The trivedi household was in utter chaos since early morning today , reason being the oberoi were coming to visit them. Meeta and Harsh were excited as well as nervous about the entire Meetup since they knew annika's apprehensions. It was around 9 AM when Annika woke up and she could hear her parents's voices from the living room.

She wasn't excited about it all. She had agreed only for the sake of her parents. She did not even know how shivaay Singh oberoi looked like.

She got up from the bed and went inside the washroom to freshen up.

The oberois too were quite elated to meet the trivedis today. They hadn't met since a long time due to their busy schedules but today they were going for a different purpose.

Shivaay could feel a weird sensation in the pit of his stomach. The beauty had actually rendered him spellbound when he saw her picture. Shrugging all the thoughts aside he decided to get ready else pinki would scold him.

Annika walked out of her walk in closet dressed in a peach colored suit. Leaving her hair open, she applied her eyeliner and some lipstick. She wasn't very fond of makeup anyway but she looked absolutely gorgeous even in her simplest avatar.

Sighing she sat on the bed and started checking her emails when her mom entered the room.

"Anu beta you look absolutely pretty" she chirped seeing her daughter

Annika smiled at her "thank you mummaa"

"Beta the oberois will be here any minute now. Don't take any decision in haste" meeta spoke as she caressed her daughter's hair.

"Yes mumma"

"Meeta Annika look the oberois are here" it was harsh's voice from the living room.

Meeta gestured Annika to come with her. Taking a deep breath Annika followed her mother.

Annika could see three people sitting on the sofa out of which two of them sat facing her. As soon as they saw her pinki Rose from her seat and took her in a hug.

"Annika beta how are you Mera baccha ? It's been so long since I saw you almost when you were a school going kid. You look absolutely beautiful" pinki spoke lovingly to which Annika smiled .

"Anu beta come sit here" harsh patted the space beside him. He was sitting opposite a third person whom she assumed to be shivaay since she could see Shakti with pinki.

As soon as Annika saw him, their eyes met and shivaay passed a small smile.

Shivaay swore she was even prettier than she was in the picture. She was simple yet ethereal and very different from all other girls he had interacted to. She belonged to a rich family yet she was so kind and considerate towards everyone he noticed as he saw her speaking to his parents.

"Anu beta this is shivaay" meeta's voice broke his chain of thoughts and he looked up to find her staring nervously at him.

He was insanely handsome and as much as Annika  tried to deny this she couldn't. He was dressed in a black shirt and grey pants. His hair were perfectly gelled and he had a beard which made him look very hot. She found his eyes very interesting. They looked like a mixture of blue, green and grey. In all the man was a true definition of aesthetic.

"And shivaay beta this is our daughter Annika"

"You both last met when you were probably toddlers" pinki spoke making everyone laugh while shivaay and Annika blushed a little.

"Okay I guess you people should talk alone so that you can actually decide" Harsh spoke earning a nod from everyone.

"Anu beta show him the house"

"Yes mumma"

Shivaay stood up and gestured her to lead the way.

Once they were away from everyone's sight Annika released a breath that even she didn't know she was holding.

After a moment of silence shivaay spoke
"So umm Annika what do you do ?"

"I'm the CEO of Lavia"

"Wow that's quite impressive"

"And what are your hobbies Annika ?"

"I like to read and sing. What about you?" She asked internally surprised at the question from her side since she was a nervous wreck in front of him.

"Well I like to cook. It's quite therapeutic "

Annika looked at him surprised

They were currently strolling in the garden of the trivedi mansion. Soft breeze was blowing and it was quite Peaceful.

"Annika Don't mind but why are you so quiet? Were you forced for this meeting?"

Annika's eyes widened at his question.

"Umm no actually i..i.."

"Relax it's okay" shivaay spoke giving her a genuine smile.

Annika was surprised how he didn't actually demand answers from her. Maybe all men weren't the same after all

"Shivaay what do you expect from a marriage?"

Annika's question made Shivaay stop in his tracks. He looked at her and found her staring at him intently. He gestured her to sit on the chair.

"Annika I'll be very truthful about this. For me marriage is a pure institution where both the partners have an equal say and roles. I wouldn't force my wife to just sit at home while I go and earn. She can do whatever she wants.For me marriage is about companionship , respect and trust"

Annika was speechless listening to him. His tone was sincere enough to prove that he wasn't lying. He was totally different than most of the men who needed women only to satisfy their lusty desires.

"And what if her past is traumatic ?" Annika asked deeply staring in his blue orbs.

"Annika For me only the present and the future matters. We cannot change certain things about our lives but we can make better memories as we move ahead in life. Right ?"

Shivaay passed her a smile and she reciprocated it for the first time.

"Annika what are your thoughts on marriage ?" Shivaay's question caught her a bit offguard but it was fair she answered it considering she herself asked him the same.

Taking a deep breath she spoke "I don't want to give you false hopes shivaay , I don't believe in love and relationships , I mean there was a time when I used to but after a certain experience I don't. I'm doing all this only for my parent's happiness " she looked at shivaay to find him gazing at her with an unknown expression on his face.

" Annika it's totally fine. You don't need to explain anything. I'm glad you cleared all of this instead of keeping me in the dark." He spoke giving her a genuine smile.

"And as far as our marriage is being concerned I want you to take your decision without anybody forcing you"

Annika's heart was filled with gratitude for this man. He understood her plight instead of reprimanding or getting angry at her.

Realising that they had spent half n hour talking to each other , they started moving towards the living area when shivaay's voice stopped Annika.

"Annika I'm ready  to give us a chance but I won't force you at all. Think about it and take your time. And if it is a yes I promise you will never regret it"

Annika stared at him with an unexplainable feeling. As much as she wanted to believe him , her past incident came rushing to her mind and she composed herself. Nodding at him she walked towards where the parents were sitting.

Finally as it was the time to leave pinki hugged Annika and meeta while Harsh patted shivaay on his shoulder and shook hands with shakti.

Shivaay whispered a bye looking at Annika which was heard only by her since the elders were busy talking with each other.

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So shivaay and Annika finally met

What do you think about this meet ?

Please vote <3