Of course, She lied! How can she tell him she could see the letters but couldn't read them, She tried asking her colleagues to read it but they neither see any words in the book, They looked at her weirdly and also made fun of her. She didn't want anything repeats to him. For some unknown reasons, She didn't want to bring her foolish side infront of him. And also he didn't force her. They were in Alleppey, Kerala. She had no idea how she got in here but the words she heard in her sleep indeed became true when she saw the morning newspaper, The news of his death covered in a corner. It was said as mafia attack but she had no idea how reached the shore and shivaay saved her from there. She had been in drugs for complete two days. Mathur thought he will get her addicted to the drugs and takes advantages of her by her own will. But that didn't happen.

She didn't say anything to shivaay, Even he didn't ask for it. He took her back to Mumbai without asking her anything. She was confused, She had no place to live and also she didn't have a single penny, She also lost her mom's bangles, The only thing her mom left for her. She also lost her job when she argued with her TL to cover haunted haveli as a new project, Everything happened in the span of three days.

"Shivaay, I will take a taxi to Pune." - She said as soon as they landed in Mumbai. He looked at her shockingly as if she exploded something. She stayed silent.

"Shivaay, You're helping a lot. I am not used to it. I will manage, I swear." - She said in her lowest tone.

"Friends do help anika. And I don't want to hear anything from you. Before I could lose my patience, Come with me to my house." - He said in a stern tone.

"Your house? How's that possible?" - She asked him back in her lowest tone.

"By walk, From here to my car, And my car will transport us to my home. Simple, Basic." - He said in the same stern tone.

"Anika, For the sake of Anish. I can't let his sister alone, helpless. Do you understand?" - He said and his tone became cold than before.

"But I work there." - She continued resisting.

"You lost your job before 6 days." - He said, She wondered how he knew about her. But he indeed true. She can't withstand his stares.

"But I can't stay there for free." - She said finally understanding.

"Pay rent once you find a job. I didn't say no to that. But I can't leave you anywhere at this point." - He said, His face turning to normal, Her heart relaxed to see him normal, She also become tense when he saw him losing patience with her.

"Now, I don't want to hear any if's and but's." - He said looking at her. She turned her head towards the way and walked with him.

"Bossy!" - She muttered which brought a smile in his face at that moment which he gazed away. 

**************** 

He finally brought her to his house, To his mansion after so many efforts. After whatever happened he can't let her live alone and also added to that he created many shreds of evidence about her brother and also match his lie to her. When she denied coming to his home, He literally lost his patience. Normally, He's a head-heated person. When she behaved like that, He felt like saying every truth to her but he stopped himself. How can a person even dare to say that? Especially when she had nothing in her hand. 

"Is this your house?" - Anika exclaimed to the beauty of the mansion where he's living. 

"Yes, Welcome to my house!" - Shivaay said smiling. She smiled at him back. 

"Are you living alone? What about your family members?" - She asked him.

"Till now, I lived alone, My parents died at my very young age, Lived with my grandmother and my Uncle, And started the business, Moved here. One day I will introduce everyone to you, My grandmother is the sweetest person in the earth." - He exclaimed taking her inside. He was so excited to introduce his family to her but when she reacted confused, He changed the sentence. 

"They wanted to meet Anish once. Will take you behalf of him."- He said with a smile and got his breath back when she nodded positively to him. 

Things take a massive turn in shivaay's life, Especially after her arrival,  He started to pay attention to everything to get back herself from the trauma, She felt insomniac many days, Over then, He stayed with her and tried his level best to bring her back to herself. He didn't show his feelings to her but it just got conveyed in one way or another. Especially when he loses his patience when she skips her medicine. She could see his care. He gave her everything whatever she needed and also understood what she needed. She badly didn't want to be alone in her life, When he was around her, She sleeps, That too, Peacefully. He understood that and made his schedule up to her timeline. 

"No. No. No. Papa..." - She yelled and woke up from the nightmare when they dozed off in the bed watching a movie. He arrived at her help and wake her up. Without waiting a moment, She hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, feeling her for the second time, It was the same feeling. His whole body responded to her touch especially when she dipped her hands from his shoulders to his waist. He hugged her tight pulling her close to him. 

"I am there. Don't worry! Whatever happens, I will be there by your side till the last breath. Okay?" - He asked her tugging his hands inside her hair loops. Soon she fell asleep in his contact, He could hear her snores. It was the first time when she slept without any fears and quicker, He placed himself next to her and slept hugging her. 

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

Her heart skipped a beat when she found herself slept by hugging him. She checked the time, It was past eight, And his grip was still tighter soothes her from every wound. He was neither ready to leave her nor wake up. She never felt so warm in her entire life, She felt so secured when she hugged him.

"Shivaay!" - She whispered, He didn't react to anything. 

"Shivaay!" - She called him while nudging him. His hands moved towards her waist made her feel a wave of electric shock. Slowly he opened his eyes with a smile in his face. Her face was flushed by his action. She never felt this kind of feeling ever in her lifetime. He stood up immediately from the couch leaving her from the grip. 

"Oh my god, What you have done to me?" - He asked her in a slight emotional tone. The flushed face turned into a smile when his arms covered his chest protectively and looked at her responsible. She opened her mouth wider. 

"I know I am good-looking, It doesn't mean you can take advantage of me, Anika." - He said to her, She rolled her eyes in shock and looked around. 

"Oh my god! How will I show my face to this society? Who will accept me? My god! Please don't say it to anyone! It's about my reputation. Please, Anika! I beg you. Don't say it to anyone." - He said while then she started to chuckle uncontrollably looking at his cheap acting. She never saw anyone like him in her life. And also never laughed like this. She lost her balance and fell back on the couch and laughed. But he continued to act. 

"Hey! Anika!" - He asked while bending down and helping her sit back in the couch. 

"I know you're not responsible for whatever happened, But it happens with a friend sometimes. Let's not make an issue, Okay. It's about my reputation. What will society think when they come to know that a handsome bachelor hugged and slept with a pretty girl." - He asked her innocently playing along with her. She continued to chuckle looking at him. Her eyes welled up by chuckling. She nodded yes to him, Chuckling. 

"Aren't you getting late for the interview?" - He asked her. She nodded yes to him again, trying to control her chuckle while then, He bent and kissed her cheeks and cupped his mouth. Leaving her in a shocking state.  

"Oh my god! I kissed you in cheek, Why are you asking for a good luck kiss? Nowadays, You're behaving so weirdly. Anyway, I won't say it to anyone. Bye. I have to go to the office." - He said and again kissed her other cheek. 

"Not again, Anika. Not again. Anyway! Bye. Good luck. Call me after you attend the interview." - He said leaving backwards. But she remained statue and smiled as soon as he left the room. It was still confusing to her but his antics made her laugh again and again. 

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

Shivaay was smiling throughout thinking about the early morning happenings in his house. He couldn't able to control her chuckling face. He kissed her twice, Then too, She didn't stop him but looked shocked. A slight thought of making her uncomfortable faded away when she messaged him that she got the job in the leading news channel. She denied taking any other help from him. And that job was a reward for her intelligence. 

"Great, Anu.  You have to give me a treat." - He messaged her. She replied with an excited emoji. He tried to call her but she didn't attend instead replied with a message. He understood it's all because of the mess created by him in the morning, But she wasn't uncomfortable to hug and sleep with him, even after she woke up in the morning. That reaction led him to kiss her cheeks, He knows he was fast-forwarding everything. But this fast-forward is needed in her life, especially when she needs someone by her side. He knows exactly what he wanted to do. While then, He got a call from khanna who was sent to her house in Pune to get her things from the house and he especially sent him to get that notebook to him.

"Sir, We brought everything. There's a small closet, She had some notebooks and photographs in it. Nothing valuable. What shall I do?" - He asked him. 

"If it's not valuable why will she keep it in a closet safely." - He asked him back with a smile and asked him to bring that closet home. He was more excited than anyone to see those photographs. 

THREE HOURS OF WAIT CAME TO AN END when he saw khanna approaching the house with all her things from her clothes to every photo album. He was more excited to see that than looking for the handbook which she got from the haveli. He got the album and opened it. The first and last photo he saw in that album was the photo of her mother and brother who hugged each other tightly. Rest of the photos are ripped off from the album. He understood the reason, The sourness of her life implicated in every piece of her past. It also told him how much she hated every moment of her past.  With heavy heart, He kept that album aside and tried to find something else interesting, While then, He found the handbook which Anika was talking about. His heartbeats went on race when he held that book. But he can't resist himself opening it and gaze at the very first words written on the book in her Handwriting. 

"Shivaani is here! Finally! After so many terrible days, Maa loves you beyond anything in the world, My baby." 

Tears crossed his eyes when he read those letters. He had no courage to read further but he continued keeping his heart stone.

"Nothing will happen to you, Shivaani. Until mom is alive. I know we are in-between the Animals who don't look at us as humans. But it's your Maa's promise. I won't let anything happen to you!" 

He can feel her situation but he didn't have any spark of it over that time. If he got to know that she was going through her toughest time, He might not leave her, He would have saved both by sacrificing his life. But Anika didn't choose that to happen. 

"You know your mom has a best friend named Shivaay, I don't know he's the one who's driving me to live, And I need him, Right now. What shall I do, Baby? Should I write to him? about our situation? I know he will help but I don't want to put him in trouble for us, Baby! He will sacrifice his whole life to save us Because he loves us beyond anything. You may ask he didn't see you once how can I am so sure that he loves you as he loves me. Simple baby! He just sees you as a part of me. And he can't hate that. But maa couldn't send those letters I wrote for him, Baby. He has to live, Let's hide everything from him. We can't let him sacrifice his life for us, Right." 

"Why?" He cried reading those words of her. She was indeed right, He loved shivaani like he loved Anika. He badly wanted to see her but unfortunately, he didn't hear anything from Anika over that time. But he had the feeling, That the girl would have born.  

"The only thing left with your maa Right now is SORRY. Sorry, I have to let you go! They don't deserve you, They don't deserve me, either. They have to get their punishments. They have to live in hell. That's what they deserve. Maa will make sure of it, Shivaani. They owe an explanation for my losses."

He closed that handbook in a thud when he sensed where it was leading but soon, He took and read the remaining pages gathering everything. He needs to know the reason why did she got the handbook. The reason behind it. 

"Four wishes"

"THAKUR'S DEATH."

"I WANT TO SEE YOU, SHIVAAY. AT LEAST, ONCE, BEFORE MY SOUL LEAVE THIS WORLD"

"MY BABY, SHIVAANI. IF THERE ANYTHING CALLED 'NEXT LIFE' PLEASE GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE TO ADORE YOU FOR LIFETIME."

"I WANT TO FORGET EVERYTHING." 

Now he understood the reason behind everything. At last, It was all her wish to forget everything. That would be the only way to put end to her sufferings. She didn't remember them at all. 

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