Finding Forever, Together ~

Chapter 11

Upon reaching home, Annika was welcomed with all the proper rituals, and once that was done, Shivaay wasted no time in dragging her into their room, leaving everyone else, specially his brothers, laughing after them.

When they finally reached inside the room was when Shivaay let go of his strong hold on Annika's hand, making her scowl at him.

"Kya kar rahe hain aap ye?" She yelled at him, "itni jaldi kya hai?"

"Jaldi hai. Warna meri family tumhara peecha nahi chhodne wali." He wrapped his arms around her bare waist, before whispering in her ear, "and I want you all to myself."

Annika blushed a deep red. "Chup rahiye."

Coming out of his hold, she held his face in her hands. "Ab toh main hamesha aapke saath hu," she told him, "toh aapko pareshaan hone ki zarurat nahi hai."

Holding her hands on his face, Shivaay turned sideways to brush his lips against them.

"Ab main tumhe kabhi khud se duur nahi jaane dunga," he said, and closed his eyes. Annika knew she was trying to hold back tears.

Taking his hand into hers, she sat on the bed, with him beside her.

"Shivaay," she called him out softly, "aap-" she started speaking, but he cut her off.

"I missed you so much, Annika," he said, as a stray tear immediately fell from his eye, "tumhe pata bhi nahi hai, iss ek saal me har roz mera dard badhta hi gaya hai." He said, before looking away from her, "tumhe roz na dekhne ka dard. Tumhare saath na hone ka dard."

Raising her hand, he kissed her engagement ring.

"Engaged hone ke baad bhi, tumse baat na karne ka dard."

"Mujhe roz bahut takleef hoti thi Annika, yeh soch kar ki mujhe yeh bhi nahi pata tum kaisi ho. Theek ho bhi, ya nahi. Mujhe hamesha lagta tha ki mujhe tumse baat karna chahiye, par phir realise hota tha ki ab woh meri jagah nahi hai...." Completely breaking down, he rested his head on her shoulder.

Annika sighed, beginning to cry herself, too.

Caressing his head, she replied.

"Meri zindagi me aapki jagah koi nahi le sakta, Shivaay," she told him, "koi bhi nahi."

"Main yeh kabhi nahi karna chahti thi, Shivaay....aapse duur jaane ke baare me main kabhi soch bhi nahi sakti." She gulped the lump in her throat, "par main majbur thi, Shivaay. Mere liye bohot mushkil tha, apni family aur aap me se ek choose karna. Par main..."

Shivaay raised his head and looked at her.

"Isme tumhari koi galti nahi hai, Annika. In fact, tumhari jagah agar main hota toh shayad yahi karta. I know how much you love and value your family." He looked away, trying to compose himself, before looking back at her, "aur waise bhi, ab toh sab kuch theek hai na? Toh uss baare me baat karne ka koi fayda nahi hai." He said, making her smile.

"Bahut dukh diya na maine aapko?" She asked him, even though she knew the answer. She knew they still loved each other to death but some things needed to be fixed.

He nodded like a baby.

"Haan," he replied, "par ek saal pehle uss incident ke baad, mujhe dukh ke saath thodi si satisfaction thi. Mujhe aisa laga tha ki tumne jo kuch bhi kiya usme tumhari khushi hai....aur agar tum khush ho, toh main bhi khush hu," he told her.

"Uss meeting ke din mujhe pata chala ki yeh sab tumhari marzi se nahi ho raha. Mujhe iss shaadi ka invitation bhi uss din hi mila tha...." He extended, "knowing that something was not right, maine decide kiya ki shaadi se pehle ke iss ek hafte me main sab kuch theek kar dunga." He told her.

"Aur aapne kar diya." She said with a smile.

"Thank you, Shivaay," she looked into his eyes, "aap nahi hote toh shayad main aaj..." This time, he shut her up by holding her face in his hands and placing his lips on hers.

Parting after a while, he looked at her.
"Sochna bhi mat." He said, "main kabhi tumhe kisi aur ke saath dekh bhi nahi sakta, okay?" He told her in a stern voice.

Annika smiled. She realised they'd had enough of this emotional drama, and decided to change the topic.

"Waise," she extended, "aap kaafi handsome lag rahe hain," she said, not looking at him, making him smile.

She walked to the dressing mirror to remove her jewellery without facing him again, making him follow her with a smirk.

He stood behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. In his thoughts, he was reminded of the last time they stood here like this, just after they were engaged.

*Flashback begins*

Annika is standing in front of the mirror in her room, admiring her ring with a wide smile, when Shivaay came and back hugged her.

"Ring kaisi hai, would-be Mrs. Oberoi?"

He asked with a grin, and Annika looked down with a smile. Shivaay knew she would be blushing.

Coming out of the hug, he turned her around.

"Zyada blush mat karo," he said, and raised her chin with his finger.

"Bahut khoobsurat ring hai, Shivaay," she said softly, "beautiful."

"Not more than you," he said, making her smile again.

Smiling at him, she took him into a hug, resting her head on his chest.

"Thank you so much, Shivaay," she said, "aap bahut acche hain."

"Tumse zyada accha nahi hoon," he said, and she raised her head, making him smile, "but you're welcome."

Hitting him on his shoulder, she rested her head again. It was such a perfect feeling.

*Flashback ends*

Smiling, he decided to follow that up.

Resting his head on her shoulder, he looked sideways at her. She was adoring her mangalsutra.

"Kaisa hai, Mrs. Oberoi?" He asked her with a half-smile. The other half of it was obviously his signature smirk.

Blushing profusely, she came out of his hold, and turned around.

"Blush karte hue aur bhi zyada khoobsurat lagti ho tum," he said, raising her chin with his finger.

"Shivaay!" She hit him on the shoulder, but smiled nonetheless. "Bahut sundar hai ye," she said, adoring it again.

"Tumse zyada nahi hai," he said, making her smile. This man was her everything. She loved him beyond limits, really.

"Shivaay," she called him out, resting her hands on his face, "I love you." She said, before leaning forward and taking his lips into hers.

She wanted to do this for so long. Throughout the past year when she missed his presence beside her everytime she needed it, she was reminded of ways he would go beyond limits to help her with something or just fulfill her wishes.

And through this kiss, she knew this man was hers to keep, forever. He might be a little idiot at times, but she was the only person who got to see every side of his. Their relationship was truly special.

When they parted, there was an unmissable genuine smile on Shivaay's face. Every struggle of the past one year seemed like it was worth it, now that he had her by his side.

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Very special shoutout to jiya070 for being a constant dedicated reader of this story no matter how bad it gets at times 🤍 thank you so much for your support 💫