Chapter 5Closer"You are my peace, my solace and my salvation."I stared at Shivaay as he slept peacefully. We had avoided each other all evening and I had slept on the couch outside. I felt guilty. Yesterday when I recalled what had happened that day, he really looked shocked. I realised there was a lot I didn't know. Once Shivaay wakes up I'd ask him. I wanted to know his part too. Yesterday Shivaay had almost admitted that he loves me. But he didn't complete it. A part of me was extremely happy on hearing it, and a part of me was hell scared.
I had always maintained a certain distance from Shivaay because I knew he liked me. In college I had accidentally ended up hearing Shivaay and Rishi's conversation where he had admitted that he loved me. I was stunned. I had earlier brushed it off thinking it was infatuation or something. But love? I hadn't expected it. I went even farther from Shivaay.
I checked the time again, it was almost 11 and Shivaay was still asleep. It was so unlike him. I went near him and tried to wake him up, "Shivaay. It's 11. Wake up." No response. I went and sat down beside him on the bed. I stretched my hand forward to touch his face, when I stopped still. Shivaay's words rang in my ears again,
"I would never think of hurting you Anika. Because I lov-"
I hesitated but then gently patted his cheek. I touched his forehead. His body was burning with fever.
"Pinki Aunty! Jhanvi Aunty." I called out loudly but then realised that no one was at home. Tej Uncle and Shakti Uncle had gone to office. Dadi, Nani, Jhanvi Aunty and Pinki Aunty had gone to someone's sangeet ceremony. And OmRu had gone out for some work. I quickly fetched a thermometer and checked Shivaay's temperature. It said, 39.4 celsius.
I grabbed my phone and called the doctor home. I then took a bowl of cold water from the kitchen, soaked a piece of cloth in it and placed it on Shivaay's forehead. I did the same a couple of times and then checked his temperature again. 38.3, it was slightly better.
I looked at Shivaay's tired face. He did not look like Shivaay at all. Dark circles below his eyes. His mouth slightly open. And his hair was a complete mess, not at all the usually perfectly gelled hair. I softly ran my fingers through his hair.
I inched forward and was about to place a soft kiss on his forehead when I saw Shivaay blink his eyes. I was still very close to him when he opened his eyes. Our faces just a few inches apart.
I felt Shivaay's hot breath against my cheek and I swallowed.
I looked into his beautiful kanji eyes. When he looked into my eyes with such an intense look, I shuddered.
"Anika" he whispered. He lifted his hand and very slowly tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear. He sighed and I moved back realising he was really exhausted. He tried to get up and stand but couldn't.
I placed my hand on his shoulder preventing him from even trying to stand up.
"Shivaay don't. You're still very weak." That's when the doctor came. He did a quick check up of Shivaay and handed me over some medicines. He gave Shivaay an injection after which Shivaay again drifted off to sleep.
The doctor told me that his blood pressure was really low. And maybe he was taking a lot of stress lately. My mind went back to yesterday evening. Shivaay, Tej Uncle and Shakti Uncle were having a huge discussion about business.
"How could you be so careless Shivaay! I did not expect this from you." Tej Uncle was yelling. And Shivaay stood there silent, I could see that he was really stressed.
Today in the morning when Tej Uncle and Shakti Uncle were leaving for office they enquired about where Shivaay was and when I told them that he was still asleep Tej Uncle muttered something and left the Oberoi Mansion angrily.
I also remembered about the messages Shivaay kept on getting. He would get worried reading them. There was so much going on in Shivaay's life but he wouldn't talk about it to anyone.
I was going to the kitchen when I saw Khanna telling a man whose back was facing me that he couldn't go inside. The man replied, "It's really important. I need to talk to Anika." I thought it was Samar. But it couldn't be. Why would he come here after what he'd done. He turned around confirming my previous thoughts. Samar. I held my breath. I clenched my hands as anger surged through me. He walked towards me,
"I need to talk to you, Anika." I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off. "I know you're really mad at me and you don't want to talk to me. And it's completely justified. But I do owe you an explanation. And that is why I'm here." I looked at him in the eye and crossed my arms, telling him to continue.
"I know what I did was completely wrong. But I had no other choice. Just before your proposal came to my house, Ragini, my girlfriend and I had a huge fight. Also, Ma Papa were forcing me to get married to you. So in a fit of anger I said yes to the proposal. Later on Ragini and I talked and we sorted out our problems. I even told my parents about Ragini but they were adamant about our marriage." I could see the sincerity in his eyes. He was genuinely sorry. "There was no way I could marry you, because I love Ragini a lot. That's why I left-" Before he could complete, a pair of hands grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall.
"Shivaay!" I screamed but no use. He punched Samar in the gut. I ran and tried to pull him back, but he was too strong for me. I could see anger in his eyes. Samar didn't even try to fight back, his eyes down.
"How dare you. Tumhari himmat kaisi hui yahan aane ki? After everything you did, how did you have the courage to show your face here?!" He screamed.
It wasn't good. Shivaay still was very weak. And any stress wouldn't help at all.
"Shivaay please. Let him go." I cried. I called Khanna and he pulled Shivaay back.
I begged Samar to go back and promised him that I'll talk to him later and I earned a dangerous stare from Shivaay that said you-are-not-going-to-meet-him-ever-again.
I helped Shivaay back to the room and asked him to rest. We had lunch silently and then I gave Shivaay his medicines.
At around 4, Dadi, Nani, Jhanvi Aunty and Pinki Aunty returned along with OmRu. When they found out about Shivaay being sick, they ran into the room and flooded Shivaay with questions like, "How are you now?" , "How did you get sick suddenly?" etc.
Tej Uncle and Shakti Uncle had still not returned from office.
It was around 9, I grabbed 2 cups of coffee and went inside the room. Shivaay wasn't on the bed. I was about to go out when I heard Shivaay sneeze. He was in the balcony. Sitting on the chaise lounge, looking at the full moon, completely lost in thoughts.
I handed him over his cup of espresso and I went back to fetch a blanket for him as he was rubbing his arms to keep himself warm. I went slowly and wrapped the blanket around his arms. I took my coffee and was about to leave again when I felt a soft hold at my wrist.
I turned around, "Stay" he said his voice tired. I down beside him.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did." He said, still looking at the moon. I looked at him confused and then realised he was talking about Samar.
"It's okay Shivaay. He was just here to give me an explanation."
"What did he say?" He asked sipping his cup of espresso.
"He loves Ragini a lot. He said yes for the marriage under pressure."
"Don't you think he should've told you about his situation earlier? And not just ditched you on the marriage day."
"He should've. But-" I stopped. He looked at me to continue, but then slightly nodded as if sensing my hesitation and looked up again.
"What's your part? Why did you agree to marry me?" I asked absentmindedly tracing the rim of my cup.
He told me what had happened and I realised the whole marriage thing, was one big misunderstanding. It was all complicated.
We were both silent for a couple of minutes. I rubbed my palms to generate heat as it was really chill outside now.
"Business. I'm messing it up, Anika." He said in a small voice. "All because of me. The warehouse that caught fire last month. It was my fault. I was careless. Bade Papa was angry yesterday because I completely forgot about the meeting with the foreign clients. We lost the deal. The merger I was talking about the other day? Worth Rs. 100 crore. We lost it Anika. All because of me."
"Shivaay, it's okay." I cupped his face. "It's just a deal. Don't worry. You're just thinking about what you lost. What about what you sacrificed for the Oberoi Empire. From the age of 19, you've been helping in the family business, Shivaay. What about all those deals which you earned for the business? You forgot it all? Business has all up's and down's. It's a part of it. Don't get disheartened." I tried to comfort him. "Business is your passion Shivaay. You love it. And you can't fail at something you love."
"I don't." He muttered.
"What?!"
"I- Business isn't my passion. Business wasn't my dream. Music was. I loved playing instruments. But I let it go. Why? For the business. But I can't anymore Anika. I can't handle the business anymore. The stress is killing me."
I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He buried his face at the crook of my neck. I could feel him shaking and I patted his back.
After a few moments, he moved back. He stretched leg and rested his head on the armrest. I got up but he pulled me and I crashed beside him.
Shivaay stretched his arm and wrapped the blanket around me too. He shifted towards me, our bodies touching now. I was really conscious. He lifted my chin and placed his palm on cheek, caressing it. I shuddered. Our faces really close, our lips inches apart. I felt his hot breath on my neck and I clenched his shirt tight under the soft blanket. He moved even closer our lips almost touching.
I closed my eyes tight. I felt Shivaay hesitate and move a bit back. I blinked my eyes and not being able to control my raging nerves, I moved forward and placed my lips on his, thus closing the distance between us. My heart had overpowered my mind. Shivaay wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me closer. My hands found his hair as our kiss deepened.
I finally pulled away, gasping for air. I felt myself smile, my cheeks hot.
I looked into his eyes and I could only see love. He smiled and then suddenly I sneezed at the same time he coughed. We both laughed. He pressed closer to me and almost instantly fell asleep. Must be due to the medicines. I snuggled closer to him and fell asleep on his chest.
Finally, finding solace in each other's' arms.
Edited by -Rhea- - 8 years ago
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