Falling in Love - A Shivika Romance ✔

65. Reflection of Affections

Cover Credit: anamika_writes

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Annika returned home to find Shivaay busy in the kitchen. The utensils made more noise, water flowed carelessly drenching the platform around and the stove was put on high when a medium heat would work. Her eyes dilated larger seeing spices smeared on cabinet handles and peels of diced onions uncleaned from the cutting. It was as if her soul had entered his body.

"Good evening." She tried starting a conversation while he seemed adamant to ignore her. He put some garlic paste on the diced onions already frying in oil creating a loud noise that polluted the unwanted silence in the room.

"Shivaay." He ignored her call for attention. She managed to look at his eyes that said he was upset. She sighed. She should inform him about her decision.

"I need to talk to you."

"It's important," she added.

She heard the annoying noise of the knife and cutting board as he went on chopping some veggies. Her shoulder blades hung low. If he was upset thinking she would go away then he should be listening to her. He would then know she wasn't leaving.

"What's up with you?" an irritated Annika asked, "I am here to talk to you and you aren't paying attention."

He pointed the knife in his hand to her direction saying, "Learned it from the best," before walking to the fridge to get some limes.

She heaved a sigh, "Got it. Let me come straight to the point. How long are you going to be here?"

"Why do you care?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"I am not leaving for London. You have to tolerate me at the office and at home as long as you are here, so if you have any problem with this, I don't care."

"Wow, even now you are thinking about me." Shivaay tried hard to suppress the smile threatening to form on his lips. He had already found limes in the fridge however for the sake of straightening his face, he kept pretending to search for nothing in particular.

"Ab kya dhoond rahe ho aap?" she asked.

"Tumhara dimaag. Lekin lagta hain ab vo fridge mein jama hua nahi hain. Bahar apne jagah pe agaya hain," he replied with a chuckle.

"Haha, very funny," she frowned.

He returned with just the limes in his hand and continued preparing dinner. She narrowed her eyes at him now knowing that he was only pretending to search for something in the fridge maybe for annoying her. And he was pretty much successful.

She watched as he worked in the kitchen without any further talks. She was getting bored. Rising on her toes, she helped herself to sit on the kitchen platform. She intentionally made the black peppers fall to see his reaction. He stared at the bottle of fallen peppers for two seconds, shrugged his shoulders, and went back to his job.

"Sometimes I don't understand why you do what you do and when you do them," she said more to herself than to him.
"As in?"

"As in," she signed at the dirty plates, "You always take care of cleanliness in the kitchen. You panic if a single ingredient is misplaced and you try not to make a lot of sounds. Today, you are just the opposite. These— All this. Is usually done by me. Why are you acting like me?"

"Why have you been drinking espresso since the past few mornings and keeping your closet organized ever since we came here?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "A question for a question never works. And it's my choice."