Chapter 5
"Ann..Annika...bhab..bhabhi...there..." Gauri tried to tell, as everyone stopped eating and talking.
"What?" Omkara asked his wife, getting up from his seat slowly and she pointed backwards.
"I saw...Annika bhabhi, she was.. .there..." Gauri said sluggishly as everyone got up.
"What are you saying? Annika? Here?" Dadi asked with a surprised and shocked expression.
"It can't be!" Tej Oberoi said in a shocked tone as his brother stood up.
"Why can't it be, bhaisaahab? She can be anywhere in the world, for all we know!" Shakti said thoughtfully.
"Gauri, are you sure it was Annika?" Priyanka asked slowly, as Gauri nodded.
"Yes, yes, it was her! I saw her. I was coming down with Dadi's medicines and we bumped into each other. She even talked to me!" Gauri told them.
"Bhabhi, are you hundred per cent sure that it was Annika bhabhi, like a hundred and ten per cent sure?" Rudra asked, almost shaking Gauri's shoulders as Gauri nodded.
"Yes devarji, it was her! She was wearing a black tank top...and...and jeans-
"It can't be Annika then, she doesn't wear that kind of clothes." Jhanvi said with a sad tone, interrupting Gauri.
"No Maa, it was her. Her clothing has changed but her face, it cannot be changed na? And she had that moon bracelet! I saw it, I recognised it! I can recognise that bracelet anytime Maa, I have seen it a thousand times on her picture! Believe me!" Gauri said quickly.
"Oh God, was it really Annika, here? I cannot believe it!" Jhanvi said, sitting back slowly.
"Oh thank you God! Thank you! If this isn't God's grace upon us, we came to London and Annika is here, of any other place in the whole world!" Dadi praised her Lord with joined hands as Somya hugged her, tears flowing from everyone's faces.
Everyone seemed to forget Shivaay and Pinky, who were still sitting in their seats, face white as a ghost, body still like a statue, as if they could not believe the situation which was in front of them.
"Shivaay! Chhoti Maa!" Omkara rushed towards them, as others followed.
Shivaay's heart hadn't stopped thumping as soon as he had heard Gauri speak.
His Annika was here! Here! In London, in this very resort! She was sitting in this garden a few minutes ago and he hadn't felt it? How? How could he be so stupid? How could he not realize that he was breathing in the same air as she was? Why, why hadn't he sensed her?
"Ann..Annika...is...here...Om...Rudra...she is here, she is here!" Shivaay shouted, jumping from his seat.
Pinky saw the life seep back into her son, his eyes twinkling with excitement, his face red as blood flew back into his face and she felt life seep back into her own veins.
As Gauri told everyone about her encounter with Annika, every Oberoi listened with apt attention, a huge smile adorning their bright faces, hearts racing with excitement.
But Shivaay couldn't wait to meet his Annika. His tadibaaz queen. His Paanika. After four years! Four damn long years!
Before anybody could stop him, he was running into the direction where Gauri had met Annika a few minutes ago. His brothers rushed behind him as others followed but Shivaay was sprinting already, and just like Gauri, he bumped into someone.
But Gauri had bumped into Annika and Shivaay bumped into Shivi, unknown to him who was his Annika's daughter.
"Mumma!" Shivi shouted as she landed on her butt, tears springing into her light blue eyes as Shivaay got up as well, rubbing his back. He looked down and stared into a set of blue eyes, eeringly as same as his, which had become glassy due to tears. Suddenly, he forgot about meeting Annika, God knows how that happened, and all his attention was focused on the little girl in front of him, who was hurt because of him.
He knelt down in front of her as a man and a woman with a baby in her arms, rushed towards the girl.
"I am sorry darling, are you alright?" Shivaay asked the girl as she sniffed.
"Shivi! Are you ok beta?" Sonakshi asked as Vikram knelt down to check her.
"I am so sorry!" Shivaay apologized to them. "I was in a rush and didn't see her, I am really sorry!"
Before Vikram or Sonakshi could say anything, Shivi smiled and looked at Shivaay.
"It's okay, I am not much hurt. Even I was running very fasht because I am vewy hungly, are you hungly too? That is why you were running like a rabbit on skates!" Shivi giggled as Shivaay's heart pounded at the choice of her words.
Rabbit on skates. That's what his Annika used to say.
"It's ok, we can go together to eat! I will share my French toasht with you!" Shivi said to the handsome man in front of her, who had similar blue eyes as hers and now adorned a lovely smile.
"You like French toasts?" Shivaay asked as Shivi nodded.
"Yesh, I love them so many!" Shivi replied with a huge grin, spreading her arms as everyone chuckled.
"Shivi, it's so much, not so many!" Sonakshi said, as Aryan cooed in her arms.
"Maa, I love many French toashts! Not one, but many!" Shivi said, waving all her tiny fingers.
Shivaay heart warmed at the little girl, who was smiling widely. A deep groan was suddenly heard by everyone and the little girl grabbed her stomach quickly.
"Oh, my stomach is crying again! I am going to have bekfasht!" She replied quickly, grabbing Sonakshi's and Vikram's hands and pulling them towards the restaurant as Shivaay got up.
"She was adorable, wasn't she?" He said with a chuckle as everyone stared at him.
"What?" He said as his family said only a word.
"Annika!"
Annika! How could he forget? How?
Everyone rushed inside the resort quickly as Annika entered the restaurant from the other door, now dressed in a different attire of a full sleeved, grey dress and ankle length black boots. Her open hair hid her face as she stepped down the stairs and the Oberois failed to see their missing family member opposite them.
Shivaay rushed to the reception as Tej and Shakti followed him.
"Excuse me, can you please tell me if anyone named Annika is staying here? Please tell me her room number!" Shivaay asked the girl in front of him.
"I am sorry Sir, we do not disclose that information to strangers." She said as Shivaay breathed a long breath.
"I am not a stranger, please call her, I know she is here, I saw her! Call her now!"
"I am sorry Sir-
"Call her right now! I am Shivaay Singh Oberoi! Call her and tell her that Shivaay is here!" He shouted as everyone around him looked at him.
"Relax Shivaay, I will talk to her." Tej said as Shakti pulled Shivaay back.
"Listen Mam" Tej said, "Please call her, she knows us. Don't tell us her room number, but call her down. Could you do that?"
The lady nodded and called Annika's room but no one picked.
"Sorry Sir, she is not picking up the phone. May be she has gone out." She said, as Shivaay shouted again.
"Out? Gone out? She was here fifteen minutes ago for God's sake, how can she go out?"
"Sir, please calm down. When I see her, I will tell her that someone was here to meet her."
"Not someone, Shivaay! S-H-I-V-A-A-Y! Got it?" He shouted as the receptionist nodded furiously.
"Om, Rudra, everyone!" Shivaay called everybody. "If Annika has indeed left the resort, then she must be nearby. Please, let's go and find her!"
Everyone nodded and moved towards the exit, unknown of the fact that Annika was in the garden itself.
"Mumma! You know I met someone today!" Shivi said while picking on her plate of French toast and hash browns.
"Oh really, did you meet a friend from school? Or did you make a new friend?" Annika asked her daughter and took a long sip of her Americano.
"No Mumma! It was a man!" Shivi said excitedly as Annika frowned.
"A man?" She asked.
"Yes, when I was running na, we bumped into each other. Like BOOM! And he fell down and I too fell down!" Shivi explained as Annika got concerned.
"You..you fell down? When? Where! Are you alright? Were you hurt? Was that man blind or something? Couldn't he see a small girl in front of-
"Anni, Anni, relax! Shivi is absolutely fine!" Sonakshi interrupted Annika. "He looked in a hurry. And still he stopped and checked on Shivi, apologized to us and even talked with us! He was a nice man; I could see the guilt in his eyes."
"Why were you looking in his eyes?" Vikram said with a frown. "You are not to look into another man's eyes; you should look into my eyes only! Look!" He said and pulled his wife closer to him as she looked at him with wide eyes.
Annika laughed at her friends as Shivi nudged at her.
"Mumma, you know, he had blue blue eyes like me!" She said, pointing at her widened turquoise eyes with a grin as Annika smiled.
"Wow, that's good to know! Now, finish your breakfast quickly. Come on, drink your milk!" Annika said and picked up the glass of chocolate milk and helped Shivi to drink it.
"Excuse me Mam" Someone said from behind Annika as she looked back. It was the receptionist.
"Yes?"
"Someone was here to see you a while ago." The girl said as Annika got confused.
"To see me? Here? Who was it... did they tell their name?" She asked as the girl nodded.
As the girl spoke, Annika's eyes widened, heart almost stopped and her coffee nearly slipped from her shaking hands.
"Yes Mam, it was some...uh...Shiv..Shiv...Shivaay! Yes, Shivaay! Shivaay Singh Oberoi!"