Annika- SOS SSO. Come here asap. I mean- ASAP

Shivaay was antsy when he opened the location Annika had sent. His mind went to thousand different scenarios that could have happened. He was half way out his cabin in Oberoi Headquarters when the location loaded on Maps. He heaved a sigh of relief, completely irritated. He should have seen it coming.

Shivaay- DON'T use SOS if you're NOT IN DANGER, you crazy woman. Stop spying and go do some work. You scared me!

Annika- I wouldn't send SOS if I didn't need you. COME if you don't want to shift to the couch permanently.

She was crazy. Bat shit crazy. He grumpily headed to his car. He was sure that if he went to hell, it would be because of things she was making him do. He had to fall for the most insane woman on earth. And there he was grudgingly smiling, hopeless like a lost puppy, always at her beck and call. He was sure Bhavya would loathe him if she ever came to know, but it's ANNIKA.

So, he had to...

He reached the spot, a small café, which was made to sound like Death Valley by his deranged but lovable wife. He spotted her in her car, with air pods and... was she holding a binocular? He was right about the bat shit crazy part. He shook his head, completely annoyed, and rushed to her car.

"Oh good, you came! Take this and tell me if they are holding hands. Observe their body language." Annika handed him the binoculars and took her laptop out casually.

"You behave like this is a very normal thing to do and THAT worries me." He looked at her perplexed and all she did was shrug. He didn't have any option, did he? Thank God, Gauri wasn't like his wife and his brother was a lucky man. As he was looking through the binoculars, he spotted someone familiar a little behind Bhavya. That looked like... Wait no! What had he married into? Whole family was definitely crazy. All Bhavya had to do was turn her head for Ranveer and Gauri to get caught. Why were they there? Oh, to keep the microphone ofcourse. At least Om was left out of this madness...

"You are supposed to be telling me what you see."

He glared at Annika. This was invasion of privacy, a felony! She should be grateful he was at least complying, but here she was, complaining. "When I said for better or for worse, I sure did not mean this." He gritted his teeth. She pouted looking at him with pleading eyes and he could only sigh. He might be lionhearted but his wife knew how to get him do things.

Annika was constantly muttering curses with Viraj's name highlighted in bloody murder. She obviously wouldn't tell him what they were talking because it was 'wrong'. If he should know, Bhavya would have to tell him. How did Annika not miss the hypocrisy in that very sentence? What was even more perturbing was he skipped a meeting for this. Of course, he couldn't let Annika know that because she'd end up scolding him like he'd lost his homework, as if she had nothing to do with it. He was hopeless in you know what, wasn't he? He chuckled and looked at her fondly. She was definitely both the cause of his death and the means of his revival.

"I am not here asking you to take me back. I was a coward. I still am, probably. This was not an excuse, rather an explanation. Forgive me, if you can..." Viraj's voice trailed off.

There was a lump in her throat. She composed herself and sipped in some water. There he was, ever so charmingly, looking at her with the very eyes that made her heart skip several times. They used to be a masterpiece, roaming in the streets of East London, painting everywhere they went with romance. He was now in front of her, but the familiarity felt strange. She shouldn't be with him.

"How's work? I heard they love you in Canada..." Bhavya changed the subject. Cue received, indifference felt and avoidance heard, Viraj smiled and went along with the conversation. In around fifteen minutes, they split the bill and Viraj left. Bhavya looked up and saw Rudra coming towards her table. With some persuasion, she'd managed to make him come. Now, she had something to say.

When Shivaay saw Rudra entering the café, he knew he'd have to get Annika to stop listening. It's no secret that Annika was your textbook meddler. Shivaay was certain that whatever should happen next, should happen on its own. He immediately took her air pods and tossed it in the backseat and went dangerously close to her. Well, he had a trump card at his disposal too.

"Maybe we should shift to Oxford... You. Me. That cottage. At least I had all your attention," Shivaay whispered, letting his breath deliberately touch her skin. He saw Annika gulp and look at him, pupils dilated.

"People can see us, Shivaay..." She could barely speak when he was inches away from her lips.

"Maybe you shouldn't wear your lips red like it's meant to be kissed." He blew mildly on her lips and she closed her eyes. He immediately turned and saw Rudra and Bhavya getting out of the cafe. "You're right. This is not the place. Let's get out of here."

An hour later,

"Umm... Annika?" Shivaay caressed her head which was well rested on his shoulders. They were at Annika's apartment and she was browsing through Netflix, trying to decide what to watch. They had an impromptu Netflix and pizza date as they had nothing else to do and why not?

"Hmm..." Annika was confused whether to watch something romantic or a thriller and, whether to watch a Hollywood flick or Hindi. Why did Shivaay have to leave everything at her choice?

"Anni, are you listening? I have a confession."

"Tell me... Maybe we should start Peaky Blinders?"

"No TV shows please. If I ever happen to watch a minute without you, you'd make my life hell. Let's have a one time thing. Put on some mushy rom-com."

"What happened to my Billu Ji?" Annika pretended to check his temperature and he groaned.

"Listen! I kinda tricked you today... Rudra walked in after Viraj left and I didn't want you to meddle." Shivaay waited for her to burst into the firecracker that she was but she did quite the opposite.

"I know. Gauri had texted. And no, I understand why you 'distracted' me albeit a cheap move I must say." She took a deep breath and continues softly, "Shivaay, I know I seem like a psychopath to you right now. I have to say, I don't always stalk and spy my sisters. It's just that, when Abhishek happened, I wasn't around for Gauri. I don't want anything to go wrong. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting the past days..." Annika sighed and gave him a small apologetic smile. Shivaay immediately took in her hands,

"Honey... on some level, I was able to infer that. Yes, cheap move. I didn't like how I used my sexuality to allure you away," Shivaay said which made Annika chuckle. He knew she was going to give him a sassy and befitting reply and he immediately placed his index finger on her lips. "I know how it sounded. Let us please watch the film. Please spare me this time," He pleaded and Annika turned to the TV laughing. They had settled for 'Blended' and Annika was pleasantly surprised on how Shivaay was into the film. Munching on to her pizza, she loved how things were between them. Her eyes fell on the painting Omkara had given her. She should tell Shivaay now. The movie was almost over too.

"Annika, can I ask you something?" Shivaay had noticed her looking at the painting he had been wondering about. He switched off the TV when the credits rolled in. "That painting... Om gave it to you, right? I'm just surprised, because, he painted that even before he went to art school."

"I know. He actually painted the dummy version of this when he was, you know, high... Come with me." She dragged Shivaay to the painting. She gently took it off its hook and flipped it. It was the same painting, but a fuzzier version of it. It had irregular strokes and loud colours, loud enough to prove that his senses were heightened and he was indeed, high. Shivaay frowned a bit. No one outside the family knew that, except... one of Omkara's friends. He immediately looked at Annika,

"Were you...?"

"That mysterious friend of Om from Maryland whom you never met? Yes. You remember his second year of Bachelors and third of yours, the big fat Kulkarni-Mutyala wedding took place in Hyderabad and all our parents had to go?"

"Yes, during Christmas. Omkara was with Mallika because she was alone and Rana didn't want me hanging around her..."

"Yes. Uncle didn't want Mallika in Princeton, so he made sure they came home in Baltimore. We spent it together, with Nani. That's how we met. And Om told that he'll refrain from mentioning me to you or you to me. He didn't want to meddle."

"See... that's how you should be. Not meddle. Although, had he, I would have known you sooner," Shivaay mumbled the sentence and Annika raised her eyebrows.

"See, meddling is good. If it weren't for my meddling, Om and Gauri won't be together today!" Annika gave Shivaay a smug look and he raised his hands in defeat. "Anyway..."

"Say no more! You made sure he went clean and went to art school. You were the one who convinced Bade papa when none of us could. You were Om's guardian angel. It's a shame he had to hide you from me. I was an idiot back then. Annika... Thank you!" Shivaay said it very earnestly and there was Annika's throat felt clenched.

"There's more, Shivaay..."

But Shivaay didn't let her speak. He pulled her in a tight hug. He was definitely an idiot for banishing anyone from uttering the woman's name who now had his heart. But he was sure that he wouldn't have believed back then that he would be with Annika either.

Funny, how aversion works; funnier, how love works.