ShivIka FF: PROMISES- The Final Promise: I Love You (Pg 39)

Something smelt good.

As his sleep-addled brain swam languorously towards consciousness, Shivaay was vaguely aware that it was a familiar smell. He inhaled and tried to draw in the delicate tendrils of scent. Tried to place it. It was... sweet? No. Maybe a slight twist of vanilla, but that wasn't the top note. Citrusy? Yes. That was it. The smell was citrusy.

He felt his heart start to beat faster.

Was he really getting excited about eating fruit? Because that had to explain it, somebody had clearly brought in a bowl of fruit and left it near enough to his bed that he could smell it. But then, why had they also brought in vanilla?

What fruit smelt like thi- it's a perfume.

Tia exclusively applied Chanel No. 5. It wasn't one he particularly enjoyed, but she liked it and if it made her happy, he knew better than to complain. Only Rudra was naive enough to make such a basic mistake when it came to women.

It wasn't his mother, who preferred far more liberal applications of perfumes much muskier than this. Or Jhanavi Chachi, whose perfume was a clear jasmine.

Nor was it his Daadi, who just smelt like... well, like a grandmother.

A memory.

Curtains blowing.

His arms wrapping around a slender waist, clasping two warm hands with his own.

A body trembling and then going perfectly still in his arms.

His lips brushing against the shell of her ear.

Whispering into it.

Her scent wrapping around him.

This scent.

Shivaay's eyes flashed open.

"Goood morning, Mr Shivaay Singh Oberoi."

"Fhat the Wuck?!"

Shivaay sat up so quickly he banged his head against the headboard. The splitting pain made him see stars and for a moment, he was completely disoriented.

He was vaguely aware of Anika putting something down on his bedside table and then kneeling on the bed beside him. He shuffled backwards, trying to get away from her, but this just encouraged her to move further onto the bed towards him.

"Get back."

"But how am I supposed to look at your head if I move back? Billu, I promise I don't have any water. Don't be scared."

"I'm fine. You don't need to look at my head."

"That was a pretty loud bang, though." She frowned, looking unconvinced. "Are you sure you don't want me to take a look?"

"I'm sure. Now get off my bed." He made a shooing motion with his hand.

That twisted her frown into a scowl and she folded her arms, her expression turning petulant. "Don't you shoo me, do I look like a fly?"

"I wish you would fly. Far far away from me."

"This isn't part of our deal, Billu Ji."

"What deal?" Shivaay rubbed at the back of his head, wincing as his fingers brushed the tender area. He discreetly examined his fingers. Well, at least it wasn't bleeding.

"You made me a promise. Well, actually, you made me a few promises."

"And when might I have made these so-called promises?"

"Are you absolutely certain you don't want me to take a look at that bump? I think it might have caused some temporary memory loss."

Shivaay was about ready to throttle her. He was barely functional before he had his morning Espresso and wasn't anywhere near ready to deal with Anika's antics until he'd downed at least 3.

"What. Promise?" he muttered, his teeth gritted together both in irritation and against the throbbing pain that had just started in his head.

"To always say good morning."

"Good bye."

"You're not getting away with that again," she wagged a finger at him. She seemed to suddenly remember something at that moment and she grinned, pointing her finger instead towards the mug she had put down on his bedside table. "Especially not when I was nice enough to bring you your morning drink."

Shivaay's eyes widened, surprised. Anika handed him the mug and Shivaay flinched. Anika winked. "I promise I won't throw this at you."

Not looking away from her, Shivaay took a sip without glancing down.

The taste was so unexpected he dropped the mug, the liquid spilling all over his t-shirt and the bed. Anika yelped and sprang backwards off the bed.

The liquid was hot. It was burning his skin. Speechless, he pulled off his t-shirt and also leapt off the bed.

Wiping the remnants of the sweet, hot milk off of his chest, he turned his glare towards Anika.

His heart kicked when he realised that she was staring, somewhat dumbfounded, at him. Specifically, at his torso.

Shivaay couldn't help the smug smirk as he realised she was impressed. And to be fair to her, who wouldn't be? Shivaay was a perfectionist. It was only natural he would hone his body to perfection as well.

He strode around the side of the bed, towards her. Her eyes flitted up to his eyes and then back down at his chest. She took a step back as he neared.

And then another.

And then one last step before her back pressed up against a pillar.

Shivaay stepped closer until he was mere centimetres away from her. He took a deep breath... And felt his heart kick again as he breathed in the sweet, citrusy scent of her.

"So is this why you've constantly been throwing water at me, Miss Anika? You've been trying to get me undressed?"

Shivaay saw the flush creep across Anika's cheeks. Smirked again. Gotcha. She was going to deny it. She was going to run away. She was going to yell at him. She was going to...

Anika looked up, met his gaze. There wasn't so much as a hint of fear in those clear, brown eyes. "Please move back, Mr Shivaay Singh Oberoi. I don't know what's grosser- your body or your morning breath."

Shivaay jerked backwards, scandalised. He covered his mouth with his hand and yelled at her to get out.

"Sorry?" Anika cocked a hand behind her ear. "I couldn't hear you, what did you say?"

"GET OUT."

"You know what you have to say to get me to leave."

"GET! OUT!"

"Say, 'Good Morning, Anika'. Just like you promised, and I promise I'll leave. If you keep yours then I'll keep mine."

Shivaay glared.

"Don't you give me those scary eyes. I'm not scared. Just say it."

"Good morning!"

And with that, Anika turned and ran as fast as she could out of Shivaay Singh Oberoi's room.

2nd Promise: "Keep It Civil"

Anika didn't stop until she was inside an empty room on the opposite side of the house to Shivaay's. Her heart was racing and she couldn't catch her breath.

"Well if all of that wasn't supposed to make me angry, what should it have done? Made me fall in love?"

Shivaay's words hadn't stopped ringing in her mind for the past two days. It had been as though she'd been twisting two puzzle pieces together from the moment they met, just trying to get them to fit.

And suddenly, they had.

Not love. That would be stupid, and despite what Shivaay might think (and frequently yell about), she wasn't stupid. Far from it. She had the sense of mind to know that what she felt for Shivaay, how she reacted around him and he around her... it wasn't normal. It was something more. She had been tossing and turning for the past two nights trying to figure out exactly what she should do about it.

She was planning the man's wedding. And even though she could be a bit spoilt and shallow at times, Tia was a nice person and Anika liked her. She was the perfect complement to a man like Shivaay. Anika didn't believe that people had "levels", but she knew that society did, and they would never see a woman like her on the same one as Shivaay.

Tia wasn't secretly evil and Anika couldn't expose her dramatically in front of the entire Oberoi family. Things like that only happened on Star Plus.

It would be pretty cool though: everyone's shocked face; Tia crying as Security escorted her off the premises; Shivaay thanking her for stopping him from making such a huge mistake, admitting that he actually loved her.

Anika slapped herself on the forehead. Dream on, sweetheart.

Anika had contemplated quitting, and just as quickly dismissed the idea. She couldn't quit again. Not after Daadi had specifically visited her to ask her back. And if Shivaay kept his promise to be pleasant (or at the very least, civil) towards her, she didn't really have any excuse. And anyway, she enjoyed her job. And she wasn't exactly in the position to be turning down this kind of money. Not to mention the exposure: Anika had plans, big plans. Launching her own wedding planning business level plans. Having the eldest Oberoi son's wedding successfully under her belt would be huge.

Speaking of the wedding- she had also briefly entertained plans of seducing Shivaay away from Tia. That trail of thought had been dismissed with a fit of giggles. Anika knew she was about as seductive as an old potato. From the way Shivaay treated her, she might as well have the tentacles to prove it.

So, Anika had ultimately decided there was only one thing to do. She would try to be civil to Shivaay. She would be nice. She would stop fighting with him and treat him as she treated Omkara and... Okay. Maybe not Rudra, she treated him like a little brother and the thought of treating Shivaay like a brother made her want to gag.

She had made him that cup of milk as a peace offering. She had intended to drop it off and say good morning and then be on her merry way.

But that wasn't quite how things had worked out.

Her mind was suddenly bombarded by images of a half-asleep, half-naked Shivaay walking towards her, his hair tousled from sleep. Those incredible eyes piercing, as though they could see straight through her. She had panicked. The feelings she had wanted to squash under the hammer of civility had burst out.

And she had complained about his morning breath.

Anika groaned and banged her head lightly against the wall. "Stupid Anika. Stupid, stupid Anika."

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. Okay, so her first attempt had failed. So what? It was never going to be easy with someone like Shivaay Singh Oberoi constantly throwing a spanner into the mix. She would try again. He was obviously going to bring it up the next time he saw her and instead of retaliating and rising to the bait, she would simply apologise and walk away. Yes. She would swallow her pride and resist these inexplicably intense emotions and she would just walk. Away.

Or at least, that was the plan.

Anika peeked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear...

It was not.

3rd Promise: "Run And Hide"