[ chapter four • drenched in love ]

The slight change in her behaviour from happy to sad one, Shivaay knew what exactly made her so. He couldn't simply cut her call and make things worse which already are.

Annika looked up to him with hope that he won't pick her call but it went in vain when his hands reached for 'receive call'. Annika sighed and looked away, trying hard not to break down in front of him, she always knew how much important Tia was for Shivaay, he was her fiance afterall how couldn't he?

Shivaay looked at Annika who was not paying any attention to him, he walked away as he didn't want Annika to be more sad after listening to both their conversation.  Picking up the call which was ringing from long, he closed his eyes and got ready to hear her words.

"Hello?"

"Shivaay 'baby' where have you been? We have exactly three weeks to go for our wedding and you are not even here"

Shivaay shook his head as she started with her blabbering, how could she understand that her fiance was all ready to break the deal or the knot.

"Tia listen, I am stuck at work, how can I come here?"

Tia rolled her eyes, thinking what exactly was this man up to today.

"Shivaay 'baby' then who will look around for the arrangements when Annika is also not here"

"Listen Tia, there are many workers to look for the decoration and stuff"

Shivaay was hell irritated by Tia till now, he wondered how did he even agree for this deal, he couldn't help but think of Annika instead of listening to her useless talks.

"You aren't listening to me right, talk to dadi"

Tia passed the phone to Kalyani as she didn't know how to deal with the stubborn man she was marrying.

"Billu, don't you want to marry Tia?"

Kalyani asked in a serious tone, Shivaay placed his hands on the reeling of the balcony and stood gazing at the view outside, taking a deep breath in, he closed his eyes.

"Dadi, I don't know what is awaiting at the end, it can be happy or a sad one, but I promise to make everything fine"

Kalyani couldn't help but smile at the indications said by him, if she wasn't wrong she was going to get her bahu 'Annika'.

"I want you to make perfect decision billu, your one step can destroy or make her life, I want my 'Annika' to be happy"

Shivaay gasped hearing Annika's name as he wasn't expecting her dadi to know him so deeply and properly but growing up holding her fingers made his first thoughts go in drain.

"Dadi, that's why I need time, and I am coming back after two weeks so wait"

"And Billu? Don't be naughty and tease my Annika"

Shivaay smiled and scratched his forehead with little blush formed over his cheeks.

"Yeah, I won't. love you, bye"

Cutting the call after hearing 'Bye' from his dadi, he turned himself only to look at devastated Annika, gulping down her saliva, her hand left up in the air hanging, he looked down to find the plate with pancake with chocolate syrup on it which was lying down on the floor now.

"Annika before concluding anything listen to me" Shivaay calmly took a step back and she went a step back, surprising Shivaay, he knew what blunder would have been created in her mind.

"Listen Annika, you are taking me wrong, I —"

"Just shut up Shivaay, I shouldn't have believed you, now I get it why the hell you were so nice to me" Annika interrupted, her sharp tone made its way to shivaay's ears and he simply stood numb.

"You are getting me wrong" He retorted back but Annika's eyes were already wet and tears rolled down through her cheeks.

"You just said you love T..i..a" Her voice broke and she stammered, he couldn't believe that she was thinking so much far ahead of what reality is.

"You freaking think that I love Tia, Annika?" One more drop of tear rolled down and she took a step back.

"I don't think so but I believe you love Tia" Annika shouted painfully, shivaay heart raced with speed as somewhere he knew something worse was going to happen.

Wiping her tears off her cheeks, she was about to leave when Shivaay opened his mouth screaming "You can't leave like that" She turned back and glared at him while he just stamped his foot in anger.

Annika's feet unknowingly ran towards the door, turning the knob, she quickly closed it behind as she made her way in the heavy rains which just started a while ago.

Shivaay sat down on the bed with head in between his hands and he was still in anger for how she reacted and shouted at him unnecessarily. 'How can she just leave without even listening to my side of the story? I know what she heard would have hurted her but I just said to Dadi' sighing, he went downstairs hoping she would still be there.

"Annika, Annika'' he examined each and every corner of the house and she was nowhere to be found, his panic mode switched on the second he couldn't sense her. Looking outside the window he looked at the heavy rain and thunderstorm.

Picking up his tablet which was kept on the table, he opened the CCTV footage of the hall area, rewinding it 20 minutes earlier, he waited for her to arrive on the screen and there she was running like a maniac and opening the front door in a hurry.

His heart sank each second thinking she was all alone, roaming somewhere in the heavy rains and he couldn't do anything. Walking ahead he got out in the rain with his umbrella.

The side opposite to the farmhouse was dense forest which was partially safe, the other side of the road led nowhere, his heart somewhere knew that annika was there in the forest.

Stopping by the starting of the forest, there hangs a moon from her bracelet, shining in the darkness of rain and night. Shivaay plucked out the moon from the branch of the tree and fisted in his palms. Now his mind also knew that she was right there inside.

"Annika, Annika" looking at the four sides of the forest, he shouted with an umbrella in one hand and revolved everywhere to find his Annika. "Listen I am sorry, I can't live without you" the heavy wind blew his umbrella off, a tear of pain escaped his eyes.

Losing all his hopes he went where his feet took him, he never imagined someone would become so important in his life that he couldn't be able to live without looking at her face, couldn't breathe when she was not in his vicinity, couldn't end his day without listening to her melodious voice.

In the darkness of the forest, he saw a figure sitting on the roots of the big huge tree with a dense canopy, facing her back to him. Shivaay could pretty much get who the person was, wiping away his tears which were mixed in the rain, he walked towards her.

Annika sobbed quietly on the thought of shivaay and Tia being together, she felt  someone moving around her, she covered her face with her palms and turned towards the thing which scared her, watching the creature from hole in between her palms, she appalled to she a drenched 'Shivaay' standing in front of her.

"Shi..vaay?" She got up when he started to take dangerous steps towards her, he was damn angry at her after disappearing suddenly and she didn't have an idea that fell into deep trouble.

"So you run away like this without even listening to me, this how you are gonna trust me"

He held her one arm and shouted loudly, she was scattered by the tone he shouted on her, the same old anger, angst, pride in those eyes which were silent till now.

"I just believed on whatever I heard, my intentions were not to come here in this forest but I couldn't understand where to go so I just ended up her"

Her causal-ness made Shivaay more angry earning a glare to Annika.

"Have you lost it? How can you think, I can love someone else when I am trying to figure my feelings out for you"

Though her heart denied the moment he started to explain that he was innocent but her big damn brain was all thinking about the 'I love you' he said to someone and back then when she saw the caller Id which made her believe it was Tia.

"I am sorry" She calmed and with guilt, she looked down, he melted the second her eyes were filled with tears.

Shivaay went ahead and took Annika in her arms, she cried loudly while he soothed her by patting her back softly and dropping few kisses in her hair, she weeped silently and he was all ready to explain everything that happened, parting away, he made her sit on the same big root of tree and he sat beside her, holding her palm into his.

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