Hi guys, thanks for such an overwhelming response. Writing something for the first time, I was not really expecting such a great response. Here is part 2. Let me know how you find it :)
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Next Morning..
The morning cacophony of women arguing in the chawl brought Shivay out of his deep slumber. The first thing he realized was a splitting headache. Clutching his head in his hands, he took a while to get his bearings. All memories from yesterday flashed by - his mother's deeds, the devastating truth, him walking in the rain, him breaking down in Anika's arms, Anika taking care of him.. "Anika?" he looked around in search of her but couldn't see her in the room. He glanced over at the clock on the bedside table to look at the time. 9:00 am. He was surprised. It had been months since he had slept so peacefully. No points for guessing why. Smiling slightly, he noticed a note kept on the bedside table, next to it was a tablet and a glass of water. He picked up the note and read it - "Good Morning :) I've kept a tablet here in case you have a headache. There is a fresh set of clothes near the dressing table. Freshen up quickly, i'll be around in the house :) -A" Looking over at the dressing table he found his black suit neatly folded. "So this is where my missing clothes are" Shaking his head at her antics, he quickly got out of the bed to freshen up.
Once done, he looked around the place to find Anika and heard noises in the kitchen. He walked over to the kitchen and stood at the doorway. There she was, preparing breakfast. For the first time since last night, he looked at her properly. She seemed to have lost weight. He could clearly see the dark circles under her eyes hidden beneath the concealer. "The past 4 months weren't hard on him alone. It was the same, probably even worse for her." Before he could continue with his thoughts, Anika brought him out of his trance. "Hi. Good Morning. Did you sleep well?" He nodded in a yes. Satisfied that he wasn't lying to her, she smiled and continued, "Breakfast is ready. Why don't you go to the dining table and wait while I bring out the food?" Nodding again, he moved towards and the dining table and settled on the chair.
She came out with the breakfast. "Here you go. Spinach Frittata, Pancakes and your favorite Americano." Pleasantly surprised with the spread in front of him, he exclaimed, "Wow! You learnt to make something other than Aloo Puri? I'm impressed" Anika simply smiled and nodded. Breakfast was a subdued affair. Both of them were trying to avoid the inevitable conversation. They knew that was not possible, yet right now, both of them just wanted to pretend that everything was normal. Shivay wanted to know what she had been up to for the past 4 months. Anika told him about the small event management firm that she had joined 3 months back. It was mainly her who spoke while Shivay just sat there and listened to her talking about her work and Sahil's trip.
After breakfast Shivay complimented Anika, "Anika, the breakfast was great! Even the coffee. When did you learn to make this?" Anika averted his eyes and hesitated a bit, "Umm.. I knew this was your favourite breakfast, so.." she trailed off. Shivay just stared at her, trying to process the unsaid words. "She learnt to make it because she missed me." He couldn't hold himself any longer. "Why Anika? Please tell me." Nodding her head, she got up from her chair and stood in front of him. Taking his hand in hers, she led him to the couch and sat next to him. "I need to take control of my emotions now and get to the bottom of this."
Facing her, he asked her, "Tell me everything now. When did you come to know about this? Why didn't you tell me?" Looking into his eyes, she started, "I came to know about it on the day when Nayantara first came to our hou.. I mean Oberoi Mansion. I was very confused when Mahi had saved your life. So I went to the place where I met you after your kidnap in order to search for him. There, I found the same medicines that you took for your heart condition. I couldn't understand how 2 people could be so similar. So I.." she looked away from him for a moment and continued, "I went for a DNA test of both of you" Shivay had a clue where this was going and he did not like it. But he didn't interrupt her and urged her to continue. "The results were positive. Mahi is your real brother." There, she said it. She looked at his face to find shock written all over it. "I guess I did see that coming now. Please continue.. " "I went to his place to confront him again. That's when he told me that Pinky aunty is not your.." she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Initially, I did not believe it. And when I saw how you placed Pinky aunty above everyone and everything else, I decided to never bring it out in front of you." Shivay remembered how he mad he had gotten at Anika when she tried to tell him that his mom was the one who had paid Nayantara to enter their lives. He had insulted her and hurt her a lot even that day. He came out of his thoughts as Anika continued, "the day when Priyanka and Ranveer eloped to get married, Pinky Aunty came to me and told me the truth about your birth. She told me that if I did not compel you to throw me out of the house in 3 days, she would herself tell you the truth. I could not let that happen. Hence, with Tia, OmRu, Jhanvi aunty and even Tej uncle's help, I did all the drama." she finished. Shivay felt betrayed. He felt all breath leave his body. "3 days. How could Mom do this to us? Didn't she see how much Anika mattered to me? Why?" Suddenly he remembered her weird behavior during that time. How she would go about hurting him and his family and at the same time, took videos of him. She had spoken about separation, memories. She had not really made a good attempt to hide her turmoil. "How did I not see through it? There were so many signs."
Facing her again, he asked desperately, "But why Anika? Why didn't you tell me the truth? Why did you make me hate you? Why did you face all of this alone?" Anika looked into his eyes and tearfully started, "Because I love you."Shivay looked at her shocked. "Because I knew that if the truth came out, you would break. I couldn't see that happening to you. I love you too much to let you break. You are The Great Wall of Shivay Sing Oberoi. You are the foundation of the Oberoi family. You are glue who has kept all of them together. How could I let this wall crack? Shivay, Pinky aunty has been your mother for your entire life. She has never treated you any lesser than she would treat her own son. How could I let my love win over hers? I had to lose this time Shivay. I knew that I was important to you. You even probably lo.. I knew I meant a lot to you. If I did not make you hate me, it would have been very difficult for you to move on. But I guess I was not very successful. I failed so miserably. Here you are, all broken. I couldn't even protect you." She frustratingly said. He had tears in his eyes. "She loves me so much?" Cupping her face in his hands, he replied "Of course there was no way I would hate you. I must say you did a commendable job. But I couldn't. God knows I tried to hate you. But I guess I love you too much to hate you." She looked up at him with shock and disbelief. "Yes Anika, I love too", he said with tears in his eyes too. As his words sank in, she smiled through her tears. They both hugged each other tightly, laughing and crying at the same time. Crying over how they had lost so much time together.
Breaking the hug, Shivay started, "I am sorry Anika. That day I..." She placed a hand over his mouth and didn't let him finish. "Hush Shivay. You don't have to apologize. It was never your fault. In fact, I should be the one saying sorry to you. When you proposed me that day, you gave me the happiness I had never dared to dream of. It was all my wishes coming true. The wishes, I had buried somewhere deep in my heart. You fulfilled them. And in spite of every fiber in my body wanting to say yes to you and embark on our journey together, I had no option but to hurt you. I had to hurt you in order to save you. I am sorry Shivay. And Thank you. Thank you for loving me in spite of knowing my background."
Shivay scoffed, "Who am I to question your background Anika? I used to take great pride in my name and my principles. Look where it brought me. I guess this is fate trying to teach me a lesson. The Shivay Singh Oberoi, who valued his principles more than anything else in the world, his own principles have become the biggest lie of his his life." He finished mockingly. Shaking her head, Anika squeezed his hands in hers, "Shivay, look at me. These principles, that all of us have in our life, they are just our guiding force. They do not hold the power to determine the truth of our life. They are not written in stone that they cannot be changed. As we grow, we knowingly or unknowingly do gradually change our beliefs and principles that we live by. Our principles cannot be bigger than our happiness Shivay."
"But what sort of a hypocrite would I be Anika, if I changed my beliefs and principles the moment I realized that I myself cannot fulfill them?" He asked her like a lost child. Looking at him earnestly trying to wrap his head around it all, she smiled and told him, "You are not a hypocrite Shivay. Who says you are changing your belief system today? You have been gradually doing it since the day we met. Shivay you went ahead with Priyanka and Ranveer's marriage because she loved him. You brought Saumya back to the house because you wanted her and Rudra to give a shot to their marriage. You also accepted Gauri for Om and stood by her like an older brother would during tough times. And most importantly Shivay, you loved me and wanted to marry me in spite of me not having any family. This clearly indicates that you were changing your belief system Shivay. Weren't you the one who said it's a long, slow and a gradual process? So no, you are not a hypocrite. I know it is going to be difficult for you to accept all of this. But you can take as much time as you want. And I am with you by your side. And together, we will face all challenges successfully."
Shivay looked at her with hopeful eyes, "You will stay with me?" Anika smiled and said "As long as you want me to be with you. Where else would I go?" Shivay smiled at that. "Yes, she would be with me forever now." But another thought troubled him. "Anika, what about my family? I don't know if I still have the right to call them my family..." Anika again interrupted him. "No Shivay, they will always remain your family. Family is not made by blood, but by love. Your family truly loves you, and I know that you love them to bits too. This truth does not change that." Shivay still looked unconvinced. So Anika asked him, "Tell me Shivay, Sahil is not my blood brother. So do you think that I do not consider him as my family?" Shivay immediately nodded in a no. "Her love for Sahil is no secret. In fact, she even agreed to marry me for him." "Do you think Sahil does not consider me as family?" Shivay nodded in a no again. He remembered how Sahil had broken down when Anika was shot. And how angry he had gotten when he came to know the reason why Anika had married him. "No Anika, the bond between you two is as strong as any real siblings if not more." Anika smiled at that. "Then what makes you think that this truth would make your bond with OmRu and Prinku any less strong? Shivay, Dadi, Tej uncle and Jhanvi aunty consider you as their own son. Nothing will change that. And Shakti uncle is still your father. You are still an Oberoi."
This convinced Shivay, but he still had a lingering insecurity, "But Anika, what if after this they don't accept me. What if they don't need me in their business anymore?" Anika shook her head, "Trust me Shivay, that will never happen. And even if it does, we will start afresh. Remember, OmRu and me are always going to stand by you. No matter what. Even when you show us your insufferable tadi" She tried to lighten the atmosphere. Shivay smiled and shook her head at her language.
However, there was one more question in his mind, "Anika, what about Mom?". Anika's smile faltered, "Honestly, I don't know Shivay. She seems to still hate me. That is something about which you need to take a stand. But whatever you decide, remember one thing, Pinky Aunty loves you a lot. She did whatever all that because she loves you." Shivay nodded.
He looked at her and smilingly, took her in his arms again. They were in peace now. His fears were allayed for now. They were sure that this topic was not closed for now. It would be an hindrance in their relationship. But they would face this together. And long as they were together, there was no power in this universe which would harm them.
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I hope you guys like it. Cheers :)
Edited by swtgirl_tina - 8 years ago
Cricket
Anupamaa
