Transient • Ishqbaaaz Fanfic On-track

Chapter 2 | Misunderstood

"Shivaay, listen to me. It's okay. You are out of jail. You haven't murdered anyone." Anika had taken him in a hug and as she heard what he was speaking, she couldn't help but feel heartbroken at how deeply he had been scarred.

Shivaay's breathing finally slowed down as he calmed down with her help. He had wound an arm around her tightly, feeling warmth after a little too long.

They were sitting on the floor against one of the pillars. When he finally was not mumbling to himself anymore, Anika cupped his face making him look at her.

"Shivaay, listen to me carefully, okay?"

Shivaay nodded obediently making Anika smile a bit.

"You are not to be blamed for what happened that night."

Shivaay scoffed.

"Whatever happened, I am going to dig all of it out, now that you have quite gotten out of jail. This time, I will make sure nothing goes wrong, no matter whether you support me or not."

Shivaay looked at her with pleading eyes. The one thing he didn't want was Anika trying to revisit that day. It was painful and if it ever came out in the open, will leave his family shattered. He had only managed to add to what they'd feel if they got to know the truth. If he had told them then, it would have only been for Tej but now, they would start feeling guilty and apologetic of Shivaay, which he never wanted. He didn't want to be the better man, not one chance in hell.

"Anika, please let all of it go. I am here right? I promise you I am not leaving you alone again." Shivaay lightly grazed her cheek.

Anika sighed, looking away. "This is one thing that I want to do for myself. We'll talk about it later. You have your food first and then we'll go have a look at my office. You really need to see what's been going on behind your back." There was a slight undertone of mischief and pride that made Shivaay look at her curiously. Anika winked at Shivaay and he shook his head, getting up. Anika did too and smiled at him widely, albeit it looked fake.

She lead him to the small dining table they had, serving him his favourite dishes. Shivaay looked at her, impressed.

"You learnt cooking all of these?"

"I sure did. I had nothing better to do, you see." Anika shrugged making Shivaay smile lightly.

"I am having all of this after so long so even if it is horrible, you'll pass anyway." Shivaay shrugged making Anika frown.

---

After what seemed like too long, Rudra finally felt better. This morning, he had gotten a call about Shivaay being released from jail. Suddenly, time went back to five years and whatever happened that night started flashing to him. He would go numb at the mere thought, knowing that he had been rendered thoughtless that day.

He would force himself to think what he had done that day, but nothing would come to him. He laid by his dying father's body, as Tej blamed Shivaay for pulling the trigger.

Rudra always wondered. Was it true? Whatever his father had told him about Shivaay since all these years, was all of it true? Whenever his Bhaiya would look at them like they meant so much to him, was it fake? Rudra was sure he'd never know.

It took him a lot of time to come to terms with what had happened. That things that he had believed were true, for the better part of his life, were all lies. Suddenly, the warmth he felt for Shivaay Bhaiya was snatched from him when he didn't want to let it go.

Why did he have to prove Tej right? That was all that Rudra could complain about. Could he not actually be what he had been pretending to be? Why did he have to break Rudra's heart like this, when all he did was respect Shivaay so much?

Rudra had spent almost 4 hours in the gym, channeling his frustration. He was tired and his limbs ached but it felt good. Pain felt good. He wondered if he would come home once. Maybe, sitting in the living room would be a nice idea so in case he does show up, Rudra could have a glance.

He shook his head. No, he was supposed to hate him for murdering his father. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder why would he do it. Everything that made sense all those years ago had so many loopholes now. Why would he murder their father in the living room, where he could be easily caught? Why do that when he already had the better half of property under him? In fact, nobody knew better than Rudra, the fear Shivaay had of guns. He couldn't touch one. So what exactly triggered him enough to pull the trigger.

Was the fear not genuine? If not, had Shivaay been planning all of this since Rudra turned seventeen? Rudra was baffled. All of this was stupid. Rudra hated being caught in the midst of a war. Where he hardly had any idea what was being fought for. He decided he didn't want to overthink. He tried moving but his body pained a little too much. He groaned, crashing his face against the pillow. If only Shivaay had been here, Rudra could have thrown a tantrum and he would have been pampered so much. He didn't realise when his eyes had watered until he felt the damp pillow under his face.

The thoughts clouding his brain and the pain in his body lulled him to sleep.

---

When Anika pulled the car in front of the seven storey building, Shivaay was stumped. He was too horrified to move. Why had Anika brought him here? Shivaay would never forget the significance of this place.

"Anika why are we here?"

"Shivaay, this is my office."

"Why?"

Anika bit her lip, wondering how to break it to Shivaay.

"When you went to jail, you left 15 percent shares for me. Om and Rudra offered me a place in the office but I could not work there."

"So you had to choose this one?"

"Shivaay no-" Anika stopped. Telling him how she had landed up with this was a terrible idea, given his vulnerable state.

"Anika, there were so many departments! Why would you take this building, which meant so much to me, Om and Rudra?"

The building they stood in front of, was the one that Shivaay had built. The first one he had worked on, once he joined the Oberoi Industries. This is where his success began from and he had gifted it to Om and Rudra the moment it was ready.

"Shivaay, I am sorry. I know what it meant to you but this was the only option I could see. Or I would have had to work with them-"

Shivaay looked at her in confusion. Why was she harbouring so much against his brothers? They were only misunderstood but why did she have to take the one thing that meant so much to them. That could have kept them feeling connected.

"Anika, I want to go home."

"Shivaay I have some work here, if you could wai-"

"Anika I said I need to go home. I am going home, you can come back whenever you are done."

Anika looked on as Shivaay took the car and a driver with him. She still stood in front of Shehnaai, wondering where had she gone wrong.

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I am happy because I got a bit clearer on what I want from the story. If you have something particular in mind, lemme know.

Much love!