"Was it true?" she asked in a monotonous tone, "Is ours a marriage of convenience?"
Shivaay loosened his hold on Annika. He took a step back. Their bodies were no longer touching. Annika turned back to meet Shivaay's eyes. Had he not bent them low, it won't have taken her a second to guess the truth.
Then again, somewhere she knew the truth. She just wanted a confirmation. Shivaay would never lie to her she knew although a lie would suffice at the moment.
"Annika, it all happened months ago. They don't matter anymore," he tried to assure her, "Just forget it."
"I can't forget how Shivaay Singh Oberoi let himself be humiliated because he couldn't lie in answer to the question," her words came out as if an accusation, "I was waiting for an answer as well. I know you didn't answer because you couldn't lie to me."
"You know I can't lie to you, but you act as if you don't know why," he accused back. He didn't want to but he was getting done with all this. Comforting Annika was his job but being assured or not was her choice. He had always been there whenever she needed assurance. However, if she still doubted him, what could he do.
"Why Shivaay?" she wiped her tears, "I am asking you. Why?"
Her tears made him weak. He took a deep breath before cupping her shoulders as he spoke, "You know it very well. You know what's between us, still, you ask?"
She pushed his left hand away from her right shoulder. As if in reflex, he removed his right hand off her left shoulder. Stepping away a few inches, he took another deep breath. He observed Annika doing the same when she was on the verge of frustration many times before. In his case, they did not seem to help. He felt cheated by the way she saw him. With accusing glares.
"What exactly is between us? We didn't know each other a month before we got married. You weren't interested in me a tad bit in the beginning. If you cared, it was only in cases where your reputation was at stake. If I were to believe your interview from a couple of years ago, you wanted to expand your business that died with your respected father. Papa was giving you just that opportunity they say. The press, media, Mallika, Dev, Dadi make me feel like this marriage was born out of a deal. Your eyes are ashamed to face mine. You aren't telling me the truth despite knowing I will trust you over everyone else," she gasped, "What should I do, Shivaay?"
"There is a big difference between was and is Annika," he replied hurtfully, "Sadly I don't know how to say it and you don't know how to take it."
He began walking away. He knew Annika did not get the meaning behind his answer. He worried she will never get it. His only wish at the moment was that when he returned, he finds Annika in his home. For she was his home.
He stopped for a second, "I will call the driver. He will pick you up. I need some time alone."
Before she knew, he had left. Her eyes were filled with tears. She sat on a bench nearby. Shivaay left her just like that? The first time he did so. He behaved as if he was the one who got hurt. He didn't even care to explain, solidifying her insecurities.
He asked her why he couldn't lie to her. How was she supposed to have the answer? And what was it that he didn't know how to say or she didn't know how to take? She had grammar classes in elementary to know the difference between is and was. Shivaay's parting words didn't make any sense. Her judgment was as clouded by hurtful thoughts as her eyes by tears.
He wasn't here to wipe away neither of them.
***
As soon as Shivaay's frustration dropped, care for Annika took over. He left her alone at the chaperone of a driver. Many thoughts ran into his mind. One of them being the media encircling her and bothering her with their silly questions. She wasn't in the mental state for that he knew.
Taking out his phone, he called the chauffeur he encharged Annika's duty with. A teeny bit of anger was still there which is why he couldn't call her himself.
"Hello—"
"Don't take my name. Just answer. Is Annika with you?" Shivaay asked.
"Yes, sir," came a reply making him sigh in relief.
"Get her home safely," he instructed before cutting the call.
He looked at Annika's picture on his desk. It was in Harsh's cabin first but he shifted it to his own later. When he saw the picture for the first time, he didn't have so many feelings for Annika as he did now. She was only a girl he got engaged to. He could all but treat her with chivalry. Never did he think he could be angry, frustrated, protective, and caring towards her at the same time.
"I don't know what I should do, Annika. What should I do to let you know how I feel for you?" he spoke to himself more than Annika. Simply, he didn't know how to say it and she didn't know how to take it.
***
Annika was sure it was Shivaay who called the chauffeur midway to ensure her safety. She was still hurt. She fiddled with her phone for a long time. He didn't call or text. So won't she, Annika had decided. It wasn't the first time they fought. Still, it hurt more than anything. None of the issues, misunderstandings, fights in the past questioned the existence of their relationship. There always remained a hope of sorting those issues and getting back together. In this case, she saw none. It hurt a lot. Shivaay's silence hurt a lot.
She entered the closet, changed her clothes, and got ready.
***
"Annika" Shivaay stood in disbelief as he saw Annika standing near a desktop discussing something with the head of their marketing department. She quickly glanced at him before resuming the act of not knowing he was there. He fumed in anger. His anger shot up second per second knowing well that he was the one at fault and it wasn't his place to get angry.
"Annika, I need to talk to you," he managed to gather the courage and say. She smiled and whispered something to the employee she was just talking to before heading in another direction. Balling his palms in a fist, he stomped his feet on the floor. He was doing everything wrong today. First, he couldn't lie in front of the media. Second, he couldn't assure Annika. Third, he left her alone. Fourth, he came to the office instead of home, and now this. He made her mad and now the distance between them could only make him suffer.
He looked around seeing a few employees gossiping to themselves. Sure they watched the live interview. They also saw her ignoring him now. Quite surprisingly, what they thought about him didn't matter too much at this time. He wanted Annika to pay him some attention.
He walked behind her as she toured aimlessly around the floor. The clock stroke one and all employees left for lunch. Annika wanted to accompany two strangers to lunch if not for Shivaay pulling her along.
They stood close in a secluded corner of the office. Unluckily, Shivaay's cabin was not on the same floor and he was too impatient to delay a conversation.
"What do you want from me?" he asked, aggravated.
"I want some time alone," she replied, agitated. It hit him like a blow. He needed time when he said the same thing to her a few hours back. Annika taunting him for the same didn't sit well. It was not the Annika he loved—correction—shared a deep connection with.
"Annika, I am serious. Why did you come here?"
"Why? This is my Papa's company. The same Papa you made a deal with," there was a flavor of mockery in her words, "And don't worry, I am here to learn work rather than bossing around. I don't take shortcuts."
She left. Shivaay could not say a thing. Her words amplified the rising guilt in his heart. Somewhere he did cheat Annika by marrying her for solely business purposes. He could say it no longer mattered yet couldn't change how it started.
***
An angry Annika entered Harsh's cabin in search of peace. The hunger grumbling inside her stomach exacerbated her stress, frustration, and annoyance. She could have asked him one last time but she didn't. He needed to tell her by himself now. She looked around for nothing specific. Deranging a few files and throwing articles around actually helped. She couldn't believe she was doing everything she asked Shivaay not to at times when he got angry.
"Something has to be here," she murmured to herself. Despite not knowing what she looked for, she went through each page of the file in her hand. Her phone rang. She did not pick up as she knew it was Shivaay. Scanning the last page of the file in her hand, she threw it away. She marched her way towards the door and locked it. She knew Shivaay was searching for her around the office and would end up here at any time but she couldn't be seen at the moment. She couldn't let him assure her and left the matter at hand. Not this time.
She opened the drawer to grab some more files. She didn't care that they were important and she created a mess. It was about her marriage. Something she didn't know about her marriage. It wasn't fair to her.
"Annika," there was a knock on the door. She tried to ignore it while continuing to check the files. She had to finish her work before he brings help and breaks the lock.
"Annika, I am worried for you," he said. His tone was enough to let anyone know how worried he was. He cursed himself for making the sixth mistake in half a day. He blamed himself for the state Annika was in. Somewhere rightfully so. They were separated by a simple wooden door yet the distance was hard to cover. "I am calling a locksmith." Shivaay took out his phone to call Khanna.
"Yeah, bring a locksmith. Any locksmith you know," he was shouting over the phone, "ASAP"
Annika increased her speed. She needed to get this done. The only files left were the ones inside the locker. "Why do people keep files in the locker?" she expressed disappointment to herself. She didn't know the password. She tried her birth year followed by Harsh's and then her mother's. It opened the last time when she keyed her parents' anniversary date.
"Thank you, god," she pulled just the files keeping the remaining cash inside.
"Annika, don't be scared. I am here. Khanna is bringing the locksmith," she didn't know why he thought she was scared. He pampered her too much. So much that she currently had doubts if he possessed any ulterior motive.
"Listen, talk to me yaar" he pled from the other side. She ignored him just like he ignored her when she asked the answer to the question.
She saw Shivaay's signatures on a stamp paper amidst the pile she just took out from the locker.
"Annika if you are ignoring me for any reason, I won't tolerate it," she was very angry now. He wasn't the only one who could get angry. The fault was his, not hers. He had no right to be angry. He didn't deserve to demand her attention at the moment.
She read through the stamp paper in her hand. Immediately knowing it was regarding a stupid partnership between the two companies, she sat down in a chair to support herself. What was so important about the deal that he couldn't tell her about it. She read the first page again. Turning the paper, she read the first clause.
"Papa can't do this," it read that he gave the deal to his son-in-law. Whomsoever married Annika would have got this. "He sold me?" Annika whispered, fresh tears forming in her eyes. "And he bought me?" the tears trickled down.
"Annika, I won't mind if you scold me but you have to talk to me," came his voice from the other side. How she wished the room had a soundproof system activated. Ignoring his voice, she continued to read.
Page five clause 134 read the son-in-law i.e. Shivaay can't divorce Annika. If he does so, the deal will be canceled and he won't receive any alimony.
"At least tell me you are safe," his voice came again, "Da*n it, this Khanna is taking a long time."
Annika glanced at the wall clock. It had been all but fifteen minutes. No locksmith would be readily available in the town of Mumbai for Shivaay's instant gratification.
"I love you" she whispered. Her shaking hand reached her bag looking for a pen. She bit her lips to control her sobs. With blurry eyes, she crossed clause 134 on page five.
Precap: "You know, what? I am so done with you," he stared at the papers she got him in disbelief. "Do whatever you want to do," he enunciated, "but don't blame me for what I do next."