Shivika FF: Love means letting go UPDT. CH 11- PG 24 /20-07 - Page 8

Hey it was a treat to read. Loved it.

Again a fantastic update...I love how Ru told him about the consequences of falling in love with Anika and the reality of Shivay and Tia's relationship...U r amazing yaar...plz continue soon

so true shivaay its yours ego which is hurt with tia but with anika its all heart

Chapter Nine

Omkara wheeled in the kitchen and stopped short at the sight of several cooked dishes. It clearly showed that Anika had spent quite some time cooking and it wasn't done on account of any special catering order but for regular tiffin.

While the people who had the privilege to eat that food would be happy, her special effort with cooking meant only one thing- Anika was upset and she was trying to remain occupied to avoid mulling over whatever was bothering her.

Omkara cleared his throat but Anika who was lost in her thoughts didn't respond. He tried banging the wall with his chair but his wife remained buried in her dish. When she refused to acknowledge his presence, he asked

"What is wrong? You have obviously taken all this effort because you want to distract yourself with something. Is it SSO?"

Anika dropped the ladle she was holding into a boiling container of thick gravy, a few drops of which splashed on her hand. Omkara quickly grabbed her hand and wiped it with a wet cloth. Making an effort to stand, he opened a tap and quickly held it near running water. His legs failed to hold support him any further and he settled heavily on his chair.

"Okay spill" he muttered breathlessly.

Anika was busy looking at the slightly reddened mark on her hand when she said

"I was wondering if I should tell him about Ansh but after all these years, I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do." She said softly. Omkara moved closer to her and held both her hands, making her look into his eyes.

"It is the right thing to do. The guy needs to know." He said calmly.

"He knows, I tried to tell him all those years ago, remember? He just chose to ignore it." Anika said bitterly

"Anika, we had both decided that you would personally tell him the moment he stepped in India because you thought he was someone who would do the honourable thing and not turn his back on you. You were the one who was convinced that he didn't get that message in the first place."

Anika shifted the weight from one foot to the other, her forehead creased with uncertainty.

"I was. But things have gotten so much complicated now that it feels like it is best with him not knowing."

Omkara contemplated that for a moment and wheeled backwards. Shivaay not knowing was an easy way out for both of them but just because it was easy didn't mean it was right. If only there was a way to know if Shivaay was indeed mature enough to handle this news. The thought gave him a sudden idea and his head snapped up, his intelligent eyes sparkling.

"Why don't you hang out with him and judge for yourself? Eight years is a long time and I'm sure he is far too mature than what he was."

Anika considered the suggestion but Om already knew that she would agree to it. Annika wasn't spiteful by nature and she knew that Shivaay deserved to know that he had a son . She walked up to Omkara and ruffled his hair.

"My pretend husband is a smart and creative man" she said happily and turned around to turn off the gas knob, laughing at his answering shout of not my hair Anika!'

***

When Anika had showered and dressed, she looked at the watch. Given that she had to reach her workplace by lunch time, she had made it a habit to feed Omkara and Ansh lunch before she left. She filled both their plates and placed them on the table. Calling out to both of them, she lifted her son and sat him on the table.

Omkara joined them and gave his pretend wife a special compliment on the amazing food. Ansh who was far too distracted with his portable play station was refusing to have a bite without coaxing.

"I'm running late, Ansh. Don't trouble mummy today." She said exasperatedly, holding out a spoonful of food near his mouth.

Omkara took the spoon from Anika and kept it on the plate.

"I'll feed him." He said with a smile "You get going."

He then lifted Ansh from the table and made him sit on a chair and then proceeded to feed the boy who was surprisingly compliant when it came to his papa.

Shaking her head in tenderness, Anika gave the two most important people in her life a long look, picked her handbag and made her way to Oberoi Pharmaceuticals.

***

Shivaay was hungry. His own tiffin hadn't arrived and he wasn't in a mood to have parcelled food. He was in the process of calling home to enquire about his lunch when there was a soft knock on the door and Anika walked in, holding a large tiffin box in her hands.

Shivaay sat stunned as a waft of perfume that he had begun to associate her with drifted to his nostrils. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply and his lips curved into a smile. Opening her eyes, he looked at her smiling face and felt all his irritation and worry ebb away. He watched in surprise as she grabbed a plate from one of the cabinets and opened the tiffin which smelled heavenly.

"This smells delicious" he told her "How did you know that my tiffin hadnt arrived?"

Anika didn't look up as she was busy putting generous amounts of food in his plate.

"Your dadi called me. Rudra gave her my number. She told me that you liked my food and asked me to pack a dabba for you as well which is surprising because you never tried my food."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I had your paratha from the canteen yesterday and it was delicious. And I happened to tell dadi about it." He avoided mentioning the fact that he had spoken about Anika at length that even his dadi asked him if he had finally managed to fall in love. First Rudra and then dadi, why did the whole world seem to think he had fallen in love with Anika? He wondered.

As he took the first bite of her food, he closed his eyes at the amazing taste. The tang of tomato sauce, the different spices and a hint of garlic assaulted his taste buds. He chewed slowly savouring every mouthful. Nothing had tasted this insanely good in a long time.

It was, hands down, the best meal ever.

"Thank you so much for the food Anika. You have magic in your hands" he told her

"The way to your heart is through your stomach?" she said cheekily "I should have known"

Shivaay's heart slammed in his chest and raced at an accelerated rate till he realized that she was joking. He didn't dare contemplate why that realization disappointed him. As she cleared the plates, he called a peon to help her who immediately freed her. Once the peon had cleared the plates, Anika stood up to leave as well but he caught her hand.

She stood still. He could hear her heart hammering and he was sure his own was hammering equally loud.

"Thanks Anika." He said, brushing the inside of her wrist with his thumb. Anika grabbed her hand and without meeting his eyes said

"You are welcome, Shivaay"

And then she ran as if all the hounds from hell that followed him the day before were now after her leaving a smiling Shivaay in her wake.

***

The employees in Oberoi Pharmaceuticals had a tendency to work overtime and usually many of them ordered a dinner dabba. That night, when Anika heard from the office grapevine that Shivaay was staying back as well, she decided to pack extra tiffin for him.

But this time she stayed away from his cabin as the hand holding incident was still clear in her mind. She knew that she couldn't afford to have her feelings rekindled because she had a family now.

But her plans to stay clear from the SSO radar failed miserably because immediately after dinner, she was informed that SSO was calling her to the cabin. Sighing, she knocked on the door, her heart beating alarmingly at his absent come in'

For a minute he didn't look up, his head bent over a file that he was holding in his hands. When he did look up, he did a double take. Closing his file, he pushed his chair backwards and leaned against it, studying her.

Anika felt nervous all of a sudden.

"You are avoiding me" he told her.

"I'm not" she protested but she couldn't meet his eyes

"Then why didn't you come to serve that delicious food?" he asked immediately

"Because serving food isn't a part of my job description. I just made an exception for lunch and besides you have been busy throughout."

Shivaay closed his eyes and massaged his neck

"That I have" he said and he looked so tired that Anika's heart melted. She thought of the one thing she did each time she had a long tiring day and suddenly she had an idea.

"I can get rid of your tiredness, if you allow me" she said with a smile. "Come with me"

Shivaay raised an eyebrow and for a moment Anika thought he would brush off her statement as insignificant but the very next moment, he stood up and quietly followed her as she led him to the elevator.

If it was Tia, Shivaay would have been sure she would press the stop button at a certain point or take him to the presidential suite on the top floor and get rid of his tiredness in the traditional way. But this was Anika and imagining her outrage if he mentioned such a thing to her, his lips curved into a smile. But his surprise knew no limits when he found himself being led to the terrace of the building.

The night sky was clear and the moonlight splashed its silvery glow on to the terrace. It was a chilli wintry night and the cold breeze soothed the tiredness away. He watched Anika laugh out aloud as she ran through the expanse of the terrace, and he marvelled at her joy in the simple things in life. The moonlight spilled onto the bare shoulders of her off shoulder top and his breath caught in his throat at the exquisite picture she painted.

He walked closer to her and watched her as she tilted her head up and stared at the full moon. The cold breeze was biting into her bare arms and she rubbed the palm of her hand against the length of her arm for warmth. Shivaay came behind her and enveloped her in a back hug.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, alarmed, trying to squirm out of his embrace but he held on.

"Making sure the biting cold doesn't interrupt your special moon admiring session." He said huskily, inhaling the flowery scent that clung to her.

"Please Shivaay" she said pushing him away. When he looked at her, her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"I don't know if I gave you the wrong idea or if you thought I had an ulterior motive in bringing you here. I only brought you here because this place relaxes me and I hoped it would relax you as well. I'm not one of those clingy girls you always hung out with and I'm not the love of your life, Tia Kapoor so please don't try all this on me. I'm sorry."

And with a sob she fled, not even waiting for the elevator. Shivaay stood there, hurt beyond belief not just because of the words she said to him, words that she clearly believed but also because of the hurt that shone in her eyes.

What was happening to him?

He never invested time in emotions, he never thought about his words or actions once they were said and done. Yet here he was doing just that. Tia knew better than throw tantrums on him. In fact he zoned out Tia during his work hours and never even thought of her or missed her even. In fact he thought more about Anika in the past few days than he had ever thought about Tia in their seven year relationship. He would have never allowed Tia drag him anywhere during work hours or called her because he wanted her company.

Even in college days, though he didn't love Anika, she was the only girl who had brought in protective feelings in him. And now those feelings had multiplied a hundred fold. The thought of any pain or hurt even touching her made his temper hit the roof. He was plagued by a constant need to see her happy, to see her smile.

There is a certain amount of pain that comes with the phrase what might have been'. The pain of not doing the right thing is far greater than the regret of doing the wrong thing- he knew that now. As Shivaay took the elevator and made his way back to his cabin he wondered what it would have been if he had chosen Anika during college days.. if he had made the effort of knowing the real Anika and extending a hand of friendship with her.

But then he was Shivaay singh Oberoi. Son of the multi-millionaire Shakti Singh Oberoi and had all the ego and arrogance that came with the name. He had been the one to decide whom to let in his circle and Anika had never made the cut. It was his dad's bank balance that attracted people like Tia towards him but that hadn't been the case with Anika.

Shaking his head at the wayward thoughts, Shivaay picked his phone and gave orders to Khanna to make sure Anika reached home safe and then proceeded to finish his pending work but his mind strayed.

He had been good to her, he thought reminiscing his college days. At least not intentionally rude like rest of the kids. She was after all in his project group for a whole year and she did all the work and for him. And that was what mattered because, it gave him the time to spend with Tia. Little did he know that his words and actions were misinterpreted by that girl whose heart had never known affection. She had been a misfit, having been a scholarship candidate in the college for rich and famous and his kindness had been misinterpreted.

She had built fantasies in her heart and had given him the most precious gift that he was too immature to recognize- let alone appreciate.

The gift of pure, unadulterated love.

And even after eight long years, he never knew why Anika had loved him the way she had.

____________________________________

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Hi Ashti:-)
The story is going absolutely great.
Not a bit of this story is low or boring for me.

You might find it amusing but this is the first short story, I am reading in this forum. I have always preferred ArShi since start and later SwaSan. Your work is too good to miss, without a percent doubt.

This update moved me to a great extent, I would say, especially the part from the terrace scene. Beautifully penned down.

Keep updating.

Love
- Harshada

Just read all in one sitting.. awesome story dearie !!

res

Very poignant Aashti, and I am glad Shivaay is recognizing the depth of her love!

awesome Loved it...

Aashti u are doing wonderful Job...Seriously I love this story