Broken Hearts and Strange Girls || Shivika AU FF

𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈

It had been two days since the walk, and Shivaay and Annika's relationship had grown less hostile. The man had actually started smiling at her! That was improvement if she said so.

On the morning of her seventh day in India, Annika received a phone call from her friend Alessandro in Italy. Alex was a work friend, and he rarely called unless it was work-related, so Annika was quick to answer.

"Hey, Alex! What's up?" she said brightly.

"Hey, Annika. Sorry, I know you're on vacation," Alex said in his thick Italian accent. "No, no, you're fine! What's up? And, isn't it 5am there?" Annika inquired.

"Well, the problem is a little big," Alex said nervously. "Problem? What problem?" Annika asked worriedly.

Alex stalled for a moment, and Annika got more concerned. "Annika, do you have your camera?"

"Alex, quit beating around the bush and tell me what happened?!" Annika said exasperatedly. "Okay, well, the flash drive that had your month's work of photos?" Annika inhaled. Oh no. "It's gone?"

Alex sighed. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Annika. Boss wants you to create an album from your trip in India. Then he'll choose the favorites and put in the travel section."

"Hm, okay. Thanks, Alex. I really appreciate it. Bye now." Annika cut the call and sighed. She was too engulfed in the misery of her situation to notice Shivaay Singh Oberoi step down the stairs dressed in a navy blue three piece suit. It was only when a passing Aishwarya gasped and dropped her plate that Annika looked up.

"Shivaay? Are you going for breakfast with a friend? If that's the case, I'll just–"

"No, Aishwarya," Shivaay interrupted. From his peripheral vision, he caught Annika looking at him up and down. He smirked lightly. "Then... where are you going?" Aishwarya asked slowly.

"To the office," Shivaay stated as it were obvious. "WHAT?!" Aishwarya and Annika shouted. Shivaay shrugged. Aishwarya beamed. "Really? Um, I'll-I'll go call Om. Stay right here! Don't change your mind" she said and rushed off to tell her husband the news. Annika stood in front of him.

"Seriously? The office? You're...going back to work?"

Shivaay grinned. "Unless you'd rather me stay right here—"

"NO! I mean, no, you should- you should go! Yeah, go to work! Go back to work!" she rambled. Shivaay smiled at the results of his decision. He probably wasn't prepared for whatever happened at work today, but these reactions of his family would definitely be treasured in a corner of his heart. Yeah, he called her family. She was family.

He meant, she was Aishwarya's sister, after all. And Aishwarya was his little brother's wife. So she was family. He smiled.

Shivaay wasn't quite sure when Annika had left the hall, but she appeared again with her DSLR case and her backpack. Aishwarya, who'd returned with a disbelief-stricken Om, looked at her sister in confusion.

"Ann? Where are you going, now?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Annika, who was setting up her camera, replied without looking up. "I have to take some pics of Mumbai. I'll probably come home for lunch, but I might not. I'll just call you."

"Annika beta? What happened to you? You look dull," Jhanvi remarked, and Shivaay looked over at her, noticing her slightly grim expression. "Nothing, Aunty. Just some work stress."

Jhanvi nodded in acknowledgment and left wordlessly, not sparing a second glance at Shivaay. Perhaps she had grown immune to him and his antics.

"Wait, Annika, where are you going?" Om asked. "Just around the city for some photos. I was thinking to hit the beach first. Maybe Clem the evil boss will appreciate the sea here."

"Juhu? That place isn't exactly white shores and clear water," Aishwarya remarked. "Hm, Aish is right," Om agreed with his wife.

"There's a beach that passes on the way to the office. I can drop her off," Shivaay piped in and everyone looked at him like he had grown horns. "Uh, yeah- yeah, I mean, I can go if you want," Om offered. Shivaay shook his head.

Eight minutes later, Shivaay and Annika were sitting in his car. Annika was struggling to fasten her seatbelt, since it was stuck. "Need some help?" Shivaay asked with a lopsided grin. "No, I can manage," Annika said. Shivaay was acting a little weird today, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Suit yourself," Shivaay said and turned the ignition. He watched as Annika grunted as she pulled at the seatbelt. "You're going to yank it off the car, woman," Shivaay exclaimed. Annika sighed, exhausted. Today was just not her day.

It was then that Shivaay leaned in slowly and tugged at the seatbelt gently. Wrapping it around her body, he grinned to himself as she inhaled sharply. What seemed like an hour later, he sat back in his chair and Annika exhaled.

"One would assume that someone like you would understand that you don't always have to pull hard at something to achieve it," Shivaay chuckled.

Annika muttered something inaudible under her breath as Shivaay pulled the car out of the garage.

"So, why do you need pictures of the city? I thought you were on vacation."

"My flash drive was erased," Annika grumbled. Losing her photos put her in a terrible mood. "What I can't wrap my head around is how my work disappeared! I remember four hours before I left, my flash drives were all on my desk. I had two to pack along, and the rest were to stay. Then I left," Annika stated. "Before leaving, though, I locked the house up. The only two people who have keys to my place are Enrico and..."

Annika looked up in realization. She fished her phone out of her backpack and angrily opened her contacts list. She looked over at Shivaay. "I am about to make a, somewhat, personal phone call. Excuse me for whatever profanities I may scream in a moment."

Before Shivaay could question her, she already dialed a number and threw the phone against her ear. A voice groggily answered. "Hello?"

"LUNA FRAZIER, I'm flying back to Italy and slapping you red!" Annika screamed, ignoring Shivaay's jaw, which had dropped to the floor. Annika Keerthi Bhattacharya could lose her temper? Shocker for sure.

"Oh, damn it, what'd I do now?" Luna asked from the other end.

"WHAT'D YOU DO?! WHAT DID YOU DO? You killed my hundredth first impression to my evil boss, potentially lost me my job, and ruined my life!" Annika cried over-dramatically.

"How did you find out?" Luna asked, and Annika could hear her wince.

"Alex told me this morning," Annika frowned.

"Ah, curse that man. I hate him with all I own," Luna vented.

"I haven't got time for your hate to love story! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FLASH DRIVE?!"

"Firstly, ew no. Secondly, I didn't know it was yours!"

"HOW DID YOU NOT?! It was blue, my favorite color," Shivaay raised his eyebrows interestedly, "and more importantly, IT HAD MY NAME ON IT!"

"You know I'm half-blind without my glasses!"

"They are practically attached to your face all day, Luna. I find it hard to believe that you forgot them the one day I wasn't home. Tell me the truth, you were drunk, weren't you?"

"No," Luna dragged.

"Luna, I know you better than yourself! You never come home unless you're drunk."

"Okay, fine. I was a little drunk last night and roaming around to find the bedroom when I knocked into a table and heard something fall. I got scared, and so I stepped on it. In hindsight, that was probably your desk that I knocked into and your flash drive I stepped on."

"Oh, you are the worst best friend I could ever have," Annika groaned. Shivaay chuckled.

After all, he had just witnessed a side of Annika he would have otherwise never correlated with her.