Hlo darlings

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A monday morning is the most hated time in the world, be it by students, teachers, people in white collar jobs or even the office itself might hate monday. This day was not Monday but it was surely a bad day for Anika. It's been two weeks since Shivaay, Om and Rudra had shifted in her and Gauri's house and finally, after so much of efforts, begging and blackmailing Shivaay had finally managed to get Anika's consent to go to office.

How much he wanted to deny but he was happy to be living a carefree life where he was not a boss but a patient who needed to be taken care of. He loved eating tasteless food, he loved to have his bandage changed by Anika everyday. Note- only by Anika and no one else.

Yesterday, they had finally visited the doctor as Shivaay was adamant on joining his office so Anika wanted to make sure he was fine enough to stay in office for atleast half a day and not exhaust himself, and his stitches had to be removed too.

Shivaay's thoughts were still roaming around the happenings of yesterday in the hospital. Nothing happened that could be termed as extraordinary but for him it was like he had achieved something big. It was like he had seen a trailer of his future life when he would have wooed his lady's love and attached his name with hers.

How beautiful it sounded when she was addressed as his wife, and he as her husband. It was a complete surprise for him when the doctor, ever so casually asked Anika about her 'husband's' health and she told him like she was talking about revolution of Earth around the Sun.

"I had told you, Mrs. Oberoi. There's nothing to be afraid and your dear husband would be alright. But he still needs to be taken care of. As you asked me about his work then he can resume his work but not too much stress and physical activity."

The doctor had said to Anika and left the ward. His confusion had turned to mischief as he realised that Anika chose to let people mistake them to be husband and wife. Anika had tried her best to avoid his mischievous kanji eyes but that wasn't as easy as it sounds.

"So, Mrs. Oberoi didn't tell me she was so worried about me that everyone had to assure her so much ?"

Shivaay smiled as he couldn't forget her pink cheeks after hearing his not so innocent question.

"I.. I just.. I was too busy to notice anything."

Seriously ! That was his Anika's reply when he was not letting her go and bring his medicines that the doctor had prescribed after telling them to discontinue taking the previous ones.

"Oh my poor baby ! Let's go and correct them now. It's not good to lie about such a pious relation." Shivaay said and started moving towards the doctor's cabin holding Anika's hand in his.

"Yes. That's a good idea. Let's go.

Anika's reaction was complete opposite to what he had thought. Although she was playing along, but it had made him disappointed for a moment.

"Come in." Shivaay said when he heard a knock on the door of his cabin.

"No. Forget it actually. Poor guy ! He must be busy taking care of his patients. Let him do it. How does it matter, anyway ?"

Thinking of his own disappointed face and Anika's smiling face that he knew was a mocking smile, he couldn't stop smiling at his own foolishness.

"Sir, have you signed the file ?" Shivaay heard someone ask and looked up to see his assistant standing there with his ever so sincere face, feigning 'I've not seen SSO smiling to himself at all'.

"Yeah.. no.. not yet. I'm not in the mood to do it yet. I'll call you when it's done. You don't have to remind it to me again and again. And don't you dare enter my cabin without my permission. Get out, now." Shivaay shouted with an authoritative voice even if deep down his heart he knew he was at fault because of his day dreaming.

As Mr. Mishra came out of the CEO's cabin after having his daily dose of scoldings, he marched towards the canteen on the twelfth floor to have a cup of coffee and refresh his mind. It was another matter that his boss' this scolding was just 0.001 percent of what he has already tolerated in these ten years since Prithviraj Singh Oberoi had started training his already smart and shrewd grandson for taking the position of CEO of this company.

"Are you okay, Mishra Uncle ? You look so tired ? Wait for five minutes. I'll bring a kadak ginger tea for you." Anika said to her dear Mishra uncle and entered the cooking area.

After so many days Anika was back in the canteen and how could her welcome back be so easy and pleasant ? She had earned an earful of scoldings from Mrs. Leena but that was fine. That coconut of a lady was just so soft hearted that her scoldings didn't sound too bad to her. But yes, she sure had to give fifteen minutes of her working hours to her Khanna bhaiya to make him understand that it was nothing and he didn't have to tell anything to his boss, her akdu Singh Oberoi.

Soon after she was back to her work and Mrs. Leena thanked all the Gods for sending Anika back to work. These days without this sweet girl were hell for her and her canteens.

It had been five past two in the afternoon so the break time was over and the canteen was empty if one was to ignore a tired Mishra ji. Anika prepared two cups of her famous ginger tea and took the tray to the table which was occupied by Mishra ji.

"Here is your stress buster, Uncle. Now have it before it gets cold and tell me why are you so tired ?" Anika chirped happily and Mishra ji smiled seeing the sweet girl sitting infront of him. He was a father of a son and although, never was biased towards boys, but never either craved to have a daughter. But after meeting Anika, he often wished he had a daughter and it would be better if she was just like Anika.

"Nothing. It's just, Shivaay sir..." Mishra ji had just started telling his dukh bhari dastaan when Anika chocked on her tea listening Shivaay's name.

"Is he okay ?" Was the first thing that came out of Anika's mouth.

"Okay ? He is not okay. At all. He's behaving weird. Handling an angry Shivaay sir is fine. But handling a weird Shivaay sir is tiresome." Mishra ji sniffed to take in the lovely aroma of the tea and took a sip that filled his mouth with a bit of sweetness and calmed his senses.

"Weird ? How ?" Anika inquired, out of curiosity.

"He smiles when he's alone and is lost in his own thoughts with open files infront of him. He says 'come in' to people when they knock but forgets that he did and he would shout for not knocking." Mishra ji's complaints gained Anika's sympathy but she was really worried and more than worried she was curious about the reason behind this weird behaviour. Was he in some kind of trouble ? Was something bothering him ?

"It's okay, uncle. May be he was worried or tired because of his injury." Anika tried to console the poor man sitting infront of her, who in turn just nodded.

Before she could say anything else, Mishra ji received Shivaay's call and he picked it up before Shivaay could've heard second ring from the other side. He hadn't even said a hello when Shivaay's voice boomed in his ear loudly, and Anika heard him shouting at her poor Mishra uncle to come to his cabin right away. Mishra ji passed a shivery smile to Anika and almost ran from there, leaving the delicious tea and a dumbfounded Anika behind.

Rest of the day passed in handling the canteen which wasn't as busy as Anika had expected. Only if she knew that her dear akdu Oberoi was compensating for all the days that he had missed his work and scolding his employees.

By the time Shivaay realised that office hours were over, it had already been half past ten at night. Anika was waiting for him in the canteen because he had strictly warned her not to leave the office without him no matter what. The poor girl kept waiting as she didn't want to disturb him.

Her eyes were about to close due to tiredness when she saw Shivaay running towards her. Her sleep vanished in thin air seeing the Greek God infront of her. He was surely tired as hell but even with dishevelled hair, loosened tie and his coat hanging on his forearm he looked like a hot and handsome model coming after a photo shoot.

"I'm so sorry, Anika. I just lost the track of time. It was so stupid of me to make you wait like this." Shivaay apologised even before Anika could ask him anything and he didn't let her even reply to his apologies when his gaze fell upon the empty cups of tea on the table where Anika was sitting.

"You've not even eaten anything right ? Such a fool I am ! Come on, we'll have something first and then go back home." Shivaay ranted without a stop and dragged her with him to his penthouse at the last floor of the building, the place not even his brothers hadn't entered, ever.

It was when he had started to pull her hand to take her with him that she came out of her 'checking him out' mode. It was a and relief for her innocent self that he didn't notice her oggling at him or else he would've teased her till the end of this universe. At times like these she would feel so inferior that the thoughts of him not liking her and leaving her would scare her.

"Shivaay, it's fine. Let's go home and we'll eat something there." Anika tried to stop him because she wanted to be alone and get a grip on herself and that couldn’t be done in his presence, for sure.

"Not at all. I already made you starve because of my stupidity and it will take us atleast half an hour to get back home. So it's better to eat something." By that time they were already in the lift and Anika had to give in.

Till that day Anika had always thought that Oberoi Mansion was the most beautiful house she had ever seen but seeing this penthouse she was proven wrong. It wasn't a house but it was definitely a masterpiece. It wasn't as big as Oberoi Mansion but lacked nothing that anyone could want in his dream house. And for someone like her, it was more than she could even dream of. All of these things were making her think things she didn't want to, or even had to.

When she was admiring the interior of the penthouse, Shivaay had entered the kitchen to prepare Anika's favourite spaghetti pasta, actually second favourite, aaloo-puri being first.

"Here I present, the world famous spaghetti Pasta prepared by the handsome hunk, the one and the only  master chef, Shivaay. Singh. Oberoi !" Shivaay presented the pasta to Anika with a sophisticated, and over dramatic bow that halted Anika's thoughts and made her smile wholeheartedly.

"You're full of yourself, Mr. Oberoi." Anika mocked him as she took one plate from him and he sat beside her with the other one.

Deep down her heart she knew he was not that arrogant as he showed but definitely he was someone who was too precious to achieve for someone as average as her. How much ever it hurted her and broke her heart, but she had to accept that he was out of league for her.

Her thoughts might make anyone think of her like she was an insecure idiot but, isn't it the truth ? Why did she have to realise it so late ? When she had already fell in love with him to an extent that there was no going back ? Why fate had to be so cruel to her that it made her fall for a man who could find thousands of girls who would be far, far better than her ?

"Is it a crime ? If it is then I can be a criminal, I don't care." Shivaay shrugged nonchalantly and dig into his pasta, so did she while nodding her head in disbelief and she kept staring at him all this while.

Meanwhile, in Anika and Gauri's house, Om had got rid of the seven metres long saree and he finally felt home in his T-shirt and lowers. Last week he had brought all the necessary things for painting and worked from here and occasionally visited his gallery. He would usually lock the door and would stay as Om but would immidiately change into his Urmila avatar if need be.

Tomorrow he had a painting to be delivered to one of his friends so he was praying to God that no one should come from the colony to this house. But his prays went down the drain when Lata and four other ladies almost raided the house by entering without even a knock. It was a relief that Rudra was in the living room and not him. He had heard the commotion and quickly worn the saree and accessories to become the wanted 'aunty ji'.

Those annoying ladies had sucked his blood like leaches for two whole hours and it would be an understatement to say that he was tired. To top that off, there was another leach that was not ready to stop irritating him and that was Rudra. Only when Rudra received a call from one of his friends to come to the club for a party that he was spared him.

So finally after having a pizza for dinner he had started his work on the painting that he completed by 11:30. Shivaay and and Anika were late but he was relieved after being informed by Anika that they were still in the office and were safe.

Now, all he wanted was, a quick shower and a peaceful, deep sleep. Switching off all the lights he laid on the bed and felt his body relaxing. It wasn't too late when he finally dozed off to sleep without a care of the world, not knowing his peace was about to be snatched soon.

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So, how was it ? I'm finally getting back to myself in the matters of writing, atleast I think so. I don't know what you are Llandudno feel after reading this update so you'll have to tell me by commenting about it.

Don't forget to vote too. This chapter was a long one so next update when you all will complete the target of this update and of the previous one and I'm hundered percent sure this time I won't update without that 😋

Love you loads, darlings 💕💕