The Dating Charade ✔️

Chapter-29

I won't lie, this was sort of written in a hurry since I wanted to give y'all an update today. Apologies in advance cuz I won't be able to update for the next 3 or 4 days- going on a school trip tomorrow (which I'm HELLA excited for!) and will be back Friday night. Anyway, hope you guys like this, and please excuse the hastily finished off scenes though I usually like giving details.

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Entering the beautiful sea-lounge restaurant hand in hand, Shivaay and Annika looked around for their friends. Although of course, Shivaay refused to consider Sidhhart Vikram Rana as a friend.

"What do you have against him, anyway?" Annika asked him, amused. Shivaay shrugged.

"I just think he's very high-headed," he said, and Annika snorted at the irony of it. Shivaay raised his eyebrows at her at that, and she shook her head.

"There they are!" Annika exclaimed as she spotted Mallika and Sidhhart, waving towards them. Approaching the table of four, Annika gave Mallika a tight hug.

"You look SO hot, Annika!" Mallika complimented, taking a good look at her, "you're a lucky man, Shivaay!" She said, turning towards him. Shivaay smiled and intertwined his fingers with Annika, looking at her lovingly.

"I am." He said, making her shy away.

They took their seats, and Mallika instantly demanded to know how they had finally stopped fighting long enough to confess their feelings for each other. Shivaay and Annika shared a look, and he squeezed her hand beneath the table, knowing how hesitant she was about lying like this.

"Oh well," it was Shivaay who started, "let's just say I finally realized what a beautiful person I had beside me, inside out. It did take quite a bit of time to persuade her, but how could she possible resist my charm." Mallika giggled at that, while Annika rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, don't get too high-headed," She said with a smirk, "I only said yes because I felt bad about your ridiculous acts. Warna toh I would have never said yes." She said with full on attitude.

"Really?" Shivaay asked, raising an eyebrow in a challenging way, "and why is that?"

"Because," Annika started, "you, are a tadibaaz kanji aankhonwaala baggad billa!" She practically yelled the last part into his face. Shivaay's nostrils flared in anger.

"Don't call me that, you Paanika!" Annika gaped at him, outraged to have her name ruined. Both of them had all but forgotten about the two audience they had, who were seeing their exchange with baffled looks.

"I told you," Mallika whispered to her husband, " they always keep fighting. Can't believe it hasn't changed even after they're together!"

"Should we stop them?" Siddhart asked as the two of them got into a full on verbal fight, that had somehow escalated to who showed more tadi (what did that even mean, the poor guy could only wonder) in just a matter of seconds.

Nodding, Mallika gave a loud cough to attract their attention, but to no avail. Desperate, she shook the table, hard, making them finally stop and look up.

"What?" They both asked, annoyed at having being interrupted.

"What?!" Mallika asked, incredulously, "we should be asking you that! We're here to hang out, guys, but you're too busy fighting! Nothing has changed with you too has it?" She asked, shaking her head like she was disappointed in her children. Shivaay and Annika bit their tongue, realizing they had gotten a bit carried away.

"A lot has changed, actually," Shivaay said as he draped an arm around Annika's chair, "for example, I can now do this without any inhibition." Saying so, he leaned in and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek, and Annika had to try hard not to blush like crazy, while the other couple awed.