𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖚𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓 | ✓

𝔱𝔴𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔶 𝔣𝔦𝔳𝔢

Annika leaned back against the wall. She'd been let out of the strange metallic safe she'd been locked inside. She was currently in a room that was decorated lavishly with silk bedsheets, chiffon drapes and heavy chandeliers. The bedpost was designed beautifully with floral details. She reached out a hand, feeling the ridges and curves of the smooth bronze furniture.

Annika's hand had been wrapped carefully in a cast, with her wrist being at the centre. She startled, hearing a knock. "Come in," she called out timidly.

A girl popped her head inside before stepping inside with a smile and swinging the door behind her. "Aapke liye Rajkumari."

Annika's eyes widened, "What?"

The girl held out the thaal on which rested a few fabrics and some jewellery. She stammered nervously, "Erm, Raja Seth aapke liye ye saab bheje hain."

"Who's Raja Seth?" Annika asked, puzzled.

The girl shrugged, "Raja Seth."

"I got that," Annika sighed. "But who——" she exhaled slowly. "Never mind."

The girl nodded, "Do you need help Rajkumari?"

Annika shook her head with a frown. She touched the clothes and raised it one hand, neatly dropping it in surprise. "It's so damn heavy." She muttered. Shaking her head, she sighed and walked inside the bathroom, dropping the thaal in shock.

The bathroom was larger than the one in Oberoi Mansion: it was encased in a golden glow with candles in all corners alongside a metallic tub filled with water and rose petals. Annika gaped, noticing the heavy golden decorations by the sink.

Shaking her head, she bent down to pick up the clothes that had been sent for her and placed them on a slab of marble nearby before stripping down and stepping inside the shower. Being careful as to not wet the cast, she leaned back sighing as the day's events finally made her shed the tears she'd been holding in.

She'd been tired the past few weeks, trying to uncover the mystery surrounding Kalyani Mills as well as the Rathores. She'd—— in the beginning—— assumed that there had been a connection between Bhavya and the Rathores.

However, it had turned out to be between her, Gauri and the Rathores.

And then there was the matter of her husband having hidden the fact that he had found out—— from his aunt, prior to the senior Oberois admitting—— that they had indeed killed her parents in cold blood because they'd had the courage to stand up against injustice.

Annika stared up at the ceiling with was decorated with paintings of civilisations throughout the centuries from the left to the right: Greek, Roman, Ottoman, Byzantine, Mughal—— there were none that was missing.

Her vision blurred as her tears stung her eyes.

Would Shivaay have hidden the matter from her forever?

Would he have become the Great Wall of Shivaay Singh Oberoi?

Or would he have been her Shivaay? Annika's Shivaay?

Annika was growing tired of battling for a family that seemed to have no trepidations in ousting those they considered an inconvenience no matter who it was.