ShivIka FF: An Ishqbaaaz Rising *3.7 Updated* (2nd July, Page 82) - Page 41

Well I will not say anything because its my fave FF of Ishqbaaaz and you slaaay truly .

thank god shvaay didnt fall for daksh games

Without doubt this is one of the best fan fictions ever! I read all of it in one go. Can't wait for your next update!

Thank you for the pm. Loved the update :D

I read this in one go. It was such a good read. LOVE it!!! ❤️

Author's note:

AN: Hello! So, '3.6: Life and Death' is a dedication to one of the most wonderful fellow writers here Innika and her OS: Sandcastles. Since, this chapter has 8 chapters (as of now!), I have decided that I am going to post 2 or 3 updates together depending on the storyline then.

Without further ado: Happy Reading!

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3.6 LIFE & DEATH

"Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along."

- Rumi

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PART A: OF SILENT PROMISES

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

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It was about 10:45 PM, and the mansion seemed almost eerily quiet.

So much so, that the usually silence' preferring occupant of the first floor: Mr. Shivaay Singh Oberoi... was seriously contemplating his preference for silence that night.

Of course the reason for this sudden contempt towards silence' might have had something to do with the fact that he had inadvertently spent the full day in the company of a brunette that frustratingly and consistently persisted in baffling him in more than a hundred ways - everyday - since the day he met her... but really...all of that mattered little.

Because really right now - he was just annoyed with silence.

And this very fact... that this was silence' that was annoying him, only added to his annoyance.

So - now you see how the loop followed?

Dressed in his comfortable checkered blue night kurta and pajama... he stood facing the poolside at his window with his dark roast espresso in hand... A million different thoughts running in his mind as he stonily listened to his late night caller through the Bluetooth...

H sighed inaudibly before tiredly running a hand over his forehead as the person instantly seemed to drawl on...

And it was honestly exemplary then... that Shivaay Singh Oberoi was still holding on to his threads of patience as his voice managed to control the irritation in his voice. "Don't be ridiculous Mrs. Kapoor. I have already told you that I will sort out all the issues in a matter of days."

He had just finished a three-hour long conference call with his team in London and Mrs. Kapoor's insistence on talking to him that particular night was going beyond him then.

Now finishing the espresso in one large gulp and relishing the bitter warmth burning down his throat... he tried to end the conversation as politely as could then be expected of him then.

His voice smooth yet curt, he cut through Mrs. Kapoors' drawls then. "Tia is fine. Her security is already been taken care of. She can stay here or back at her place - it matters little to me... she can decide."

Pushing the empty espresso cup on his desk impatiently, he started walking determinedly towards the outdoor lawns and courts, where he could almost hear all their hushed voices coming from.

Of course that was a hyperbole as it was much too far to actually hear anything... thus the 'annoyance'...but still.

He could almost feel his Annika sensors' tingling as he stepped closer to them with every step.

What was she up to now?

"I don't need to remind you Mrs. Kapoor that I do not take outsiders interfering in my personal or professional matters very kindly."

But the sound of her barely hushed giggling was reaching him over his brother's voices and involuntarily he felt his steps quicken.

What was happening?

Without waiting for Mrs. Kapoor's reply over the phone now, he then jerked the Bluetooth from his ear and threw it aside.

However, whatever he meant to shout out or even simply talk out aloud died inside as he stared speechlessly at the scene in front of him.

It seemed that the youngsters in the house had been up to all kinds of mischief whilst he had been buried in work...because everything - from the concentrated looks on all their faces to the multiple scoreboards and the court itself - all of it indicated that they were in the middle of some kind of one-on-one basketball game amongst one another in the dead of the night.

But more than the logistics of the scene and even Annika for that matter then - it was something else that literally rendered him speechless.

There - right in the middle of the court - very much in between their dribble... Rudra and Saumya stood so intensely gazing at one another that it almost made him feel the heat rise on his face.

What the wuck?

They were so obviously lost in one another that they had both lost their hold on the ball... which was obviously close to winding down its bounce then.

Could this be happening?

No - of course not.

Rudra was still so young... and Saumya too? How could this even be true?

And what were they all doing here ANYWAY?

But before he could clear his throat or do anything for that matter, Saumya seemed to snap out of the moment... and before Rudra had even realized... Saumya had in the next instant perfectly sidestepped him and scored the basket in what could only be described as a perfect 'lay-up' manoeuvre.

Maybe this was all because of the coffee?

If these had been any other instance... It would have been downright hilarious to see his extremely macho' younger brother take this beating from a girl'...but right now he was feeling a whole bucket of different emotions to process the humor in the incident.

Rudra and Saumya?

He turned first towards Omkaara who was mirroring his surprise and then to Annika who was also reflecting their surprise as well as the slight fluster that he was adamantly trying to control.

But before they could react - it was Sahil's loud and happy cheer that helped them get out of their very apparent shock.

"Wow Saumya!!! I knew you could do it -"

Sahil's innocent cheering was then almost instantly put to rest as his sister lightly hit his head - "Saumya didi Sahil"

"Haa Ha... pata hai aap didi ho... Saumyaaa"

Sahil's very obvious bias towards Saumya was hardly a secret - and this brought a grin to his face.

This was an interesting development. How in the world had he missed this?

"Oh please - this was just a fluke. I want a re-match"

It seemed like Rudra had finally been shaken off from his temporary slip - and the slight whine in the end there reminded Shivaay of the hundred different fouls and passes that the youngest Oberoi was used to getting ever since their childhood.

HA - he knew it! All of this is a result of daadi's Ishqbaazi' lectures... nothing else Shivaay.

"Aur waise bhi... itni raat ko basketball kaun khelta hai? This was your stupid idea..."

"Accept it crybaby, you lost...I won!"

He rolled his eyes at the childlike duo now.

Of course - it was ridiculous to even entertain such stupid thoughts.

"I did not... woh...bhaiya's entry disturbed my concentration"

This... he had to give it to Rudra.

Nice try - that one.

"Accept karlo tum please... I won. And twenty rematches will not change that."

His eye caught Omkaara relaxing too.

His immediate shock obviously subsiding, he grinned at the younger pair easily now. But just as he turned to watch Annika's expressions, his gaze landed on Sahil.

Part sadness, part guilt... but part fierce possessiveness gripped him as he stared at the much smaller boy now who was looking wistfully towards the basket.

His heart broke at the look.

The innocence in Sahil's eyes drew him like a moth to a flame and something within him shook as he tried to contain the fierce protectiveness that flowed threw him in that moment.

This was about family.

Sahil was family. And no one... no one who was Shivaay Singh Oberoi's family got to even feel a twitch of wistfulness. Sahil would have everything. He needed to have everything that he even though of - he would make sure of that.

A plan slowly forming, he cleared his throat loudly to gather the still squabbling duo's attention.

"Shhh bhaiyaa - this is an important discussion. Sumo is actually trying to say that she beat me? Me? Rudra Singh Oberoi? THE Rudra Singh Oberoi? Master of sports...master of all...Please -"

Rolling his eyes at his younger brother's antics, he only raised his eyebrow at him expectantly. Thus, fixing on Rudra with his no- nonsense stony' expression, he waited.

3... 2... 1

Rudra's shoulder shrugged down on cue.

Yep, that one always worked.

And so he could barely hide the grin that was forming as he saw the youngest Oberoi go and stand next to Omkaara... a little behind him of course ... and then started pointing towards Omkaara behind his head.

Of course he would then try to blame Om for this... Of course!

Shaking his head at his brother, he said slowly... "So... what's happening?"

As expected, Rudra enthusiasm overpowered for a second as he hurried to explain, "Woh...bhaiya... we are playing basketball."

Rolling his eyes, he fixed the youngest Oberoi with his famous 'no-nosense glare' - which of course had its desired effect as Rudra almost hid behind Om.

Matching Om's grin, he found some of his former annoyance with the night already fading.

"Toh aap kya puch rahe hai?"

Annika's annoyed voice washed over him then like waves. And her voice seemed to wash away the last remnants of anger and annoyance.

But he pushed those particular thoughts aside stubbornly.

Patience...Shivaay.

"I just meant to ask how is the 'finale' pair going to be selected?"

Annika's surprised oh' expression added to his amusement then as he almost heard the wheels' of her mind turning... slowly processing his words.

Of course they hadn't thought that far

Of course

"Actually Shivaay...we were sort of just playing one on one against one another you know -"

This was going to be too easy!

"Oh cool - Can I play?"

Om's shocked expression was so hilarious that he wished someone had recorded it.

Why couldn't Khanna film all these moments instead of his and Annika's embarrassing ones?

"O'... pinch me...kya mein sapna dekh raha hu?"

"Aaap... aap basketball khelenge?"

Annika's shocked expression was another priceless moment. "Haa...koi shaq?"

But his amusement of staring at her varying shocked expressions was short lived as he caught his brothers whispering between themselves...

But before he could turn on them and ask them to talk aloud, he heard Annika mutter something else under her breath that sounded awfully like - "yeh toh khel lenge par sher ke gufa mein marne ke liye jayega kaun?"

"What? Sher - gufa?"

Why did everything with this woman have to be so frustratingly difficult?

And what the hell was gufa'?

Annika raised innocent look and swift hand flick melted his frustration as he decided to push on anyway.

Shivaay... stay on the plan...

"So yeah - I want to play too."

"Cool - bhaiya I will play against you -"

As expected, Rudra's offer was met with an immediate and vehement no from a very indignant Saumya.

Smirking slightly, he let the scene unfold.

He knew them all a little too well, didn't he?

"You are forgetting the one' rule that we made Dumbell Oberoi... losers can't play."

"Hey-" Rudra's angry step towards her was stopped immediately by Omkaara who swiftly pulled him back.

"Actually - only Annika and Sahil haven't played yet...so it's their turn."

Perfect and convenient... one could always trust Omkaara to take the fair and truthful stance.

Annika looked hesitantly towards a slightly hopeful looking Sahil then and this added to his already rock-solid resolve.

And as he stared at the small veins of worry forming on her beautiful face... Shivaay Singh Oberoi made a promise to himself...one that he had probably never imagined to make for anyone other than his brothers and sister.

They were his responsibility now - come what may - their happiness mattered more to him then anything in the world.

Not wanting Annika to feel hesitant and vulnerable anymore - he immediately moved ahead and scooped up a very surprised Sahil onto his shoulders in one swift move.

"Done - we accept the challenge, hai na Sahil?"

Sahil's gleeful jump on his shoulder indicated his happiness and this made his heart soar in a way he had severely underestimated.

It reminded him of the time when he used to teach Rudra and Prinku a new game or sport and they used to love playing it for days after

He took the boy's small hands in his as he tried twirling around with the added weight for a minute to check his balance and get used to it.

Sahil's happy gurgling and the happiness that glowed in his brothers' faces as they looked at them made every worry of the last few days fade into a blur.

But what stopped him mid-twirl was the shining gratitude in Annika's eyes - the unshed tears in her eyes tugged at his heartstrings as he stood grounded... staring into the depth of her unending honey-cocoa eyes.

Nothing but her mattered... What was happening to him? When did she become so central to his existence?

Everything melted into nothingness as he felt himself drown into those eyes.

But just as they stood... he suddenly felt Sahil's impatient tugging on his shoulder... and he willed himself to shake out of it.

Chucking, he gave in, "Toh challenge accepted, Annika?"

She could never refuse a challenge.

The words as expected seemed to work their magic as his favorite glint shone from her eyes and she stubbornly stuck out her chin before replying, "Accepted!"

With Saumya cheering on for him and Sahil, whilst his brothers' cheered Annika - the simple 5-pointer game began almost too easily for him.

She didn't have to know that he had been best at all the sports - basketball, tennis...swimming...soccer - since he was 5... now did she?

So when she blatantly cheated - double dribbling and almost carrying the ball through the quarter of the length of the court - he didn't bat an eyelash.

Nor did her obvious antics of trying to distract him as she called out all her nicknames of him work.

He only felt his eyes narrow at Billuji' though...

But anyway... he stood on staring calmly as she did a small show of bowing and went on about her usual' antics for their audience whilst Sahil boo-d' from above him.

So only smiling slightly at her smirk when she passed on the ball to him haughtily, he dribbled easily out of her reach single handedly - as the other hand held on to Sahil's hands that were woven around his neck for safety.

He wished to see her face then...

And just as they almost reached the basket, he swiftly passed the ball to Sahil who happily tossed it right into the basket!

Turning triumphantly towards the fuming elder sister, he only grinned back at her whilst him and Sahil happily did a quick victory dance for the benefit of their' audience.

It was almost too easy... really.

Of course he couldn't resist pulling her leg too when he let his hand linger a minute too long on the side of her waist whilst trying to get the ball from her...

But in his defense... her responsiveness to his touch almost always pulled him in worse than any drug could ever hope too... So really... could he be blamed for his actions then?

5-1

So even with all the obvious cheating and Annika' antics and the annoying blatant display of his brothers' favouritism... Annika didn't really manage more than the first single basket... much to her irritation...and of course his amusement.

However, seeing her brother's happiness and laughter - her irritation seemed to have disappeared into happiness.

And just then, as he felt Sahil's small hands in his own as they were hugged by his brothers and Saumya and the happiness that was shining in the world's most beautiful honey - cocoa eyes... there was a strange feeling of completeness that over took him.

He had felt this happiness before of course - every time that he saw his brother happy...his family happy... He had felt this exact same happiness.

But complete-ness... the happiness around them ... when he was here with her... this tugged deeper than he had believed could exist.

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PART B: 'FIRE AND ICE'?

He was simple to her complex.

He hated the thought of lying and she lied for a living.

He was grounded while she walked on clouds of dreams.

He was fire and she was ice.

- Could they ever be?

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Gasping for breath she ran into their small one bedroom apartment and closed the door loudly behind her. Locking it firmly, she turned with eyes closed as she leaned the back of her head on to it.

That had been close. A little too close actually... This was getting much more dangerous than she had imagined it to be. She needed to move their family to another area - there were too many people asking about them here now. Too much debt that only continued to pile on... Too many people who she had already fooled more than once seemed to have now had followed her here too.

A paralyzing fatigue gripped her as the thought of another move played out even more prominently at the centre of her mind.

She had been pushing the thought for over three weeks now.

But even the thought now made her feel completely drained.

And of course... there were also those frustratingly residual emotions within her about a certain longhaired millionaire that she battled with even more with every passing day... maybe...

Her spiraling thoughts were interrupted by the sound of breaking glass... Without wasting another millisecond, she immediately walked into the kitchen purposefully.

Please not again.

But her silent prayer died in her mind as she took in the state of her father... who stood almost swaying in front of her now... Obviously too intoxicated.

"Pachu? It's 10 in the morning pappa!"

"It...isss... Saaa...Saturdaaay... Ishuuu..."

She felt a familiar anger and resentment grow inside her.

She hated alcohol... the familiar lingering aftertaste... the stale smell... she hated addiction.

Addiction had ruined them... addiction had broken her...over and over.

But before she could reply -

"B...but...we are going to be...bec...become...r...r...rich soo...sooon. Scottish scotch annnee whis...whiskey pees..."

The slurred words burned down her and she felt a deep trembling within her.

Familiar suffocation... helplessness... the staggering weight of fighting a losing battle

Pushing deep within her for every last ounce of strength... she closed her eyes to collect her thoughts before walking towards her now swaying to some kind of invisible non-music.

"Pappa - come on - I will help you into your bed. Please."

Please

She needed to leave.

"Issshhhu...aneee Omkaaaraaa...O...O...Oberoi"

Her breath caught in her throat as hearing the familiar name sent her into an unfamiliar yet strangely acquainted frenzy of emotions.

Humiliation... anger...resentment... burned fierce...yet...there was a scintillating softness within her when it came to him that still disarmed her.

"Please pappa. I don't want to talk about Omkaara Singh Oberoi anymore."

Her voice almost a whisper, she hoped that someone would hear the urgent prayer in them.

"Pan-"

Nobody ever listened to prayers anyway.

Shrugging herself back, she straightened up.

"No - it is final. And you need to sleep..."

Ishaana's voice was laced with a tinge of bitterness towards the end as weeks of humiliation and suppressed anger turned into glowing unshed tears in her eyes.

Omkaara Singh Oberoi.

The name still got her heart racing... and emotions thundered within her that she had spent her whole life running away from.

His name sent her heart racing.

Her arms faltered as she remembered the day.

She wasn't ready to deal with these. She doesn't need this in her life. And especially after what they had been through?

Somehow threw unsteady breaths and watery eyes...she faintly registered her father swaying unsteadily towards the bed.

She almost wanted to reach out but he was already climbing into the bed... so she only watched with unblinking eyes as her father haphazardly got in the covers and promptly passed out.

She turned away from the sight and another memory played out.

His dark blazing eyes were accusing her under the blaring sun.

The dusty roads of the crowded street... The unfamiliar faces...all of it crowded into her as she stared around them.

Hundreds of judging eyes screamed at her... His brothers rushing to hold him as he menacingly advanced towards her.

Hot tears of humiliation now flowed freely down her face as each memory taunted her.

Why did people living in palaces find it so easy to judge others? Omkaara Singh Oberoi was far from perfection. Yet, he held himself to the perfection?

His father was not much more than a ruthless businessman and womanizer... His mother was infamous for her drunk public' spats... And his wannabe celebrity girlfriend'... Well she wouldn't even help her own mother if there was no media around to get a byte.

Tears of humiliation and anger flowed down her eyes and burned their way down the sides of her face.

And the blurred walls of their small house suddenly seemed to grow closer in on her as she tried wrap her own arms around herself to gather warmth in the suddenly icy room... as small sobs rocked her body.

Who was he to judge her?

He had more money than he knew what to do with it.

He stalked and shouted of having built his independence whilst his last name actually brought him that very independence.

The hypocrisy of his principles baffled her... yet... the inexplicable pull of him... the strange depths of his eyes compelled her to remain there. Transfixed.

There were shades to this depths in his eyes that spoke some kind of unspoken language of their own... behind the veils of judgment... there was this glimpse of an almost child-like man who seemed lost...

She brushed away the tears angrily.

None of this mattered.

He could sit on his high throne and judge people all he wanted... he knew nothing about her. Nothing about what made her this way?

Poetry often came easy to people who didn't need to worry about feeding their families.

She tuned back almost mechanically now and she silently moved to remove her father's shoes and glasses and move him in what at least looked like a more comfortable position.

Her family needed her now. She needed to think of something. And fast - he didn't exist anymore.

Her eyes blazing with determination, she pulled her sunglasses and stood staring down from their almost non-existent second floor balcony into the busy street.

Good - she must have misled them.

A small sigh escaped her... maybe she really could go to the studio again after all? Maybe for one last time?

Dance was her escape from reality. Pouring herself into the rhythm brought her some kind of inner peace that she found difficult to put within words.

Unable to resist the lure of freedom... she almost ran out the door and immersed herself into the business.

Because really wasn't dancing almost like dreaming.

For in those minutes when she danced... she was no longer caged within the walls of her responsibilities... she was in her own world... a dream that she lived with open eyes.

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Part C: Challenge II

Brilliant Updates...What Shivaay did for Sahil was really way too sweet...very interesting updates...👏

Loved the two chapters. I am more partial to shivika so liked the first one more! It was brilliant, how shivaay is accepting annika and saahil in his circle of trust and care. Love it!