BEFORE 3 YEARS

"I turned eighteen!" Anika exclaimed to her father when he arrived in her room with balloons, while her mom waited for her in the drawing room with the cake she prepared for her firstborn, along with her 13-year-old twin sisters. Anika jumped to her dad from the bed, where she was sitting, for the tightest hug. Her father caught her and smothered her with kisses. For Srinath, his daughters never fit into the teen or adult category; they would be his babies forever.

"Happy birthday, Anika Srinath. I love you so much, Baby!" - He said, breaking the hug and kissing her forehead.

"Thank you, Mr. Srinath. I am an official Indian citizen now." - Anika couldn't control her emotions.

"Yeah, but for me, you will always be my baby!" - He replied while making her stand on the floor and wrapping his arms around her shoulder. She smiled at his protectiveness. She always adored her father and loved him to the core. He would never disappoint her. From childhood, she had been his favorite daughter. She never discussed it with her twin sisters, Ria and Sia, but her father always poured out his heart to her. Her little happiness made his day. Anika asked for the reason for being so protective of her, but he hardly replied to her.

"Happy birthday, my munchkin." - Her mom, Amirtha, exclaimed when she finally arrived at the hall holding her father's palm. She passed a wide smile at her and gave the tightest hug to her. She would always be thankful to her mom for not giving up on her relationship with her dad.

She was five when she noticed the complexity in their parents' relationship after the birth of her twin sisters. They started to fight very frequently, and it was not normal but very intense. She sensed it when her father broke a vase on the table during an argument, and Anika was hiding behind the door with welled-up eyes. When her parents caught her behind the door, she ran at her highest speed out of the house, only to get hit by a car. She was thrown across the road; the last thing she remembers was her parents screaming.

"Please don't fight, hereafter." - Anika took the promise from her mother and father, which was her biggest mistake. She later realized it when her parents started living their lives in silence rather than talking and interacting. It had been years since they talked to each other like before. For Ria and Sia, they used to see their parents like this in silence, but Anika saw her parents' happiest version. But for Anika, they always wore a smiley face.

Anika cut the cake and served it first to her dad and then to her mom, while her sisters took the remaining cake and smeared it on her face. Anika tried to take hold of them, but before she could apply it on their faces, they ran away from the place screaming. Anika chose the names of her little sisters as soon as she saw them. Her mom didn't say anything but was overwhelmed to see her daughter. From then on, her sisters became her world. She could proudly say that she's their first best friend.

"Akka. Akka. Stop." - Ria hysterically laughed when Anika smashed cake in her face on the edge of the swimming pool outside. And Sia pushed both of her sisters into the pool while her mom, Amirtha, pushed Sia into the pool.

"MUMMY..." - Sia exclaimed while her mom laughed hysterically looking at her three daughters in the pool. In the end, everyone laughed their hearts out. Holding their father's hand, all three girls emerged from the pool, and they were wrapped around with towels.

"Ani, this is your gift for your eighteenth birthday." - Her father gave her a credit card.

"Freedom comes with responsibility. Don't forget that, my dear." - Her mom continued while caressing her face. She smiled at them when they gave her a credit card, but she was not impressed with their gifts as they didn't touch her personally. But soon, she went over the moon when she got the YouTube notification from her favorite independent singer, who surprisingly uploaded his next single on YouTube, that too on her birthday. In the next moment, she was in the room, closed the door, leaning on the door while opening the notification with the widest smile.

"I love you," - She whispered to him on the phone when she saw him holding his guitar and started singing in his room. Anika felt the magic in his voice repeatedly over every word of the lyrics. Whenever he smiled, her heartbeat raced so fast whenever he looked at the screen and smiled. She felt like he was smiling at her. And the crush for him in her heart went out of boundaries.

It all started when she randomly played his video when she searched for "Shiv Tandav" for her dance competition. It was a mistake, but she almost forgot everything in his voice and words. It went deep into her heart, she ended up hearing the same song repeatedly in the loop. She checked, thinking it was a famous song, but it had only two likes and one hundred views over that time. From then on, she accessed her friends' contact and asked them to like it; sometimes, she would like it and comment on it from their phone without their permission. From then to now, she's his fan and proud that she's the one who found him. And she didn't share it with anyone, including her dad, and they have no idea about it. Shivaay is the main and the only chapter of her secret book.

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"100 views and 10 likes, do you think Shivaay you will succeed at this, One day? YOU ARE FUCKING DROPPED OUT OF MEDICAL COLLEGE TO PURSUE THIS. 100 VIEWS AND 10 LIKES FOR YOUR SHITTY SONG." - Ragini exclaimed at Shivaay, who visited her at his home after he released his second song on his channel. She didn't hear the song once before judging him. Shivaay got fed up with the negativity surrounding his girlfriend, who was his friend for so many years.

"If you came here to remind me of what I have done with my life, please go! I don't have any time for it." - Shivaay said in a calm tone.

"Someone should show you the mirror, Shivaay. I am that person in your life. It's not even late, give up and continue your studies; it didn't go out of your hands." - Ragini calmed her tone when she sensed where it was going.

"It's eighteen likes right now. 18 people are liking my song out there. It's huge to me." - Shivaay replied to her rudely.

"Shivaay!" - She exclaimed and walked towards him and sat on his lap. His hands automatically moved towards her waist and held her.

"Look at me. I am just saying it's not your cup of tea. You're trying something which you aren't made for. If you do these kinds of silly things in your life, how can I talk to my parents about you? We have to think about our future also, right?" - She said while slipping her hand inside his T-shirt. He looked at her with a lopsided smile. He knew where it was leading, and he also knew Ragini was not so keen on marrying him. But loves him in bed, which makes her visit him at least twice a week with a random topic. And today, she produced the topic of his new song.

He didn't stop her when she kissed him but kissed back. She approached the situation where she couldn't stop herself from doing it. But he was always in control, but he chose to do it. Not because he loves her, he knew her current relationship with her college mate, Rihaan. But then too, she continues to see him, saying that the relationship was nothing but a cover-up to her parents and make them believe that she was over Shivaay. He felt offended. He was not selling drugs that she should feel bad about him. But he believed her as he didn't want to break a decade-old relationship because of these silly reasons.

She was lying above him naked when he got another notification for his song. He quickly took his phone and checked it; A wide smile appeared on his face. It was not a sarcastic one, but he was genuinely happy when he saw that comment.

"Thank you for enlightening my eighteenth birthday with your song, Shivaay. You have no idea how much I love you and your song."

It was the comment from Honey_Love22. He smiled so widely like never. He somewhere felt like the love he was feeling from her was pure. He typed a reply, Happy birthday, and love you too as a reply.

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