"I shouldn't be late!" Anika said to herself when she rushed herself to meet up the person who she was stalking, or we can say, she was trying to stalk, because he was just a stranger to her till yesterday, who got her attention and her heartbeat at the spark when she met him in the mall. He saw him in the lifestyle store when she was grabbing some clothes for her favorite little woman in the world. Her best friend's daughter with whom she lost touch on.

Radhika was her friend from seventh grade to college, and even after she started working, they stayed as friends, but she was quite shocked when she refused to pick her calls and left her bizarre. She knew even they fight, even they bashed each other, even they tore each other dresses in the fight, they remained friends in the past. But out of a sudden, she had to remind herself of everything. Anika's mom wished to explain everything to Radhika personally when Anika left with no options, in a few moments, Radhika herself called her. They didn't apologize, they bashed each other as much they could, and finally everything became normal with them. And Anika was delighted when she got to know about her two-year-old daughter. Even though Anika didn't remember anything which had happened in the past three years, she became emotional to hear about her best friend's happiest moments and she was not in the part of it. She wondered how the situation changed her or the popularity? She's a leading Author right now.

But Anika decided not to miss anything, so she planned an outing with her best friend and her cute little daughter, the moment she saw Radhika's daughter, tears rushed out from her eyes. And she couldn't stop herself from hugging Radhika and her daughter. She remembered their conversation and how she desperately wanted to be a favorite for Radhika's daughter as she got married, first. But everything changed. But Anika was desperate to bring everything back to its own space. They went shopping, had ice-creams like old times, Anika victoriously smiled when Radhika's daughter refused to go back to her mom and hugged her instead.

"I told you, Akshu loves me more than you." Anika hugged her and kissed her forehead. Passing a disbelief look, Radhika walked towards the trail room with her clothes leaving Akshu with Anika.

"Maasi, look..." Akshu shouted bringing the whole store alive looking at the soft toys present. Having a bunch of clothes to try in Anika's hands, she ran behind Akshu.

"Booo" Akshu exclaimed in happiness hugging a soft toy to her cheek. Anika couldn't stop herself from adoring. She bent up to her knee and kissed her cheek.

"If you do like this, I will kidnap you and keep you with me forever," Anika said when Akshu cupped her mouth and laughed hysterically with her. Anika stood up holding Akshu in her other hand. Over then, she saw her shoelaces have been loose, she felt helpless as she was holding Akshu and clothes in her hand and there was no stand beside her to keep clothes when she was about to walk towards a counter slab, a broad-shouldered and casually dressed opposite gender who bent to her out of sudden. She gasped when she tied her shoelace without even raising his head to her. Only his broad shoulder and his messy hairstyle were visible to her. She was stuck in the same place, she looked at Akshu who also looking at the person before her expressionless.

"I saw you struggling with the baby. So..." He gave a simple and impractical justification when he raised his head and looked at her straight deep into her eyes. That spark, she realized that nobody could give that effect to her heart, his sparkling blue-grey orbs said something to her that only her heart knew, nothing else. Her heartbeat raised faster; she had no idea how to calm herself.

"You could have... taken the baby from me or the clothes," Anika said looking at him, he smiled, it again raised her heartbeat even faster reacting to his smile.

"I would have done that if I didn't know you. I am your biggest fan, Anika Sharma." He said looking at her. Even though she had no recognition about her successful life, she felt proud of herself to gain a handsome, most pleasing, and down-to-earth fan like him. Especially a fan with blue eyes. Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she blushed clearly. For him. She clearly remembers she never craved any relationships in her life. But now, she imagined her as his girlfriend, his wife, and the craziest, mother of his children. Uff Its going too far.

She cleared her throat when his eyes fell on her constantly, she had to break the eye contact otherwise, she might even embarrass herself. Now when he said, he was her fan, fan of her talent, a fan of her writing, she didn't have any idea how to react to it.

"That's... Thankyou..." She blushed, Anika "stop it"

"It was my pleasure that I choose to read your books, it does give me some hopes in life." He said smiling. Anika couldn't recognize that she was having a conversation with him. She felt like she was sitting in a roller coaster ride while talking to him. But she didn't show it in her face, hope she didn't.

"Deep inside your heart, it's my favorite book." He said, looking deep into her eyes. She read that book last night, she finished that book overnight, but that didn't impress her. She wrote about someone who didn't recognize her when she looked immature, she didn't want to use the word, ugly. If she uses that word, it will be like disgracing herself. She wrote about an ill-mannered person whom she never wants to meet in her lifetime. She wished it would be better if she forgot that instead of the past three years.

After reading that, she started to judge herself, the author was not the person she wanted to become, she disgraced her looks and defended the male protagonist, everywhere. She was about to throw the book in the rubbish when she felt someone bashing and hurting her through the words written, which was herself before three years. The first book became a hit. That book ended the female protagonist marrying someone else up to her parents' choice, leaving him for goodness' sake. That end, she loved. The hero and heroine of her story never meant to be together. Somewhere in her heart, it told her that hero regretted it only because of his love failure not with his heart, but the heroine was blindly in love with him without any hopes and further.

"I loved the climax, though" Anika murmured without her knowledge, her facial expression changed. Anika knew how it will feel when anyone speak ill about her favorite characters in any novel, and the frown in his face said the same.

"I am sorry, I have no intention to hurt. But I think Anushka, the female protagonist, deserves a better life, maybe she got that life with the person she married to..." Anika spoke out, his facial expression went stronger than before.

"How can you say that? Even Rivan loved her to an extent, he was ready to leave everything for her and go with her. It was Anushka who chose her parents over him." He asked her in a slightly disappointed tone. It was going too far, and she needs an enjoyable conversation to start with this handsome man. But also, it was necessary to clear his mind from the perception he was in.

"Dude... First, he didn't respect her because of her looks, okay! After few years, when they met, I am sure he must have ignored her if he was not in a love failure state. Because even after realizing the mistake, he didn't respect her, but that stupid lady goes mad in love. It was only her love that drove him to her, there was no equality, respect between the partners in this story. I know nobody is perfect, but I lost my little interest in the story when he tried to force her to intercourse. Thankfully, that didn't happen, but he didn't deserve her also, Anushka needed some brain. If they got married, I am sure Anushka would have filed divorce after five to six years or let herself in a prison-like life for her children, she could have lost her identity if she married him." Anika said in one go ignoring his expression change. This dude needs a reality check.

"But in a live interaction with your fans, you got emotional for their separation." He said, Anika wanted to hide somewhere for her immature act, but she couldn't hide.

"Maybe I would have suffered from PMS, then. My mood works against my wish during that time. I will be so cranky-cranky." Anika said, she hates talking ill about PMS. But she felt stupid when he mentioned the fact like that. He busted to laugh, and his laugh looks cuter than his smile, oh my god, this man.

"Canky-Canky" Akshu whom Anika forgot she was still in her hands repeated her words with a smile.

"Yeah, Canky-Canky" Anika smiled and kissed her cheek, but her lips wanted to kiss that most handsome man's cheek before her. But she couldn't do that. He smiled at her and acknowledged her.

"Yeah, I didn't think in that way, You're right, Anika Sharma." He said with a smile, and after a long time, she felt happy on convincing someone with her thoughts. And she started liking him more, easily convincible, perfect boyfriend and marriage material. Anika kept Akshu from her arm to the floor, just to shake her hands with him. She mentally apologizes to akshu for doing that.

"It's Anika. Call me by my first name." Anika said with the hope that he will get her vibe and continue talking with her, but that remained as a dream when he proceeded the conversation towards its end. She was disappointed.

"Yes, it was nice talking to you, Anika." They shook their hands together; Anika knew something happening. Her inside shook along with her hand, she felt like electricity passing through her veins. This conversation should stay alive, lifelong. That's what running inside her mind.

"It was nice talking to you, ..." She asked for his name.

"Aa... Its Shivaay..." He said that name. She got stuck when she felt a deep connection with the name. She knew it was nothing normal and casual with him, he's something more to her.

"Shivaay..." She repeated his name to him. But he abruptly took his hands away and moved past her with a smile. He acknowledged Akshu while giving her soft toy back to her which she left in the floor. He left with a smile but leaving a deep void in her heart. Other than her name, she knew nothing.

Throughout the day, her eyes searched for him in every corner of the mall but couldn't find him. With no other options, she tried with her social media account. She used her ID rather than a public one with a blue tick, the search went throughout the night, she even forgot to have her medicines and gazed at every profile in the social media with the name shivaay, none of that profile matched his face which stored in her heart. By casually, her fingers swipe the chat area, and her eyes came out in shock to see the chat that was pinned in the top. It has the name in it. The name she wanted to forget, the name which broke her teenage life in psychological counseling, the name which made her feel insecure about herself. PARVEEN.

"NOWAY," Anika said to herself when she read the chat which ended two years, but still it was pinned in the top, their conversation said that they were in a relationship before and she felt disgusted and angry at herself for being this much stupid, she didn't deserve him, however, it is, at last, its Parveen who didn't value the friendship and buried her in insecurities and negative vibes, that man can never change, there was no point in giving him a second chance. Her ambition towards becoming a doctor was buried because of his negative vibes and thoughts that troubled her while reading, she was a fool then, but what happened to her before two years, she became that desperate? She wanted to throw the phone and rubbish it into pieces. But that chat, messages they both shared, and place they met before separating looked familiar.

"Wait a minute," she said to herself and took the book she wrote once, deep inside your heart. She turned the last chapter where Rivan and Anushka got separated. The messages they exchanged. Everything looked similar word by word. Anika never expected that arrived.

"Parveen is Rivan, and Anushka is none other than me?" Anika confirmed it and gazed at herself in the mirror.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" She bashed herself before the mirror to put some sense to herself, but the mistake has happened. While then, one thing strikes her mind, at the end of the novel, Anushka got married to someone else. Has that happened in real life? If she was married, she must have hated her married life with someone else. She came out from her chat section and gone to blocked profiles and there was only one profile name in that, SHIVAAY SINGH OBEROI.

*****