Recap ~

Rejoiced.

Reaching, Anika saw no one around her. She was expecting Shivaay to wait for her but that didn't happen. Just when she was about to leave, she felt a sudden pull from behind and within seconds, she landed on the guy whom she wished to see right at the moment.

"Shivaay why didn't you come to office?!" Anika asked caressing his pale face. Not getting any reply from him, she asked again "Shivaay, are you alright?"
"No, I'm not!" He said hugging her tightly.

"Anika I will tell you something today. Post that please promise me you will be my friend forever and will never avoid me." he said still hugging her when she said back worrying for him, "Of course Shivaay I will not do anything that hurts you."
"Thank you." he smiled weakly.

"I... I..." He started but his voice trailed off gradually. There was exactly one hundred and eighty seconds of silence which was broken by Anika's phone call.

"Okay papa, bye!" This was the only statement of Anika over the entire phone call.

"Anika will you stay with me..." His voice trailed off again when she answered his incomplete question, "Forever Shivaay!".
"I thought I have never been immensely loved by anyone but you proved me wrong!" She continued smiling at him.

He hugged her instantly not able to express his happiness. Breaking the hug, he said, "I love you Anika!"
"I love you Shivaay" she said, continuing "This is not the Shivaay I know. Hesitant, tensed and scared?"

"I was scared I would lose you." He said holding her by her waist. He continued a bit confused, "By the way how did you know about my love for you?!"
"This is Anika here!" She said proudly letting Shivaay simply adore her.

Reaching Vikram's house, Shivaay was surprised to see his grandmother there along with Anika's parents.

"Dadi?!" Shivaay called out when she calls back, "Billu!"
"Billu?!" Anika said loudly hiding her laugh, joined by OmRu and Gauri, Bhavya.
"Guys please!" Shivaay said rolling his eyes.

"Okay okay all of us will call you the way you like to be called." Vikram said and in the fraction of seconds, they all said "Billu!" in chorus.
"God please save me. Give me the strength to handle this crazy family all my life!" Shivaay spoke out loudly.

Everyone were staring at him and he gulped feeling scared all out of a sudden. In seconds, the hall was filled with sounds of laughter confusing Shivaay.

"Don't get surprised. We already accepted to handle the best son-in-law all our lives!" Anika's family said in unison pointing out to Shivaay.

Shivaay still fell blank hearing all of them. He was too shocked to react when Anika said chuckling at his expressions, "Everyone knew about us, only we didn't know Mr.Shivaay!"

"But Dadi how did you know?!" He asked going to his grandmother.
"If you keep chanting Anika's name at home, won't I know?!" She said hitting his cheeks softly.
"There is no difference between day and night Anika puttar! If he gets a chance, he will not stop talking about you." Dadi continued.

Anika couldn't stop smiling, her cheeks turning crimson red. Shivaay accompanied her within minutes not wanting to leave her alone in this.

Months later, Shivaay and Anika got married, living a beautiful life. Anika's desire to be loved came true and this was something which she never thought would happen in her life.

A Sunday morning when Anika was still sleeping, Shivaay took his place next to her gently touching her hairs.

"Shivaay..." Anika said still closing her eyes and placing his palm under her cheeks. She continued guessing her breakfast that day, "Idli?"
"Nope not Idli today!" He said when she pouted hearing the answer.
"Oh no!" She said sadly sitting straight on bed.

After a while, she descended down the stairs only to find idlis and sambhar on the dining. Of course her husband knew what she wanted.

"Shivaay! Why do you have to play with me?!" She asked flinging her hands on his shoulder.
"Because I was bored and wanted to pull your leg." he said chuckling.
"You wouldn't feel bored after nine months then." She said winking at him.

Shivaay took some time to process the fact that he is going to be a father soon. He was still staring at her for confirmation when she said, "Shivaay, you will have to change diapers, feed milk, and what not! Our little one will trouble you a lot that you wouldn't feel life boring anymore."

Their happiness touched the sky from that minute, and the smile didn't leave their lips. It was another beautiful phase in their lives and a happy beginning. :)

_______________________________________

Everyone deserves to be loved, and love is an eternal feeling. People die, time fades but love doesn't.

Thank you to each and everyone who clinged on to me and this book. You mean a lot to me, and hope you enjoyed this journey.

Let's all continue ShivIka's journey with my other books. 💫

Love you all.
Manya ❤