She tapped her finger nervously against her wrist. She was still in her car, waiting for the jail gates to open and her husband to emerge.

She sighed and rested her head against the seat of the car. Anika couldn't believe she'd see him after five years. Five very long years.

She looked at the hands of her wrist watch. Any moment now. She was about to get out of her car when suddenly, a hoard of reporters with cameras and mics swarmed the gates making Anika sigh. She quickly dialled a number on her phone.

Meeting him will have to be delayed. She grabbed the steering wheel, pressing her lips into a thin line.

---

She stopped at a little distance, waiting for the police constables to finally free her husband. She had asked them to take Shivaay away from the media glare secretly and release him someplace quiet. They complied, given the fact that she was an Oberoi.

She walked out of the car, leaning against it. She wondered how she'd react after seeing him for so long. More than that, she wondered how he'd react on seeing her. They had not even begun with their married life when he chose to leave. Yes, chose. Anika bit her lip to stop herself.

She didn't want to welcome him with any nagging feeling of hostility. Even if she felt like slapping him.

She sighed. The police van arrived and they dropped Shivaay off. His back faced her and Anika couldn't help but notice his slouched shoulders. She walked to him with small steps, heart thudding in her chest.

Was he expecting her? Did he want him family beside him? Would he be disappointed that she couldn't bring them for him? What about when they get to home?

Before she could reach out to him, he himself turned. Anika managed a small smile and she wondered if it even looked like a smile. Taking in his appearance, she couldn't help but flinch.

A loose checkered shirt and khaki pants, his hair sitting flat on his forhead, uncombed, his eyes having lost their light. Anika gulped the sudden lump in her throat.

He didn't even smile, only shaking his head lightly in acknowledgement. As the constables let him go, he looked around. It had been so long since he took in anything but the stinky air of the jails.

Anika side stepped, letting him catch up with her.

"Shivaay?"

"Hmm?" he was still looking around and Anika wondered if they would ever have a chance at this relationship.

"It's good to see you after so long." she said with a small smile. She couldn't help herself. This was her husband. Even if he forced her to marry him. Even if she forced him to stay married. Even if they didn't spend a single day as husband and wife. She was Anika Shivaay Singh Oberoi and she had taken care of things in his absence. It was a relationship she valued.

Shivaay turned to look at her. To be honest, he was expecting no one. Yet somewhere in his heart, he wished his brothers had come. He closed his eyes shut at the thought. All that time spent in jail, he wondered what else he could have done on that day. Could he have been selfish and let everyone know what had actually conspired? But then, the truth still was that he fired the bullet that killed Tej Simgh Oberoi. Killed his own Bade Papa and his OmRu's father. He was responsible for taking away their father's shadow from them. Depriving them of fatherly love.

A part of him whispered, what makes you think he would have given them love. He was planning to murder them Shivaay, murder.

As a hundred similar thoughts started swarming his mind, Shivaay felt his eyes closing. Suddenly this fresh sunlight seemed too blinding. He didn't deserve it. He felt his body go slack and collapsed on the road. He could hear Anika distinctly scream but all he could think of was did he really deserve being outside or did he not deserve to go to jail at all.

---

It feels so good to be writing on-track drama after almost a year. This is what BlackManiacx's fanfictions were all about before joining Wattpad.

I am open to anything that you'd like to see in this story. It's short but I am writing this for mine and hopefully everyone else's satisfaction. This will not be a ShivIka fanfic. It is something on-track like my once favourite Naam, Khoon, Khandan story. So, it will have quite some relationship dynamics.

My girls have been bearing with my rants for two nights now. Time to put the frustration to use.

Waiting for your views.