Broken Hearts and Strange Girls || Shivika AU FF

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Shivaay smiled as his eyes read the message off the screen.

Aishwarya: Ann says thank you, I think you found her the perfect place

Shivaay: Tell her that it's no problem.

His first day back was about as uncomfortable as sitting on a pine cone the entire day. Everyone was staring at him, and even walking into his cabin attracted unwanted attention. However, hearing that Annika was happy with the place he'd found her gave him a sense of comfort.

His phone pinged again, and his eyes darted back to his phone screen immediately.

Aishwarya: Ann says that she will be sure to send you all the pictures she takes there.

Shivaay: I'm looking forward to it.

Aishwarya: Got it. Anything else, or can I get back to babysitting my son?

Shivaay: Yeah, that's good.

A few moments later, Shivaay got a response from Aishwarya who was rather tired of filling in as the messenger between himself and Annika.

Aishwarya: Ann is asking if you'll pick her up later or if she gets to take a rickshaw.

Shivaay: Of course, I'll pick her up. I mean, I dropped her off, right?

Aishwarya: Mm, okay. She says that sounds good, and asks what time you're picking her up.

Shivaay: I think I'll be free by 6pm

Aishwarya: OKAY, I'M DONE. I'M NOT TALKING TO HER FOR YOU ANYMORE. TAKE HER FLIPPING NUMBER AND TELL HER YOURSELF!

With that, impatient Aishwarya sent Shivaay Annika's contact information, which he quickly saved. His fingers slipped on the contact picture, which was when he realized that he had no pictures of her at all. It wasn't a surprise, though, since he had barely known her for a week.

But he quietly reminded himself to fix that later.

His phone pinged again, but this time, it wasn't Aishwarya.

Annika: Hi, Shivaay! It's Annika. Aishu gave me ur number.

Shivaay: Yeah, same here. Except she didn't give me my number, haha.

Annika: lols. I was wondering what time you can pick me up?

Shivaay: 6pm, if that works for you?

Annika: Totally! Sys!

Shivaay: Sys

From the cabin across the hall, Omkara Singh Oberoi caught his brother from the corner of his eye. Shivaay was smiling to himself? Something was up.

At exactly 6 pm, Shivaay rolled into the parking lot of the beach. He was about to text Annika to tell her he was there, but he got a little curious. Annika had been there for almost five hours, without getting bored? What exactly was so interesting about that beach that it had managed to entertain that eccentric young woman?

So, Shivaay hopped out of the car and made his way to the boardwalk. Compared to the beach Annika had dragged him to for ice cream, it was less crowded. For a germophobe like Shivaay Singh Oberoi, this was definitely a plus point.

Since there weren't many people at the beach, his gaze quickly found his target. Annika was standing with her camera in her hands, her windswept hair in her eyes, and she was talking to someone, who had their back faced to him. He knew it was a woman, and she seemed to be carrying a little girl, who seemed to be one or two years younger than Adi. Annika was laughing at the little girl, similar to how she'd laugh at her nephew.

Shivaay was about to approach Annika and her newfound friend when a passing ice-cream vendor called out. Thinking to buy some for Annika, Shivaay turned and waved at the vendor.

"Kya loge, bhaisahab?" the vendor asked.

"Uh, one cookie dough?" Shivaay asked, pulling out his wallet. The fact that he'd remembered surprised him. He didn't often pay attention to such small details.

When Shivaay had retrieved the ice cream, he approached Annika. "Hey, I brought you some—" Shivaay started, when Annika's companion turned around and he saw her.

"Mallika?"