No Qotd today- instead, I wanted to propose an idea that I've had in my mind for a while. I'm thinking of starting a new book. Basically, a 'One Shot Series' on Shivika, but it might occasionally have other couples too, including non-canon ones! 

Now the twist here is, I'm thinking of taking requests on stories, meaning- if you have a plot in your head for an OS that you want to read, but are too lazy to write (which I can relate to), I'd be willing to write it. I'm quite excited for the idea, as i want to feature couples such as NarBhi, and even SurNal too! It will be entirely on Ishqbaaaz people, though.

Let me know what you think of the idea, guys. If you guys are excited about it too, I'll be more motivated to start 😂 Also, know that it won't affect the updating of The Dating Charade in any way. 

Okay now, on with the story!

**

A few days later, Annika found herself having a casual lunch date with her dearest friend, Mallika. It was sort of for work purposes too, since Annika wanted Mallika to design her new office, but overall, it had been quite long since they had caught up anyway.

"So, tell me," Mallika started, once their food had arrived, "How do you want the office to be? Chic and girlish, or suave and classy?"

Annika shrugged. Her office- which she had found quite by chance while roaming around the streets of a kind of posh, industrial area- wasn't very large to begin with. She didn't need, or as a matter of fact could afford, anything bigger than a small room situated on the top floor of an old office building. It wouldn't need much decorating as a result, but some renovation was due, and Annika had instantly thought of having it done by Mallika's company, along with taking her advice on how the interior should look.

"It's up to you, really," Annika said. "I completely trust your taste, so whatever you think would suit best is fine."

"Hmm," Mallika tapped her chin while thinking, a concentrated look on her face, "let me think. Well, naturally, since you're an event manager, your office will have to look attractive to clients. It should also reflect your personality, so I'm thinking, a lot of colours?"

Annika smiled excitedly, and nodded like a child. She loved colours.

"I also think you should decorate it with, confetti or something-"

"Oh no no," Annika interrupted before Mallika could finish, "Shivaay hates confetti."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Annika bit her tongue, while Mallika laughed teasingly.

"Okay, no confetti then, or your boyfriend will get angry!"

Annika smiled sheepishly. The past few days had had her talking to Shivaay practically all day, so his name was always on the tip of her tongue. She mentally reprimanded herself for being so obsessed about him. If he ever got a whiff of it, he would never stop teasing her.

"Anyway, how's it going with Shivaay anyway?" Mallika asked as they dug into their delicious lunch of rice and lamb.

"Perfect," Annika replied with her mouthful. "Just perfect."

"Aw, that's nice. You know Annika, I'm SO happy that Shivaay found you. You guys are just, made for each other, you know?"

Annika smiled stiffly. Hearing all this was making her feel terrible about lying to Mallika, who had been one of their shippers from the beginning, and not to mention was a really good friend. She would love to tell the truth to her, to confide in her and say what was actually happening, but she knew it wouldn't sit well with Shivaay. He was absolutely against the idea of anyone else other than close family knowing the truth, and the fact that Mallika's husband was a business rival only made matters worse.

As Annika felt guilty about keeping up this pretense in front of Mallika, another thought occurred to her. What if, instead of lying to Mallika, she lied to herself for a while? Meaning, what if Annika made herself believe, just for the duration of this lunch meet, that she was actually dating Shivaay. That whatever was between the both of them wasn't just a drama, and that they both genuinely liked each other and were together? That every time they flirted and acted overly couple-ish, they were doing it for real and not in pretense. That the hand holding they had gotten habituated to whenever they went out these days wasn't because the media could spot them any time, but because they wanted to feel each others' presence.

So putting on her brightest of smile, Annika replied.

"I'm glad I found him too. He is...everything I could have only dreamed of." Annika replied, being as truthful as possible. Shivaay was like a dream come true for her. Her earlier bland life had become colourful now, all thanks to this man and his satrangi aankhen.

"I understand," Mallika replied. "Back when Shivaay and I were dating, I always hoped Shivaay would see me with love in his eyes, you know? But gradually I realized that he would never look at me that way. In fact, I thought he would never look at anyone that way. That is, until I saw him with you."

"What do you mean?" Annika asked, her heart beating faster all of a sudden, for reasons unknown to her.

"Oh come on," Mallika scoffed, "You had to have noticed, right? Annika, Shivaay looks at you like you're the center of his world. Like there is no one he would ever be with other than you. He looks at you like he needs you to breathe. Annika, Shivaay looks at you like he loves you more than anything else in this world."

There was silence after that, as the words Mallika had said hit Annika with full force, and her eyes welled up with tears. Mallika pretended not to notice, thinking they were tears of happiness, but she didn't know the truth. For Annika to hear all that, it only made her realize what a bubble she had been living in. Only made her realize how fake everything was. That Shivaay didn't, and would never, look at her that way, and whatever Mallika had seen was just her illusion. Closing her eyes, Annika tried getting a hold on her emotions. Why was she crying? She knew it was all fake, right? She knew Shivaay didn't love her, that she wasn't the center of her world? Then why did hearing that she was make her feel so...desperate? Desperate enough to wish that it was all true, even though she knew it wasn't and it would never be.

"Annika, you okay?" Mallika's concerned voice broke Annika out of her thoughts, and she hastily rubbed away the tears that had started to fall, and gave a big smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay," She said. "Just got, um..."

"It's okay, I understand," Mallika said with a smile, laying a hand on top of hers. But it wasn't okay, was it? Mallika didn't understand. Hell, Annika didn't understand herself. She just felt like crying. Crying at her fate, which was giving her the most beautiful thing of her life, in the form of Shivaay, but not in it's entirety. Annika had always been too busy making a living to want to be happy, but now that she knew what happiness was, she didn't want to let it go. But she also knew she would have to, because no matter how much she wanted it to last, the dating charade couldn't go on forever.

"Anyway, so I was also thinking your office room should have..."

Welcoming the change in topic, Annika indulged in conversation with Mallika, trying to keep her thoughts about Shivaay at bay for a while.

**

Reaching home, Annika tried hard to stop her sobs from coming, but they came and with full force, too. Lying on her bed with a mess of tissue papers all around, Annika wondered what was wrong with her. She wasn't supposed to be so weak. But the turmoil of emotions going on inside her made it hard for her to resist the tears and she decided to just let go and get over with it. Maybe she was being so emotional because it was that time of the month, and the throbbing pain on her lower abdomen wasn't making things better. Harshly taking out some more tissue papers from the box, Annika wiped her now running nose, and reflected, once again, on what Mallika had said.

He looks at you like you're the center of his world.

Annika snorted. If only that were true. But she knew it wasn't, because this was Shivaay Singh Oberoi they were talking about. True, he made her feel like his world did revolve around her, but that was just for the sake of the pretense, wasn't it? A small part of her mind tried telling her that no one would do so much just for a facade, and that too when no one was around other than the two, but Annika ignored it. She didn't need to give herself any more hope- it would only result in heartbreak.

Annika was no fool, and even though she hadn't gone as far as love yet, she knew that she liked Shivaay a lot. She liked him so much, it hurt. Liked him enough for his thoughts to conquer her mind, all day, all the time. She had known from day one that she wouldn't be able to get out of this charade unscathed. It would evoke those feelings in her that she had been trying so hard to not acknowledge, and that was exactly what was happening right now. Life after this charade was a blur to her. She couldn't imagine being without Shivaay now. Couldn't imagine not waking up to his good morning texts, or not calling him when the slightest of things happened to her, like she saw an adorable puppy or fought with the sabziwaala who was charging too much on carrots. Sobbing still, a laugh escaped Annika despite herself. Gosh, what had this man turned her into? The same woman who had once felt proud of being independent and without need of anyone else was now such a mess at the mere thought of not being with Shivaay one day.

There was another thought that scared Annika immensely, and that was the inevitable fact that Shivaay would find someone else. Some rich, high society girl he would probably meet at some high-profile party after he and Annika officially 'broke up'. They would hit it off, and Shivaay would realize she would be the perfect trophy wife, and they would get married. While Annika? She would never be able to move on from a man who had never been hers to begin with, from a relationship that had never been true. She would look on as Shivaay would do the very same things for this new girl that he did for her now. The very thought made Annika feel a coil of anxiety at the pit of her stomach, and she wanted to throw up. Hiccupping now as she tried to stop from crying, Annika picked up her phone and decided to call the very reason of her suffering. She needed him now, and to hell with how much more attached it made her to him. He picked up soon, as was customary whenever she called, and before he could greet her, she whispered out in a raspy yet timid voice that let him know she had been crying-

"Baby, can you come over?"

**

Shivaay had been lazily reclining on his bed after a day of work, his laptop in front as he read through some emails, when Om walked in. The other one of the pair was over at some friend's house, partying, and Om thought it the perfect time to have some much-needed serious talk with Shivaay. If Rudra had been here, he would have wanted all the attention and turned any serious conversation into one of his lame jokes.

"What's up, Om? I thought you were in the gallery," Shivaay said as he made room for Om to sit beside him.

"Just came back," Om replied as he cuddled a pillow. "Anyway, Shivaay, I'll get straight to the point- I needed to talk to you about something."

"Yeah, go on," Shivaay said with furrowed brows, as he closed his laptop.

"It's just, I wanted to ask, how's it going between you and Annika?" Om asked, not understanding how to broach the topic he was sure would go over the top of his brother's head.

"Oh, just perfect," Shivaay said with a wide smile on his face and a dreamy look in his eyes that appeared whenever Annika was mentioned.

Om smiled. He wanted to know if his brother was still oblivious about his feelings towards this woman, who had made her place in Shivaay's heart in such an engraved manner, no one would ever be able to replace it.

"Well, that's good to hear. Look Shivaay, I won't beat around the bush, since Dumbell Oberoi can arrive at any time and after that talking about anything but him will become impossible-" they both shared a laugh here. "So, what I wanted to know is, what do you feel about Annika?"

Shivaay was taken aback at the question, and fumbled for a reply.

"What do I feel for Annika? Well, she's a good friend, and-"

"A good friend? Really, Shivaay? Shivaay, for the sake of our O'bro-ship, please be honest with me?"

Shivaay sighed deeply. He honestly didn't know what to answer to that question. All he knew was, Annika was someone he could do anything for. He knew that every time she smiled, something inside him lit up. He knew that there was nothing she could ever ask of him that he wouldn't give her, without thinking twice. But what did he feel for her? He didn't know. No matter how much of a great businessman Shivaay was, when it came to matters of feelings and emotions, he was lost.

"Look, Om, I know what you want to hear, but to be honest, I really don't know what I feel. Hell, I don't know what's happening! All I can say is that, I never knew anyone, much less Annika, who I hated to the core at the beginning, would become so important to me. Would become so vital for me. Of course I'm attracted to her, I won't lie about that, but it goes much deeper. And before you go into your speech of how this is love and all that, I'll have you know that it's nothing like- why are you smiling?" Shivaay frowned, seeing his usually rational brother smiling like an idiot for no reason. Now, that was something Rudra could be blamed of, but Om? No way.

"I'm smiling, my dear brother," Om said as he got up and lazily stretched his long arms, "because I don't need to give you any speech about 'how this is love and all that'. Not anymore."

Saying so, Om started whistling a tune, and strolled out of the room. Shivaay sat with the frown etched on his face, staring after his brother, when his phone rang. He instantly knew it was Annika, since her caller tune was different than the rest, and same as his brothers', and he picked up. Before he could get a word in, however, Annika started in such a voice that made his heart clench and falter.

"Baby, can you come over?"

In a second, Shivaay was out of his bed and was rushing towards his car.

**

"God, Annika. Calm down, baby. Please."

As soon as Shivaay had entered through the door, Annika had broken down in his arms, sobbing hysterically. Shivaay heart was beating furiously, wondering what exactly had upset his girl, and he was already making plans on how to kill the bloody person who had made his strong girl cry like this. As far as he knew, she had gone to have lunch with Mallika, and was supposed to have come home straight after. Leading her to the bedroom and making her lay down on the bed beside him as he held her close, he had decided to let her get it all out before asking what was wrong.

"Sshh, it's okay, I'm here," He said in a soothing voice, rubbing her back all the while as she clung to his chest. Slowly, her sobs subsided, and only occasional sniffs could be heard.

"Will you tell me what's wrong, now?" Shivaay asked as he held her chin up to make her look at him. Seeing her in this state, with her eyes all red and puffy from crying, made him feel an uncontrollable pain in his chest.

"N-nothing's wrong," Annika said, in between hiccups. "I just felt like crying."

Shivaay chuckled at that, and caressed her hair.

"Don't lie to me, Annika. Please tell me what's wrong? I promise, I'll fix everything."

Annika smiled at his words. How could she possibly tell him that she had been crying over the fear of losing him?

"I'm telling you, Shivaay. I got emotional for no reason. I was missing Sahil, ended up watching a sad movie, and on top of that, I'm having my period too. And ouch-" She gasped as a shot of pain ran through her lower stomach, "it hurts so much!"

"Aw, my poor baby," Shivaay said softly as he got up and made Annika lay her head on a pillow. "Wait here, I'll be right back, okay?"

"Where are you going?" Annika asked, but Shivaay was already out of the door. He came back a few minutes later, carrying a towel and a bowl of water. Settling down beside her, he moved her top a little upwards.

"What are you doing?" Annika asked, gulping as her stomach now lay bare to him.

"Sshh," He said, dipping the towel in water, "Just close your eyes and relax, love."

Annika complied, trusting him on this, and a few seconds later, felt a warm, wet sensation on her stomach, as he placed a towel there. He pressed it all around, and it acted as an instant balm for Annika's menstrual cramp. 

"Mhm, this feels so good," Annika breathed out, as he very gently helped her get rid of the pain. A few minutes later, when Shivaay was done, he looked up to find that Annika had already fallen asleep. Smiling, he fixed her top, and placed a kiss on her forehead. Covering her with a thin blanket, he moved towards the kitchen.

Let her nap for a while, he thought, placing the bowl and towel in the sink. Meanwhile, let me prepare dinner for us. Who knows if this girl had lunch properly...

Shaking his head at his weird girl, Shivaay got ready to prepare her favorite- Aloo Poori- all the while wondering if she would tell him what had actually upset her.

**

Wish I could give you guys more regular updates, but it's really not possible right now. Regardless, hope you're liking the story ❤