That night as Shivaay and Annika lay in the bed , Annika came atop him and said "Happy Anniversary."
Shivaay cuddled her and said "Same to you. The party was amazing though. Thank you for that."
Annika stroked his chest and said "I am glad you liked it. How did you like Aditya?"
Shivaay's expressions suddenly changed and he said "Huh? What do you mean?"
Annika said "I mean in general, how did you find him ? You always give your opinion when you meet someone new."
Shivaay said "Well, yeah , he was okay."
Annika said "Just okay ? That's it?"
Shivaay snapped and said "What else do you want me to say ? I met him just for an hour."
Annika was surprised at his tone but said nothing. Instead she came closer and started playing with the button of his shirt and kissed his chest and said "Honey, I didn't mean to irritate you. Let's forget it and make our anniversy night special." She pulled his face towards her to kiss him but he gently pushed her away. He said "I am sorry Annika but I am extremely tired today. We will do it some other time."
With that he turned to his side and slept. Annika was surprised and not to mention very hurt. Never had Shivaay done this before. She thought maybe something was bothering him and slept.
Shivaay on the other hand was in his own world and fighting his inner self. He thought "This can't be happening. This can't be true and these feelings can't come back. I am married for goodness sake."
He didn't sleep the whole night and that was just the beginning of the sleepless nights he was about to witness.
2 Years Later
It was again their anniversy but this time Shivaay had told Annika he couldn't be with her today. Annika didn't argue. For the past three years something was amiss in their relationship. They didn't talk like they used to , they didn't enjoy sex like they once used to, they were constantly arguing with each other and things were pretty grim. Annika used to cry almost once a week and Shivaay was never there to comfort her. Annika had tried talking to him but was always met with the same response "I am alright Annika , you think too much."
Their beautiful relationship was stretching to a breaking point and Annika was on the verge of breaking down. She had even suggested marriage  therapy to Shivaay once when things had escalated but Shivaay refused point blank saying that these little fights were normal in every relation. But Annika knew these fights weren't little because she felt she was meeting a whole new person altogether. That night Annika slept all alone with Shivaay missing from her side of the bed. In the morning when he came back, Annika didn't even bother to greet him and nor did Shivaay make an effort but if Annika had looked closely that day she would have seen nothing but pain, guilt and remorse in his eyes.
1.5 Years Later.
Annika was watching television and with the thought in her mind tgat she would repair things between her and Shivaay. It was one last try from her side to save their almost torn relationship. When Shivaay returned from work, Annika went to him and kissed him without a word.  She clutched his hair and put his hands on her waist urging him to kiss her back. But Shivaay didn't. He removed her hand from himself and walked away. That's when Annika had , had enough. She threw a vase in anger and screamed "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU SHIVAAY SINGH OBEROI? ITS BEEN THREE AND A HALF YEARS AND YOU HAVE BEEN TREATING ME LIKE I AM SOME KIND OF A DOORMAT. YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN THERE WHEN I NEEDED YOU. WHAT DO YOU WANT? DO YOU WANT TO SEPARATE ? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT ? ANSWER ME ? WHAT HAVE I DONE ?"
Her screams and tears made Shivaay turn around and Annika saw that he had streaks of tears on his face. But she didn't melt after seeing that instead she composed herself and said  in a cold voice "Why are you crying? I have said exactly what you deserve."
Shivaay shook his head and said in a whisper "I deserve worse."
Annika was stumped and said "What ?"
Shivaay closed his eyes and said "I am gay Annika. I love and am sexually attracted to someone of the same sex."
Annika's world slipped before her and she stared at Shivaay in a lifeless manner. It didn't register in her head what he had just said. It couldn't be true. Shivaay had married her and had loved her. It couldn't be true , it just couldn't.
Shivaay came to her and said "I didn't mean to betray you. Believe me even I didn't know my sexual orientation. I would have never married you if I had known. I love you Annika and had always done so. It's just that..."
Annika said in soft voice "That you love a man as well. How can I believe that Shivaay? How can I trust you when you say that you didn't know? How could you have not known ?"
Shivaay grabbed her shoulders and said "Trust me Annika, I didn't. When I was in school , I had some feelings towards boys but as days passed I realised that it was against the laws if nature and I denied to myself. My denial was so strong that I made myself belive that I was straight. Then I met you and I truly fell in love with you. When I touched you I felt this was the correct thing to do and went with the flow. My love wasn't fake nor was my touch. I can't explain it to you Annika. These past years have been so tough for me. When I met him , all those feeling from school took over me and I couldn't control them. I couldn't tell you and nor could I love you the way I had done before as I felt that , that would have been betrayal."
Annika said like a corpse "Is it my fault? Was I not good enough for you? Did I do this to you ?"
Shivaay said frantically "No, no Annika. Weren't you listening? It was never your fault. How could it be when I was born this way ? You were perfect Annika and you still are. You are the love of my life but I do love someone else too."
Annika said harshly "Don't you dare say that in front of me. You destroyed me and my life. You are a freak and just so that you could hide from the society you used me. You are a pathetic , pathetic person Shivaay. You disgust me. You are liar and a traitor. I don't belive anything you say and I don't want to belive you ever."
Shivaay said desperately "Annika please understand my point of view please. Please trust me."
Annika almost spat on his face and said "You ruined my life for me and you want me to understand you? Do you have a single bit of idea about what I went through these last four years. Everyday I used to think I am at fault and it's something about me that's making you distance you away from me. I was about to slip into depression. I used to cry everyday thinking of what could have gone wrong in our relation. And you have the audacity to say that you were in pain. Get out of my sight Shivaay before I do something that I will regret for the rest of my life."
Shivaay turned away from her and she called out to him with rage and hatred said "Whom did you cheat on  me with ?'
Shivaay didn't look at her and said "Aditya Shekhawat."
The little colour that was left on her face drained and she fell down. Shivaay rushed to help her but her eyes told him to stay away and he retraced his steps.
Annika was still in a daze. It was as if her whole life was a lie. It was as if she was living someone else's life. Her one true love was not what he had claimed to be. She still wanted  to think that she was watching a nightmare. She didn't get up from the floor the whole night.
The next morning when Shivaay came downstairs he saw her condition and went to her and said "Annika , what are you doing to yourself ? Please don't hurt yourself like this. I promise I will fix everything. I won't ever see Aditya again and I will be with you. Please Annika, I can't see you like this."
Annika removed his hands from her shoulders and went away.
Days passed and Annika didn't speak to Shivaay about what had happened. It was as if she was living in a shell. She spoke to Shivaay about general things and pretended as if nothing had happened. Now that Shivaay was out of his closet he found it difficult to ignore this. One day he confronted Annika and said "You can't stay in denial. You are not only hurting yourself but me too. We need a closure right ? What do we do ?"
Annika said "You want a closure right? Let things remain the way they were and let's pretend nothing ever happened. Everything will be back to normal then."
Shivaay said "Is that what you want ?"
Annika nodded. Shivaay didn't argue.
Annika went to her room and cried her heart out. She had always been an active member for asking for rights for the LGBTQ community. But she hated them now. She felt betrayed. Everyone was in sympathy with the LGBT community  but what about her and people like her who were facing a situation worse than hell. People were coming forward to help  people like Shivaay and Aditya but who would console their families? Who would support them and their pain and dilemma ?"
Annika rocked to and fro and wept. She didn't understand what to do and what not to. She had met a therapist but even she was more interested in learning about Shivaay rather than her condition.
6 Months Later
Annika came to Shivaay and for the first time in months greeted him with a smile. Shivaay was surprised and said "What's the matter Annika ?"
Annika gave him an envelope and beckoned him to open it. He did so and then read the sheafs of paper and said "You filed for divorce?"
Annika nodded and said "You are free Shivaay. I am sorry I kept you in the cage like this. I understand what you must have gone through. It's not easy to come out tell someone that you are different from most of the people. It's difficult to live a life of a facade. And I can feel the pain that you must have gone through each day when you knew your identity and had to hide it from me for my happiness. And the worst of all I know how difficult it must  have been for you to stay away from the true love of your life. It takes time to understand all of this. It takes tims to empathise with someone when you are in pain. And I am grateful you gave me that time space and time. I can't be tgat selfish Shivaay. I love you way too much to see you in pain everyday. Hence I release you from this bond. But I promise tgat our friendship would never be tarnished."
Shivaay didn't know what to say and Annika understood his silence. Both weren't at fault but both were suffering. Someone had to end this because after all they had shared a beautiful relationship.
That day both Shivaay and Annika slept together on the same bed and that too peacefully. The next day Annika took Shivaay to meet Aditya and they had a talk . She urged both if them to come clean in front of their parents but they were scared but at last they agreed.  Annika stood by them when they confessed and even faced harsh words from her mother in law who called her bad luck. But Annika didn't mind. All three of them knew that it would take a lot of time for their parents to understand them. That day they made a pact to keep their friendship intact forever. Aditya asked for her forgiveness for hiding this from her  and thanked her for being there for them. Shivaay couldn't  bring himself to apologise for the hurt he had caused her for years. Annika was about to remove her wedding ring when Shivaay spoke and said "Don't remove it please. You said, you won't?"
Annika bit her lip and then took the ring and put in a chain and wore it on her neck. She said "Guys , I need a break for some days. Even you would want to spend some time together. Let's meet up after a month or so. I need a holiday. Shivaay was about to say something when Annika hugged him warmly and said "Go and fix your wounds Shivaay. You need some time off too."
With that she drove away.
6 months Later
Section 377 was decriminalized was the headline.
Annika called up Shivaay and Aditya and said "So , maybe it's time to give your relationship a name finally. Our divorce is done and today this news. Timing couldn't have been better."
Shivaay said "But what will people say ?"
Annika said "That two brave men have come forward to declare their love for each other. "
Shivaay said " But we just got divorced . Will it be right ?"
Annika said "That's a matter of perspective. I will get you married."
And she stood by her words and within 8 days Shivaay and Aditya's love triumphed.
Annika had tears in her eyes during the day of their marriage. She recalled her wedding day and thought that "Maybe , it was meant to be this way. Maybe it wasn't meant to last forever. It's not that I am not happy for them but I can't help feeling jealous too.It's just human nature.  I still am hurt and I know even Shivaay is. It's not been an easy ride for him. But if he is happy then I am happy too. But I don't think I will ever fall in love again and I wouldn't want to also. He was my first and last love and I know he loves me too and always will but in a very different way.
She wiped her face and smiled for the photograph.
That day she made a life for herself on her own and let Shivaay and Aditya lead their own life but kept in touch regularly.

Present Time
Annika came inside the coffee house and saw Shivaay and Aditya looking at the their photographs. She grinned and joined them. All was well and even if it wasn't perfect it was alright.

I have never written on a sensitive like this before and I hope I did justice to it. I would so love all you to comment whatever you felt and what all I could have improved and what all you liked. It feels nice to read your comments and do vote guys if you found the concept intriguing.