Anika was looking at her dark maroon coloured intricate bridal mehendi adorned hands and arms. She was beyond happy that she was going to marry Shivaay tomorrow , but she was nervous as well . Nervous about a very crucial aspect of marriage- love. She knew that they had talked about it and Shivaay was ready to give his all to this marriage. Her dilemma however, was her own feelings and the question was what to do with them right now. 

More she analyzed her feelings, more she thought about them, the more she was getting convinced that she has fallen in love with him. No doubt it was the way Shivaay makes her feel that had majorly brought about this realization, but the realization was aided by the fact that her 'family' doted on him, trusted him, always vouched for his golden heart. Everyone from bhai-bhabhi, dadi to twins loved him to the core.  now with everything shaping up the way it was, it was just not in her power to hold her heart back anymore .

She had spent a lot of time pondering about love and Shivaay,  their mutual connection in her life. She had no experience in that field , But in her case, the lack of love in her life made her observe the feeling in the people around her, yearn for it and think about it so often that she was now sure that what she felt for her wonderful fiance was nothing but love.

 She was sure that it could not be anything but love for the guy who painstakingly went out of his comfort zone to make her comfortable with him. Who possessively holds her at every given chance. Who listens to even most boring things she say with such rapt attention as if she is the most interesting person in the world. He is one person in whose company she just forgets her traumatic past, his presence makes everything in her world seem so promising, so normal.

'Normal' was a grossly under-rated word in Anika's opinion. People don't seem to grasp that being normal does not necessarily mean not being extraordinary, it also means not being destitute for some people. And how those unlucky ones want to lead a NORMAL life.  some time back she was one of them.

 Shivaay had made her feel beautifully NORMAL. In past too she had grudgingly commended his lack of pretense in his dealings with her. No special treatment out of pity was dished out from his side, ever. Not then not now. That was the precise treatment she had always yearned for from people. She can have a pity party all by herself, thank you. But what she wanted from the world was an equal treatment, without reference to her past which she was victim of and had no hand in. She wanted to be accepted for what she had made out of herself, for what she has emerged as from the debacle of a past she has had .

 he treated her just like that. Also in past few months, while making her feel wanted, protected and important, he somewhere along the line stirred the feeling of love in her heart for himself. She knew that staying in love is more difficult than falling in love with a man like Shivaay Singh Oberoi , but she was pretty sure that she will never fall out of love with him. 

After witnessing him at his worst and his lowest through the years, if her heart still wants to be a part of his life, if her heart still wants to madly beat for him, then she knew that it shall remain his for as long as she'll live. With the passion and tenderness that he had evoked in her, he has rendered her heart useless for any other man. 

She knew Shivaay does not believe in love, but she was ready to wait for his outlook to change even if it takes a lifetime, for he is worth it, for they are worth it.

So the question she was contemplating right now was that should she tell him this or wait for him to love her back?

.............................

Shivaay was at peace with himself, his life and pretty much everything on the planet these days. And it reflected in the slight smile that adorned his face while he slept peacefully. Peacefully, until the rampant knocks on his door shook him out of his slumber. He looked at the time and it was showing 1 am. Getting alarmed he jumped out of the bed and opened the door in a flash, where Anika was standing with her hand raise in what looked like an attempt to knock again.

SHIVAAY : 'What happened Ani ? Are you alright? Adit Adya okay? What happened?' 

 came a tirade of anxious questions from a sleepy yet in command Shivaay .

ANIKA : 'Hi' 

was the only thing Anika could mutter looking at the worried face and alarmed voice of her fiance . Waiting till morning suddenly looked like the better idea .

SHIVAAY : 'High ? What high ? Is there a thief on the terrace? What were you doing there?' 

he said while furiously thinking of possible scenarios that could go wrong related to word 'high ???????????? '. 

ANIKA : 'NO. HI' 

 she clarified by rapidly moving her hand in a gesture of Hi.

The look that followed was the one which people reserve for their children when they do something absolutely crazy. 

SHIVAAY : 'WHAT ? You've come to say HI to me at this hour ? ' 

 he asked looking at her as if she has grown two horns on her head.

ANIKA : 'Yes. I mean no' 

 she started to explain while following Shivaay  who had started making his way back to his bed while rubbing his sleepy eyes in irritation .

SHIVAAY : 'It's not funny Ani ' 

 he muttered and flopped down on his stomach, hugging a pillow .

ANIKA : ' Shivaay , We are getting married tomorrow' 

 she said sitting at the edge of the bed .

SHIVAAY : 'Since I did not succumb to a heart attack few minutes back, I guess we are' 

 he replied sarcastically with his face buried into the pillow .

ANIKA : 'I have come to talk something very important' 

 she replied trying to ignore the sarcasm .

SHIVAAY : 'And I was hoping for some gossip at this hour. Helps me sleep' 

 his sarcasm was on a rampage .

ANIKA : 'Fine. You Sleep. I am leaving. We'll talk later' 

 she said standing up. His sense of humor is SO wry in the middle of the night. So much for a memorable midnight proposal. HUH!!!!!!!!! .

Shivaay flipped on his back and held her wrist stopping her

SHIVAAY :   'Sweetheart, I was kidding. Tell me. What is so important?' 

 he gave her a heart melting smile, while making her sit back on the bed. He can not let HIS Ani go without saying what she wanted to, can he? As initial alarm and irritation wore off, he realized that it must be something important that she could not wait till morning. She sat down .

SHIVAAY : 'I am WAITING' 

she heard him say after a few minutes .

Waking him up, with a red rose for which she had sent the servant out in the middle of the night, gearing up since last one hour for the confession and all the hyperventilating outside his door for last 15 minutes suddenly turned into the dumbest proposal plan in the world history, literally. Words seem to have frozen somewhere near her throat en-route their way out, twisting her heart in a knot, as he looked expectantly at her to say something.

SHIVAAY : ' Ani . Are you okay? Tell me sweetheart? Is something bothering you? What do you want to talk about?' 

 she wanted to slap herself when she saw worry lines marring his forehead now .

ANIKA : 'Its... about us. I mean tomorrow we are getting married' 

 she started ..........

SHIVAAY : 'You have already said that . What about the wedding?' 

 he asked panicking in his mind .

ANIKA : 'I don't want it this way' 

 she said, sending panic up one notch .

SHIVAAY : 'But you only said that traditional wedding is not a good idea' 

 he replied exasperated. Its just the wedding format, nothing else, his heart tried to console his panicking mind .

ANIKA : 'No. Civil wedding is okay. I mean like this. Like .. mmm ... without love' 

 she shyly whispered . When Shivaay did not react she gathered some more courage and continued......

ANIKA :   'I mean everything else is perfect. But we should also have love in our marriage, shouldn't we?'.

Shivaay released a breath he did not know that he was holding. She was okay with the wedding and all was well in his world. BUT WAIT. What did she say AFTER THAT? LOVE in the marriage? GREAT. just GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why does this freaking love has to always spoil his plans in life? First he without warning fell in love with her and now she wants some love to start their married life. 

Madam is not comfortable marrying without LOVE confessions,  he wanted to bang his head into something . Freaking Awesome. But blame it on sleepiness, or blame it on the panic a few hours before their wedding, he decided that if this is what makes her happy on her wedding day then this is what he'll give her. He instantly started formulating his confession. So much for wanting her to take the lead this one time. Anyways, the duration for which he has been in love with her will have to be concealed. Would look too desperate, his mind started framing the rough draft. He can say that he loved her after the kiss on that night. Yeah, practical and believable. No vulnerability, right? Physical attraction breeds love. PERFECT .

(even ME the AUTHOR rolling my eyes , like seriously how funny men brain works sometimes :) )

While Shivaay was busy weighing his options Anika spoke up 

ANIKA : 'Shivaay , I know it's unexpected for you. But I have been meaning to tell you since quite sometime now .      I LOVE YOU ' .

And after that options, words, even thoughts, everything left his mind. Did he hear it correct? Did she just say I LOVE YOU? He opened his mouth to say something, but when nothing came out for a few seconds he closed it, repeating the process for quite a few times like a goldfish, all the while looking at ANIKA'S hopeful face .

ANIKA : 'Please say something . You are making me nervous' 

 she spoke at last .

SHIVAAY : 'This is the important thing you wanted to talk about?' 

 came the most unromantic reply in the history of proposals, that too from a man who was dying to hear these precise words from his fiance . Shivaay so wanted to kill himself as soon as these words left his mouth.

ANIKA : 'It is not important to you?'

 her face fell.

SHIVAAY : 'No. I mean Yes. It is VERY important. Thank You. No. I mean WOW. This is the best thing you've ever said to me' 

 he enveloped her in a bone crushing hug .

After being released from his death grip, she shyly forwarded the red rose towards him 

ANIKA : 'This is for you'.

Shivaay looked at the rose, then at Anika with an expression which she could not fathom. The happiness of a few seconds before dimmed a little on his face as he asked 

SHIVAAY : 'You sure ANI ? You sure that you are not doing this just because we'll be marrying tomorrow morning? You are not saying this because you feel obliged to say it, or you think its the proper thing to do?'

ANIKA :'I am doing this as this is what I want to do. It would not be right to hide such a big thing from my would-be-husband, would it be? I have fallen in love with you knowing that you do not believe in love. I have fallen in love and I want to yell it from the roof top. You accepting it or not is your prerogative . But I accept that I love you and I want you to love me back someday. So I don't think I am doing anything under obligation or because it is a proper thing to do for that matter. I am saying it for the sake of love I feel towards you. For the peace of my heart that you now know where I stand in this relationship'

 she replied earnestly .

Instead of replying in words, Shivaay replied in the way he was comfortable with, the manner this proposal was supposed to be replied with. With passion. With love. His lips found her as soon as she stopped speaking. In an urgently reassuring kiss. More to reassure himself than her. She had said I Love You because she wanted to. 

Because she LOVED him. He could not think of any thing better that could have happened to him just a few hours before their wedding. Her confession was PRICELESS. He had yearned to hear her vocalize her feelings about him,  today she has given him a new lease of life with her declaration. His kiss was the manifestation of his unsaid words, his insecurities, his love, his jealousy, his need for her and his happiness of the moment.

Anika could not help but pour her feelings out by kissing him back with equal intensity . She has found love of her life in him, her home . He was HERS. Forever. 

She knew she will never let him go no matter what. Call her selfish, call her crazy, call her whatever but she will make sure that this man is HERS for eternity. Hers to love and Hers to cherish And in return, she is and will always be HIS . HIS ANIKA .

After a few minutes when they parted for some air, Anika looked with all her heart pouring out of her hazel orbs into shivaay's honey brown ones and asked in nothing more than a whisper...

ANIKA :  'Shivaay , you will love me back someday . Won't you?'.

And it was enough to crumble the walls of insecurities that he had erected around his heart. She has just poured her feelings out in front of him, believing that they might always remain unrequited, and yet hoping that they might get reciprocated someday. He could not afford to be a coward anymore. 

She has to know. He has to speak up today, for his feelings might loose their worth if he keeps them caged into his heart anymore. But it was not easy. He can not bring himself to profess his love when he had no idea what to say, how to express the depth of love he felt for this woman who has one by one demolished all his guards and has brought his heart home, to herself. Who never questioned his past, never pointed his follies, always loved everyone related to him and understood him with all his complexities, expecting nothing in return, not even the same level of understanding that she showed towards him. 

She deserved nothing but the truth, complete truth .

SHIVAAY : 'ANI , will you sleep with me today ????? ' 

 he questioned instead of answering .

ANIKA : 'Ji?' 

she said a little scandalized .

SHIVAAY : 'Actually forget it. I was not thinking properly. You go to your room'

 he did not know what came over him a few seconds back .

ANIKA : 'Its okay Shivaay . I trust you. We are getting married tomorrow, remember' 

 she said with a smile and lied down on the right side of the bed .

Shivaay  slipped onto his left side facing her. They were getting married tomorrow and this will be a normal thing from now on, but her agreeing to spend a night in his room without any legal commitment yet, made his heart swell at the trust she had in him. He needed some time to collect his thoughts, some courage to bare his heart in front of her today. He looked into her beautiful but desperate eyes, which were still looking for an answer to her question.

SHIVAAY : ' ANI , I want to answer your question. But will you believe what I'll say?'

 he had so much to say, but will she even believe him when he'll start .

She confidently nodded and steeled her heart for whatever was coming her way, good or bad.

What she heard next was beyond Anika's wildest imagination. It took her breath away. She could have not thought in a million years that Shivaay's feelings for her had run so deep and so long.

 Next morning when she woke up, it was her wedding day,  her fiance was sleeping beside her, his face buried in the crook of her neck, his body wrapped around hers and his arm draped around her waist possessively . But instead of thinking of the big day ahead, all she could think of was what he had told her last night, with a content smile on her lips and impossible amount of love for him in her every fiber.

FLASHBACK :

SHIVAAY : 'Will you believe me Ani when I say that I never hated you? I was scared of you. Because you had all the qualities in you to make a place in my family's heart. I was scared of the influence you had over Priyanka and jiju '.

'Will you believe me when I say that every time you proved my fears about you wrong, I liked it somewhere deep down in my heart ?'.

'Will you believe me when I say that I was ready to do anything to keep you with me in this house, ANY BLOODY THING, when we were just friends only?'.

'Will you believe me when I say that I fell a little in love with you when I saw you coming all drenched in the rains that day?'.

'Will you believe me when I say that I would have killed myself after dadi if you would have not been there? I would have ruined Adit Adya's life. I was so alone and so defeated that time Anika . You saved me'.

'Will you believe me when I say that I hated Daksh for being such a close friend of yours? For being able to make you laugh the way I am never able to'.

'Will you believe me when I say that I was madly in love with you around the time we attended that party but never had the courage to say it to you?'.

'Will you believe me when I say that the ground beneath my feet disappeared when you got sick? The thought of loosing you made me mad. I sat there glued with you just to make sure that you don't leave me like maa, priyanka or dadi '.

'Will you believe me if I say that I did not propose marriage to you so that I can adopt Adit-Adya ? I did that because I WANTED TO MARRY YOU' . "ONLY YOU" !!!!!!!!!!!

 she believed him. She believed that Shivaay loves her way more than she would have ever dreamed of. She now understood his need to have her close last night, for this deep a love would leave anyone vulnerable, 

 here we were talking about Shivaay who had always run away from emotions all his life. He needed to know that she understood him, he needed the assurance that she accepted his complex feelings for her. And she gave him that assurance, by her words, by her kisses, by just being there for him to hold.

...............X...........X........

Only thing she could not believe was her luck. How did she get SO lucky? 

..............x.............x..............

thats all guys , this chapter is really special to me i hope i could able to pen down the chapter nicely do give me your revievs waiting eagerly for your comments and i believe confession was required as my both characters are both stupid and naive at the same time :) 

DO COMMENTS AND LIKE 

DO SHARE MY STORIES WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY 

& 

DO FOLLOW ME TOO :)