"HERE WE COME!" Rudra yelled at the top of his voice. "Although, I still think Goa was a better choice!" He pouted.

"There is no way Ma and Pa would have let me there!" Gauri sighed. Omkara rolled his eyes. Such double standards! She was the same girl who hid her relationship with that sick guy named Jay. She was now behaving as if she was the perfect daughter that never once went against her parents.

"Not just them Gauri. I would have loved to see you beg Bade Papa though; I'm a little disheartened we didn't get to see him yell at you!" Shivaay grinned at Rudra, who made a sad face. Annika looked at him with adoration. She was sure he was going to say no one love him. When he did, she burst out laughing. She noticed how Gauri looked at her surprised, and Om gave Annika a high five while he was laughing about the same. Annika went back to her book. Oberois loved luxury. So their private jet was no less than a star hotel room, just cozy enough to read. She looked out the window. Everything seemed tiny. She couldn't see chaos that came with the cities. Not one big shot significant building was clear from above. That made her wonder if life was that way too. Everything was insignificant afar. She chuckled at how she was getting philosophical in midair. Life was starting to get better. That realization made her guilty. She shouldn't feel that way at all...

*

Shivaay looked out the window from their Mercedes Benz Sprinter contented. They were off to Corbett from Delhi in their minibus, because Rudra didn't want to travel by air all the way to Patnagar. Annika was fast asleep on his shoulders. His brothers were bantering about something while Gauri was lost in her own world with her earphones on. Everything felt complete. Annika stirred in her sleep, a little uncomfortable with their position. Shivaay lowered his posture a little so she could sleep peacefully. He knew his back was bound to hurt later but anything was worth it for Annika.

Annika slowly opened her eyes wondering why she felt uncomfortable. She realized that was because she was literally sleeping on Shivaay in spite of the divider in between. He had dozed off too. Annika immediately looked around to see if she was caught. She was relieved to see everyone else asleep too. Her stomach growled a little.

"Hungry?"

She was a little startled to hear his voice out of the blue. She grinned when Shivaay handed out a sandwich to her. She cocked her eyebrows questioningly.

"Well, I knew you would get hungry before lunch time. And I remember Gauri telling me that hangry Annika is not the one whom we want to face. So I packed this!" Shivaay gleamed with pride. Annika broke her sandwich into half and handed it to Shivaay.

"Trying to become the man of her dreams huh Jiju?" They heard Gauri say from the back. Shivaay looked behind and grinned from his seat,

"I hope I'll become the 'Prince' from Annika's dreams some day!"

*

7 hours later, they arrived at The Gateway Resort. Annika looked around in awe. The place was beautiful. Shivaay held his head high, for her reaction was all he wanted. He wanted her to remain that way, smiling and close to happy, especially on the last before day. He proceeded to the lobby to pick up the keys. He came to them accompanied by two men named Abhishek and Mohit respectively.

"We have two Gateway cottages. One with twin bed and the other with King..." Shivaay started speaking when Gauri hurriedly interrupted,

"We'll take the twin one! Right Rudy? One of the three can sleep on the couch!" She glared at Om. Om would have picked a fight right then and there, but he knew that would cause either Annika or Shivaay to shift with them. Those two needed some time together, hence he zipped his mouth. Gauri, for once, was grateful to him. She interjected Shivaay for the very same reason. Those three went with Abhishek to their cottage.

Shivaay and Annika started walking towards where Mohit took them. Annika glanced at Shivaay. He involuntarily held her hand while scrolling through his phone. There was a certain level of comfort that had grown over the past weeks. She curled her fingers tighter which made him look at her. She smiled and just shook her head.

*

"The Tub is so comfortable that I would have dozed off there!" Annika said as she came out of the bathroom with just her robe. Shivaay was talking to Pinky to tell her they had reached safely. He turned and his jaw dropped. Annika was going through their luggage to pick out her night wear, unaware of the effect it had on him. She went back to the bathroom and he realized he needed a shower. How was he even going to get a little sleep after that! Going to an all boys boarding school did no good to him. He had finally learnt how to talk to a woman after going to Harvard, and while he was just a few kisses old, he had gotten married. So it was natural of him to feel that way, right?

*

Annika proceeded to the Tree top restaurant for breakfast without Shivaay because he had gotten a call. The other three were already seated there. Gauri and Omkara shot daggers at each other and Rudra looked gloomy. His face brightened when he saw Annika walk in.

"Thank God you are here Bhabhi! I felt like I was sitting in a courthouse first which turned into a funeral. These two don't stop arguing at all! They were fighting for sugar, can you believe?" He whined. Annika laughed and looked at the other two. She shook her head, only those two knew why they were loggerheads. She strolled around the buffet and got all she wanted.

"He'll be coming soon," She said while she buttered her toast.

"He who?" Rudra raised his eyebrows.

"HE!"

"And that will be..." Omkara dragged the last word. Gauri rolled her eyes; only one more person was missing obviously. And then, she frowned at something.

"He, your brother!" Annika shook her head, wasn't that obvious?

"And he, who is called Shivaay." Shivaay sat beside Annika with his cup of coffee. Annika knew where the conversation was heading and fiddled with her food. She needed to change the topic, but it wasn't her day.

"Bhabhi, you are acting like a woman from the 50s who wouldn't say her husband's name!" Rudra laughed while Gauri looked at her wide eyed.

"You ARE a woman from the 50s who wouldn't say her husband's name! I've never heard you address him with his actual name. It's either 'He' or 'Your Jiju'!"

"That's not true Gauri..." Shivaay started denying when he realized, "Actually, it is!" They all turned to Annika, while she looked up as if she was not part of the conversation. When the eyes wouldn't leave, she realized she'd have to explain.

"I figured you wouldn't like me calling you 'Billu Ji'..." Shivaay immediately shook his head. One 'Billu' was enough for the lifetime. She continued, "I didn't like the sound of Shivaay Ji, so I was confused!"

"Wait, lemme think of something. How about something unusual, like my actual name? Shivaay?" Shivaay asked, though he wouldn't admit, slightly amused.

"I can't call you that!" She protested softly. Shivaay looked puzzled. "Because you are older than me. I obviously can't call you Bhaiya!" She shrugged.

"I realize it now. Badi Ma used to scold you for addressing the older ones with their names right? And you never used to obey..." Gauri's question made Annika go stiff. Shivaay slowly held her hand gently.

"Annika?" He whispered, only loud enough for her to hear. She looked at him through her long lashes. "How did Ma call Pa?"

She, after a long time, felt something stir in her. He had said it like her parents were his own. Her expression softened a little. She appreciated how he did not let the others hear. He knew she was not comfortable and he did what he could to change that. "Harsh..." She whispered back and held her head down.

"Then, I don't think she will have a problem with just 'Shivaay'"