As sunlight peeped through the window, Annika turned to the source of warmth radiating from her left and snuggled more into the duvet. She slowly opened her eyes to find Shivaay beside her. Alarmed by the closeness between them, she was wide-eyed. She looked to her right and then her left where he slept peacefully.
She felt her legs entangled with his. She cursed herself now hugging her knees. What were they doing? The faint memory she had of last night was of him applying an ice pack since her back was aching. She phewed. Her stupid plan backstabbed. She shouldn't have let jealousy take over her and acted so dumb. She glanced once at Shivaay before climbing off the bed.
Shivaay opened his eyes letting himself adjust to the light. She was not beside him. He sat up resting his head on the bed frame. He was smiling. He could not see her around. He wanted to know her reaction after the previous night when they slept in such an intimate posture. A sly smile caught his lips. It was a nice feeling after all.
He stepped down, slipped in a pair of sandals, and entered the bathroom.
***
Shivaay was peeing when the shower started abruptly. He was taken aback. He cleared his throat.
"Aaah," Annika's voice came.
"Aaaaa" Shivaay screamed realizing Annika was inside the shower. And he was peeing. Such a couple-like thing yet something new and unwanted from her side.
"Woman, can't you lock the washroom after entering?" Shivaay groaned.
"What are you doing here?" she asked back.
He rolled his eyes. "What do people do inside the washroom?"
Annika closed her eyes at her own stupidity. She took two breaths before replying, "Get out!"
"I won't," he paused, "I mean I can't."
"Why?"
"What, why? I am in the middle of something."
"In the middle of what?" Annika asked another stupid question.
"In the middle of something. Something," he replied, "Why can't you get out?"
"Well—"
"Yes, well. That's why I can't leave," he answered.
Annika pursed her lips and groaned at her own stupidity. Ever since she left Oberoi Mansion and he followed her to her home, he made her feel dumb at all times without saying or doing a thing.
"Are you not done?" she asked.
"No," came his reply.
"How long will it take?" she asked back.
"How am I supposed to say?"
"Please leave!"
"I can't. I won't leave until I finish my deed."
"Deed? Seriously? Fine!"
She extended her hand, pulled in a bathrobe, and stepped out of the shower. Shivaay's mouth went agape. She glared at him for staring. Her eyes followed his to find his pulsating length. She shut closed her eyes and stepped towards the door. He picked up his boxer though there was nothing to hide anymore.
***
Annika closed and opened her eyes a couple of times trying to get rid of what she saw in the bathroom. Even if it was for a split second. Why couldn't she close her eyes?
"I saw—I saw a di—" she released a heavy sigh and closed her eyes again as if it will unsee what it saw.
"Annika!"
She turned to find Shivaay standing awkwardly outside the washroom door. She looked away. He shrugged his shoulders and tried approaching her. She entered the closet before he could place a hand on her shoulder.
"Annika," he sighed. He didn't do anything on purpose yet he felt guilty. How would he know she was inside the washroom? And she didn't lock it!
"Sahi hain, sahi hain Being a husband means accepting your fault without any mistake," he mumbled.
"You know what? We will forget this and head our own ways. When we return this evening, there will be no mention of it." He realized she had come outside the closet now out of the bathrobe wearing a pretty top and jeans ready to attend her classes.
"Mondays!" he cursed under his breath and followed Annika outside. Girl gave them the right idea this time. Forget it.
***
But forget she could not. The only other time she saw a penis was a diagram from a biology book. And the real thing was way different than what she imagined after seeing the drawing. She felt Dev nudge her. She glanced at him and focused on the whiteboard where her professor was explaining something about middle management.
She placed her head on the desk. This was not done. His thoughts chased her to her class as well. This was she won't able to focus on anything. She was letting their problems dictate what she did and why. She was letting one man decide where she should live and work. She was happy here studying in the best MBA college of Mumbai. Why did she have to go to London? She wanted to join the business and extend her dad's legacy. But when she won't be in India, how will she ever do that.
Shivaay.
She sort of figured out what Shivaay's words meant. She was escaping. She was running away from problems in place of facing them. But now that she accepted she was running away, things were not any easier. They were harder.
Okay, she loved him. He didn't love her. He was behind money. So she left him. The story wasn't as simple as it sounded. Her life at the moment was so complicated that going away seemed the best option. And if it was called running away from problems, so be it.
She wasn't so brave to face the problems and emerge as the hero. She was the protagonist of the book of her life not a heroine of someone else's novel. Certainly not Shivaay's.
***
"I accept," she threw a piece of paper on Shivaay's desk and sat on the chair right across with a thud. He glanced at her quizzically before seeing what she got him now.
It was her transfer certificate. Signed by the dean of her college.
"Congratulations!"
"I said I accept," she took a deep breath, "I am running away. From all this mess. From you."
Shivaay nodded encouragingly for her to say further.
"But this is the best for me. I want to be selfish." She wanted to protect herself but that was not something she wished to voice out especially in front of him.
"Great. So you will be leaving in two weeks, I believe?"
She nodded, "Yes, next week this semester ends. Then I will leave. Start afresh next semester"
"If you need anything, I am always there," he assured coolly.
"You won't ask me to fight?" she asked, "I mean I just said I am running away. And you didn't preach that I should stay back and fight my problems."
Shivaay cleared his throat. "You spoiled yourself watching a lot of movies. It's okay. I have watched them too. They are larger than life. And this cliche scene of a mentor preaching something to the protagonist is not something I want to imagine between you ans me. I had told you I won't do anything. It's your life. It's your choice."
His alarm peeped. "Time for me to attend a zoom meet." He grabbed his laptop and left for the meeting room. Annika sat silently. Thinking. How easy it was for her to say she was running away. She indirectly accepted that she was scared. And unlike all other times, he didn't console her or anything. She placed her legs on the desk. It was so unlike her but then life was unlike life.
She imagined what would be the case had she never chose to divorce him. Had she not known about the agreement. Her life was so decent back then. And now it was so messed up.
***
Shivaay was working. Unlike her, Shivaay was working. He didn't seem affected by divorce at all. And she wished, she wasn't either.
"Why are meetings being constantly held this week?" she heard two employees talk.
"Mr. Oberoi wants to initiate a new project," one of them replied, "Mishra was saying it was on Late Mr. Shakti's wishlist and Shivaay Singh Oberoi wants it to start between now and his dad's death anniversary."
Annika's heart warmed up at his thoughtfulness. Shivaay talked very little about Shakti and Pinky. But he cared. It was visible by his actions. He was using the money he had to do what his dad wanted. He was managing everything in his and her dad's business right under her nose. Granted he was once selfish to accept the offer, but then he was working for it too. And the one who should be working with him, who deserved to be working with him was running away.
She recalled the number of times Shivaay mentioned office, work, and hint. He was hinting at it since long. If anything, the business should be stopping her. Business wasn't always about money. It was about legacy.
Like Mr. Shakti's business was for Shivaay to take forward, it was on her to take her dad's business forward. Like Shivaay was fulfilling Shakti's wishes, she should be fulfilling her dad's. She couldn't be so selfish and run away.
She didn't even know what her dad wanted on business front. She never asked. She was left with so much money and property and she didn't know what to do with any of it. Shivaay did. He was working on it. Ignoring all the problems in life, when Shivaay entered the office, he talked business. Something she failed to do be at home, office, or class.
She couldn't leave all this behind. If she wanted to be the child to Harsh that Shivaay was to Shakti, she had to be there and work for her company. It would be so selfish to run away from her legacy too.
Precap: Shivaay, Annika and a kitchen