𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖉

𝔢𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱

Shivaay tapped his foot impatiently as he watched the newly appointed PA struggle to organise the papers properly. Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, he breathed in slowly, before stalking forward and clearing his throat.

"Mamta," he arched an eyebrow as the woman in front of him dropped all the papers onto the floor. "Will I get the papers today, or shall I have to wait for a week more?"

"S-s-s-sorry Shivaay S-S-Sir," Mamta mumbled nervously.

Shivaay exhaled slowly, tamping down his frustration. He'd never met someone so nervous and someone who stammered so much, except for—— Shivaay swallowed—— Mamta reminded him of Priyanka.

"Just bring them to me, once you're done," Shivaay turned on his heels and walked away, leaving behind a bewildered Mamta who tried to figure out what made her boss go from scary to detached, in the blink of an eye.

Shivaay shut the door of his cabin, walking forward to the windows and resting his hand against the railing. He breathed in deeply, glancing at the busy roads of Goa and its inhabitants below.

Shivaay hadn't thought about his sister in quite a while—— Priyanka hadn't contacted them in quite a while and they hadn't caught up with her either.

Ever since Priyanka had left—— after his mother had blackmailed Annika into leaving him for three months, and he had struggled to open his heart again; after Annika had carried on with the sham of marriage functions with Vikram; after he'd found out about Pinky; after he'd married a second time; after he'd been blackmailed into announcing someone else as his wife once more; after which he'd become entangled in the mess that was Kalyani Mills—— he'd gotten so wrapped up in the troubles plaguing himself and the rest of the family, he had completely forgotten to check up on her.

Shivaay swallowed the guilt—— he'd always promised to look after his brothers and sister—— and he'd ended up failing on both fronts.

He had been blackmailed into transferring everything that had belonged to Omkara and Rudra to Svetlana—— a woman the two loathed immensely, given her history with their father.

He had named all his assets in their name—— everything under the Oberoi title which belonged to him—— his thumb hovered over the familiar number, before he swallowed and shut off his cellphone.

He couldn't bear to call either one of them—— he hadn't picked up Rudra's calls in weeks, and neither had he informed Omkara about what had happened.

Shivaay sighed, blinking back the tears, forcing himself to return to the detached zone that he'd always turned to—— the metaphorical and psychological place which had been drilled into his head since he had been a child—— forced to take care of every single emotional need of his brothers and sister.

The guilt was starting to take a toll on him.

꧁꧂

Annika moved the fork through the rice and paneer on the plate, playing around with her food as she stared off into the distance. She'd heated up leftovers from the night before and despite the fragrance of one of her favourite dishes wafting through the air, she didn't feel hungry—— at all!

Aastha's words rang in her mind—— what do you do home, all day?

Annika smiled bitterly—— not counting the fact that she didn't do anything in Goa, since she'd never lived here before—— she'd become a tool and a collateral for the Oberoi family—— someone whose skills were to be utilised when they needed her and then someone to be discarded once she'd fulfilled her purpose.