For him, it was an incredibly beautiful dream which he dreams every single day in the past 8 years, but last night seems different and he want to scream his hell out in happiness, but he couldn't. Last night they made it up, and her little hesitation finally found its way to go away from their life she was smiling like before and stole his heart every single minute and they kissed, finally, after their wedding. When he confirms his mind that it was all that happened in his dream, he felt a strong squeeze in his waist, and he opened his sober eyes in a second. And there he was, laid next to his lady love who held her to him by his waist and moved close to him. Now she was above him in his chest and exhaled a deep breath in his chest that woke up every single cell in his body.

It means I wasn't dreaming.

He slowly wrapped his arms around her body recalling her words before he passes out, she apologized to him and pecked his lips in front of her father's best friend. And her confession, how he suffered without him, but he just blamed her and behaved like an asshole when they met in person in that interview. It would have been easier if shivaay speaks to her and confronted her right then. But something doesn't reach us without any dramas and sufferings. Only he knew how precious she is to him. At last, they are now together.

Her palms from his waist to his chest were wrapped under a thick duvet to protect themselves from the cold, but instead of feeling froze, he felt hot when she moved palm throughout his body and moved her legs above his legs. But the emotions ruled him. He couldn't help but he kissed her on her cheek which turned pink due to the cold. The next moment, her eyes fluttered open, she woke up with a heart-aching smile. He imagined this moment in his mind for zillion times, when it was happening, he felt blessed beyond words.

****

She woke up with a kiss in the morning and her heart skipped a beat when she saw him close to her. For a while, her breath choked inside her lungs. But when she recalled the moment that happened last night, she couldn't help but busted to laugh. The person who was frozen next to her became confused.

"What happened?" He asked her confusingly. Her palms were still in his waist, and she never attempted to move it from there, but he was feeling extremely uncomfortable with their posture, but she always liked to make him uncomfortable.

"No, just thinking about last night..." She said and moved further closed to him till her every inch of her body attached to him. He heaved out a deep breath. She raised her head to look at him and he was already looking at her.

"Am I too funny?" He asked her.

"What if I answer this and you again stop talking to me?" She asked him while chuckling. But she meant those words. Even though it was completely her fault and she felt weak inside because of his ignorance, for a while, she felt his position when she keeps ignoring him and he kept trying on her.

"Sorry..." He pulled her further close to him and kissed her forehead.

"For what you're sorry for?" She whispered to him.

"For not talking to you, but you must understand, whatever mine is yours and whatever yours is mine. It was an 8-year-old deal of us. We both have no rights to break it." He said and kissed her forehead. She smiled at him. For a second, she couldn't believe that they were dead serious about each other when they were young. That was not their part of their lives but their entire life.

"Then, we should follow every rule we made. Including not hiding anything from anyone." She said, and she finally gathered up the courage to confess everything to her. He stayed silent but he was comforting her with his touch.

"It was my guilt, which stopped me from contacting you over that time. Nothing was there in my control. All I could think was listen to you and keep up the distance with Shreya. I didn't do that." She held his collar tight and said, he held her back tightly.

"Shreya... Your neighbor?" He asked, she guessed he remembered everything about her. Shreya was their neighbor when they moved into Chennai for the first time and shivaay warned her for trusting her so easily and she had to pay the praise.

"She... was doing drugs. I knew about that from the start, but when I couldn't take the sorrow, she... I was a fool and couldn't be able to figure out what I was doing, I thought she was helping me to overcome. Because of me paati and saahil struggled a lot. At last, with a help of john's uncle, they admitted me to rehab. Rest..." She struggled to say anything further, but he pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. She was now top of him on his support when she felt all weak inside.

"I slowly got my consciousness. I couldn't even be able to face myself in the mirror and how couldn't I contact you, but I should have contacted you, I am sorry!" She busted to cry on his shoulder, and he hugged her even tight.

"It's okay!" He said and kissed her shoulder. It was what her mother used to say whenever she regrets something, and those words always worked like magic and helped her to overcome anything, now when he said that word, she had that same effect. And she started to fall even hard for him. Before she could say anything, they heard a door-knocking sound.

"I will see..." She said, and moved away from him, before she could get down from the bed, he walked towards the door and opened it. It was Laura, her aunt's daughter with a coffee tray in her hand, shivaay took it from her hand with a smile and closed the door as soon as she left. He didn't speak anything but kept the tray in the bed and moved close to her. She was startled when he intertwined his palms with her palms.

"I always knew you're strong, but people slip, you know how I became when my parents divorced, how my personality changed, and how I went blind to my mother's efforts on me. Over that time, you came into my life and broke my teeth, rest is history. And now we are here. I know it's hard to forget but think of it as an incident and you grew stronger because of that. That's it. Nothing more than that. For me, you're the same girl to whom I can fight with anything and anyone and madly in love with you." He said and kissed her palms. His words were keeping banging inside her mind, nothing else. She was blank.

"Ani. It's a courtesy to say I love you too when someone confessed their love to you." He asked and busted to laugh.

"You shouldn't laugh, you should say, I love you too." He insisted again, instead of replying to him, she pulled him to her by his collar and kissed him. He was startled for a while but kissed her back.

"Ughhh... What was that?" He asked her back surprisingly.

"You insisted me to say love you too, I did." She replied with a smile, and he couldn't come out from her words.

****

The day started beautifully, that was the only thing goes into his mind after witnessing the positive change in her. She didn't hide anything from him anymore, what surprised her more was Shreya. He got a bad vibe from the start when she said about Shreya about to him. He warned her multiple times for trusting her and he didn't expect her to pay a prize for that. But now, even he must let it go and concentrate on them more. Also, her birthday was approaching, even though they didn't discuss anything about it, it was obvious that she stopped celebrating her birthday. But he made his mind, this birthday would be a fresh start to their happily ever after.

"Paati, have you had your medicines?" Anika questioned her serving pancakes on her plates.

"Yes, Madam." She replied hesitantly.

"Why are you too hesitant? I am asking for you." Anika said in a disbelief tone and moved to shivaay's side to serve him pancakes, he accepted it with a smile.

"Also, what's the plan for Christmas evening?" Shivaay asked and tried to start the topic about her birthday. Everyone stayed silent including saahil and her granny but Catherine who arrived at the dining exclaimed at anika.

"Christmas evening, 24th December, Anika's birthday!" She exclaimed; Anika sat on the seat next to shivaay without any expressions.

"Yes, 26TH Birthday," Greta said and looked at Anika, who added more syrup in her pancakes ignoring everyone.

"Anika, you didn't look like 26, I thought you would be 20," Laura added. Now Anika raised her head and smiled at her.

"Thanks, Laura. But instead of concentrating on my birthday, let's concentrate on Christmas, that's the purpose of our visit, remember Ms. Greta Alexander." Anika said to her grandmother, jhanvi who sat next to her granny stayed silent, even shivaay stayed silent but only for now. When they reached their room after having breakfast, he couldn't stay silent.

"What's the problem with celebrating the birthday?" He asked her directly.

"I am not having any problem. It's just I am feeling old to celebrate my birthday." She replied to him.

"You're talking like you're 50." He spoke.

"Shivaay," She dragged her name.

"Anika..." He dragged her name.

"Okay, I am on. But before that, we have to shop for Christmas. I am getting ready first," Anika said and disappeared to the washroom. He smiled at his victory, when he was about to take his phone from the table stand nearer to her phone, her phone beeped with multiple messages at one go, he confusingly took that phone, her phone didn't have notification lock, he could view the notification even though the phone was locked. It was from an unknown number.

"Hey! Sweetheart! Missed me?"

"6 years, Anu. Still, your memories are fresh inside me."

"Still, I could feel your lips on me..."

Shivaay couldn't read the message further as the phone was locked. He didn't know who he was, but he wanted to trash his face when he keeps sending those messages to her. The phone beeped with messages, and he couldn't read it.

"Ani, what's your pin? I want to make a call, there's no network in my phone." Shivaay asked her composed everything.

"It's your birthday, day, and month." The reply came from the washroom in an instant. He couldn't even smile at her reply but wanted to know about this person. When he unlocked the phone, he started to photos of Anika in the most indecent clothes and a drowsy state, she was drinking while a person next to her doing impropriate things with her. Anika, who was in the pictures, was too young, while then he recalled her confessions, she felt guilty to contact him. And he again got the message.

I know you're married and started a new life with your husband. But let's meet once and end it.

Or else I will find a way.

It was a threat, shivaay understood, this person whomsoever he was, trying to extort her with her past.

I couldn't even be able to guess what will happen to your millionaire husband if he knows about your past. Let's keep it between us, Anu, if you're ready to meet me.

"Her husband will strangle your neck and kill you alive when he finds you," He whispered in anger when he opened his profile picture. He looks nothing familiar, but when Anika opened the door, he purposely dropped the phone with so much force and her phone broke into pieces.

"Oh shit!" He whispered while anika walked towards him and looked at the phone.

"I just bought it three months, back" She whispered while picking up the pieces.

"Sorry, it slipped from my hand! I will buy you a new one." He said and took the sim card from the broken pieces and placed it in his pocket. He was sure with one thing, whatever happens, he will never let her past trouble her present. And with his message, he was clear that bastard was messaging her after a long time, and he was behind money and shivaay made his mind to teach him a lesson.

*****