A yawn escaped Annika's mouth, her eyes were burning, red with lack of sleep last night. And then, when she had stepped out of the plane to find paparazzi standing there, with the camera lights flashing at her face, she was glad that she had worn a pair of sunglasses to avoid any interrogation on why she looked so tired.

The news about Annika Malhotra losing the contract spread like a wildfire in India. Gauri was well aware of the articles showing up on tabloids and across the entertainment section in the newspaper. She tried her best to bring all the articles down from every source but some were adamant, money couldn't buy them and so she gave up. Annika took a deep breath in when one of the reporters went ahead and asked if she enjoyed London.

Gauri motioned the two bodyguards to clear them off the path and so they did, in seconds, they were held back by the bodyguards and Annika walked away without answering a question, she was too tired to even form words. Getting into the car, she rested her head against the headrest and calmed her breaths down. The perks of being an actress were getting inside her head at that moment.

"You alright? Are you hungry? Should I bring you something to eat or drink? Oh, wait, I have this granola bar, take it" Gauri shuffled through her handbag to find the energy bar, passing it to her the next second she found it. Annika took it, unwrapping the cover and chewing onto the bar without speaking a word. Gauri sat down next to her, telling the driver to take them both home.

The ride back home was in silence, Annika had fallen asleep on Gauri's shoulder who was busy taking down some more articles from the web, bribing them with money. She felt Annika snoring and she giggled, she was indeed so tired. It had been a hectic week for her, she travelled to London for this particular contract of a movie that was supposed to start shooting next month, and the next second, they had lost it. What Gauri had heard was that they gave it to some other actress.

Shifting in her seat some bit, Gauri tried to wake her up, she was still snoring and this time a bit louder. She stared at the road outside, it was dark, the night was calm and serene, the traffic of Mumbai was at ease and the clicking noises of beetles was soothing her ears. Annika mumbled something in her sleep that Gauri couldn't hear, when she turned to see, Annika was frowning. And then, she felt something wet touching her shoulder to find that it was Annika's eyes that a tear slipped down.

"Annika, are you alright?" She tapped at her cheek lightly to wake her up, how was she supposed to sit there and watch her break down in her sleep? But she did not bulge to move or wake up from her sleep so she tapped again and this time, a bit harder. That made Annika wake up with a jolt. Rubbing her eyes and trying to adjust to the light inside the car.

Annika touched her face to realise that her cheeks were stained with wet tears and hence the burning sensation in her eyes. She took calm breaths, collecting herself back and trying to remember what dream she had while she slept. But she could not remember a bit, after a minute, she gave. Eyes fixed at the passing by buildings outside the window.

"You don't seem good, are you really alright?" Gauri asked with concern laced in her voice. Annika turned towards Gauri to find her with a frown adored on her face, she nodded her head. The way Gauri was concerned for her, reminded her about the time when she met Gauri accidentally, crashing hard into her and leading to Gauri fracturing her leg.

That day, even though she was the one to get hurt, Gauri asked to f Annika was really alright while she winced in pain. It was two years ago, two years since she had been with her as a best friend and Annika's manager. When Gauri snapped her finger in front of her face that made Annika look at her with a sheepish smile.

"You are the best" Annika pinched her cheek and at that, Gauri frowned, was she on her period? Because she certainly was having major mood swings but the last time she checked, her date was two weeks away. Maybe she was just sleep deprived.

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Annika sipped her black coffee with one hand while the other hand held a phone. Gauri sat crossed leg on the couch, talking to someone at call with her hair twirling around her finger. Watching her from across the room, Annika sighed when she came across the flashing news saying 'Annika Malhotra lost the contract to Ishita Kapoor'.

Keeping her phone aside, she ran her fingers through her hair, it was the morning after they had landed in India, the newspaper already had one photo of her with several other celebrities spotted at the airport. Then she came across Priyanka Singh Oberoi, she should have known that she was famous and Ananya walking alongside with her as the mother daughter held hands.

Smiling to herself, she leaned back at the chair. Her phone rang and she was startled to hear it go off loudly. Staring at the caller ID that read 'Dhruv Bhai', she rolled her eyes. It had been exactly five days since he last called when he had promised he would call her at the earliest. Annoyed, she picked the call to meet with the screeching voice of her brother.

"Hey Aaru, what do we call a crying sister?"

Silence.

"A crisis"

Silence.

"What do you call a bee that was born is the United States?"

Again, silence.

"A USB" Dhruv laughed out at his own lame joke for the second time but Annika kept rolling her eyes, when did he become so utterly silly and a lame joke cracker? Sighing, she kept her mouth shut, trying to tell him that she was really annoyed at him.

"You there Aaru?" Annika bit her bottom lip, she wanted to talk back but he needed to know the consequences of not calling his sister was going to be this way if he continued doing like this. She waited for him to respond but he felt silent as well, as if he was thinking that this is some sort of a game they were playing.

"You are a liar"

"No, I am not"

"Yes, you are"

"Ohh, come on, when you were ten, you really wanted a Barbie doll and I promised you I would get it for you in five days, I don't lie. I fought with Bua just so you could get a Barbie doll" Dhruv said, his words dripping with real facts and Annika had to give up, he was really more intelligent than she had thought he would be.

"But you have not called me for five days. You said you will, you lied to me"

"Aaru, I was busy, I had work to do and places to be. I am coming back from Atlanta in two days, tell me, what do you want from here?" Annika's face beamed with happiness, not on the part where he asked her what she wanted but at the part where he declared he was coming back, in two days.

"I don't need anything but you to come back sooner. This house has been too empty since six months. I miss you and Gauri's bickering so much" Annika said, looking at her fingernail casually. It's been a long time since she last saw him, he has gone away to Atlanta for the contract and collaboration with B&M company there and she had immensely missed his presence in the house. Even though they video called each other pretty often, that was not enough, it was never enough.

"I miss you too Aaru" Dhruv said from the other side and Annika smiled sadly, the way his tone changed, she knew he was missing her too.

"Alright, stop making me cry, tell me, how have you been"

"I wanted to tell you something important, I found the file about dad" Annika's smile dropped, her heartbeat picked up faster, she blinked her eyes several times to register the words Dhruv had said.

"How did you do that and —"

"I will tell you once I reach other, until then, wait" Annika sucked her breath in, how could she be able to sleep at night thinking that he had got his hands over his file, she was impatient to know several answers, answers to the questions that were not to be found.

"Annika, I will talk to you later, I have urgent work and oh, I forgot to tell you, once I land in India, that evening, I want you to be ready because I have a business party to attend and your presence is important. Bye Aaru, take care" Before Annika coup had said anything further, he hung up. Closing her eyes tightly, she rubbed her hands on her face in frustration.

Only she knew how she was going to survive these two days.

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Banner credits to silver_dustXX I am so in love with the banner and I only updated because the banner really motivated me to write.
Thankyou so much Kripa.❤