An Aesthetic Love: A Collection Of Shivika Short Stories

18| a connection of hearts.

"you were such a great host, Shivaay. Thank you so much."

"It was a pleasure hosting you, Mr. Malhotra." Shivaay shakes hands with the guest, "so the deal is finalised?"

"Sure. But I guess it would be even better if...." Mr. Malhotra extends, and Shivaay looks at him directly.

"If?" He asks him. This deal matters a lot to Shivaay. He is ready to do anything to make Mr. Malhotra agree to it.

"Actually my daughter's wedding is in one week. And I know this is a really short notice, but I was wondering if your lovely wife - the biggest and the most efficient event planner of the country- could help plan it...." He looks at Shivaay with hope in his eyes.

Shivaay looks at Annika, who was standing beside him.
"Annika?" He questions, asking her affirmation, while Annika looks at the guest with a smile, flattered at the appreciation she received from him.

"I would love to, Mr. Malhotra. In fact, I will be privileged at getting a chance to render my services to you and your family." She tells him with a smile, while Shivaay looks on, a proud smile on his face.

"My daughter and her fiancé would be here anytime..." He hasn't even finished when the couple appears at the gates of the Oberoi Mansion.

"Oh. They're here." He says, and Shivika look ahead at them with bright smiles, only for them to be faded away as the couple approaches them, cunning smirks on both their faces. This is not going to be good.

"Here, Shivaay and Annika. Meet my daughter, Ragini Malhotra, and her fiancé, Daksh Khurana.

Shivika look at each other. Its crazy how life is. They'd never thought they would be seeing these two creatures again.
Yet, here they were.

Shivaay was more concerned about Annika. She had just agreed to organise their wedding, and it was not gonna be easy for her to be her normal self or work like one with Daksh Khurana, her haunted past, around her.

Annika, on the other hand, was thinking about both of them. Daksh and Ragini are a huge risk, and she knows it.
What she also knows, though, is how much this deal matters to Shivaay. Her backing out from this event management project could also hold negative consequences for Shivaay, and there is no way she is going to let that happen.

She walks forward to the two new people in the house, and forwards her hand to Daksh, which he connects with immediately.

"Hello, Mr. Khurana. Its nice to meet you." She tells him, and he would be lying if he says he was not taken aback.

"Hi, Annika." He replies, that wicked smirk still on his face.
"Mrs. Oberoi." She says, looking directly at him, and a smile appears on her face automatically, looking at his reaction. Shivaay would be proud.

"Congratulations on your wedding. You have a lovely fiancée, I must say. I am honoured to be the one organising it." She has just stepped back from talking to an evidently shocked Daksh, when Shivaay decides to follow suit.

"Hello, Miss Malhotra." He says, shaking hands with Ragini, and Annika smiles. She knew where he was going to take this.

And Ragini knew she was bound to have the same fate as Daksh did with Annika just now - but she was here with a mission, and she could not be getting out of character for a random, not-so-needed formal introduction.

"Hi, Shivaay," she says in her flirty voice.
"Congratulations on your wedding. Daksh is a lucky guy, indeed," he says with a charming smile.