (Forced Marriage Track) Completed - Page 16

Chapter Five: The Change Of Heart

Anika delayed going home as much as she could knowing that there would be a lot of drama going on at the Oberoi Mansion. After her shift was over, Arhaan took her for a ride and only when they couldn't delay it any longer, Arhaan decided to accompany Anika home.

The moment she stepped inside, the first thing that she noticed was that the TV was on and the news of Tia Kapoors betrayal and her subsequent destruction by Shivaay Singh Oberoi had made it to the headlines and before she could notice anything else, she was wrapped into a bone crushing hug by none other than Pinky aunty herself

"Anika, Beta I'm so sorry I treated you so badly but knowingly or unknowingly you saved Shivaay from making the biggest mistake and I can't thank you enough. Please forgive me for my behaviour."

And she went on, apologizing for her actions that grated on Arhaan's nerves to such an extent that he quietly left Anika's side and stood beside Rudra and Saumya

"If she gets any sweeter, I will get diabetes" Arhaan told the youngest Oberoi as he watched Anika awkwardly tell Pinky that she forgave her

"It is okay Pinky aunty, I understand" Anika was saying but Pinky didn't stop at that

"No calling me pinky aunty from now on. Call me mom like Shivaay does" she said and both Arhaan and Saumya rolled their eyes

"I'm sorry I can't do that." Anika said firmly and she missed the sadness and fear that was clearly etched on Shivaay's face. She then went to dadi and took the older woman's hands in both of hers

"Dadi, I stayed with him for as long as I could. You must realize that we cannot go on like this. I want a divorce."

There was pin drop silence. Shivaay simply stood there, frozen, simply looking at Anika as if she would disappear at any minute

"Anika there are problems in every relationship but we don't jump into divorce" said Pinky sweetly

"Thaali ka baingan." Muttered Arhaan under his breath and Saumya who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement "Wasn't she singing a different tune some time ago?

But it was dadi who surprised everyone

"Okay Anika, I won't stop you this time. Do what you feel is right." She said. Pinky looked as if she was about to argue. Wanting nothing but to protect Anika from the argument Dadi called out to Saumya

"Saumya beta take Anika to the room to change. She looks tired."

Saumya quickly took Anika upstairs. Shivaay's wistful gaze followed his wife till she was out of sight which wasn't missed by Arhaan. The moment the bedroom door closed, Pinky confronted dadi

"Saasumaa you were against their divorce some time ago and now when I have accepted their relationship, you are encouraging her to take the divorce? Why are you ruining my son's life?"

That did it. Arhaan totally lost it with this woman

"I'm sorry, but what about your son ruining Anika's life? For you Anika is a small part of your world but for me, She IS MY WORLD. And I don't give two hoots about your happiness or your son's happiness, it is Anika's happiness that matters to me and if it lies in the divorce than I will see which Oberoi can stop her from getting it." Arhaan told her sharply

Though everyone had alienated Pinky and Tia in the last three months, though almost everyone agreed with Arhaan's words, no one openly supported him because speaking for him was like standing up with an outsider against a family member

"Watch that tone" said Shivaay furiously

"Pity you could never say that to your mother and mistress in the past three months" replied Arhaan looking at him straight in the eye.

"I know I have made mistakes but I am willing to correct them and I was willing to correct them even before Tia's truth was out." Shivaay explained

"You are late." Arhaan said flippantly. "You decided the fate of Anika's feelings for you three months ago. This time Anika will decide yours."

"I love her" Shivaay said, his voice almost a plea.

"Irrelevant." Arhaan told him stonily "She spent three months picking the burden of your mistakes and I'll be damned if she spends the rest of her life picking the burden of your guilt or your love"

Both Shivaay and Arhaan looked at each other. The tension in the room was so thick, it could be cut with a knife. It was obvious Arhaan had lost his cool and dadi stepped in before the whole matter would end up in a full blown fight

"Things will happen the way you and Anika want it to, beta. You have my word" said dadi in a tone that even Pinky knew wasn't to be countered

"Thank you." Said Arhaan calmly "Tell Anika I will see her tomorrow."

And with that Dr. Arhaan Mehra left the Oberoi mansion leaving a storm cloud of fury in his wake

**

Dadi ignored Pinky's arguments and went straight to her room closely followed by Jhanvi. Om went to Shivaay and put a supportive arm on his shoulder. Rudra too, who was an active member of the Dr Arhaan Mehra fan club' gave him a side hug

"I'm fine Om. Actually I expected Anika to come down to see Arhaan off. I'll just go check on her and see if she is okay" Shivaay told him and made his way upstairs to his room feeling his brothers gaze boring into his back

**

Shivaay entered his room looking for Anika and stopped short when he saw her sprawled on HIS bed, fast asleep. It was obvious that she had showered and had been sitting on the bed and lay down for a bit, fully intending to go downstairs but had fallen asleep. Her legs were touching the carpeted floor. Her hair was wet as well and the scent of her shampoo hung in the air. Shivaay had no choice but wake her up lest she catch a cold.

But Anika refused to wake up. In fact she was into such depths of slumber that she didn't even realize that he was trying to wake her up. Shaking his head in amusement, he lifted her up and placed her in the middle of the bed and adjusted the pillows to support her head. He then grabbed a dry towel and rubbed her hair dry

And she slept through it all.

It was only when he switched on the dryer and started working on the roots of her hair that she came close to waking up. But all she said was an incoherent go away' and slept on. Once Shivaay was satisfied that her hair was dry, he covered her sleeping form with a duvet and then decided to reward himself for his efforts by kissing her on the brow.

He informed Prinku that Anika had fallen asleep and wouldn't be coming down for dinner and then sat with his laptop hoping to muster enough concentration to get the pending work done

But he couldn't concentrate. His mind once again travelled to the day when Anika had been kidnapped and his subsequent realization of how gravely he had misunderstood her. Anika had been indifferent to him after that.

The worst part was that he was powerless to stop his mothers or Tia's taunts. He had given Tia a tongue lashing once for insulting Anika but he knew she would continue to do it when he wasn't around. At that point he hadn't blamed Tia for he had put it all down to jealousy. He had made sure to keep Tia away from Anika at all times.

He had tried to harden his heart as well and go through what duty demanded him to do. But he had fallen more and more deeply in love with his wife as days passed. She had been the first one to find out that Om carried the burden of guilt of the accident two years ago. She hadn't kept the grudge of what he had done to her own brother but had helped Om to overcome his guilt, initially by engaging him into social work and helping him to be actively involved into helping under privileged children

It was far later that Om had confessed the whole thing to him and he knew had Anika not found a way to help Om, there would have been a possibility of losing his brother. He had tried to thank her but she had told him that the only way he could thank her would be by giving her what he took, her freedom.

Ironically, that was one thing he couldn't give her

He had tried to let her go but even the thought of separation had started putting him into realms of despair. He found himself yearning for her presence, he constantly followed her and stood quietly staring at her for hours together. When she got a job, he started missing her so much that he asked his security team to find out about her schedule and then unfailingly caught up with her on her break, only to watch her at a distance

His love for her was bordering on obsession. As he looked at her sleeping form he thought about the night of his reception, 3 months ago, when he hadn't given the title of Mrs Oberoi to Anika

Little did he know then that someday he would want nothing but to give her that position and she would want anything but that

Little did he know then that the one he so ruthlessly destroyed would someday be more precious to him than his own life

Little did he know then that he would someday love her so much that he would be guilty of stalking his own wife.

Chapter Six: The Deepest Bonds