The Making of a Fairytale

15| all I see is orange hues

Annika stared at her reflection on the screen of her phone. Running her fingers through her hair, she wondered if she should get a haircut. It reached up to her waist now; maybe she could cut it till her shoulders? Frowning, Annika realized she couldn't do that before the wedding. Her mom would kill her and besides, long hair was necessary for the hairstyles she had in mind for the different functions. Annika wasn't going to compromise on anything included in her Wedding Planner diary. She had spent years on it and wasn't going to let a spur-of-the-moment decision by a stupid Annika to ruin that. Lost in these thoughts, Annika failed to hear the knock on the door of her cabin.

"Busy?"

Popping his head in, Annika's immediate boss, Viraj Singh Dhillon, asked her with a smile. Annika kept her phone away and shook her head.

"Sorry," She said sheepishly. "I was just taking a break."

"That's fine," He said with a wave of his hand, walking in leaning against her desk. "I came for the data report for last month's sales. Is it ready?"

"Yep," Annika replied, handing him a file. "I was just going to come and give it to you but got distracted."

"By your own face?" Viraj grinned, going through the report. Annika rolled her eyes. He closed the file after a brief inspection and gave her a huge smile. Annika had to admit – Viraj was a charming man. She had been working here for just a week, but he had managed to make her feel very comfortable. Annika was eternally grateful.

"Looks good," He told her. "I'll go through it properly and email you any changes I have, okay?" Annika nodded. He was about to get up, before something caught his eye. He stared curiously at her left hand.

"Did you get engaged between yesterday and today?" He asked. Annika looked down at her engagement ring and laughed.

"Oh, no. I got engaged a couple of months ago, actually. It's just that I don't particularly like wearing a ring." Well, that was partly true. It's just that she didn't particularly like this ring.

"Ah," Viraj nodded. "Any special occasion today?"

Annika shrugged. "My bua-dadi caught me before I left for work and made me wear it forcefully." Annika didn't add the part where she relented to her bua-dadi's demand because she was going to visit her fiancé later. Meeting him without the ring wouldn't really look good, especially because she hadn't once seen Shivaay without his engagement ring. But then, his was a simple band Annika had personally designed; hers was a huge-ass stone that looked almost odd on her finger. 

"If you don't mind me asking," Viraj continued, a little hesitantly, "who is your fiancé?"

"His name is Shivaay," Annika said with a smile. "He's a businessman."

"Shivaay Singh Oberoi?" Viraj asked. For a second, his expression changed to something Annika couldn't decipher. "I know him."

"Because of business?" Annika asked.

"Well, that, and we went to college together. Harvard, batch of 2014."

"Oh, wow!" Annika exclaimed. "That is so cool. It's a small world."

"It really is," Viraj said, with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Anyway, I should be going now. Great work, Annika. If you're done with everything for the day, you're free to leave now."

Annika didn't need to be told twice. Shivaay had suggested she come visit his office today and she had been excited since morning. She had even dressed up with more care than usual. Quickly packing her bag, Annika gave a call to her driver to bring the car. Soon, she was off to Oberoi Industries, head office, Worli.