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Annika's smile dimmed. She was walking around the park to clear of her mind. But apparently it was a bad idea. Because all could see it was him. They used to come here for evening strolls.

Six years. That's how long she hasn't seen him. Or heard of him. As if he just disappeared from the surface of the earth. Nobody has heard from him in those years.
There have been even outlets on his sudden disappearance.

She wondered why she could never shook his memory down? After everything——she stopped her thoughts there only.

Sometimes it makes her heart sink. Because she knew how hard it must have been for him. She was used to fending for herself. It has been her and Sahil from the very start and will be till the end, now. But he had been seeking his happiness, his peace everything in his own family.

The Oberois have offered her to stay in the Mansion. But she can't stay there, not when she doesn't have any right to. Not when the very same place has become the source of the miseries which haunts her even today. When he is not there, she can't stay either. She wasn't even his wife anymore. They struggled for a few months, her and Sahil, when she was just getting back to her previous life. Away from the life of the luxury. She had worked hard these years for who she was now. And like before her life now only circled around Sahil and the painful memories of the past.

Life happens in cycles, the beautiful illusion that she grew accustomed to ended and she was pushed back into the harsh realities that she must face.

<>

"Omkara" He stopped in his tracks. Jhanvi was standing there. He pushed back his anger and turned to face her. "Yes?" He asked.

"Atleast talk to him." She coaxed. Om scoffed as he turned to face his mother. "No mom. My answer is final. I don't share any relation with that man."

"He is your father Omkara. Respect that."

"—he is not. Shiv—" Om froze in the mid sentence. His shoulders dropped. "Excuse me." He said as he stormed out of the room. Jhanvi sighed.

He is not! Shivaay was more of a father figure to than he ever was. That was what he was going to say. But he can't even say that anymore. He just turned out just like his father. He should have known this world  doesn't leave anyone unscathed. Hai father. His broth——his eyes closed painfully. The very same brother he had grown up admiring. The very same brother he sought comfort in when his mother and father fought. When the glasses crashed and the shouts of anger shook the air. He used to sit in brother's comforting arms until he fell asleep.

Shivaay had been his guiding star in the darkest of the times he had ever faced. He held out his hand for him to hold on when his father turned his back. He held on to hope that he'd come alive when his own father tried to end his life.

But then again, in the end his brother too, gave into the darkness.

And Om feared that he too was on verge of it.

<>

Shivaay woke up the next morning in the guestroom. He blinked and he sat up with a groan. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. He needed to brush his teeth. Slowly he lowered his legs on the floor. Grabbing the headrest he hoisted himself up, stilling himself for a moment before making his way to the washroom. It was early. Just few hours past the sunrise.

He exited the room, walking to his own. He remembered what happened yesterday.

You are afraid to face the truth. Where was the lie in that? He was afraid to face the truth that he had dreaded. Fight back. He couldn't. He was too tired to fight back. His mind had gone numb the moment he found his body surrounded by water. What was doctor trying to do? If not trying to kill him. But that'd be absurd. He didn't scream though. He didn't remember that. His throat wasn't hurting.

He parted his lips, his throat constricting before he let a syllable roll of his tongue. He coughed out painfully, grabbing the nearest water bottle to stop the coughs. He sighed. What he had been even thinking? When all those countless therapies didn't work— and he wondered briefly, will he be able to speak ever again? Or his voice will ever remain lost in time.

They were returning to Mumbai tomorrow. How long has it been yet? Ah, yes six years. Six agonizing years.

Six years since he had lost belief in every thing that he had. Everything looked false now. Or was it before? That he had been living in. False realities. An eutopia. That his own mind created for himself. Of his family.

The illusion was broken now. And with that illusion broke his true self who had dedicated his life to what seemed like an eunoia broke to. Into pieces.

What a fool. He chuckled to himself. Oh, what a fool he had been in. When his family couldn't walk past all those decades of dysfunction, he thought he could keep them integrated.

He used to pride himself as the one who'd never commit the same mistake again in life. But he did. He didn't learn when his family had him exiled. He didn't look past their actions. He came back again. Happily.

And that was when tragedy striked. A beautiful tragedy. Which showed the true faces of the people.

He walked outside. The breeze was getting warmer as the sun changed its position from the horizon to overhead, above the skies. He sat there for what seemed to him, like hours.

<>

"There you are." Priyanka huffed as she saw him sitting on the chair facing the blazing sun. "Aren't you feeling hot?" She asked, her face was scrunched up from the heat. Why is he sitting out in the balcony on such a hot day?

He grinned, arching his eyebrows. And she rolled her eyes chuckling at his poor attempt to joke. "You're not hot anymore bhaiya, you are just old." She poked out her tongue. Shivaay looked thoroughly offended at that.

His expression was the epitome of 'Excuse me? Have you seen this face?' she giggled. He shook his head, his smile wiping out from his lips before he turned back to stare outside. They lived on the outskirts. The posh area, the place was quiet.

"Are you okay?" He nodded. There was a knock on the door and Priyanka peeped into the room. The servant had come to inform her that Aradhya was already waiting for them at the table. Priyanka's lips pursed. Shivaay didn't know that. And she can't cancel the contract as it was a pact between her and him only.

She fanned herself with the slip of paper she had in her hand. Even the breeze was too hot to bear. "What are you doing out here? Unless you don't have plans to get dehydrated, cordially join us for lunch." His lips quirked up in a smile.

Shivaay chuckled and pulled the back of her ponytail on his way out the door, grinning at her startled shout of "Bhaiya!"

Priyanka was surprised to see him in a jolly mood a strange contradiction to previous night's events.

She took a seat beside him and Aradhya two chairs away from them. Shivaay was at the centre chair as usual. Her eyes meet the doctor's. She was blankly staring at the food that was being served.

Noticing the tension between his sister and his doctor. He cleared his throat. Both of them looked up and turned back to eat silently. This was surprising usually they chatter all the way through the meals. And now the only sound that could be heard was of the utensils.

He took a sip of the daal plated in front of him. The rice was untouched. He was strictly forbidden from eating specific foods. Calcium rich foods because of the antibiotics, so no dairy for him. Though he can't eat pulses on a regular basis either, his diet was strictly observed by Priyanka. Shivaay eyed the bowl of fruits on the table warily, that whole tub was for him?

He just sipped on the daal, he placed the spoon against the bowl before he observed the scene. It resembled a cold war terrain. Seriously? What is up with Prinku and the lady doc?

He watched as they both glared at each other hard before turning back to eat as if they didn't just try to burn other with their gaze. He shuddered. Aradhya picked up her phone, and swiped it open.

Her eyes widened when the music blasted off the phone's speaker.

Bichhu mere naina,
badi zehereeli aankh maare

Shivaay and Priyanka's eyes snapped up. Aradhya's eyes widened and she quickly swiped the app close. Her cheeks coloured immediately. Fuck! Why didn't I check the sound. Why does this always happen at the wrong time.
But apparently Priyanka's laughter saved her from drowning in embarrassment. She looked up to see Shivaay's head lowered on the table his shoulders shaking.

Shivaay's eyes widened. He remembered Rudra playing the song. Him pulling Om to dance. The three of them— his thoughts were interrupted by Priyanka's giggles. He looked up to see Aradhya stabbing the fritters with her fork in embarrassment, though she too was trying hard to keep the smile from breaking upon her features. His eyes turned back to his sister, the innocent laugh that he had missed. He joined in, his head shaking in mirth.

And the tension dissipated from the table.

Ahem......

Is it just me? Because apparently Nakuul as Ram Kapoor is my daily boost of serotonin.