"Sorry."
"For what?" asked Anika.
"For good measure. Who knows when I might make the next mistake?" Shivaay smiled. "I just don't want a pretty lady like you to be upset with me."
Anika clicked her tongue but chuckled nonetheless. She knew he was trying hard to bring in some sense of normalcy back. He had got better after Rudra's confession. But there were still days when Shivaay hit the barrel's bottom. The grief always came in waves. Today seemed to be a good day and she was determined to relish it.
The void however, would never leave Shivaay. She knew that.
"I am sorry too. I shouldn't have forced you to come with me." She told him.
"It does not matter..." he shrugged. "Plus, had you not forced me, I wouldn't have met Ru. So it is all good."
"Yea, I know," Anika reasoned. "But that is not the point."
"Yes. I know. And we are over it. Right?"
She smiled. Then she readily hugged him. Her hands clasped his back like they always knew the way. She was surprised with how easy it was to do all these things with him. When she worked for him, she couldn't even in a million years imagine that they would be so easy going with each other. But here they were.
"Shivaay, why are you so warm?" asked Anika feeling the warmth radiating from him. She pushed him back and touched his forehead with her palm. It was again burning. She gasped, "Oh god. Did you eat? Did you take your medicine today?"
"I did."
"Then?"
He just shrugged. She picked up her phone and messaged his Doctor. He tried to take the mobile away like a child.
"What are you doing? It's just a fever."
She pushed him back. "I know. I am just booking an appointment for tomorrow. Your checkup is long overdue. I can take care of the fever, just not the troublesome heart. Okay?"
An equally troublesome smile shone on his face. Anika shook her head. He could be so bashful when he wanted to be. She loved it. She just didn't want him to find out that she liked it. Or else he was going to keep doing it.
"Actually..." his eyebrows moved suggestively and Anika knew where he was going with this.
She smacked his hand. "No. Don't say a word."
Shivaay burst out giggling. He pretended to zip his mouth. "Okay, I won't."
Anika exhaled. She felt bad whenever she stopped him from doing anything. It almost felt criminal to not let him smile or laugh or do something silly. The smiles had become so rare that she didn't want to miss out on any.
"Okay, anyway. Why don't you lie down? I will get medicines and cloth for wet compress..." Anika offered and got up from the couch.
Shivaay held her hand and stopped her. "Listen. There is no need. I will be okay tomorrow. This is just the side effect of that anti depressant I am taking."
"But..."
"Anika? I am tired. Can we argue tomorrow? Please? Let's just watch something on the TV and sleep? Yeah?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
********************
The phone ringing for the tenth time made Shivaay curse. In the morning rush, Anika had forgotten her mobile at home. She had messaged him from her employee's phone about her safety. All was well.
He winced and held his head as he got up from the bed. The fever was refusing to go away. He cursed again as the room spun around him. Holding the bedpost, he picked up the ringing phone. Maybe, it was something important for Anika.
"Hello."
"Anika Ma'am?" someone's panicked voice from the other end boomed.
"No," Shivaay replied. "I am her friend. She has left her phone at home.
The man went quiet for a while. "Okay. But there is a problem. Dinesh has mistakenly put Ma'am's address in the flower delivery section. So now instead of the venue, the flowers will reach her house. I can come to pick them up but it will delay everything. Ma'am does not know this yet. What can I do now?"
Shivaay stopped to think for a while. Then sighed. Delay meant Anika would get into trouble. He could never let that happen. So he told the man. "Don't bother coming here. I will come and drop them at the venue when they are delivered at her house. I have the car."
"Oh my god!" the man was relieved beyond measure. "Thank you so much!"
"Anything for Anika. I will be there."
********************
"Shivaay!" Anika whisper yelled as soon as he walked through the doors of the banquet hall. "What are you doing here?"
Without waiting for an answer, she nervously looked around and pushed him into a corner where there was some privacy.
Confused, Shivaay didn't get a thing. "The flowers were wrongly delivered to us so I came to drop them."
"Oh fuck." Anika held her head. "This Dinesh needs to be kicked in the shins."
She seethed for a few seconds before touching his head. She gasped. "Oh god, you burning like a hot cast iron pan. I will kill that Dinesh. Bloody fucker. He made you drive in this state! Can't do one blessed thing properly."
Shivaay's head spun seeing her freak out. He put a palm over her mouth. "Okay hush. I am fine and it wasn't a big deal. I can wait here now so we go home together or go back in a taxi. Any is fine. Don't be so angry."
"You can't wait here." She said apologetically. "Actually, the guests...you know?"
"Ah," Shivaay nodded in understanding. Her freaking out made sense now. The event was being attended by the Oberois. She was just trying to not trigger him.
"It's not a problem. I can go." He told her. Patting her hand, he started to walk out only to be held back by her.
"Shivaay..." she chewed her lower lip apologetically. "I am sorry."
He clicked his tongue. "Don't be silly. You are already doing way too much for me."
"But..."
"Nothing." Shivaay leaned in for a quick hug not caring for her staff moving around them. She coloured as he assured her, "I will call you when I reach home."
