Love knocks again - Completed

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Like any other human being, Annika had an ego. While it wasn't mountain high that makes her deny her mistake, but was molehill high to make her deny acceptance of her prejudice. And that is why she delayed repentance for judging Shivay harshly.

The very next day after she left Shivay's house fuming, with help of sleep and copious work to bring back her rationality, Annika started to wonder if she was unnecessarily rude.

She knew men, especially the ones who saw her as an easy pick because of her background and single mother status. Long ago, Annika has learned the hard way that people will change colour as they deem fit. Her loving mother who disowned her because of her one juvenile mistake and the young innocent boy she fell in love with turn into a heartless prick were good examples to make Annika believe that people are going to love and respect her only till they want it. She is not going to be constant apple of the eye no matter how much she craves for it. So, in a very humanly cynical way, Annika wouldn't put it past Shivay to insinuate what she suspected. After all he was a human, a man.

However, a small part of her still fought back with fire that Shivay couldn't steep so low. Yes, there was that 'accidental' touches, but they could have been genuinely a mistake.  

Annika no more had to pretend to at least herself that she doesn't like Shivay. She does. More than him, she liked the idea of him. He is exactly the kind of man she had dreamed about as kid for herself when she was 'old' enough, the kind of man she hoped Anurag would turn out in future, the kind of man who would give her the kind of life she wished for.

There was nothing extraordinary about Shivay. He was as human as they come. Probably, that made him more appealing. He seemed like a man who would be a loyal husband, attentive father, hardworking provider and a complete family man. He could provide the safe, cocooned domesticity that Annika craved. Above all, he saw her for who she is and accepted her for the same.

Under different circumstances, if Annika hadn't been a bratty, impulsive teenager and stuck with her mother, got good education and got a job in a MNC like Shivay and met him as a fellow colleague, they could have fallen in love like they show in TV shows. Imagining these impossible, inappropriate scenarios have become Annika's favourite pass time.

Initial shock of what Annika thought Shivay was propositioning was only soon followed by self doubts wondering if she had given him any hints of her feelings. Then her double standards glared at her for taking him to task for having feelings for her when she was sailing in the same boat. That made her realize if she was actually angry about the feelings part of how he expressed it. Eventually, she settled to debating if she had understood his words correctly. Though 'within four walls' did sound clandestine, she was not sure if Shivay meant what she feared.

All the retrospection took Annika the whole week. By the time it was Saturday, she got hang of her clouded thoughts. So, when she spotted Shivay in front of her new workplace, leaning on his car with forlorn expression, she didn't throw any tantrum before getting in his car and driving to the nearby cafe where she knew she had as much explanation to give as there is to get.

"This is only sixth for the day." Shivay laughed awkward as he emptied sugar sachet into his coffee trying his best to make light of the situation.

Annika nodded. There wasn't a smile, but there could have been a small curve of lips.

Silence between them made the sounds of their surrounding prominent unnerving both of them.

"Annika." Shivay said with finality knowing that she isn't going to make it easy for him this time by being the mature beyond her age self. "I need to apologize." He held his hands together. "I know what I am apologizing for. Poorly put words. But, Annika, I am not going to apologize for what was in my mind."