5. When Coffee Blooms

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SHIVAAY

Shivaay looked around him to see the fully blossomed coffee plants in the morning mist. He turned to the sound of someone walking behind him and saw Annika, clad in a yellow chiffon saree walking towards him. He blinked, unable to believe his eyes. She was now standing close to him separated only by a coffee plant, looking intently at him with hurtful eyes. But in the next instance, she turned and started walking towards the woods beyond the coffee plants.

"Annika" he called out, but she didn't seem to hear it.

"Annika stop. Where are you going?" He saw her pause for a second, but without even looking at him she resumed walking shoving the coffee branches. "Damn it, she is ignoring me."

His pulse took a faster rhythm while his body moved towards her, shoving away the coffee branches that are blocking his way.

"Annika I said stop. Where the hell are you going? You know nothing about this place."

He felt lost and bewildered by each and every step she took away from him, ignoring him. "Annika"

The next moment he saw his left hand grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards him so that she was now standing beside him separated only a coffee branch full of flowers. "Annika, where do you think you are going?" he felt extremely frustrated when she refused to look at him and answer him. "Annika answer me."

"Why do you care?" her voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

He stepped closer to her and turned her towards him. His breath hitched the moment his eyes locked with hers. Her angry, hurt and accusing look was killing him. He instantly looked away.

"Leave me" she tried to pull her hand out of his grip, her voice stern.

"Annika, you can't go there just like that. It's dangerous. You may get lost in the woods."

"Nothing can be as dangerous as you... and how can something that is already lost, get lost again?" He closed his eyes unable to hold her steely gaze.

"Now let me go"

"Where?"

"I don't know... Somewhere... away from you."

"Why?... Why are you doing this to me?" He asked her almost as a whisper holding her closer by her shoulders.

"Me? What am I doing now?" He saw her scrunching her brows.

"Am I that bad to be a friend?" He heard his own pleading voice.

"What is your problem? One day you want me to stay away from you. Then you brought me here without my consent, you even slept with me and saying let's be friends, for how many days? Huh? For how many days, Shivaay?"

He watched closely at her lips as his name left her mouth. His left hand traveled from her shoulder to the back of her neck and his lips found hers. His right hand descended down her shoulder to her palm, that was wound around the branch, crushing the flowers beneath her hand while he deepened the kiss. He found himself smiling when she started responding to him. Her free hand moved from his shoulder to neck.

Their trance broke all of a sudden when Tia's sound echoed through the estate. "SHIVAAY BABY..."

He saw Annika's eyes opening wide in shock and looking at him, even before realizing what just happened, he felt her hand push his chest and she tried to free her hand that was between his palm and the branch. He struggled to hold on to her hand crushing the flowers between their palms. She freed her palm forcefully from his grip, leaving the crushed flowers for him. He winced watching the tears rolling down her cheeks. She started moving back, without taking her eyes off him. His heart broke at the sight of her moving backward, her eyes bloodshot and tears rolling down her cheeks. He tried to call her name in vain. His vocal box deceived him in the most crucial time. He saw her turning around and moving towards the woods hastily. The sharp edge of a broken branch slashed her wrist in her attempt to remove the branch from her path. He heard her cry out in pain and saw blood trickle down her fingers. He tried to reach out to her hastily and tried to call her with all his might but no sound came out. He felt his legs heavy and muscles aching, joints of his fingers throbbed which held the crushed flowers in a fist. But before he could reach her, he saw her disappearing in the woods. He tried to shout her name several times with all his might in vain. He saw blood drops on the coffee leaves, he stroked his fingers along the leaf. Her blood, she is wounded. The pang of yearning, guilt, regret, rejection, and loneliness swept over him. He dragged his heavy legs towards the woods with the coffee flowers in the right fist. I have to find her.

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