Annika and Shivaay's wedding was still a good two and a half months away, but that wasn't nearly enough for all the shopping Annika needed to get done. The Annika's Dream Wedding diary she had started making as a teenager had hundreds of dresses featured it in: cut-outs from magazines, print-outs from Pinterest. Currently, Annika sat with the diary in hand, clicking pictures on her phone of the dresses she liked best. The boutique she usually got her clothes designed from would be able to reproduce them easily. As she flipped through the pages, she came across one that made her face break into a smile. This was the page dedicated to her bridal dress. She hadn't found the perfect one yet but had made many notes over the years. A rough idea of what the blouse would be like, what shade of red she would prefer, and so on. Gauri had added her input in blue and had scribbled something at the bottom that Annika had to see closely to understand. It said, "what's the point of an elaborate dress if you'll be wearing nothing right after!" Annika laughed. The thought of the 'first night' was one she had tried not to ponder over. It would happen when it had to. Of course, Annika did allow herself to think about how it would feel to be kissed by Shivaay—it would feel heavenly, was the verdict. Given their lack of physical intimacy, though, she didn't know if she would be able to experience it in the near future.

Getting up from the bed, Annika walked towards the window of her room. She thought of calling Shivaay up. Her new job was going to start tomorrow, and she was a little anxious about it. She had been hired as a financial analyst for a well-reputed real-estate company in Mumbai. The salary was good, and her boss had even agreed to give her a month off during the wedding period. But Annika had never had a proper job before and was nervous. Picking up her phone, she decided to call Shivaay. He didn't pick up. Sighing, she left a message for him to call her when free. His new deal was keeping him busy, but Annika wished she could call him up whenever and share her problems. Shaking the thought, she walked downstairs and found her choti ma in the kitchen.

"What's cooking, good looking?" Annika joked, earning a giggle in return.

"Your favorite lauki sabzi," Choti ma replied. Annika scrunched her nose.

"Choti ma! Please tell me you're joking."

"Yes, yes, I'm joking. I'm making paranthe for dinner. Your chote papa is out of town na, so we can consume as much oily food as we want," Choti ma winked. Annika laughed at that and walked out. She wanted to distract herself somehow, to get over the anxiety of the new job. She was just about to go to Sahil's room and help him with homework when the doorbell rang. Annika assumed it was her mom and bua-dadi, who had gone to the temple for evening aarti. Opening the door, she came across the person she least expected, standing at her doorstep with a smile and a bouquet of flowers.

"Shivaay?" Annika exclaimed, suddenly conscious of the fact that she was wearing an old baggy tee-shirt with equally baggy shorts, her hair oiled and braided. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to congratulate you on your new job. Here," He handed the flowers to her, "These are for you."

"They're lovely," Annika mumbled, inhaling the white lilies. They were her favorite.

"So," Shivaay shoved his hands in his pockets as he shuffled his feet, "Can I, uh, can I come in?"

"Oh, of course!" Annika said, moving to make way for him. "Sorry," She added sheepishly.

"No problem," He smiled. "Looking good by the way," He added with a wink. Annika huffed.

"Hold this," Annika thrust the flowers into his hands, "I'll just go and change." With that, she all but made a run for her room, hiding her hair with her hands. Shivaay laughed at her behavior before taking a seat on the sofa, setting down the bouquet beside him. He was feeling a little awkward, sitting at his future in-laws with no one around. Thankfully, little Sahil soon came skipping into the living room.

"Jiju!" He yelled, coming to hug the older man. "Annika didi said you were here but I thought she was joking like always. But you're really here!"

"Yeah, I am," Shivaay said, fondly ruffling the boy's hair. He hadn't really gotten the chance to interact with Sahil and was surprised by this admiration. Although, Annika did tell him once that Sahil was a huge fan. "How have you been, Sahil?"

"I'm okay," He shrugged. "I have my exams going on. Math exam is tomorrow, and papa and bade papa aren't here to help me study. Everyone else in this house is bad at math," He admitted with a pout. Shivaay looked on in amusement.

"But your Annika didi has a degree in finance," He said. "How is she still bad at math?"

"I don't know," Sahil shrugged. "Only she can get a degree in something she absolutely sucks at," He giggled. Shivaay laughed. Yes, that did indeed sound like his fiancé.

"Tell you what," Shivaay said, "I'll help you study for your math exam."

Sahil's eyes lightened up. "You will?"

"Yes. But you'll have to do something for me."

Sahil nodded eagerly, and Shivaay proceeded to say something into his ears.

--

Annika emerged from the washroom half an hour later, hoping someone had kept Shivaay company till then and that he hadn't left. It had taken her quite a while to get rid of all the oil that bua-dadi had rubbed onto her hair, and even longer to get over the embarrassment of having faced Shivaay like this. However, one thing made Annika smile: if he didn't run away after seeing her like that, chances were that he would stick around for a while. Quickly blow-drying her hair and throwing on some presentable clothes, she made her way to the living room. Thankfully, Shivaay was still there, huddled over Sahil's textbooks as the two of them studied math. Choti ma had left some coffee and snacks for him on the table, keeping in mind that he didn't eat oily food. Annika's heart warmed at the sight.

"Annika di!" Sahil cried as he looked up, the gap in his teeth visible through his wide smile. "Jiju is teaching me math. Now I will surely pass the exam tomorrow!"

Annika sat down beside Shivaay on the couch, who gave her a smile. Annika munched on some snacks as Shivaay and Sahil continued studying. Finally, Sahil gathered his books and gave Shivaay a thank-you hug.

"You're the best, jiju!" He said, before leaving the couple alone. Shivaay turned to face Annika.

"So, congratulations," He said, picking up the bouquet and giving it to her again. Annika laughed.

"Thank you," She traced the petals of the lilies. "I still can't believe you're here. I had called you earlier, and thought you were busy with work."

"Yeah, I didn't pick up because I wanted to surprise you. I was busy with work, but had some time off and thought that we could go on an impromptu date."

"So this is a date?" Annika asked, her eyes twinkling. It was Shivaay's turn to laugh.

"Well, not this, but I was hoping to take you to dinner later. If you want to go, that is."

"Of course I do," Annika rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I need to distract myself. The thought of going to work tomorrow is making me all anxious."

"Hey, you'll be fine," Shivaay said softly, holding her hand in his. "Don't worry."

"Easy for you to say," Annika said with a sigh. "You're the most confident person I've ever met."

"Sometimes, people pretend to be more confident than they usually are," Shivaay said, looking intently into her eyes. He gave her hand a squeeze.

"Is that what you do?" Annika asked softly.

"I didn't say that," Shivaay gave her a lopsided smile. "Anyway," he cleared his throat, "should we leave for dinner in," he checked his watch, "an hour?"

Annika nodded.

"Till then, why don't you show me your room? Shivaay suggested.

"You wanna see my...room?" Annika asked, panicking already. Her room was a mess. Shivaay shrugged.

"We need to pass time somehow."

"Right," Annika said slowly. "Could you just, um, give me 5 minutes?"

"Why, you need to clean your room?" Shivaay guessed, grinning.

"Yes," Annika admitted, her cheeks turning pink. "Unfortunately, not everyone is a cleanliness freak like you."

"Yeah yeah, put the blame on me," Shivaay shook his head in amusement. "But sure, go ahead. I'll come in exactly 5 minutes."

Annika didn't need to be told twice. For the second time that evening, she made a run for her room.

--

True to his word, Shivaay arrived after 5 minutes. Annika was hoping he would lose his way hence buying her more time, but that didn't happen. Thankfully though she had managed to make her cozy little space look presentable. Shivaay was impressed by the room, Annika could tell. He was particularly fascinated by the childhood pictures she had put up on the wall.

"You used to be quite cute," Shivaay stated as he gazed through the photos.

"Used to be?" Annika scowled. "Am I not cute anymore?"

"You're a lot more than just cute now," Shivaay said simply, unaware of the effect it had on Annika. Moving towards the jhoola kept in one corner of the room, he settled himself down. The swing barely had space for two people, and so Annika stood there awkwardly, fiddling with her fingers.

"Come, there's enough space," Shivaay invited, scooting over slightly. He had an arm draped over the back, and as Annika sit down, she felt like her body was pressed against his despite the slight gap between them. Shivaay gently rocked the swing by pushing the ground with one foot.

"This is nice," He admitted. The swing was right beside the window and they could see the sun setting on the horizon.

"Yeah," Annika agreed, a small smile playing on her lips. "Sometimes, when I'm upset or angry over something, I only have to sit here to feel better again."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shivaay said. Annika looked at him questioningly. "You know," he started explaining, "I'll install a similar swing in my room and make you sit on it whenever you're mad at me about something."

Annika couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, when I'm mad, I also tend to binge-eat. So you should keep that in mind as well."

"Oh, that's not a problem for me," Shivaay waved his hand. "Fortunately for you, your husband loves cooking."

"Future husband," Annika corrected.

"Right," Shivaay's cheeks formed a tinge of red. "Future husband."

They fell into silence after that, watching the sunset. After a while, Annika turned her body slightly to face Shivaay.

"Shivaay?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go on."

"Why didn't it ever work out with any of your previous girlfriends?"

Shivaay chuckled at the question. "Well, I don't know. I don't think I actually ever tried hard enough to make it work?"

"Why?" Annika frowned.

"Well, it just didn't seem worth the effort, to be honest."

"Marriage is going to be a lot of effort," Annika shrugged. "What if you think I'm not worth it?"

"You are," Shivaay stated simply "Besides, marriage is not the same thing as dating."

"I know but—"

"Annika," Shivaay interrupted her, "You don't have to worry, okay? I'll be a good husband to you. I promise."

"I'm not worried about it," Annika mumbled, biting her lower lip.

Shivaay didn't say anything to that and simply looked at her, before his hand almost subconsciously went to her mouth. Using his thumb, he released her bottom lip from the grip of her teeth, the touch lingering for a moment longer than necessary. Before Annika could make anything of this sudden, simple act of intimacy, there was a knock on the door. The two of them jumped a little.

"Annika, are you in there?" Annika's mother's voice called out. Without waiting for a reply, she turned the knob and opened the door. Annika frowned. Brown parents had no sense of privacy.

"Shivaay beta," Aratrika Ahuja smiled as Shivaay moved to touch her feet. "Lata told me you had come. Kaise aana hua? Annika didn't tell us you were planning to visit, or else I wouldn't have gone to the temple."

"Annika didn't know, aunty," Shivaay replied. "I actually came to congratulate her for her new job. And if you don't mind, I'd like to take her out to dinner."

What a gentleman, Annika's heart fluttered. Was this the same Shivaay who had come to her house the last time with a rishta?

"Oh, of course, I don't mind," Mrs. Ahuja said, a little too excited. "It's your time to go and enjoy yourselves!"

Annika rolled her eyes. Her mother was not one for subtlety.

"Mom, how about you and Shivaay go and chat in the living room? I'll change till then."

Mrs. Ahuja was eager to spend time with her to-be son-in-law. As it was, she barely ever got to see him, the busy man that he was. She eagerly led him to the living room, while Annika changed into a maroon midi dress for the evening. She had to almost pry her fiancé away from her mother once she got to the living room.

Shivaay took Annika to a restaurant that had opened recently – a fancy Italian place by the sea. They had a wonderful time, listening to the crashing of the waves, chatting, sipping on some chardonnay, and eating delicious pasta. Shivaay dropped her home afterward, and without hesitation, Annika placed a kiss on his cheek as he parked in front of her house. They had made enough progress in their relationship for her to take this liberty without thinking twice.

"Thank you for everything," She said earnestly. "I had a lovely time."

"As did I," Shivaay smiled. "Good luck for tomorrow. I know you're gonna nail this job."

Smiling, Annika said goodbye and went inside her house, going straight into her room. She would need to sit down and think about all that had happened in the past few hours. Her heart was so full of Shivaay, and the smile was refusing to leave her lips. Annika didn't feel like she could be any happier than this, ever.

Switching on the lights of her room, Annika as about to get her pyjamas from the wardrobe when she noticed something on her bed. It hadn't been there before she left, and curious, she walked nearer to take a closer look. It was a rectangular velvet box, and opening it, Annika gasped. Inside lay a beautiful necklace, with a diamond pendant in the shape of a crescent moon. There was a note on the bed as well, a square art paper with a beautiful hand-written note. Annika traced her thumb on the words as she read them.

Dear Annika,

Here's a small gift for you as you enter a new phase of your life. May your new job bring you success and happiness in abundance.

Yours,

Shivaay

PS I hope this pendant compliments your beautiful charm bracelet.

Annika had been wrong earlier because it turned out that she could be happier – to the point where her heart felt like it would burst.