More Than Meets the Eye (An Ishqbaaz FF) ||✔||

3.

The moment Shivaay got in his car, he drove as fast as he could to get away from the dreadful scene. He ended up reaching the hill he often drove to when he was separated from Anika. Once he found a safe spot to park his car, he undid his seatbelt and gripped the steering wheel. A sob escaped his mouth, then another and another before he put his head on the steering wheel and cried out loud. The feelings he had suppressed throughout the day and years burst out of his heart.

A few minutes later, he got a call. He wiped his eyes to see the caller ID. "Anika". He face-palmed as he realized that he abruptly left with a stupid excuse and declined her calls several times. He wiped his face and cleared his throat before receiving the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Shivaay! Kya hua? Aap mere phone kyoon nahi utha rahe? Kahaan hain aap? Kaunsi meeting aa padi thi aapki aur woh bhi kiske saath ki aap phur se bhaag chale aur mera call bhi nahi utha rahe the? Meri jaan nikli jaa rahi thi yahaan pe, OmRu tak ko kuch nahi pata. Aap kahaan chale gaye itni raat ko aur ab tak waapis kyoon nahi aaye?"

"An...Anika, m...main bilkul th...theek hoon. A..aa jaaoonga." Shivaay answered but his voice broke.

"Shivaay, aap sach mein theek hain na?" Anika asked worriedly.

"H...haan, main thee...theek hi hoon Anika. Mujhe kya hoga?"

"Jhooth. Aap pareshaan hain par mujhe bata nahi rahe."

"Main jhoot kyoon..."

"Aapke shabd jhooth bol sakte hain, aapki awaaz nahi. Bataiye kya baat hain?"

"Mujhse kahaan galti ho gayi, Anika? Main jinke liye ladta raha, unhone mujhse itni badi baat chhupaayi. Jinke liye maine apni jaan laga di aur woh... I feel.. feel so... stupid. Main itna bada bewakoof kaise ban gaya Anika?" Shivaay broke down.

"Shivaay, kya hua? Kisne kaha aap se yeh sab? Kisne aapko itna bura mehsoos karaya?"

Shivaay couldn't answer her, he just chocked back a sob.

"Un angrez clients ne kuch kaha kya? Ya kisi aur ne? Shivaay, main bol rahi  hoon, mujhe bas naam batayiye un kutte-kameeno. Kasam hain mujhe aloo-puri ki, agar maine unhe sahi se set nahi kar diya toh mera naam bhi Anika nahi!" Anika roared.

Shivaay couldn't help but let out a stifled laugh. "Anika, kisi ko set karne ki zaroorat nahi hain."

"Toh aap mujhe seedhe-seedhe batayiye ki hua kya. Meeting mein kuch hua ka?"

"Haan, woh cl...clients... clients... you know, is deal ko seal karne ke liye, is project pe maine bahot mehnat ki thi. Unhe ko bahot chase kiya, bahot fight kiya unke liye. I trusted them, maine unpar bharosa kiya par unhone... unhone mujhe dhokhe mein rakkha, they lied to me aur main bewakoofon ki tarah maan gaya."

"Shivaay, aap apne saath itni sakhti mat kijiye. Unhone dhokha diya toh kasoor unka hain, aapka nahi."

"Baat sirf meri nahi hain Anika. Baat un hazaaron maasoom logon ki bhi hain jihone apne khoon-paseena baha kar is project ke liye mehnat ki thi. Unhone apna trust mujh mein daala tha bu...but I failed them. Main unhe apne... cl..clients ki schemes se nahi bacha paya." 

"Shivaay, aap apne karm dekhiye. Aapne aaj tak jo bhi kiya woh doosron ki bhalayi ke liye aur imaandaari se kiya. Ab agar koi aur usme chaalbaazi karta hain toh isme aapki galti nahi hain na. Is liye please apne aap ko dosh mat dijiye. Aur rahi baat aapke employees ki toh meri baat maaniye, main aapki employee reh chuki hoon; ek galti ki wajah se unka bharosa aap mein nahi tootega. Hum jaante hain aap kabhi kuch galat nahi kar sakte aur kuch galat ho bhi gaya toh aap use sahi kar denge. Jinke naam ke jaap saari mushkilein har jaaye, aapka toh naam hi unpar rakkha gaya hain. Shivaay. *after a pause* Aapko yaad hain, aapne kaha thi ki main aapki taqat hoon? Chaahe duniye idhar ki kyoon na ho jaaye, aapki taqat, aapki yeh Anika aapka saath kabhi nahi chhodegi."

Shivaay smiled. "I know. Jab tak tum mere saath ho, aisi koi problem nahi hain jisse main deal nahi kar sakta."

"Ah ha ha! Yeh hui na mere Shivaay jaisi baat. Waise toh mere dimaag aapki tarah business wala hain nahi, *in KRR accent* likin kahe dete hain patidev, aapko koi troubling kiya toh kaan pe sitaar baja denge, mummy kasham."

"Please, no! This accent has traumatized me." Shivaay said dramatically in between his chuckles. "Tum soyi nahi abhi tak?" 

"Woh kya hain ki mere pati Mr India ban gaye the. Unse inspiration le ke meri neend bhi ud gayi." Anika said sarcastically.

"Anika, tum please so jao, mujhe aane mein der ho sakti hain."

"Aap apni car mein hain?"

"Haan."

"Glovebox kholiye."

Shivaay did as instructed. 

"Mujhe pata hain aap pareshani mein khaana aur dawai khaana bhool gaye hongo. Aur yeh jo phaila hua raita hain, use sametne se pehle aap shaant baithenge nahi. Aur aapke woh dhool wali allergy ke kaarnaame ke baad toh main aapki dawaiyaan ka extra set Champa aur Chikni mein bhi rakhti hoon. Glovebox mein paani ki bottle, aapki dawaiyaan aur woh aapki firangi chikki rakkhi hain. Kha lijiyega."

"Firangi chikki...? ...It's a granola bar Anika!" 

"Ek hi baat hain. Chup-chaap khaa lijiyega."

"Okay, your highness. Raat bahot ho chuki hain, tum so jao."

"Achha theek hain. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Shivaay ended the call and a smile crept up on his lips. Anika always managed to pull him out of the deepest, darkest pits. He grabbed the bar of "firangi chikki" and while eating it, called Khanna. 

"Khanna, KM ke foreman, Harsh Vardhan Trivedi se related mujhe saari information. Professional, personal, medical, geographical, everything." 

Harsh Vardhan Trivedi. The person related to KM and also Anika. The destruction of the love of his life was hanging over Shivaay's neck like a sword and he needed to know everything about the man as soon as possible.

The next morning, Shivaay reached the address he got from Harsh Vardhan Trivedi's employee record. It was old house covered in cobwebs, indicating no one lived there anymore. He put on a mask to protect himself from the dust and went inside. He saw pictures of a family, objects with names given and audio cassettes of "Papa, Chutki aur mere kissey". Shivaay heard the cassettes extremely carefully, examined every nook and corner of the house and even called up Tia to confirm his suspicions.
It was confirmed. Harsh Vardhan Trivedi was Anika's father. The man who was suspected to be the witness or culprit is his late father-in-law.

Shivaay didn't know what do himself after learning this piece of information. It had to be some sort of a sick joke. He berated Anika countless times for not having a her family and his family was the reason she lived a miserable childhood and longed for a family. But if her father was indeed the culprit, Anika would break down so will their marriage. He could neither tell her the truth nor he could keep it from her.

After consulting with OmRu, Shivaay decided on telling Anika about her father, but not his connection with KM. Anika didn't remember most of her childhood but if she was to be reminded, it should be the good memories only. She deserved them and it was high time she got them. 

Shivaay took Anika to her old house. There, he witnessed her take in every little detail of the place and recollect the memories. He felt immense pride in calling her "Anika Vardhan Trivedi" and hearing tales of childhood, the happy and good ones. However, he heart broke when she asked about her father and he had to break it to her that he was gone. Her cries made him want to cry as well but he didn't. Today, she had found her past, her identity and her life. This was her moment, her day and he wasn't about to ruin it. They spent the rest of the time celebrating "Anika Vardhan Trivedi's" birthday with lots of love and and some tadi. 

However, their happiness was cut short when Roop called him and asked him to meet her. He asked Anika to pack her things, then he would drop her home so she can go through them as he had to leave for an important meeting. Shivaay was glad Anika bought the lie without much protest (which wasn't completely a lie, according to him.) 

He reached the location Roop had asked him. What she told him next made the ground slip from under his feet.