Shivaay knew it will hurt her to the core but he had to say that, He saw her regretting it for the whole life and how she became disconnected from her father and her sister. And their plan of getting her back also backfired. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her attachment over her family and how she trusts them to the core. 

"You must have seen someone else, Shivaay... It can't be my mom" - Anika said when her tone pales out due to the shock. 

"It's your mom, Ani... I accidentally went to the hospital to meet my father's friend. I saw your mom when I enquired they said, She's suffering from Brain tumor..." - Shivaay opened it up with heavy heart. She immediately switched back her gaze to somewhere else, As his expression told her he wasn't lying. But she wants everything to be a lie. 

"Ani..." - He held her palms which were shivering. She didn't reply anything but stayed silent for a while, It was very hard to digest this, She was suffering inside. Shivaay sensed it, It was the same expression when they visited the doctor for the last time and they ask him to admit in the hospital because of the hopeless situation. She felt hopeless, Over then, Shivaay was under ventilation, Even though he wishes, He couldn't able to do anything. But now, He was with her, Next to her, Holding her palms, then too, He felt he can't help her in this situation. It was her battle. 

"I... have to leave..." - She said and moved forwarded, Without her knowledge, she jerked off his hands. 

"Ani... I will go with you" - He yelled with his high pitch but she wasn't ready to hear anything but moved ahead very fast. Stopped the empty taxi on the road and left without even turning back. But Shivaay followed her taking another taxi.

He saw Anika rushes out from the taxi and entered the house. He got out of the taxi. But there was no courage left in him to reach out and but he stopped himself from going inside when he heard Anika's confrontations over her parents. 

"Mom... Promise me, You're alright, right?" - She asked in a bold tone yet her heart wasn't strong enough. Her father stood shockingly next to her. Her questions changed the happy environment to a silent one. Hearing them, Bhavya arrived drawing-room when she heard her sister's voice in a high pitch. 

"Di... What happened?" - Bhavya asked her. 

"Mom... SAY YOU'RE ALRIGHT... SAY EVERYTHING I HEARD ABOUT YOU WAS LIE... PLEASE" - Anika thundered, Tears crossed her eyes feeling the pain behind her mom's silence. 

"Anika... I will explain it to you..." - Her father replied to her in a calm tone. 

"What's there to explain? Please tell me, She's alright..." - Anika lost her patience and held her mom's hand who stood like a statue before her looking at her. Her mom felt the fear in her daughter's eyes which she never want to see. 

"You're alright... You're not suffering from anything... You will stay with me, forever... Right?" - She asked while caressing her mom's face. 

"Can someone tell me, What the hell is happening?" - Bhavya shouted but none had the courage to respond anything to her. 

"Nothing, Bhavya... Mumma is alright... She will stay with us, Forever..." - Anika answered to her. Tears crossed from her mom's eyes when she answered bhavya with much confidence. 

"Am I right?" - Anika asked while caressing her mom's face. Tears escaped uncontrollably from her eyes. But Her mom closed her eyes when she literally felt weak in hearing her tremblings. She was scared of this, She doesn't want anika to know anything about her health condition because she was in the most helpless condition, No medication, No chemotherapies will help her in the last stage of her brain tumor. Her silence made Anika realize whatever she came to know from shivaay was true. She backed off. Her vision went to her father who cried silently. 

"Cheaters... CHEATERS... EVERYONE... CHEATERS..." - Anika thundered, ran upstairs, and closed her room door leaving huge noise. 

Shivaay who heard everything from the doorstep lost his balance. He thudded in the floor but he had to do this If he didn't, She will definitely come to know about it after her mom's demise And he literally watched how she regretted not being with her in her last phrase. Even though he hurted her, He did it for her. He tried calling her phone sitting nearer to the house, But she didn't reply to anything. Messaged her, None of them were answered. Without having any option left, He went back to his house. 

But those few hours went like a year for anika, She didn't want anything to be true. Bhavya was shocked like her sister. Her sister became tired crying but Anika didn't come out from her room. Her father tried to console bhavya, Meanwhile, Her mom went to her room and knocked. But she closed her ears and eyes tightly as she didn't want to listen to anyone. 

"Hey, Mermaid Princess... I know you're hearing..." - Her mom started. Tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes. Her sobs reached her mom's ears who was sitting next to her door.

"Don't cry, baby... I am not alright... And you heard right, I am suffering from Brain tumor, Which was not my choice... Before three months, We went to the doctor for a continuous headache, There, We found out that I am not well... They even said I am on the advanced stage. I was shattered, Don't know what to do, I felt completely dark. But when I came back home, You arrived back from school with Ms. Perfect batch... You were so happy... I got immersed in your happiness which made me realize the value of my life which was the happiness in your face..." - Her mom said in a low tone. Controlling the tears, Even though Anika cried a lot, Her word started tattooing in her heart. 

"Then I realized, fate isn't left me with no choices. It asked me, Whether to tell you about my condition and wipe away all your happiness in your face or Hid it from you and see you happy till the last second of my life..." - Her mom added, She stopped crying for a while and listened to her mom. 

"I know I became selfish, I want to see you happy, Rather seeing you in pain... Every mom does that... But now, Seeing your reaction over my condition, I think I have made a wrong choice... What would have happened to you when you came to know about it after my dea..." - Before  Her mom could complete her sentence, Anika opened the door and gave her mom a tight hug. There were no words exchanged further but only tears. Both were not ready to leave each other. Hearing the whole thing from her father, Bhavya ran towards her mom and hugged her tightly. 

"Please... Don't go mom..." - Bhavya cried badly. 

"If it's in my hand, I will never ever leave you girls..." - Her mom said and hugged them tightly. 

The next few days went fully on study holidays, Anika stayed with her mom and took complete care of her forgetting about everything. She stopped crying and wasting time, Instead, Stayed with her mom each and every second. We will only understand the value of anything when you're losing it. But the distress in her face made her mom so weak. 

"Go and read for your board, Baby... You're going to live..." - Her mom insisted her to prepare for her boards.

"Anyway, I am going to take journalism... Nothing to worry about it..." - Anika replied even though her words hurted her deeply.

"I forgot to ask...How was your farewell party?" - Her mom asked. 

"Same, Boring mom..." - She replied while giving her tablets.

"How about shivaay? Anything happened between you guys..." - Her mom asked. Over then, she recalled his hundreds of phone calls and his messages. But she didn't respond to any of those.  

"Nothing mom... We are okay" - She lied, Her mother caught her lie but didn't want to confront her. But she confirmed something was wrong when she saw shivaay opposite her house sitting in the barricade. Before she comes down, He already went. She smelled something was very wrong but Anika wasn't in any position to confront anything. 

The time came, Even though Anika didn't want to leave her mom and go to exams, She did when her mom insisted to do so. Just by revising the already learned topic, she got ready to leave. Her sister was on the study holiday as she was doing her 10th. And her exams start at the end of the march. Anika's father dropped her in school and waved her all the best but she was in no mood to reply anything. 

She straightly went to her hall and she was shell-shocked to see the seating arrangement. Her roll number and shivaay's roll number were in the same table. And shivaay already present in his place and looking at her with a cold look. But Anika didn't bother anything.

"How are you?" - He asked as soon as she sat on the other corner. She didn't even look at him. 

"Have you prepared well?" - He again attempted. Even for that, No reply. Anika raised her head finally when the invigilator distributed the Answer sheet and she started to write fastly once the invigilator gave her the question paper. Shivaay wondered when she finished the whole paper in Two hours for three hours exam. She gave the paper to the invigilator and rushed outside. After she left, It was shivaay who handed the Answer Sheet to the invigilator. He was rushing behind her but she was not ready to turn around. But he twisted her wrist and made her look at him. He left her hand, as soon as she hissed in pain. 

"Are you avoiding me?" - It was his first question when she finally became ready to have a conversation with him. 

"Who am i to avoid you?" - She asked him in return. 

"Then what the hell are you doing in the past fourteen days? Check your phone, Your phone must have spammed with my messages and missed calls..."   -  He said in a slight high tone, He literally lost his patience in these 14 days. 

"See, You don't need to do that... I understand your perspective, You talked with me, Stayed with me for the conscience of humanity... I understand... But I am normal now, I can't take care of myself... And thanks for everything..." - Anika said which shook shivaay to an extent. 

"What are you saying? The conscience of humanity...  What the hell you are talking about?" - He lost his patience. 

"Then, How did you notice the girl who was invisible for the past fourteen years? Why did you want to be my friend, Out of sudden In this fourteen years...  I can understand your big heart, Mr. Oberoi... But sorry! I don't need anyone's charity... I am strong enough to take care of myself in any situation... Stop calling me, Hereafter..." - Anika said in a warning tone and left the place. Shivaay saw her father waiting outside of the school and notice the whole scene, But he neither glared at him nor ignored him but looked at him for a while and left the place. Shivaay couldn't pace him up from her words. 

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