Chapter 1- When They Met
"Maa..mere phone ka charger", she shouted as she reached the last step down.
"Laa rahi hoon...tu jaldi se parathe khaa!" Her mother screamed from top.
She quickly sat and ate, while checking her mails.Everything was so far in place.
Minutes later her mom came downstairs, handing her the charger she started filling a mini-bag with eatables.
"Mom?"
"Lamba safar hai!"
"Mom main picnic ke liye nahi jaa rahi hoon, kisi ke saath jaa rahi hoon jisse main jaanti tak nahi hoon." Anika expressed her frustration."Chup kar. Kal se bol bol ke kaan paaka diye hain. Tu nahi jaanti toh kya, main toh usse jaanti hoon naa. "
"Aap uske parents ko jaanti ho usse nahi!"
"Haan toh ek hi baat hui naa, aur ek do baar mili hoon usse. Tujhe Mumbai tak akele kaise jaane deti? Tu uske saath hogi toh mujhe chain rahega."
Anika rolled her eyes. Really from Pune to Mumbai her mom couldnt let her go by herself?
Hurriedly she got out of the house while her mother locked the door. They walked down the lane to the main street, where the decided spot was.
Anika's mother Kalindi was very sceptical about sending out her only daughter to Mumbai all by herself for the job. Luckily enough, during the same time her friend Pinky's son was going to Mumbai as well. He was supposed to head his father's firm there.
She quickly hugged her mother and kissed her cheek, asking her to take care of herself.
Kalindi walked over to Pinky and greeted her and then spoke to her son, the man Anika was going to travel with.
Anika folded her arms impatiently. She didn't like this a bit. But she could not win her mother's stubbornness. She had finally given in to her emotional blackmail techniques and had agreed to ditch the idea of taking a train or a bus to Mumbai and had agreed to travel by car with the man who was her mother's friend's son. She hadn't even seen his face ! Not that she was interested to. She had already developed a prejudiced hatred for him. Thanks to the fact that she was traveling with him against her very own wishes.
He turned to look at her. She was looking away lost in her thoughts perhaps. His blue eyes travelled down from her head to her feet. She was dressed in a simple kurti with Patiala with duppatta hanging on her shoulder. She met his eyes, only to find them looking at her. He smiled formally. She returned the same.
Their parents bid them an off. The car pulled away.
"Hi I am Shivaay Singh Oberoi, you can call me Shivaay!" He smiled.She forced a fake smile. "Hello. Anika."
