Shivaay carefully placed his luggage in the corner of his room. Annika's soft breaths were audible in the night's silence. He remembered Pinky telling him that if Annika was woken in the night, she wouldn't be able to sleep again. Hence, he made sure not a small sound was made as he tiptoed to his bed. He pulled the duvet, and it felt different. It was softer and cozy. He realized his room would have a lot of changes, and he'd have to be prepared to embrace them.

Annika shifted in her sleep. She hit something hard. She felt an arm encircled on her waist. Oh shit, someone was on her bed. She shut her eyes immediately. What if it was a rapist? What if it was a ghost! She slowly opened her eyes, there was definitely a man.

"Aaaaahhhh..."

Her scream made Shivaay wake up with a start. He switched on the light and saw his wife of eight months jumping on the bed with her eyes shut, and screaming at the top of her voice.

"Annika? Annika?ANNIKA!"

Annika slowly opened her eyes and registered the person in front of her. With ruffled hair, and half buttoned shirt, Shivaay Singh Oberoi looked hotter than ever. He looked sexy enough to give her inappropriate thoughts, especially involving his chest. Realizing that she was shamelessly gawking him, she looked in front of her. Her reflection in the mirror laughed at how horrendous she looked. She looked at Shivaay horrified, who now stood next to her on the bed, concerned. This man must be blind to be this unfazed of her looks.

"Annika? What happened?" Shivaay pulled her shoulders closer and looked at her. His blue orbs were looking at her with such intensity, that she had to look away. Realizing that he was holding her, he pulled back. The awkwardness crept in again. It was funny how they ended up right where they started.

"I didn't realize it was you. It thought it was a ghost or a serial killer." Annika bit her lips sheepishly. Shivaay blankly stared at her before he broke into fits of laughter. Annika, embarrassed to her roots, laughed along with him.

"I better go study now, I won't be able to sleep anyway." Annika got down the bed. Shivaay looked around his, correction, their room. She didn't make much changes. For instance, his grey and white curtains were now grey and yellow. His plain grey wall had a few pictures on them, with sunflowers stuck between the frames. And she added a few throws on his bed, and it made it look cozier. But that was a significant change, his room was much brighter.

Annika beamed with pride as she registered his reaction at his room's decor. She was extremely reluctant to even move a chair in the room, but Shakti wouldn't listen to her. She was nervous when Shivaay's arrival neared, she was close to bedecking it back to how it was.

"Where are you going?" Shivaay's question made her turn. She lifted her books and he spoke again, "You can study here Annika, it's not like I'm going to sleep anyway." He picked his phone and left the room.

*

Shivaay realized he had dozed off in the couch when he woke up to his mom screaming at Annika.

"Eating doesn't kill you, rather keeps you alive!" Pinky stretched her hand again to feed Annika.

"Pinky aunty, I'm really full. Bye, I have to go now. Bye Dadi, bye Tej uncle, bye Jhanvi Aunty!" Annika yelled as she held Shakti's hand. She stopped her stance as she remembered, "Oops, bye Om! Bye Ru!" She ran off.

Well, Shivaay knew he wasn't supposed to feel disappointed because Annika didn't know he was awake. But the fact that she didn't bid a bye bummed him. He got up and heard his mother mumbling to herself.
"This girl either eats up the meal made for the whole family or eats nothing at all. What do I do with her!" Shivaay chuckled as he reminisced one of their conversations.

"I just ate at the canteen!" He heard Annika say. "Wasn't your lunch break an hour ago?" His question somehow made her sigh. "Doesn't a person have enough freedom in the country to eat whenever they want?"
He chuckled at her melodramatic self. He knew that much about his wife, drama ran in her blood. Maybe that's why she got along with his mother, the Queen Drama.
"I gotta run to class. Isn't it 2 am there?" Her rushed tone made him realize she was indeed in a hurry. "Was going to sleep. Thought I'd give you a ring." He said as he laid back. "I'm sorry..." Her tone made it evident she didn't want to cut the call like that.
"Don't be." He said before be hung up...

*

She usually wished she didn't have to sit through the world's most boring class. But she didn't want to go back home anytime soon that day. She would need enough preparation before facing him again. She did like talking to him. But every time they run out of things to say, they would be put in this weird unexplainable silence that would make her want to be invisible. She never had problems around boys before, but he made her go dumb. And every time in front of him, she managed to embarrass herself. She wouldn't be surprised if he had low opinion on her.

*

"OH MY MATA!"

Shivaay looked up from his cup of espresso, it wasn't his mother who yelled that. He looked at her in front of him, mouth hung open and her phone held closely to ear. His mom seemed to have rubbed off her in the few months.
"Chutki, its been 7 months! Get over that Jay already! This is the last time we are doing this. Jay is an..." Annika looked at all the eyes in the Oberoi living room on her. She composed herself.
"Jay is a jerk. Be happy his chapter is over. Girl, you have your result in a month. Sit and worry about that!" She exclaimed. She gave a wide smile to Dadi and sat next to her.
"Chikoo, invite Chutki for the satsang this week puttar." She caressed Annika's hair.

Chikoo? Dadi only called him with a nickname, and he'd always felt special. Even though everyone at Annika's family called her that, he didn't like his dadi calling her with something that isn't her name. His scrunched nose did not go unnoticed by Annika.

"Haan chutki, this would probably keep your mind away from that ass..." She bit her tongue.

"It's okay Bhabhi, you can say asshole. No one here will mind." Needless to say, Rudra earned a smack from Om. Annika looked at Kalyani apologetically, but she pretended to ignore whatever happened. That was one of the reasons Dadi was the best

"Anyway, don't take all this to your heart. When you come to college, you would have hundreds of men who would tell you they love you. Don't ever fall for that. In fact, don't ever trust a guy in the age group 17 to 25. Not all are in love, some are just horny!" Her bluntness surprised Shivaay, even Om and Rudra. But Dadi just laughed.

"Puttar, ishqbaazi abhi bhi hai! You don't have to be this cynical!" Annika rolled her eyes at dadi's comment.

"Dadi, aaj kal ishq dil se nahi karte hai. Kisi aur cheez se karte hai!"

"Hey, that's not true! There are still people who truly love!" Omkara protested.

"Well, never talk about hearts and heartbreaks to a poet!" Annika's comment made Om roll his eyes.

"Sach mein dhal jaate hai kisse,
Dil se daurane ke baad.
Ishq pe hoga yakeen,
Ishq ho jane ke baad"

(The stories mold themselves into truth,
When they are from the heart.
You will believe in love,
Once you fall in love)

Annika dramatically folded her hands making Shivaay chuckle.
"Seems like Chutki agrees with you! I'm not denying love, you two. But in this day and age, it's just impossible to find a love that lasts!"
"I am actually with Annika in this! Haven't we seen enough around to still have faith in that?" Shivaay questioned, and Omkara had to relent.

"Isn't it good Bhaiya and Bhabhi agree about love?" Rudra's comment made both Shivaay and Annika flustered, sending the rest into laughter.

Would like to thank you all for your wonderful support!
Lots of love ❤️