LOVE IS OUR DESTINY

CHAPTER 17

LATER,

Shivaye : Did you wait for too long ?

Anika : Not really. So, where are we going ?

Shivaye : On a little date.

Shivaye blindfolded Anika and took her to the rooftop. He had beautifully decorated it himself. There were white lilies which were Anika's favorite flowers along with heart shaped balloons of different colors lying around everywhere. There was a table in the middle, along with two chairs placed opposite each other. Shivaye quickly took off the blindfold from Anika's eyes. Anika slowly opened her eyes adjusting to her surroundings. She was surprised to see the things Shivaye had prepared for her.

Anika (emotional): Did you do this, Shivaye?

Shivaye: Yup! How do you feel about this?

Anika: It's amazing. I feel touched.

Shivaye took her hand and led her towards the table. He pulled out the chair for her and went to take his seat after making sure that she was comfortably seated. The table was decorated with a velvet cloth with flowers attached to it. There was a champagne bottle along with some dishes at the side. The whole place looked quite aesthetic and romantic.

Anika(in mind): Did he do this for my birthday?

Anika: How did you plan all this? From where did you get such an idea? If you had told me earlier, I would have dressed up properly.

Shivaye: You look beautiful in everything. Anurag and Abhimanyu  helped me with all of this. I stole some ideas from Pinterest. I hope you don't sue me for plagiarism. Haha!

Anika (smiled): Of course not. I'm quite overwhelmed with the creativity but I'm more happy knowing your intentions behind all this. Thank you for making my birthday special.

Shivaye(in mind): Birthday? Is it her birthday today? I didn't do it for your birthday.

Anika: By the way, who told you about it? Was it my dad?

Shivaye( nervous laugh): Yes. It was your dad who informed me.

Accidentally, Anurag  burst firecrackers in the sky at the wrong time.

Shivaye (in mind) : I haven't even started yet and he blew off the firecrackers. This guy can't get anything right at the right time.

Abhimanyu  and Mrs Oberoi hid behind a pillar trying to catch a glimpse of the lovebirds.

Mrs Oberoi(squinted her eyes): Abhimanyu , I can't see them.

Abhimanyu (flinched due to the burst of firecrackers): Anurag , I think you blew off the crackers at the wrong time.

Anurag  (grinned cheekily): It was an accident! Hehe!

Mrs Oberoi tried to focus on Shivaye and Anika, whereas Abhimanyu  slightly hit Anurag 's head from the back.

Abhimanyu : You can't get anything right, Anurag !

Anurag  (hissed): Owe!!! What was that for? It's not my fault that I can't see them clearly. The bushes are hiding the view from here.

Anika heard the whispers and followed it only to see Mrs Oberoi, Abhimanyu and Anurag squashed behind the bushes. Abhimanyu  and Anurag  were arguing while Mrs Oberoi greeted Anika with an embarrassed smile.

Anika(surprised): What's going on?

Shivaye: Anika, let me explain.

Shivaye gestured to Abhimanyu  to give them some personal space so that he could buy some time with Anika. Abhimanyu  took the hint and quickly escorted Anurag  and Mrs Oberoi out from there.

Abhimanyu (panicked): Mrs Oberoi, I ate my homework. I mean my cat ate my homework.

Anurag (dumb-headed/not taking the hint): Looks like Abhimanyu  has lost it. His words don't make sense.

Anika looked at them with a confused look on her face. She couldn't make a head or tail out of the situation.
Shivaye held Anika's hands and led her back to the rooftop as Abhimanyu  forced Anurag  away from the place with Mrs Oberoi tagging along.

Shivaye: Anika, this isn't a birthday surprise. Actually, I wanted to confess to you about something for a while now. I just couldn't get the right time for it but now...I feel that this is the perfect moment for it.

Shivaye took Anika's hands and held them softly in both his palms. He looked down for a second before looking straight in her eyes and then continued.

NEXT; SHIVAYE PROPOSES ANIKA!