The awards was nothing like how Annika had imagined. It was way more grandeur and prestigious. She had expected it to be like in the TV, but it was way better than everything that she had watched her entire life. The entire banquet hall was screaming out posh and lavishness at each and every corner. They were guided by an usher to their designated seats. The Oberois had a special place for them. Even the Trivedis has attended this kind of award shows, but the privilege that the Oberois were receiving was par the best that the Trivedis had ever received. Now she knew why the Oberois were considered to be nothing less than the royals in the business industry. Yet, each and every member of the family were so down to Earth and humble.

"Nervous?" Shivaay whispered to her as they began the ceremony.

"A little!" She whispered back to him with a nervous smile.

"I'm with you!" He assured her as he took her hand into his, lacing their fingers together.

And that evening, the big win belonged to the Oberois! They had won in almost every category that they were nominated. Annika had gotten the most-promising new face in industry. Shivaay, as usual, won the best businessman award of the year for three consecutive years now! And it wasn't a surprise when Shivaay and Annika won the most powerful couple in the industry that year. To their surprise, there was even a best dressed award given for the attendees which was also taken by Shivaay and Annika. They only missed several award categories where they weren't nominated. Soon, after the award ceremony was over, Rudy was jumping in excitement that he needs a proper picture of his Bhaiyaa and Bhabhi with all the awards they had swept that night. Since they only had a few, Priyanka gave them all the trophies that the Oberois won and made them pose for the camera. While Annika stood with four trophies in her hand with a wide smile, Shivaay held three in his hands and had kept his right hand over Annika's shoulder upon the twins' insistence.

Soon after, the after awards party was begun. Jhanvi insisted the younger Oberois to have some fun while she and Tej leave with all their winning trophies. Shivaay and Annika entered the party area a while later after sending off Tej and Jhanvi. They were greeted and complimented by almost everyone there. Finally, when they got off the crowd, Shivaay asked Annika for a dance. Much to his delight, as soon as they went to the dance floor, the song was changed from a fast track one to the most romantic song of the year, Perfect by Ed Sheeran.

I found a love for me
Darling just dive right in
And follow my lead
Well I found a girl, beautiful and sweet
I never knew you were the someone waiting for me
'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love
Not knowing what it was
I will not give you up this time
But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own
And in your eyes you're holding mine 

"You know, this song is so perfect for us!" Shivaay whispered into her ear as he pulled her closer into him by her waist. 

"True, but, I am supposed to be the one singing this for you!" Annika replied back as she rested her head on his chest.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When you said you looked a mess,
I whispered underneath my breath
But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight 

"Well, I suppose the lyrics won't agree to you!" Shivaay giggled as he twirled her around and made a fall and dip, joining their forehead together as he made her stand straight again.

Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know
She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home
I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets
To carry love, to carry children of our own
We are still kids, but we're so in love
Fighting against all odds I know we'll be alright this time
Darling, just hold my hand
Be my girl, I'll be your man
I see my future in your eyes 

Annika blushed upon listening to the lyrics as they swayed to the music. She was now having her back facing him and both her hands were held by him in a crossed manner. She could feel his breath fanning against her nape which added more hue to her red cheeks.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight 

"This can be our song now!" He twirled her around yet again, but didn't stop with just one. He went on twirling her and she giggled with him.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
I have faith in what I see
Now I know I have met an angel in person
And she looks perfect 

I don't deserve this 

You look perfect tonight

Dipping her almost close to the ground this time, Shivaay pulled her back with him as he got up, crashing her gently onto his torsoe. She blushed yet again. He sang along the last verses of the song. 

"Now I know I have met an angel in person, And she looks perfect! I don't deserve this, You look perfect tonight!" 

Completing the last verse of the song, Shivaay placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, making all the others there go 'aww'. The couple of attraction, on the other hand, were too lost in each other to be realizing what was going on. Shivaay couldn't take his hands off from her while Annika couldn't take her eyes from him. They continued dancing for the next songs in the same manner, with little conversations going on between them, which only they are aware of. 

"Priyanka, get ready, we will be promoted to Chachu and Bua by the end of this year!" Rudra exclaimed as the twins watched the couple dancing together. 

"Rudy, I know that you are very excited, but keep your nerves calm. Bhaiya and Bhabhi are taking it slow and besides, look at how cute they are! Don't go around saying these kind of things around them and make it awkward for them! You get that?" Priyanka warned Rudra.

"You're such a spoilsport Priyanka!" Rudy chided.

"Hey, by the way, Bhaiya and Bhabhi haven't gone to their honeymoon yet, if you realized." Rudy added.

"Finally! Finally, you said something sensible Rudy Boy! I'll hint that to Mummy and Papa. I'm sure they will know what to do." 

"Yeah, whatever! I was thinking to book tickets for them! Where shall we book? What about London? Or Paris? Or Rome?" Rudra had to keep his mouth shut as Priyanka had smacked him on his stomach hard.

"Bhaiya and Bhabhi will decide the location. They will know where to go and when to go! We will just stick to my plan, okay? Don't behave like a Dumb Oberoi!" Priyanka stated sternly and that made Rudra to just comply to her.

Once they were home after the awards, everyone left to their respective room to retire for the night. Shivaay went to get refreshed first while Annika was removing the make-up on her face. When he was out, he was surprised to see Annika being in the same evening dress. She had't changed into something more comfortable. She was sitting by the edge of the bed and she was upset. On of the trophies from that night was in her clutches.

"Annika? Is there anything?" Shivaay asked as he settled down next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. 

"I miss my mother!" She turned to look at him with teary eyes.

"What?" 

"I miss my mother!" She fell on his chest and began to sob lightly. Shivaay was puzzled at her sudden change of mood and rubbed her arms as he kissed her hairline to calm her down. Why was she even missing people who don't care about her?

"You know Shivaay, my mother would have been so proud of me today! She's the only one who had always stayed by my side and supported me through everything. I was such an idiot, Shivaay! I was so angry at her for letting me into the marriage without talking to me that I had stopped talking to her after our marriage. I am so stupid!" Annika sobbed harder as she held onto Shivaay's waist and shoulder.

"Okay, shush! We will go meet her tomorrow, okay?We will show her your trophy and ask for apology, okay? You just relax now! And please stop crying." Shivaay pleaded while rubbing off the tears from her face.

"I can't see you cry Annika. It hurts!" Shivaay spoke his heart out at last when she kept crying even despite his assurance.

Annika immediately stopped crying and turned to look at him shocked. She remembered something that Dadi was telling her.

"You will be hurt, but he will also be feeling the pain!" 

Shivaay was also feeling the pain of her heart ache. She could see it through the tears that brimmed in his eyes. A long tear dropped from her eye as she realized that they were actually in love with each other. What else could the tear in his eyes could mean? She watch, scratch that, she admired the way he wiped the tears off her face and planting a kiss on her forehead, as if she was in a trance. His trance.

"We will go meet your mother tomorrow, okay?" He cupped her face and planted another kiss on her hairline as he pulled her into him. Annika hugged him back loosely. She was still in a debate with her mind. 

"Go and freshen up." Shivaay urged her after a little while. She got up and went to the bathroom, all the while keeping her gaze fixed on him. She had become like a order-obeying doll. As she was taking longer time than usual in the bathroom, Shivaay decided to check on her. With much hesitation, he finally knocked on the bathroom door. When he heard no reply from her, he announced that he was coming in and still there was no response from her. Fearing that she might have fainted, Shivaay immediately opened the door, only to find her looking aloof in front of the mirror.

"Annika? What happened?" Shivaay panicked. She was never like this before. Even on their wedding night, she was still composed and had a self-control. What had happened to her?

"I don't know. I'm just feeling so lost and overwhelmed with feelings. This is all too much to take for me! I'm so so happy but I feel sad also! I just don't know what's happening to me!" She shook her head and turned around to look at him. He was rather confused than worried now. Her talks weren't making sense and even she realized it. 

"I think I need to sleep. Maybe it's because I'm too tired!" Annika concluded herself.

"I think so too!" Shivaay agreed and was about to leave the bathroom when Annika held his wrist.

"I... err... I'll be needing your help to unbutton the dress." She muttered under her breath as she turned around and showed the buttons behind her dress.

Shivaay nodded and moved his fingers to her buttons. Annika looked at him through the mirror. He had kept his eyes fixed on the buttons and tried to stay focused on it. He opened them one by one from the top to the bottom. His fingers brushed her bare skin every now and then. Her skin burned at every single accidental gentle brush of his skin. It was burning yet it was so soothing at the same time. Annika had a hard time to keep her breathing steady while Shivaay tried not to do anything else that will create a discomfort between them. After unbuttoning it all, Shivaay gave a nod to her through the mirror and walked outside.

That night, for the very first time after their marriage, Shivaay and Annika didn't cuddle to sleep. Shivaay had already slept off by the time Annika came into the room. She sat next to him and caressed his hair carefully, not to wake him up and kept watching him sleep. The calmness on his face was so serene to her. It surprisingly brought peace to her cluttered mind.Was it really love? She wondered. Love was something so alien to her that when it is finally happening, she just can't seem to believe it. 

The next morning, being true to his words, Shivaay brought Annika to meet her mother in her house. Aruna was very much delighted to find her daughter at her doorstep unannounced like that. She immediately engulfed her only daughter in her embrace tightly. The mother-daughter duo had a very teary reunion while Shivaay just watched them from a distance. He didn't want to ruin their moment. Luckily for them, the rest of the Trivedi family members were away for some reason, thus giving them the much needed privacy.

"Shivaay looks after you well, right?" Aruna asked her daughter as she caressed her hair.

"He looks after me very well, Mumma! In fact, it was him who encouraged me to join Oberoi Industry and taught me everything. He guided me at every step Mumma. He made me believe in myself again. I can say for sure that if there's someone happier than me upon receiving this award, then it would be him. He is such a person Mumma!" Annika began talking to her mother animatedly about how Shivaay looked after her all this while. She even told her how understanding and how supportive the whole family is. She had apologized to her mother for not having contact with her after the wedding. 

"I knew that the Oberois are very nice people and you deserve to be there with them! In fact, when their alliance came in for Gauri's hand, I had wished that you should also get an alliance like the Oberois!Then, when Gauri told everyone about Om and her pregnancy, and Jhanvi Ji ordered that one of the Trivedi girls must take her place, I immediately knew that it would be you. Your Papa and I decided to keep our mouth shut because we knew that Shivaay would be the best person we can hand our princess over to. I'm so sorry that we had kept mum during your wedding. We just thought that you might change your mind if we had asked or said something to you. We were just being the selfish parent. I had wanted to inform you about this during your pagphere, but things weren't that well that time. Plus, the whole family was here so I didn't dare. Sorry beta!" Aruna explained everything to Annika. 

She hardly could believe her ears. The new revelations about her parents shook her reality. She thought her parents didn't care about her, but, it turned out to be the other way around. They kept mum because they cared. They had always cared for her. They had thought of her future. Guilt panged her heart badly. She broke into tears as she hugged her mother and cried like she never did before. Shivaay who was watching them from a distance rushed to Annika's side. 

"Annika, are you okay?" He asked, all worried. 

Aruna smiled softly to him and nodded her head as she calmed Annika down by rubbing her back. She got the answer to that one question that was in her mind from the beginning. Does Shivaay loves her daughter? His worry and concern for her clearly reflected how much of love he has for her. Now, she only wishes that they would remain happy and together after this. 

"I've never felt better Shivaay!" Annika sniffed in as she broke away from her mothers embrace and gave him a big smile.

"Yeah, with all those crying and all, I'm supposed to know it, right?" He questioned to which Annika just grinned as a reply.

"Mumma, she had been crying from last night, you know! She was missing you a lot!" Shivaay informed Aruna once Annika was away, declaring that she would be making lunch for them that day, much to Aruna's surprise. 

"She is like that! A bit crazy and still childish. I was totally worried about her but still I had faith in you and your family. Your mother informed me about how Annika was doing from time to time. That was the only relief I had!"

"Thank you for trusting us, Mumma! If you don't mind me asking, why is it that the rest of the family is different from you?"

"Not just me, but Annika's father is also different from their family. And then, there's Gauri and also Saumya! We are different because we were exposed to the modern world more. Harsh did his education in a boarding school and then post graduation and all abroad. He was against the way his family are, but some people and some things just can't be changed Beta! No matter how hard we try, it will only meet dead-end. So, we decided to raise the girls of the family to be bold and strong. Since the girls weren't much liked in their family, bringing Saumya and Gauri to us was easy. Those three grew up more like best friends than siblings. Still, Annika was slightly reserved. She obeyed to everything that everyone says. Gauri was born rebellious while Saumya, she's smart. She knows when to say yes and when to say no. We had lived away from the Trivedi family but the influence was always on us. It is what it is and we had accepted it!" Aruna explained to Shivaay.

"By the way, I had forgot to ask, how is Gauri? Have you been in touch with her? Annika talks about her all the time and even tried to contact her once or twice but she was unreachable! Saumya studies with Rudra and Priyanka. She visits our house every now and then. But Gauri, no trace of her at all!" Shivaay informed her.

"She's fine, Beta! I don't have her contact number but she calls me once in a while to keep me updated. She had asked me to apologize to you and your family too!" 

"That's okay Mumma. Besides, I'm glad with whom I have married and I think she's glad too!"

"She's never been happier!" Aruna stated as they both looked at how Annika was arranging the dishes on the dining table.

* * *

To be continued...