ℌ𝔦𝔰 ℌ𝔦𝔯𝔞𝔢𝔱𝔥

CHAPTER 4

she came home very late that day. She was exhausted was an understatement. it is not easy to manage a big fat wedding for a grumpy cat boy who doesn't have an opinion if asked but once it is done he has thousands of views. she suddenly felt bad for the event managers in the palace who have to deal with the queen in other words her grandmother the great "Ranisa".

She has a clear view of everything and wants them to be done exactly as she imagined in her head. I remember the shouting in the mornings of programs and the art of a palace that stood in its pristine beauty, in the evening light in her biased mind is more beautiful than the taj mahal.

In the mention of beauty, her thought quickly diverted to a particular blue-eyed man who still resides in her mind at every waking moment. She sighed and closed her eyes remembering his face and the hurt that flashed when she rejected the offer of a lift. she wanted to set a boundary and never cross it again

She let out a sigh and open the first few buttons of her shirt to trace her hands through the tattoo just above her heart. at times like this, she was extremely thankful for her 18-year-old self that dared to go against palace rules as his birthday present. the princess is only allowed to have the hereditary tattoo on them. but no one had seen this and it is a secret between the lovers among many others.

god!, she wishes to talk to him but they are only allowed a call per month after she broke down in front of Ranisa a month prior saying she can't handle it alone, and she already banked the offer of this month. the only positive of this is it will end in less than 2 months. As fast as shivaay is married she can go back to her home. the real one.

~

At the night shivay was in the poolside and thinking about Anika rejected his ride. for some past months, it was a clear deal with them, when she get up to go he will stand up to take her home. even if he has to lie a little bit for it. but today she said NO, she will go on an auto. he didn't let his face drop but his heart hurt. she messaged to say she reached home safely, like replying to a close person but she deleted it the next minute saying it was for someone else. she was setting a clear boundary where they spent as little time together as possible.

I think it is the first time since we met, we had this little eye contact. I hate to admit that the car ride we have was my favorite time of the day as much as my late-night talk with omru. even if she talks non-stop or played some rock Hindi songs in my car. I liked that, us-time when she can talk about anything, and I will pay attention to every single word and try my best to regain it in my memory even if I act as if I hated it. it was some minutes in my life when I could be just shivaay or SSO, not the strong wall or Mr.Oberoi.

That remembers me I officially hate sir with my every fibre of being. I always told her to call me by my name but I will gladly take even Billu instead of sir. it is not us at all, the cold sir I received today was making my mind freeze. this self wallowing was interrupted by non-other than my 2 favorite people on the earth.

"you look lost in thoughts," said the long-haired one. "just stuff about marriage," I told him. because thinking about your wedding organizer and our weird relationship is the same as the wedding ideas. Rudra as though he read my mind corrected "Thinking about anika didi doesn't comes under wedding stuff ".  yes, I officially hate him.

but I didn't rebuke him or retorted to the statement. there is an amount of time you can lie to others and yourself. it becomes exhausting after such a long time. they didn't ask any more questions but just sat there legs dipped in the pool.

after a long time, Rudra started a conversation and was not at all surprised that the topic is still Anika. "you know I was a little sad when Didi said she won't accept you even if you want to". I was sad too, but I didn't interrupt him and let him continue.

"then I thought about it a little more then I realized we were just being a lot selfish because we love you. we want the best for you, someone who would love you as Shivay just shivaay and not an Oberoi. we all know there is non better at it than anika didi".  it was the truth I accepted in my mind but never outside and the fact they also agreed made my head and heart hurt for all different reasons.

"but I never thought from her side that it is a very unprofitable deal on her side. for us, we get a loving bhabi and bhaiya gets a loving wife. but what would she get a husband who is always busy with business and a relationship which always comes second to the family along with a partner who can't even say he loves her and a family which will make her sacrifice her attitude and self-respect for the public image and don't even make me started on how choti ma will treat her because she is not worth her heera of a son. all this for what for our bhaiya to be loved and have a supporting system. it will be truly unfair to Didi and thus I came to the conclusion that lady baba will be your ideal partner if what you wanted was a trophy wife who was okay being a second choice willingly even if it's for money".

shivay was stunned by the words of his younger brother who is always playful and not ever serious. he looked at them both and decided to at least tell them half the truth "We talked after you guys left the room and she told me she liked me". omru looked at him expectantly like he will say the same about him but it never came and they looked at him like disappointed parents. he chuckled a little and told them the rest like how she didn't beat around the bush and told him directly about her crush, how she drew a line between them, and finally about her cold sir which dampened his mood a little more.

omkara the ever-understanding one just rubbed his back lightly without any suggestions and even shayaries, and that was when he realized he is also on Anika's side and is happy about the boundary. he is no more going to tell him that he loves anika and he should stop this wedding because he doesn't love Tia. even if shivay picked teeth and nails against it, it warmed his heart when they tell him he loved anika. maybe it is because they are the important people in his life and the idea that they know him well enough to know about his heart even when he denied it.

the three brothers sat there silently for a long time and even when they departed to their room they gave him a sad look and 'is always there with him' back pats as if he is a teenager and having his first heartbreak. he hated it all more when his mind took him the same route as the last few days which lead to a dream of a smiley wife and them cuddling along with his brothers beside the pool and they ganging against him calling him an old man and such.his brothers hooting when they were lost in their world. his wife had particular features that resembled a lot of his wedding organizer. what hurt more was his expression of pure happiness as if there was nowhere else he would be than beside her and share her warmth. he left the fight behind and just let himself be happy in his dreams since it is not possible in real life.