Is This Love??? ✔

Chapter 7

Writer's note:
Surprise!!!! Konjammmm early a oru update😅.... enjoy!!!
Also loved writing more of the fandom part! Sometimes reading your comments under SamSiv posts, memes and edits makes me laugh my heart out. You guys are the best and you are the inspiration for all the fandom references😁
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SanjShivfan1996 – SHE IS MARRYING SOMEONE ELSE?! HOW IS THIS HAPPENING? I HONESTLY DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO FEEL RIGHT NOW

AdhitiandJaiOTP101 – I know how to feel. LIKE A GIANT HEARTBROKEN EMOTIONAL WRECK

AnythingyoucandoSanjShivcandobetter – A Title for Traitors can be Shiviga John's autobiography for so mercilessly abandoning the fandom like that. HOW COULD SHE DO THAT TO US? HOW COULD SHE DO THAT TO SANJSHIV?! (I AM SOOO SORRY BUT I CAN'T HELP IT!)

KingdomofDestinysISMyCollegeDegree –Not trying to blame her but let this day go down in history as the day that Shiviga John broke everyone's hearts and had the entire SanjShiv fandom hospitalized with severe depression.

SanjayKrishnaIsaGod909 – I swear to god, if this isn't revealed to be some big joke then I am gonna start punching people

SanjShivtherealMVP – I don't care who this Ram Janarthan is but he doesn't have well-hydrated lips so he's clearly not the best choice here
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Sanjay predicted it well – the fans are devastated.
Shiviga has tried her best to stay removed from all the 'fandom' stuff over the years, it messes with her head, but the ever-helpful Nive feels the need to update her with 'hilarious' comments from random internet people neither of them have ever met.
Shiviga has a sneaking suspicion that she could classify Nive as part of the group of devastated fans.

They're having brunch at a quiet restaurant while Nivedhi is in Chennai for a while. It's the first time they've seen each other since Shivi got engaged a few weeks before.
"Wow," her cousin says as she examines the giant ring on her left hand, "That is some ring."
"Yeah…" Shiviga offers weakly as way of response. The weather is fine, the food is delicious, and Shiviga can't seem to find the energy to be happy. Nive redirects her gaze to Shiviga's face and she makes a valiant attempt at smiling. Nive sees through her.
"You don't seem happy. You got engaged like two weeks ago – newly engaged people are supposed to be happy," Nive says with a slight glare as she analyses every angle of Shiviga's face, "Why aren't you happy?"
"I am happy," Shiviga says with an unconvincing laugh. Seriously, how did she ever make it as an actress? "I'm just dreading this upcoming shoot; it's going to be murder."
"That's kind of the point when it's a murder-mystery, isn't it?" Nive attempts a joke, but it falls flat. The whole atmosphere is a bit flat. Nive hasn't been her usual bubbly self since they met outside, and Shiviga can't shake the constant feeling of general dread. She's not sure where it's coming from.
Shiviga is tempted to respond with a deadpan 'Ha. Ha.' like a certain friend used to say, but she decides against it for reason she cannot name.
"You've got a point," Shiviga says with another less-than-convincing smile. Nive clearly doesn't believe her weak excuse, but turns her attention back to examining the ring.
"How many carats in this thing?" she exclaims, twisting Shiviga's hand to examine it from all angles. It's mildly uncomfortable.
"I don't know. I wanna say, maybe," she thinks back to when Janarthan was explaining it to her, how he proudly told her how many carats were in the precious jewel on her finger and how rare it was, "Fifteen?"
"Fifteen?!" Nive exclaims, eyes bulging out of her head.
"Is that a lot?" Shiviga bites her lip.
"Look at the damn rock and tell me whether you think 15 is a lot, Shiviga," Nive's tone is lacking it's typical bubbly edge. Shiviga tries not to take it to heart, "I bet this thing is worth more than some countries."

The whole conversation was making Shiviga uncomfortable. If she was being perfectly honest she wasn't a huge fan of the ring. She could recognize that people would kill to have a ring as beautiful as the one on her hand, but it just wasn't her scene. It felt heavy on her hand, she felt awkward walking around town with something this huge on her finger – like she was always at risk of someone grabbing her and ripping it off her finger. Also she had basically nothing that matched it. The jewelry she wore to most awards shows was leant to her by designers, so while the ring matched when she was dressed to the heavens for a premiere, when she was walking down the street wearing no other jewelry, the ring stuck out like a sore thumb.
And the reason she had nothing that matched it was because it just wasn't her.