Hello people 🙂 You may have noticed the change from ‘Om and Ishu’ to ‘Shivaay and Anika’. That’s because this episode is dedicated to them completely. Also, I’m so glad with your response that I’ve decided to carry on with it as planned and see this off nicely, with no loose ends. I feel like saying “Mogambo… Khush hua!” 😛 😉
Enough with my kidding, let’s begin with the episode.
Link to previous posts: http://www.tellyupdates.com/user/6187/?profiletab=posts
EPISODE 10: LUCKY
FLASHBACK: SHIVAAY
A FEW HOURS AGO, IN THE BASEMENT INTERROGATION ROOM
“Are you sure you wanna do this?” I asked for the hundredth time. My palm was resting on her shoulder rather comfortably, but it was actually there to hold her back. Of course, that changed nothing. “Shivaay, I want to help if I can”, she insisted.
“I don’t want you in any kind of danger. And I’ve tried all kinds of interrogation on him, but he just wouldn’t say a word. So, what’s the use of all this?” I reasoned. My voice sounded pleading by the end. Why wouldn’t she let it go? Was this worth her sleepless and worrying nights?
“Shivaay, you’ll be there with me. So I know I’ll be safe. It couldn’t hurt to talk to him, right?” her soft voice reassured me until she said the next sentence. “I went to Swetlana on my own and came back all right. This is nothing compared to that.”
My eyes almost popped out at this new info. “You did what?” I asked a bit too loudly. She realized her slip and tried covering it up, but it sounded too lame. “I mean I could go on my own…” her voice trailed off as she eyed me carefully, scared that I would take her back upstairs immediately. Instead, I was so annoyed at her that I almost shouted, “Very well then, if that’s what you want to do. Go ahead and risk your life to your heart’s content. You should have been awake back then when you were kidnapped. Only then you would have understood how dangerous it can be! Didn’t you see Ishu’s condition after her encounter with this guy? You really don’t think of what will happen to me if anything wrong happens with you?”
I finally took in the silence that had descended in the room. Everyone was looking at me curiously, stunned with my outburst. I snapped my fingers at them saying, “Back to work.” Meanwhile Anika’s mouth had fallen open and she was breathing unevenly. I gulped down the lump in my throat and closed her mouth with a finger. That settled her a bit and I raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head a little and at length she said, “Sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“It’s okay. I guess I overreacted. Let’s do it like good cop, bad cop, okay?” I asked only to see her face go blank. “You play the good cop”, I told her and pushed open the door leading to the attacker. I knew Anika had seen him once before, but I still looked at her to check if she was okay. Honestly, the guy did look scary with his heavy built and his salt and pepper beard and short hair had grown shaggy now. If anything, he looked worse than before. But Anika wasn’t fazed by him at all. She calmly walked over to the table and sat across him, waiting for me to join her.
“Are you still hell bent on not saying anything about who sent you?” I began. He had the usual look of boredom and stubbornness plastered on his face and I dropped the bomb. “I wanted you to know that we did find a few things about you. For example, I know where your little son and wife live”, I spit out harshly, slapping a picture of the two on the table. The man trembled in distress and fear, but he aggressively countered, “Why don’t you just punish me for my crime and hand me over to the police or whatever?”
I leaned in closer with anger pouring out of every pore in my body; anger for the threat he posed to my family, and the frustration on not being able to do anything about it. “Now you know how it feels when your family is the one at stake”, I said passionately. Unable to continue any further, I walked out briskly. Once outside, I held the door slightly open to be able to hear everything going on inside and move inside if need be. To my surprise, Anika took her time beginning. At last, she did.
“Your family is sweet. Are they the reason you decided to do such a thing with mine?” her voice was low, but honesty and sympathy overflowed even in her query. The other man was silent for some time but when he spoke up, he sounded genuinely weary and scared. “Yes. He said he’ll get my wife a much better house and money and he’ll get my son admitted in a better school. All I had to do was kill a girl.”
What? He wasn’t there to kill Om? My shock resonated in Anika’s next question. “What girl? Do you mean the one who fought you back?” I think she showed him a picture of Ishu and he replied, “Yes, that’s her. I don’t get why you are surprised. She’s the one I attacked”, he said a little curiosity coloring his tired voice. “Don’t worry about it”, Anika said hastily. I don’t think the man was convinced but I figured he knew he wasn’t going to get an answer in return.
“So, who hired you?” she asked directly. There was another long pause and he said, “I can’t tell you that. He even threatened to kill my family if I ever said anything about him.” I noticed a tinge of regret and helplessness and wondered if I had been too horrible in terrorizing him with the same threat his employer had used.
“How about you give me a hint?” she asked. I could bet that if this didn’t work, I’ll go ahead and try to crack his head open to find out this mysterious person who hid behind others and attacked. “I can tell you that he’s from your family itself. You think you can handle it, if this becomes the reason for your beloved family to break up? I was paid for this very task once. What makes you think he wouldn’t pay me or anyone else to do this again?” he asked rather affectionately.
“I don’t care for anyone else but Shivaay. So, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you or anyone else hurt my family.” Her speech had a determination that made me love her more. “You seem like a good person, and I don’t want to hurt you. But is there a guarantee that ‘your Shivaay’ won’t do anything to hurt my family, since I was the one to harm his? Or worse, that your father-in-law won’t carry out his threat?”
“Papa?” I heard Anika breathe out in shock. As soon as the word left her mouth, I couldn’t hear anything. I wanted to stay and make sure that she was okay, but I just couldn’t. I wanted to run away and hide in a cave.
If this was true; I didn’t even want to think it, but if it was true for either of them after all, what would I do? I signaled a few men working outside to keep an eye on them and left that suffocating dungeon with hurried steps. On my way to my room, I saw both my fathers at the other end of the corridor, talking amicably. On any other day, this sight would’ve made me smile happily. But today, I pretended to be on a call and went straight to my room to hide like a coward unable to come to terms with this new information.
That’s when Om called.
*FLASHBACK ENDS*
ANIKA’S PERSPECTIVE
I had never seen Shivaay like this. Even when Swetlana was captured and she had told him about their revenge on Bade Papa, he hadn’t broken down so much. He had his doubts then, but he never even considered leaving his family. I assumed he had overheard my exchange with that man seeing how his shoulders were slumping as if under a great load. So, I held myself back from talking about it.
He expressed a desire to go far away and I couldn’t have thought of denying him that space he desperately craved for. Although it was dark, it wasn’t too late and the Mumbai traffic didn’t fail to disappoint. He spoke very little, only murmuring orders into his phone and asking his employees to manage everything in his absence. Count on Shivaay Singh Oberoi to be responsible even in times of great personal crisis! At length he pulled out the Bluetooth speaker from his ear and tossed it away.
“Where are we going?” I asked, attempting to distract him from his turmoil, if only momentarily. “Our lake”, he replied curtly, his voice sounding gruff. The lights on the road did little to lighten the dark shade in his olive green eyes. The hard set of his jaw and the strained knuckles on the steering merely hinted at the bitterness wreaking havoc within. At times it would break out, but he reined it in by punching the horn alive. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I reached out and touched his hand quietly. It worked and he became visibly calmer.
Even when we reached the lake, he couldn’t let go of the emotional burden and not knowing what to do, I quietly held his hand and watched the windy waters which weren’t quite so serene today; nor was the crunch of pebbles under my feet as smooth and comforting.
“What can I do?” I asked finally. He turned to me with a huge question mark expression and I elaborated. “What can I do to make it okay?” His blue eyes softened immediately and he caressed my face with his other palm, leaving it at my jaw. “This is enough. You, being here, is enough for everything to be okay”, he said tenderly. His voice had turned velvety and I moved closer to hug him tight against the cold wind. “I’m always here Shivaay. No matter what, I’ll always be here”, I said into his chest as his strong arms encircled me.
SNEAK PEEK: Shivaay stands quietly with an emotionless mask on his face while Anika tries to decide whether or not to tell Ishkara about this new info.
So guys, what do you think will happen now? Any guesses about what could possibly be the reason behind all this or how Ishkara would react if they come to know about this? Waiting for your comments, so comment freely and let me know your views 🙂