The Remedy (AnShi/ShivIka OS)

Shivay blew his nose into a tissue, rolled it and dropped it carefully into the waste bin next to his feet. He keyed in a few words and numbers into the spreadsheet open in his laptop before picking up the steaming cup of hot chocolate. The drink had been liberally laced with some brandy. Before him on the table, there lay an assortment of pills and syrups.

He grimaced as he recalled the slack jawed wonder on the face of Anukul and Parimal, the two security guards, as Anika had pulled up at the gates of Shantiniketan, their farmhouse. It had taken every ounce of his patience to muster that air of utter nonchalance with which he greeted them, like there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary for an Oberoi to travel down the shaded paths of this estate on a stuttering scooter, wearing an oversized helmet and drenched to the skin. As soon as they reached the portico of the house which was tucked away amidst acres of greenery, he had cursorily introduced Anika to Mrs. Sethi, the housekeeper, and then made an expeditious escape. Hidden away in his room, after changing into a fresh and dry set of clothes, Shivay had begun to feel a little like himself once again. He had then proceeded to take every care to forget the incident and focused instead on the fact that he had gotten wet in the rain and was quite likely to catch a cold. It was well known that Shivay Singh Oberoi took no chances when it came to his health.

Meanwhile Anika was exploring the lawns in front of the house accompanied by two of the staff. After Billuji had left her at the mercies of the housekeeper, she had been treated to a scornful once over by the lady who seemed to ooze disdain just as much as her employer. Without much preamble, two assistants had been called to show 'Madam' around. There had been no offers of a towel to dry herself, let alone fresh clothes to change into. Anika's appearance at the house in wet clothes and looking like a bedraggled hen had certainly won her no great favours in the eyes of this Mrs.Sethi. She missed Daadi's solicitous ways for a few minutes but there was a great deal of work awaiting her and the sooner she started on it, the sooner she would be able to get going.

The assistants aiding her turned out to be very efficient. Thankfully it had stopped raining by then. It didn't take Prakash and Ali long to warm up to her and soon with their aid, Anika had completed her survey of the garden and those parts of the house that were to be used for the party. The team of decorators were on their way but Anika felt before they arrived, it would be better if she ran through her ideas by Billuji once. It was a party for Tia and his Royal Highness' particular friends and Anika wanted no complaints from the Bagad Billa about her work this time at least.

With this object in mind, Anika set out to find Shivay's den. While this was no Oberoi mansion, she would still have been hopelessly lost if Ali had not taken pity on her and offered to show her the way. He left her before a brown door and Anika knocked once before pushing it open. It was an immense room with far too many windows with billowing curtains than could be considered healthy. But it wasn't the number of windows that made Anika momentarily forget why she was there. Shivay Singh Oberoi was lying on a couch. He was not wearing a suit. In fact, he hardly looked the same man in that loose fitting kurta and pyjamas. Framed by the flowing curtains and the light streaming in through a window behind him, he looked... Anika chided herself. Anyone would look good in clothes that expensive. Here he is sitting pretty, looking like some kind of king in his castle, while she had been running around for the last half-hour organising his party, still wet, with no one offering her even a cup of tea. She almost let out a snort and he looked up at her.

Shivay was quite lost in his perusal of the share market readings when he sensed her. And there she was, standing at the door, gaping at him like he was some kind of zoo exhibit. Was there to be no escape for him?, he sighed to himself.

"Come in, Anika. Andar aajao."

As she came closer, he turned back to the laptop. With his unseeing eyes fixed on the screen, he put in as much boredom as he could assemble into his voice.

"Ab kaun sa musibat lekar ayi ho?"

"Atishoo!"

The sneeze got Shivay's full attention and he sat up with a jump. He looked up in shock to see Anika take out a handkerchief from her pocket and raise it to her nose.

"Stop!"

It was now Anika's turn to look at him with exasperation.

Shivay held forward his box of tissues. His face was scrunched up in disgust. Anika made a great show of rolling her eyes but accepted a couple of tissues and then proceeded to blow her nose with great fanfare. As she did so, Shivay took in her appearance. Her normally loose hair was now hanging untidily around her face, crinkly and damp. Her clothes seemed to be sticking to her body. It reminded him of another time, another moment in the midst of darkness, when she had risen before him from the waters of the pool like some kind of avenging angel, wet and dripping, her clothes sticking to her body like second skin and her eyes blazing fire. And it also reminded him of the softness that he had touched, in the darkness and again today, in the rain. He glanced at her waist involuntarily and then immediately tried to silence those thoughts. It's just wet clothes. Anyone who wears wet clothes would have it sticking to his or her skin. There was nothing remotely attractive about... Wet clothes?! What was she still doing in those wet clothes?!

Shivay's brief moment of embarrassing recollections turned to a more familiar feeling of irritation and he glared at her. Anika in the meantime had spotted the waste bin and had just then deposited the used tissues in their rightful place.

"Tum abhi tak kaprey change kyun nahi ki?!"

Shivay's anger finally broke Anika's silence.

"Aapko lagta hai main suitcase bhar ke kaprey lekar ghumti hoon? Yaa phir main koi hindi film ki heroine hoon ke scene change hua aur aise hi kapre bhi badal gaye!"

Shivay let out a derisive sniff. "Mrs. Sethi ko pooch nahi sakti?!"

"Dekhiye, aap ka ghar ka caretaker toh aap jaisa hi hoga na? Toh faltu ka mera time waste na karke, yeh jo menu hai, woh ek baar dekh lijiye. Aur decoration ka bhi theme colour ab finalise karna parega. Decorators toh... ",Anika trailed off as Shivay turned away from her and strode off into the next room.

'Ab yeh Bagad Billa ko kya phir se dauda par gaya? Jab koi baat kar raha hai, kamse kam sun toh lete...'

Anika's surprise turned to bewilderment as Shivay returned with what appeared to be a kurta in hand. He held it out towards her.

Was this man hell bent on wasting her time!?! Her amazement was now turning to red hot anger. "O Hello! Aap ko kya lagta hai main aapki sherwani ke size poochne ayi hoon?! Kurta pakra diya! Uske liye toh Tia ne koi designer ko.."

Shivay cut in, "Change karlo! Abhi!"

Anika looked at the deep blue kurta and the white pajamas in dismay. "Magar yeh toh..." she began.

"Larko ka kapra hai", Shivay completed for her. Pushing the clothes into her hands, he continued, "It isn't too likely now, is it, that there will be any other type of clothes in my wardrobe?" Despite his intentions, a note of amusement crept into his voice.

Anika frowned at the clothes and would have said something but another sneeze got in the way. Defeated, she turned to leave the room.

"Tum wahan jaa ke change karlo." Shivay pointed towards the door of his bathroom.

As Anika went to change, Shivay put the electric kettle to boil and took out several bottles out of his private stash. He was now on familiar ground. He worked with a quiet concentration as he went about fixing a drink.

The sound of a door opening made him look up and an awkward silence fell over the room as Anika hesitantly came out. Oddly enough, the clothes fit her surprisingly well. The sight of her wearing those familiar clothes made something twist inside him and Shivay cleared his voice and turned back to stirring the concoction in the glass.

Anika was about to pick up her folder of menus and bills, when Shivay turned towards her with the drink.

"Ye pee lo", he said in a tone gentle enough to make Anika look up at him in surprise.

Still, she looked suspiciously at the golden brown liquid in the glass.

"Kya hai ye?" she asked softly. Wearing his clothes did not sit well with her and she had never felt more shy in her life.

"It will help with the cold" Shivay said and would have continued but Anika had spotted the bottle of brandy on the table.

"Daaru hai isme?!" she almost shrieked.

"Haan, bas thoda sa..,"Shivay tried to explain.

"Aap mujhey daaru pila rahe hai!" Shock and indignation drove out all other feelings in her. "Badtameezi ki toh hadd hoti hai!"

"Language!" Shivay's fury was etched across his face. "This is hot toddy! Cold ka remedy hai.."

'Woh aap jo kuch bhi kahiye, daaru toh daaru hi hota hai!"

"Fine! Don't drink it." saying which Shivay chucked the drink out of the window. Flecks of hot liquid splattered on the window sill.

Anika looked at him in stunned silence before quietly picking up her folder. She then paused, looked at him as if daring him to speak, picked up his box of tissues and left the room.

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For the rest of the day, Shivay only caught a glimpse of her now and then. At one moment she was discussing the layout of tables with the decorators. At another she was arguing with the catering team over the quality of some dish or another. He even caught her trying to bulldoze Mrs. Sethi into allowing her to have a look at the sleeping arrangements since some of the guests were expected to stay over the weekend. While he was having lunch, he inquired of Mrs. Sethi if Anika had eaten. She apparently hadn't and he left a firm order that something should be served to their event manager.

It was past six in the evening when he heard her knock on his door. She entered with a wary look on her face. Shivay waited for her to approach him but she seemed to linger near the entrance as if reluctant to come in.

"Do I need to send you an invitation?" Shivay's sarcastic words however lacked bite.

His words seemed to confuse her for a moment.

"Event toh main hi manage kar rahi hoon. Agar aap mujhey invitation dena chahtey hai toh de sakte hai, magar main toh waise bhi yahan pe haazir hi rahungi," she said finally.

Shivay closed his eyes. He had thought that Anika had sent him to the limits of vexation but obviously she had much more left in her arsenal.

"Kya bolne aye ho?" he gritted out.

"Main ab ghar jaa rahi hoon. Aapke liye yeh kuch estimates aur bills hai. Yeh dene ke liye ayi thi."

It was almost six thirty in the evening and Mumbai was a solid three hour drive on the highway. The idea of her travelling on that farcical vehicle of hers in the darkness on the highway with speeding trucks and what not troubled Shivay. Also the weather had continued to be unstable and there was a high possibility of another bout of rain. His own car had yet to be delivered to him dismissing the possibility of him driving her back to the city.

"Agar tum chaho toh tum aaj yahi pe rukh sakte..." Shivay stopped seeing a furious blush spread across her cheeks. Where had that come from? Was she! Was she doubting his intentions!?

"Mera matlab hai, tumhara kaam abhi tak khatam nahi huyi aur tum ghar jaane ke baat kar rahe ho!?' he said, changing his tone.

"Abh itne der ko kaun sa kaam?" Anika looked bewildered.

"Tia wants this event to be perfect and I have promised her that it will be so. I want you to stay and make sure that happens. Instead of wasting your time travelling to Mumbai and back, you might as well just spend the night here and get an early start tomorrow." Shivay paused once and then continued with a smirk, "In any case, you should consider yourself lucky to get an opportunity to spend a night here."

"Aap shayad bhul rahe hai, Mr. Shivay Singh Oberoi, ki yeh kaam ke alava bhi mera ek zindagi hai aur ghar pe mere liye koi intezaar kar rahe hai. Aapko fikr karne ka koi zaroorat nahi hai. Kal main time pe hi pohuch jaungi." Her voice had a cold fury in it.

Shivay said nothing after that. She had walked out and soon he had heard the sound of her scooter as it thundered away though the silent evening. He was determined not to waste a single more moment on that stubborn woman. He had tried to help her even after everything that she had done to him. And what was her response? This just proved he was right! People like her didn't deserve his concern. He should just put her away from his mind and once the wedding was over, out of his life.

Shivay went into the bathroom to splash some water on his face. He spotted something red from the corner of his eyes. He picked it up and then dropped it with a start. It was a red kurta bundled around a pair of jeans.

Anika!!

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Note: I just want to thank everyone who urged me to write more. I don't know if I have done an adequate job, but it does feel good to let these characters talk in my head! 😳