"Oh God, how will I ever wear these clothes!"

Literally crying to herself, Annika flung cloth after cloth- if they could be called that- into the black louis vuitton suitcase Shivaay had gotten for her. Now that it was finally time for them to go to Bali, she was second guessing all her decisions, but of course it was too late to turn back now. So, with a thumping heart, she kept on packing, all the while cursing herself for trying to be so bold.

"Annika, are you ready yet, we need to leave for the airport!"

Walking in to the room, Shivaay was surprised to see that Annika was still stuffing clothes into her suitcase, which she slammed shut as soon as he entered.

"Why don't you want me to see what you're packing?" Shivaay asked. Even in the last two days, she had refused to tell him what all she was taking to Bali, much to Shivaay's annoyance because he really wanted to know if she was taking something that would put the swimming pool in their room to good use...

"Why do you need to know?" Annika asked, scowling, now zipping up the bag and setting it down. Shivaay shrugged. He had already changed into some casual clothes- a black t-shirt with fitting pants, and of course a casual matching jacket to go with it. Their flight was in three hours- at 7 PM- and everyone had already assembled in the hall, all set to go, while here his girlfriend was still dressed in her old kurti and jeans. Moving forward, he opened the handle of the trolley bag.

"Babe, get ready quickly, alright? Everyone's waiting for us. I'll just take this downstairs." 

Annika nodded, arms crossed, and Shivaay took the bag with him, grabbing his one along the way, and left the room. Sighing, and running a hand through her hair before gripping them lightly, Annika closed her eyes and tried to relax. Assuring herself that all would be fine and she should be positive about the whole thing, she grabbed the clothes she was going to wear and went into the washroom.

When Annika walked downstairs, dressed in a full-sleeve dark navy-blue dress with white polka dots that reached her mid-thighs, paired with white sneakers and a cute pink minibag on her shoulders, she saw that everyone else was indeed ready and waiting in the hall.

"The queen has arrived," Rudra announced, bowing down before her as she descended the last stair, and she rolled her eyes. All the other ladies of the house were dressed in vacation clothes too, Pinky aunty already wearing a straw hat, and it warmed Annika's heart to see it. Forgetting about all the insecurities she had been facing, Annika let the feeling of her first vacation ever sink in, and skipped over to wear Shivaay stood giving instructions to Khanna- who would, of course, be accompanying them- with a bright smile on her face. He didn't stop speaking as she approached, but did give her a one-over with his eyes that had her blushing. Standing together, with their suitacases around, they looked a picture-perfect couple off for a vacation.

"Okay guys, all the cars are lined up near the gate," Shivaay's booming voice shut up everyone's excited talk in the hall, and they listened to him attentively, "The staff will board your luggage later, you all get into the cars first."

Again, the excited murmur started, and everyone grabbed their hand bags and started moving towards the doors. Saumya and Prinku came forward, looping their arms around Annika's from both sides, and the three girls followed the others too, whispering and giggling at the prospect of going to Bali together. It was like a dream vacation for them. Moving outside, they got into a car, along with Gauri and Rudra, making their ride to the airport a lit one, full of laughter and gossiping and doing chugli of the other two Oberoi men AKA Shivaay and Om.

When they reached the airport, all five of them excitedly grabbed their luggage that had been brought by another car, and got inside. After scanning their luggage, they waited in the lounge for everyone to assemble together. A while later, after everyone had reached, Shivaay came, too.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" He asked irritably as he came to stand beside Annika, who looked at him questioningly.

"I came with the others," She shrugged. "Mister, I'm not going on a vacation with you only, you know that, right?"

"Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at her intently, "Well, let's see what happens when we get there." 

He winked after that, and taking her hand, intertwined their fingers together. Annika leaned towards him, and together, they all walked forward to do the check-in and board their flight.

The entire business class area of their flight had been reserved for the wedding group, exclusively, and for some relatives who weren't so well off, this was a huge luxury. Annika and Shivaay, of course, sat together, on the last business class seats. After the plane had taken off and flown high enough for Annika to not be able to see anything out of the window anymore, she kept her head on Shivaay's shoulder, who was reading a business magazine while sipping some wine, and closed her eyes, her right hand holding his left one on the arm-rest between them.

"Sleepy, love?" He asked, looking down at her. Annika hummed in response. Although the wedding was over, she had had to get up early this morning- well, early for her, anyway- and go to Oberoi Mansion to help prepare for some post-marriage rituals. Much to Shivaay's displeasure, she had moved back to her own house, and the only thing that had helped him sleep at night was the satisfaction of the knowledge that he would get to have her in his arms again in Bali, all he wanted.

"You should sleep for a while, then. We gotta stay awake the whole night, you know," He said with a smirk. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, confused.

"Why?"

"Because," He said, slowly to get it into her thick head, "I won't let you sleep at night."

As he said that, Annika narrowed her eyes and smacked him on the arm.

"Oh hello, as if we'll be staying in the same room or something. In fact, main toh Saumya, Prinku aur Gauri ke saathe saari raat movies dekhungi aur-"

"Annika, darling, if you think we won't be staying in the same room, you have to be really, really naive."

Mouth agape, Annika asked him what that meant, but he ignored all her questions and put on his headphones, moving his head along with the music. 

**

As soon as they were out of the plane, landing in Bali, Annika and her girl gang ran off to get done with the immigration and everything as soon as possible, making the rest of the family laugh after them. When finally, they were out of the airport, Annika was mesmerized by the serenity of the place. The city lights looked breathtaking, and Annika was left in disbelief that she was actually here, in another country for the first time. Breaking her out of her thoughts, her girlfriends dragged her along to sit in one of the cars that had been booked in advance, and Shivaay, once again staying back to make sure everyone was seated properly, couldn't accompany her in the same car.

The hotel they were staying at was of course an extremely lavish, five star resort- Soori Bali- with it's own private beach. They all stood in the lobby before being allocated their rooms, staring at the beatiful, classy decor. Everyone was eager to go to the beach this very instant, but since they were all tired, they decided to wait till morning.

"Okay guys, here are the key-cards."

Shivaay, as usual in charge, neared the group after sorting things out at the counter. 

"The elders all have the rooms on the third floor," He handed a few of them the cards, since their respective partners would of course share with them, "And the younger ones on the fifth floor."

This had, of course, been pre-planned so that no one gave him lectures about staying with his girlfriend. And also so that they got to have the top most floor which gave the most privacy.

"Bhaiya, aap kis category mein ho?" Rudra asked casually, making Shivaay glare at him.

"And Abhay and Tanya," Shivaay continued, "have the honeymoon suite on the fourth floor."

For the newly wed couple, this was also a honeymoon, and in fact they would be staying a few days more than the others.

"Okay guys, it's late now so let's all go to our rooms. Feel free to order room-service for dinner. We'll meet tomorrow for breakfast."

Hearing Shivaay's authoritative instructions, eveyrone nodded, and went towards their rooms, grateful that they were finally here and would be able to rest. Shivaay grabbed Annika's hand, and all them younger ones made their way to the top floor, their luggages being carried by the bell boys. Admist snickers and hoot calls by the others, to which Shivaay paid no heed and Annika blushed, he dragged her towards 'their' room. After they had entered and the staff had kept their suitcases in place, Annika looked around the room and was absolutely stunned. The room was beautiful, fully carpeted with a very soft looking king-size bed, a few plush sofas, and a large tv screen on one wall. The lighting was dim and gave off very romantic vibes, and there were a few fancy paintings hung around. But what really caught Annika's eye was the glass screen doors on one side, that led into their very private pool. Walking in, she found that it was open area, with shade only above the tables and chairs placed around, and if you swam to the other end of the pool, you would get a breathtaking view of one part of the beach. 

"You like it?" Shivaay asked, breaking Annika out of her reverie as he came and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"I love it," She whispered into the night air, before leaning back against his chest. If this was just the beginning, she couldn't wait to find out what else Bali held for her.

**

Moodboard by ImLilMissComplicated 💕

Okayy so I wasn't planning to update today, but I won't be able to write tomorrow and probably not the day after, either, so here it is! We are, finally, in Bali. 

Dedicating this one to itsvinisha and mazna4501 who were so excited with the sneak peek I sent them, it self ;) ❤❤