Shivika FF: Resilience, Chapter 9 Part B, 19/08 UPDATE (pg 69) - Page 13

Originally posted by: ipkkndrrns

One of the beautiful stories in the forum. Please do continue, can't wait for the story to unravel..

Author's Note: It's officially Eid where I live, so Eid Mubarak to everyone! My exams are over and thank you to everyone who wished me luck. Since my semester is over, that means I can post chapters much more regularly now! Here's chapter four!

Chapter Four

It was 11 o'clock. Shivaay sat at his desk, mindlessly staring at the stock exchange. His office was busy and bustling. There were multiple new projects pending. There was the deal with Anika's family's company, a pending resort project in Goa on which he was collaborating with Siddharth and he had just recently acquired a small pharmaceutical company. Business was booming, and he had a lot on his plate. Despite this, his mind was too preoccupied. He was thinking about a woman who had the special talent of constantly driving him up the wall. He simply couldn't focus on his work. He turned his chair around to face the expansive view that his office allowed him. He peered at Mumbai's high rise buildings and the busy traffic below, contemplating about his relationship with Anika.

They had met four months ago and had already been engaged for three months. They were going to get married in a few short months. When Anika's father had first proposed a marriage between his daughter and him, Shivaay had agreed. He certainly wasn't in love with the girl and he wasn't planning on it. Love was overrated for people like him. He just needed a wife who had a khandani family. He regularly saw Anika during her visits to the Oberoi Mansion. When they had first gotten engaged, she would come by the Mansion once a week to finalize some plans for their upcoming nuptials. Dadi had insisted that her future granddaughter-in-law's firm would handle the event planning. As the weeks passed, the rest of the family got acquainted with Anika. She had a nice friendship with his siblings and Dadi doted on her. Anika started coming to the Mansion more and more. She would often stop by just to see his family even if she didn't have any wedding details to finalize with the Oberoi ladies.

His relationship with Anika was sometimes tense. They didn't always get along. That was no secret. But, sometimes...they would have moments. Yes, he would call them moments. What had happened last night had been a moment. These moments were spaces in time that he simply didn't have an explanation for. They were momentary lapses in judgement for Anika and him. They sometimes forgot their current predicament and would just be. Last night had been a moment. He still didn't know what had taken over him. She had been wet and deliciously pressed against him. Despite the cool water, he had felt her body heat through their thin clothes. It had lit a fire in him. He had not been able to stop himself from pressing those peppery kisses along her neck and jaw. If it had been up to him and Rudra had not interrupted them, he would have finally claimed her full lips as his own. But, this was simply an attraction. Yes, this is what it was. Om and Rudra kept insisting that Anika and he had a certain connection. Did they have a certain connection? He didn't know about that. She certainly had an effect on him. He would admit to that much. He would admit that Anika was an extremely attractive woman. He was attracted towards her. That's all it was. He had an attractive fianc. Who could blame him for simply indulging in what was already his?

He couldn't stop thinking about last night or the past two weeks Anika had been away. For the past two weeks, she hadn't been able to come to Oberoi Mansion. Even if she only came to visit his family, he still looked forward to hearing her infectious laugh radiating through the halls of the mansion. He looked forward to seeing her laugh and joke around with his brothers. He looked forward to her sharing a bond with his Dadi. He still looked forward to seeing her even if they would only bicker. But, like he said, this was only a physical attraction. Yes, he would keep telling himself that. His thoughts went back to last night. She had been sniffling and sneezing after she had fallen into pool. She had probably not taken care of herself during her trip. After all, she was a workaholic just like him. When they had first gotten engaged, he had thought that this shared characteristic would allow them to navigate their relationship smoothly. She would stay busy with her work and stay out of his way and he would do her the same courtesy. Shivaay refused to think about if that was still all he wanted from this relationship.

Anika had walked into the office that morning still feeling jet lagged and tired from her trip. Ever since last night, her throat had been sore and she had a sinus headache. Despite this, she had still pulled herself up from her bed that morning and dragged herself to work. She wore a comfortable royal blue silk kurta with a silver brocade design and some light wash boyfriend jeans. To accessorize her outfit, she wore her favorite brown wedges and watch. She couldn't be bothered about the state of her long tresses so her hair was up in a messy ponytail. Today's outfit was all about comfort. There was a lot of works to do and she needed to make sure that she wouldn't be bothered by uncomfortable clothes.

She loved her employees. They were her friends and they were more like a second family to her. However, she needed to check on the office. After all, she had been away from her office for two weeks! There weren't many of them and they all worked closely together. However, being the perfectionist that she was, she still couldn't help feeling anxious about all the small details that went into planning events. Everything needed to be just perfect! When she had arrived to the office that morning, she had told her staff that she would be working quietly today. The door to her office would be closed and they shouldn't bother her unless it was an emergency.

A couple hours into working, Anika still had not gotten much done. She had a headache and she still couldn't focus. Her mind kept wondering to last night. She had talked everything over with Mallika, but her mind couldn't help but think of Shivaay. Well, Shivaay and his behavior last night. Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. She had asked her employees to not bother her today. She wondered what it was. "What is it?"

Radha, her receptionist, and assistant cracked the door open and poked her head in. "Anika, your fianc is here to see you."

That didn't register in her head. "Whose fiance? I'm not meeting with any clients today. Tell them to schedule an appointment for another day. Tell them I really am sorry, but I'm just not feeling that well today."

"No, Anika! Your fianc is here to see you."

That got Anika's attention. Her heartbeat jumped. There's no way she had heard that right. "Wait, what? Who's here?"

Shivaay, who had heard this entire exchange, lost his patience. He swore he didn't know what he was going to do with this crazy woman. "Thank you, Radha, but I think I can take it from here." He moved past Radha and opened the door wider to let himself in. At this point, Anika's mouth was wide open. Radha looked curiously from Anika and Shivaay. This was interesting. Anika's reaction to her fianc visiting her at her place of work for the first time was comical. Shivaay closed the door to give Anika and him some privacy. He did not need Anika's employees to be witness to any possible scenes. Who knew what was possible when it came to Anika and him? Anika's mouth still hung open in shock.

"There's no need to be so shocked, Anika. You can close your mouth." Shivaay commented.

"What are you doing here, Billuji?" Anika eyed Shivaay suspiciously. There was no way the baghad billa had decided to visit her without any ulterior motives.

Shivaay didn't answer her and nonchalantly proceeded to her desk to set the bag of food down. He started taking out the meal and setting it up for the two of them.

Anika's suspicion grew more. "What's that?"

Shivaay sighed. "Anika, obviously, this is food. We're going to eat lunch together."

Anika's eyebrows scrunched together at that. "But, why?"

"Am I not allowed to have lunch with my fianc?" Shivaay's impatience was running out. So, he had decided to visit Anika during lunch and had brought some food with him. What was the big deal?

"No, you are allowed. I just don't understand why you suddenly want to have lunch with me." Anika just couldn't understand this new taadibaaz of his.

Shivaay sighed again for the umpteenth time. This woman was simply impossible. "Anika, I noticed that you weren't feeling well yesterday. You must have been really tired from your trip and falling into the pool yesterday probably didn't make things better. Your hair was wet throughout the rest of the night and it probably made you even more sick. So, I know you were probably sick, but I also know that you're a workaholic like me and won't take care of your own health. I just knew that you would be stubborn and insist on still going to work despite being jetlagged and sick. So, I, being a nice and considerate fianc, decided to bring some comfort food and medicine over." Shivaay finished his short rant. He swore Anika was just too dense sometimes.

Anika stared at him with wide eyes. "You're here because you were worried about me?"

Was he worried about Anika? Well, upon further consideration of the situation, he concluded that, yes, he was indeed worried about her. After all, he wouldn't be here, at her office, if he wasn't, right? However, he wasn't going to tell her that. Shivaay contemplated his answer carefully and answered her. "Well, the reception for the business awards is in just a couple days and I can't have you being sick. You're my date and we need to look good."

Anika rolled her eyes at that. "Right, of course, Billuji. We can't have my health deteriorating and possibly making you look bad as you receive your prestigious award, but please do have a seat. Let's have lunch." Anika motioned for him to take a seat.

Shivaay sat down and sighed again. "No, Anika that's not what I meant. He pinched the bridge of nose in exasperation. How could he explain to her what had prompted him to impulsively visit her all of a sudden? "I just realized that we didn't really see each other the last couple of weeks. You were in London and weren't able to visit the house. I just wanted to see how you were. We didn't really get to talk to each other yesterday either. Well, except for the little situation in the pool, of course." Shivaay smirked at the last part. Oh, how grateful he was for their short interlude in the pool even if it had ended up making Anika's health worse.

Anika's cheeks pinked at the mention of what had happened in the pool yesterday. However, she focused on what else he had said. "You missed me?"

Shivaay quieted at that. Had he missed Anika while she had been away? He admitted to himself that, yes, he had. He didn't want to admit that to her, though. Not yet, anyways. Instead, he answered her with another question. "Didn't you miss me?"

Anika chewed her lips nervously. Yes, she had missed her kanji aankhein wala bahghad billa. She had missed teasing him over his nickname that he despised. She had missed his beautiful blue eyes, but she didn't want to admit that she had missed him either. She chose her answer carefully. "Yes, I missed everyone. I missed coming to your house while I was away."

That caught Shivaay's attention. She had said everyone. She hadn't rejected the idea of missing him entirely. It was subtle, but he had caught her meaning. "There will be more work trips in the future for both you and me. We're both very busy people and we can't avoid that. However, let's promise that next time we'll communicate, yeah? Just a short phone call even if it's for a minute or two just to make sure that we're doing fine."

Anika nodded to him in reply. That small request took Anika's breath away. She didn't know what to say. It was such a small thing to ask of her, but it meant so much to her. He cared for her, and now he was asking that they communicate more. Could this mean that they could possibly establish a more normal relationship? Anika tried not to get her hopes up too high.

"Great! Then, let's eat! The food is getting cold and the hot soup will soothe your throat."

Shivaay and Anika dug into their food. Shivaay was right, the hot soup made Anika's throat and sinuses feel much better. Their conversation flowed easily. They both talked about their work. Anika told Shivaay about how she was working to establish a network of partnerships with small caterers and florists. This way, costs for both her and clients would be low while struggling businesses could establish themselves better. Shivaay loved this idea. He knew that Anika cared about people. He could see it in the way she empathized with everyone. She understood people's problems well and this was why her business was such a success. Her clients felt that they could trust her with important occasions. Shivaay was proud of her.

There was no more mention of yesterday's events in the pool. Neither could explain how and why that had happened. They preferred to not bring it up as they were both still contemplating their moment.

After finishing their lunch, Shivaay made Anika take the medicine that he had brought along with him. It was a little after one o'clock and Shivaay needed to get going. He had a meeting in half an hour. "I have to get going. I have a meeting soon," Shivaay told Anika. He got up from his seat to leave.

Anika nodded in understanding. "Billuji?"

"Yes, Anika?"

"Thank you for doing this for me. I mean bringing the food and medication and taking care of me while I'm sick."

Shivaay smiled at her. His smile intimidated Anika because he had never smiled so genuinely at her before. "I'll always take care of you when you're sick, Anika. Always."

Anika's eyes widened in shock at his admission. Shivaay's smile grew into a wide grin at her blatant shock. He chuckled at her. "Anika, there's no need to act so shocked."

That pulled Anika out of her trance and she nodded at him. "I'll walk you out." As Anika and Shivaay left her personal office and walked out, conversation amongst Anika's employees ceased again. They all curiously peered at their boss and her fianc. After all, this was the first time Shivaay had made an appearance at Anika's office and they had never seen them interact before. Anika felt self-conscious as she felt the stares.

Shivaay and Anika stopped in front of the elevators. He hit the button for the elevator and turned towards her. "It's okay, you don't need to go down with me. Take care of yourself and don't strain yourself too much, okay?" Shivaay chided Anika. Anika nodded to him in return. Shivaay reached up and cupped her cheek softly. Even the small caress made Anika's heart thud in her chest. "I'll see you on Saturday." The elevator arrived and Shivaay got in, leaving Anika flabbergasted in his absence. This whole exchange has left her confused. In fact, Shivaay's behavior since yesterday had left her confused. She was honestly feeling michmichi from all of this.

Anika walked back towards her office, contemplating Shivaay's odd behavior. However, as soon as she entered the vicinity in which all her employees were, she was bombarded with questions.

"Anika, why was he here?" Radha, the receptionist and Anika's personal assistant, asked.

"Was it a lunch date?" Nandini, the head of the floral department, asked while wiggling her eyebrows.

"Anika, he's even more better looking in person. He's so dreamy," Avni, the head of food and catering, fawned.

"Does this mean you guys are getting more serious?" Gautam, the head of set design and construction, asked.

Anika became overwhelmed. This was only making her headache worse. In fact, these were all questions that she had for Shivaay herself. Although they were her employees, they were also her friends. She wanted to give them an answer, but their guess was as good as hers. "You guys!" Anika yelled. The room became quiet. Her friends and employees waited for her to answer. "I honestly don't have an answer for you. Your guess is as good as mine. Who knows what's going on in that baghad billa's mind." They all gasped and giggled at Anika's use of her nickname for Shivaay. "I'm just going to get back to working. You all should do the same," Anika sternly added. She went back into her personal office, trying to focus on her work again. However, her mind kept drifting back to a certain man with kanji aankhein.

Anika's Outfit

Author's Note: And that's chapter four! Please do like this and leave me a comment! I love reading comments because it lets me know what's working and what's not. I have about the next ten to fifteen chapters planned out so far! The next chapter will be up very soon and we'll get to see the reception for the business awards!

Chapter Five