I have a surprise coming up for you guys in a while, and I hope you'll like it ;)

**

Annika walked- or to put it better- skipped towards Shivaay's room. She was in an extremely good mood not just because she would be staying the night and getting some much needed time with Shivaay, but also because she knew how irked he was due to Daksh's constant flirting. Seeing him being possessive over her gave her some sort of feminine pleasure, and it was delightful to think that the man who had all materialistic things of the world could get jealous, too. Not to mention, it was obviously one of the best feelings to find her boyfriend cum 'crush' wanting all of her attention for himself.

Walking into his room, Annika found Shivaay talking on the phone, his back turned to her. She waited till he was done, then went and tapped on his shoulder.

"Hello," She said as he turned to face her. His face was sporting a slight scowl, with his forehead creased the way it was when he was annoyed.

"What?" He asked rudely, but of course Annika didn't mind.

"I have a news for you," She said while shrugging one shoulder slightly. He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, why don't you go and tell this 'news' to your new found friend, Daksh?" He said while rolling his eyes. Annika sighed dramatically.

"Fine," She said, dragging the word, "I'll just go and tell Daksh that I'm sleeping over in the mansion. Maybe he and I could also hang out or watch a movie or-"

"Wait, you're staying the night?" Shivaay asked, his eye lit up, as he forgot all his annoyance for a while. Annika nodded, biting her lip to hide a smile. In a second, he had wrapped his arms around her waist and twirled her around, making her squeal.

"Gosh, I'm so happy," Shivaay breathed into her hair as he put her down, "I feel like we barely get time to be alone these days."

"Oh hello mister, don't get so excited," Annika said as she put her hands on his shoulder and leaned back to look up at him, "It's not like we'll be able to spend the night together or something," her cheeks turned slightly pink at that, and Shivaay smirked inwardly.

"And why not?" He asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Because," Annika started, "You have your entire family here? What will everyone think if they see us together at night, Shivaay!"

"They will think," Shivaay said while nuzzling her soft cheeks, "that bechaare Shivaay and Annika are getting to romance after so long, let us not disturb them."

Annika rolled her eyes at that, and keeping her hands on his chest, pushed him away.

"Keep dreaming, Shiv. Anyway, I should get going now; need to make arrangements for the Puja." Saying so, Annika left, breaking into a run as Shivaay tried to pull her back by the wrist. Watching her, he smiled to himself and ruffled his own hair, elated that they would get to spend time together and that hopefully, he would be able to sleep cuddling her again.

And maybe get another kiss out of the deal? He thought with a blush.

Because God knew, Shivaay Singh Oberoi would give up anything to taste the enigma that was Annika, again.

**
During the Puja that was being held to pray for Abhay and Tanya's happy married life, Shivaay had changed into a simple white kurta and as he stood next to Annika while the pandit chanted some mantras, they looked every essence the picture perfect couple that they were. Shivaay was even sneakily trying to hold her hand, while Annika kept prying it away and giving him stern glares. All of this was noticed by Dadi, and it wasn't just Abhay and Tanya who she was praying for.

"The couples of the house please come forward and do the aarti, the pandit requested once he was done with the chants. Tej, Jhanvi and Shakti and Pinky came forward, along with Abhay and Tanya's parents and the duo themselves. While Shivaay and Annika were busy whispering amongst themselves since he kept telling her to not make any plans with the girls and be with him for the night, Dadi addressed them.

"Areh Billu and Annika puttar, you two also come for the Puja, na?" She said, making the two in question widen their eyes.

"Dadi, hum?" Shivaay asked, surprised. The pandit had specified 'couples' and Dadi of all people definitely knew how much of a couple Shivaay and Annika really were.

"Yes, yes, ofcourse," Pinky's excited voice intervened, " Panditji said couples, na? Then why you both are standings there? Come quickly!"

The elders passed knowing smiles while the younger ones snickered, as Shivaay and Annika -whose hand he had finally managed to tightly grasp- made their way forward. And as it was their turn to do the aarti- which they did with full devotion and looked beautiful while doing it, his hand over hers- Dadi leaned in towards her two elder bahus and whispered-

"Humaare pind mein kehte hain- it's very auspicious for a couple to do aarti together. Dekhna, soon our Billu and his Billi will be together for real."

**

Come to my room!- S

What's taking you so long?- S

Babe, I'll come and pick you up and bring you here myself in a while!-S

Annika didn't quite understand what she should do reading these texts from her very impatient baggad billa. These three had been sent in a span of two minutes, and Annika felt like giggling and then bashing her head against the wall reading them. As it was, the girls- namely- Prinku, Saumya and Tanya- were teasing her for checking her phone time and again. If she went to meet Shivaay now, when they were supposed to be having a 'girls' night in', what would they think? Nope, he would just have to wait till the others fell asleep and she could sneak out. Which would probably take a long time since the four had a lot to gossip about.

"So tell me, Tanya- how did you and Abhay meet?" Annika asked Tanya, after sending Shivaay a You will do no such thing! I'll come late -.-'text.

"In college," Tanya said with a slight blush. "We were doing the same course. We're really different from each other, you know? With him being so extroverted and me being quite shy in general. But slowly, we became friends and fell in love."

"Aww, that's so romantic!" Saumya gushed. "Tell me, bhabhi- how long have you been dreaming of this wedding of yours?" She asked.

"Well, I hadn't really dreamt of it so much, to be honest. Mama-Mami have done a lot for me since childhood, so wanting a grand wedding never really occurred to me. But..." She trailed off, and the other girls stared at her in confusion.

"But what, Tanya?" Annika asked, keeping a assuring hand on her arm. Tanya smiled at the gesture.

"Actually, as a teenager I always dreamt of a destination wedding, you know? Just one of those bucket list things. But ofcourse, what I'm getting is much more than I had ever wanted."

Having said that, she went on to another topic, and the others went back to their giggling and gossiping session.

Annika, however, was thinking about something deeply, and she knew she would have to talk to Shivaay about it. Soon.

"Guys, I'll be back, okay?" She said, getting down from the bed, "I need to- um- drink water," She said sheepishly. Priyanka looked at her with a teasing smile.

"I mean, we have water here too, Anni," Prinku said as she pointed towards a jug, "But if you only want water from a specific place, we don't mind!"

As the other girls laughed at Annika's expense, she threw a pillow towards Prinku and rushed off with a blush.

**

Shivaay was working on his Macbook, sitting cross-legged on his bed after having changed into his nightwear, when Annika walked in and locked the door. He wanted to appear grumpy and ignore her, but unfortunately when it came to this woman all his resolutions went down the drain. As he looked up, he could have sworn she was the hottest sight he had ever had the pleasure of beholding. Wearing a thin old tank top of Prinku's, paired with short shorts, she approached him while running her hands through her hair, which was slightly damp since she had taken a shower a while ago. Even from a distance, Shivaay was getting whiffs of her heavenly, fresh scent.

"Hello," She greeted him casually. Shivaay frowned.

"I hope no one saw you while you were coming here?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, no one saw me. Do you think I would want anyone to know I'm coming to your room?" She asked as as she sat behind him on her knees, and looped her arms around his neck from behind. Shivaay smiled- the reason he didn't want anyone to see her was not because he didn't want people to know she was here, but because he didn't want anyone to see her looking like what she was, now. This was a sight he'd rather have reserved for him, solely.

"What are you doing?" She asked, peeping over his shoulder to look at his Macbook.

"Work," He replied, and she scowled.

"If you're so busy, why were you disturbing me with your non-stop texts?" She asked with an annoyed pout, and Shivaay grinned. He shut the lid of his laptop in a second, and kept it away. Tilting his head up to look at her, he grinned cheekily.

"There you go now- I'm all yours," He said, and Annika smacked his arm. Remembering what she had to talk to him about, she started talking, absentmindedly massaging his shoulders, which he was enjoying greatly.

"I had to talk to you about something," She said.

"Go on," Shivaay replied, eyes closed as he relaxed under her soothing touch.

"Woh, actually, I know it's probably too late, but the thing is, Tanya was just saying that she has always wanted a destination wedding. And I know we've prepared everything here already, but I was wondering if you could still do something..." She trailed off. "It's just, it was her dream and she didn't say anything because-"

"I understand, Annika," Shivaay said, wondering how she always managed to want the happiness of others. "But it's too late, you know. We can't possibly re-arrange everything in a matter of a few days," He said, and Annika nodded understandingly, her face a little sad.

"But," Shivaay continued, an idea striking in his mind, as he turned around to face her. "If we can't have the wedding abroad, we can surely have the reception there, can't we?" He asked with a grin, and Annika's eye lit up.

"Really? Can we do that?" She asked excitedly, and Shivaay nodded. Delighted, Annika threw her arms around his neck, and placed a long kiss on his cheek, making him smile wider.

"Thankyou so much, Shivaay!" She exclaimed as she pulled back, crawling back to lean against the pillows and settling in comfortably. Shivaay soon joined her, and pulling the duvet over them, he turned off the lights. Annika snuggled closer to him, her head on his chest as he played with her hair.

"Anything for you, babe," He whispered, kissing the top of her head, but she had already dozed off.

**

Okay I admit, the scene was quite rushed and really unromantic. But guys, the fact that I'm updating now even when my exams are so close must count for something, eh? Hope it was worth the read 💕