Falling in Love - A Shivika Romance ✔

33. Ego vs Care

Annika fell on her bed in Kabeer Mansion with a thud. Her heart was as empty as the mansion at the moment. She trusted Shivaay. She was falling in love. Her dreams featured him these days. He chose to break it. There were a bunch of second thoughts in her mind. Could his behavior only be due to his anger or he saw husband and wife relation as purely physical?

How could he do that to her? If she didn't push him, where would they be right now? True to his name, Shivaay destroyed everything: her confidence, her trust, and their relation. Now every time he comes close to her, she will be scared. How will he bring her out of the mess he created himself?

She didn't know. The bedsheet soaked her tears by then. What was the future of their relationship? As far as she understood tonight, Shivaay sees a wife as someone he can come close to. He doesn't understand the meaning of a wife or a marriage. In that case, how will she ever live with him?

Her phone kept ringing. She thought it was Shivaay. A part of her heart wanted to run and answer the call as soon as possible. The other part was angry, sad, and uncaring. It wanted to ignore even the tiniest of Shivaay's thought let alone a phone call. Amidst the battle of two parts of her heart, her body won as exhaustion lulled her to sleep.

***

A week later

"I have been asking you since a week. What did you do that bhabhi left to not come back?" Om asked at the breakfast table one not-so-fine morning.

Shivaay did not answer and put two sugar cubes in his coffee.

"She isn't even answering our calls," Rudra added.

Shivaay's whole attention was in stirring sugar into his coffee as if there was no other important work.

"When was the last time you talked to her?" Om asked.

"Why is she not answering any of our calls?" it was Rudra.

Shivaay sipped from his cup. He heaved a disappointed sigh.

"What did you do?" Om half yelled this time around.

"Enough!" Shivaay banged his right hand on the table. His phone joined the six others in a pile of dead phones Khanna created over the week. The count of other broken items was even higher.

"If she wants to come, she will. If she wants to pick up the calls, she will. And if you guys are so worried, then you know her address, you can go and check."

He grabbed his laptop bag and proceeded to the driveway.

"What is this O? Prinku isn't eating, Bhaiya's mood is the worst I have seen. This week was the worst." Rudra said.

Om stared at Shivaay's retreating figure as he spoke, "I don't know about Prinku, but Shivaay's mood isn't getting any better until bhabhi comes back."

"Right O. Around bhabhi, bhaiya was changing albeit slowly. Then boom. Bhabhi left and bhaiya's mood worsened. We can ask bhaiya to bring bhabhi back, but in the end, it's up to them, right?"

Om nodded, "Let's go and check on Prinku. Shivaay vents out his anger by breaking things here and there; our poor sister only cries."

Rudra agreed and followed Om to Priyanka's room.

***

Slow jazz music played in the stereo, two burnt toasts, an egg, and a cup of espresso graced Annika's breakfast table that morning. Sachets of desirable alternatives and sugar cubes lied just a foot away from her. Yet, she chose to give her tongue the bitter taste just like she had been over the last six days.