Tu muskuraye har jagah

28

[Annika - A, Shivaay - S, Rudra - Ru]

Mishra: Sir, we've lost the tender

S: How could this happen, Mishra? Our quote was so low, how did we lose? This deal was so important for us

Mishra: I know sir, I asked them about the winning bid, it was a few thousand less than ours. Khurana's placed that bid

S: So not only did we lose the tender, we lost it to our biggest competitors. Great! Prepare for next week's deal, we cannot lose that at any cost.

Mishra: Yes sir

S(in his mind): Why did this happen now? I can't deal with all of this

Shivaay went home, his mind ready to explode. His realization about losing Annika already tormented him and now this loss. And on top of everything, he had to make gajar halwa tomorrow morning. A year had passed by so quickly. Thinking about tomorrow worsened his mood. He broke everything in his room and sat in a corner with his mother's picture.

Ru: Bhaiyya

No one had seen Shivaay in hours and they knew how fragile he got around this date. Rudra came to check up on him. He helped Shivaay get up and placed the frame back on the bedside table

Ru: Come, let's have dinner

Shivaay didn't speak to anyone the whole time and the next morning, just like the last 10 years, he got up early to make halwa, after all, it was his mother's favorite.

By the time they reached, Annika was done with the pooja for her mother. She distributed prasad among the beggars and waited for the Oberois to be done with their pooja. Shivaay went out to distribute the halwa.

A: Daadi, if you don't mind me asking, who are you doing the pooja for?

Daadi: Just like you, today is Shivaay's mother's death anniversary

Annika looked at Shivaay, who was distributing the halwa and shawls.

Daadi: It's been 11 years but he has still not recovered from this loss

A: I know how he feels, it's not easy to cope

Daadi: It's complicated, puttar

A: How did she die? Was she sick?

Daadi: I don't think he'll like it if I told you. Even a single thought of that incident brings him a lot of pain. He's very vulnerable right now.

A: Don't worry daadi, I won't talk about it with him.

Annika went down and started her scooty. She saw Shivaay leaving in his car, alone.

A(in her mind): where is he going? He doesn't look well, should I follow him?

She followed him for a while, wondering where he was going since this route didn't lead to either his house or his office. Shivaay finally stopped outside a locked bungalow. He pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Annika knew following him was wrong but she did it anyway. She wanted to make sure he was alright.

She went inside and looked around for him. There were a lot of pictures hung on the walls, and all of them had Pinky, either alone or with the family.

A: Shivaay...

She called out but got no response. She heard a banging sound coming from the backside of the house. She followed the sound. Shivaay had a sledgehammer in his hands which he was striking on a tire.