Year: 2018

Description: Before the reboot.

It has been six months since they get married. Nothing changed between them. The difference was she was sharing the bed with him, That's the only difference. But shivaay always maintained his distance from her, Anika respected. She also noticed his uncomfortable moment sometimes and left him in his own space. She didn't expect any sort of physical intimacy with him. But he wasn't ready to let her sacrifice everything for him. He decided to take the step which he was thinking about for a long time and had no courage to share it with anika.

"Ani. How's your work today?" - He asked her when she finally returns home after having a tight schedule in her office. She was tired. She flashed the smile.

"Long day?" - He asked reading her expression.

"Very long day." - She said while taking her seat in the couch. He went behind her and kissed her forehead. These were some of his gestures she fell in love with.

"How about having butter chicken for dinner, Mrs Oberoi?" - He asked.

"You prepared?" - She asked him, surprised.

"Since you ban ordering anything from the restaurant, I had to do it." - He said.

"Seriously, You held the slimy chicken in your palms for treating me?" - Anika asked turning around.

"Yeah, At least I can do this for my wife." - He said holding her waist having the couch in-between. Anika smiled widely, Not for the butter chicken, but he called her as a wife.

"So, Shall we?" - He asked while holding her hands. She crossed the couch while holding his hands, He chuckled when she jumped from the couch without leaving his hands but they made their way towards the window, Which shivaay decorated for both of them.

"Oh my god, You did this" - She exclaimed when she witnessed the decoration.

"It's for you, Fairy lady" - He kissed her palms and made her sit in the chair and he took the seat next opposite to her. Instead of wine, There was a maaza bottle, and everything present there was not so luxurious. But Anika again fell in love with his efforts.

"Thank you for the dinner, Prince Eric" - Anika responded, He chuckled. He calling her fairy lady and she calling him prince eric became more common in their life. For some time, Shivaay forgets his name because of that.

"How's chicken?" - Shivaay asked her when she enjoyed her first bite. He knew she was exaggerating it. But it didn't stop him from adoring her.

"Finger licking good." - She said licking her fingers. He stayed silent even he understood she was faking it. He tasted it, It was not that much good.

"Ani. I want to discuss with you something." - He said by keeping his face straight even though he didn't have any courage to speak about it.

"Anything important." - She asked him in a stern tone when he sounded serious.

"Not so important. Just a casual thingy" - He said and took the second step for his mission.

"Tell me." - Anika asked while taking another bite.

"Have you. Have you heard about the open relationship?" - He asked while stuffing the food inside his mouth. And his gaze shifted from her face and food continuously.

"What?" - She whispered while keeping the fork in the table.

"Open relationship. It's a common thing. A marriage or relationship in which both partners agree that each may have sexual relations with others." - He said while looking at his plate and didn't match her eyelids at any cost.

"With whom you're gonna have sex with?" - She asked him the most unexpected question. Food chocked in his throat. She passed the water to him. He had it. Her face was straight.

"I am not gonna have sex with anyone." - He responded almost his cough got in control. She was fuming in anger. He could sense it from her eyes.

"Then Why you suddenly take this topic out of blue." - She asked while holding the glass tumbler in her hand. He didn't have any words in himself to answer.

"I might not, But. You" - He stopped when she stood up from the table in the fury and made her way towards their room.

"Ani. Stop. We were just discussing, Remember" - He asked while following her.

"Is this even a topic to discuss? Ouch." - She yelled in pain when she accidentally got hit in her couch on her way to their room. She started to bleed.

"Oh my god, Ani" - He tried to touch her feet.

"DON'T TOUCH. Stop. Leave." - She said and slammed the door at his face. He knocked on the door multiple times to treat her first aid but she didn't respond to him. The rage he saw in her eyes enough to realize how much he hurt her with words. He unarranged the candlelight dinner set up with a heavy heart. He understood he did a very big mistake by asking her about the open relationship but he asked her about that because he loves her and he didn't want her to sacrifice anything for him.

After the whole two hours, When he immersed in his thought looking at the night sky from their terrace, He felt a touch in his shoulders. Tears sparkled in his eyes but he didn't let them out. He didn't let it out. She side hugged him.

"Sorry for yelling at you" - She spoke in a very calm tone. He didn't say anything. He was ashamed. He couldn't even match his eyelids with her after hurting her.

"I had a very bad day in the office, That's why, Sorry. Forgive me this time. I won't repeat it, I swear." - She said and he turned around.

"I should say this." - He said in a low tone looking at her.

"But I said on your behalf. Leave it." - She said and placed her head in his shoulder. He pulled her hand and engulfed her in a hug.

"I am sorry." - He muttered having heavy loads in her heart.

"Let's end the sorry session. And you want to discuss something with me, Right. Let's discuss." - She said out of blue and broke the hug. He got confused when she asked him to take the seat in the steps next to her. But he made his way to their home, Took the first-aid guide, and sat below her while holding her injured toes in his hand.

"Come. Let's discuss." - She asked him when he was done doing her first aid.

"Let's leave the topic. I won't trouble you like this again." - He said and placed his head in her lap. She caressed his hair.

"Until I clear you about this, You will try it in many ways. I know about you." - She said and denied him. But he stayed silent. Anika decided to initiate the discussion.

"Okay, Why people usually chose to be in an open relationship?" - Anika asked him while ruffling his hair. He stayed silent, Relaxed his head in her lap.

"You can answer, I am asking in general." - Anika asked him.

"Well, If they didn't get sexually satisfied by their partner." - Shivaay replied generally.

"Oh," - Anika raised her eyebrows. The information she heard was very new to her. She usually ran away from her place whenever people talk about intimate stuff. It was her problem for many years.

"I know I am not capable of anything which you would be expecting. That pushed me to ask you about this." - He confessed. She remained calm. She stepped down and sat next to him.

"You know I am a virgin, Right?" - She asked him. His eyes came out in shock and the guilt started to hang his neck.

"What?" - He asked her shockingly.

"What's there to shock? I said to you, I was never been in any relationship, Then, How's it's possible?" - She asked him to reply to his shocking reaction.

"But for the past 28 years, You're a virgin." - He asked her shockingly.

"Look. Don't ask these type of questions. It's irritating me." - She responded.

"Okay, Let me complete what i was about to say." - She started when he still responded puzzled.

"Imagine, I have never had ice-creams in my life ever. Will I guess how it tastes merely by listening to some other people's words?" - Anika asked him while caressing his palms which was in her lap.

"No, But what you're trying to say with this example?" - He asked her.

"Well, The thing is, Physical intimacy, I mean that word is like an ice cream to me which i never tasted in my life and I am not having any craving to taste it now or in future. When I have no feel over it, Then why are you feeling guilty, Mr Oberoi." - She asked while pinching his cheeks. He still looked stagnated at her.

"Why are you looking at me like this?" - She asked while shifting her gaze from his face.

"It means, Not even anything." - He asked her.

"Means." - She asked him.

"Masturbating." - He asked her without thinking.

"Oh my god, You are making me so uncomfortable." - She responded.

"Okay, tell me what do you know about it." - He asked her.

"I wrote a 10 mark question in my 10th standard. The main reason why didn't take biology in my eleventh." - She replied sheepishly without even looking at his face. The tension in his face faded away when she responded like that. A smile automatically appears in her face.

"Not even a film." - He pulled her shoulder and made her face.

"I fast forward that part in the movies." - She replied innocently. He tried a lot to control his smile to see that embarrassing face of anika.

"I am not asking about Bollywood movies. I am asking about the actual movies." - He asked her.

"I ran away from Kalpana's room when they decided to watch." - She replied innocently. He chuckled in an instant. He couldn't stop his laughing.

"That's why I didn't share it with you, please don't laugh." - She requested him. But instead, stop laughing. He pulled her cheek and commented, Cute.

"I like to hear cute from your mouth, but now it's embarrassing." - She said but he continued to laugh. He never thought he would get this much innocent wife in his life.

**************

Shivaay came back to Los Angeles after spending three days with Anika. He read about the magic of the first kiss everywhere in the books, but he never believed them. But the thing that happened with Anika in the giant wheel was purely magical. For a minute, He felt everything as a dream. The attraction, The tenderness in her lips, The way she wished his birthday, Everything was like a dream. But within a jiffy, He came back to his old life. Back to L.A, Back to engineering. But this time, He was clear, He will not going to take his father's help to go back to India, but will do a part-time Job or Internship to earn. He shared that news to anika and she responded positively to him but asked him to search for jobs in his field.

He joined a small-scale software development firm as an intern. He got paid weekly for his 4 hours of work. He didn't immerse himself in making money which anika hated. But stayed healthy. He forgets to call his mom but not anika. He called her every day as she does. But their conversation remained limited not their love.

Another Year went by, After one year, He was very much happy with the technology development. Anika got her first smartphone, the iPhone 3gs which cost loads over that time. Her only purpose in buying that phone was talking with him. And shivaay bought his iPhone with his own money. Even they speak little, They were in a very strong relationship. Shivaay felt weird when he got a call from her early morning when she decided to spend the night with her friends in the hostel with Kalpana and Gauri.

"You said you're going to spend the night with Kalpana and Gauri. What happened suddenly?" - He asked her as soon as she said hello.

"No, I felt uncomfortable, So I came back." - She replied hesitantly. He was on his way to a restaurant to get his morning Americano and Salad.

"But you're so excited yesterday, What happened, Suddenly?" - He asked her.

"It's washrooms. It's common, You know" - She tried to cover. But shivaay caught her lies.

"You knew it, Before. And I know that. Suddenly what happened?" - He asked her. Almost lost his patience when his imagination tendency reached the peak.

"Relax, Shivaay. Nothing happened so seriously. It was just." - She stopped.

"It was just?" - He asked her. She heaved out the breath, He heard it clearly from the phone.

"They were watching a movie which I was uncomfortable with, So I came back." - Anika replied and she wished that he should leave the topic, Right there. But he controlled his smile to the hell when he recalled about her confession.

"Baby! You ran away, Right?" - Shivaay asked while controlling his smile.

"How do you. HEY." - Anika reacted when he busted to laugh on the other hand. She realized he got it.

"Baby, Don't be so innocent." - He said in-between his laughter.

"If you didn't seal up your lips, I will rest the call." - She said and he stopped laughing in an instant.

"Okay, Baby. Serious talk" - He said and corrected his throat and had a glass of water from the restaurant table counter. She remained silent.

"Why are you scared this much?" - Shivaay asked her finally. Controlling his laughter to hell.

"Because it's SCARY." - She yelled in anxiety. He closed his fist tightly to control his laugher. He succeeds.

"I know you're feeling uncomfortable."- Shivaay muttered.

"Thankfully!" - She responded.

"I will ask it with an example." - He said.

"NO" - She yelled over the phone.

"Baby, You have to overcome it. Otherwise..." - He stopped and read the silence over the other hand.

"Shut up, And ask me whatever you want to ask." - Anika asked. He chuckled.

"STOP CHUCKLING." - She warned. He apologized.

"Okay, Imagine you didn't taste ice cream ever in your life, Will you decide with other people review whether you like it or not or else You will taste it on your own?" - He asked. He used her example to her.

"I will taste it on my own and decide." - She responded innocently.

"Likewise, You can decide whether it's scary or not only by trying it, Not hearing or reading anything. Understand, Baby" - He asked and chuckled hard.

"Oh my god, Yuck, Shit. Shivaay. I will never have ice cream in my life, Ever." - Anika exclaimed.

"We will have it together, Baby. I mean Ice cream." - He said playfully.

"Shut the hell up." - She barked at him.

"You know what, It's getting late. Good night." - She said.

"Baby, it's a good morning for me." - He responded innocently. And the next second, he heard a beep next second. He rested the call.

"Hi, What will you like to have?" - the waiter asked him for food.

"One ice cream, Please." - Words came out without his control. And hit his head in an instant.

"Which flavour?" - The waiter asked him further.

"Sorry, It's one Americano with Avacado salad." - He said without facing the waiter but his mind completely recalling the incident which happened before a while.

************