Let's the story begin....

*****

Kameela Devgan

My working place was my everything. Maybe, that's how I assumed it to be but I'm really serious when I said that so.

It was a plus size fashion designing company and I'm one of the consultant here, where I suggest and promote the outfits of their choices.

Why my work is my everything? Cause it's the only place that I would be noticed as the real me.

Apart from all the peaking times which would lead me to face lots of customers, I would eventually enjoy it because of the similarities that we would share. Our stories, the background and the way people treat us would be quiet the same and most of my advisory session would be about how to stay strong as the big girl.

I'm body positivity, I love my body the way it is and I never regretted a bit of being so after I joined my work.

Well, I did felt so terribly insecure when I went through my teenage lifespan and as I stepped into my college under fashion designing course, most would be giving me the look of 'why is she even taking fashion?' and so, the insecurities continuous.

Though, it never stops me from studying of what I adore a lot and my grades came flying colors as I got free scholarship to pursue my bachelor degree in fashion designing. Mostly, I got used to all the teasing and judging stares, yet the hurt deep inside my heart remains.

Next comes the choices of workplace that I wanted to pick out and CurveCult was my first choice as it was the leading plus size store in the town. I got accepted in a blink and the very next week, I was already in their advisory department.

In a word, there's nothing that would make me happy rather than my working place.

"Kameela, can you pass me that magazine." Lisa, the beautiful curvy Chinese woman asked me with her usual wide smile and I span around to get a hold of the magazine.

I turn back around and lend her the piece yet she winked at me while singing, "Thank you, Cabello."

I laughed as I saw her retreating figure and at the name she gave me after 'Camila Cabello' since I let her know yet she's the most cheerful person I know and my best friend.

It was the last day of work before we are given a week off for the recent victory in the yearly achievement and of course, I'm not happy.

I would definitely miss my workplace and only I know of how I'm going to get through this a week off.

After waiting till the last customer's leave, we briefly took a group photo before we closed down the store together and we are separated in our ways back home.

I get to my car and drove off to the 10 minutes away condominium that I rented. A cozy one bedroom unit condo which would be really into my taste with the view of the whole city on the balcony.

Coming back to my home, I breathed out the first thing that popped in my mind, "Home sweet home. " And yes, my house comes next after my workplace.

I threw my clutch bag on my couch and I went into my room. Striping myself out of my dress, I strolled into the shower.

After freshening up myself, I put on my night pajamas and headed to my kitchen. I took out the leftover of the butter cake from the fridge and made myself a hot chocolate milk to calm down my nerves for the breezing rains outside.

I held onto the hot chocolate milk and butter cake yet made my way to my living room. Plopping onto the couch, I reached for the controller on the coffee table in front and switched on the television to entertain myself with the series that I left unwatched.

On the middle of watching, I heard my phone ringing and it took some seconds to process the questions that popped in me.

Why is she calling me at this time? Is it another set of convincing call? What if they aren't well?

I answered the call the next second after minding through the last troublesome question and I heard my mother soft voice which is calm like usual yet that put me in ease.

"Baby girl, how are you? Why aren't you giving us a call? You have been so engrossed in work as you had forget your parents here, isn't it?" She did that typical Indian mom cooing and I sighed, thinking of what did they planned this time.

"Maa, I'm fine and what's going on there? How's appa and you?" I asked like the responsible kid, rather than sighing loudly at her respond just now.

"We are fine and would you ever come to visit us?" She questioned with a mild expectation in her tone.

"What do you guys plan this time?" I huffed, sighing aloud at the finality I went through.

"What does that mean, Kameela? Are you saying that I'm only calling you over just because we want you to do something? Can't we even know that our one and only daughter is fine or not?" She nearly yelled out of anger as she continue throwing questions.

"Maa, stop...please. I...I have loads of work to be done here, my job now only doubles and I even had no time to breath. So, no...I'm not planning to visit anytime sooner for now." I obviously lied.

Why? Only I know of what I will go through by my parents, who's both craze for money and reputation.

"No, w-what? " She was startled at first and I heard her slight mumbling over the call before sneering "Now, how can I make her meet him?"

"I knew it, maa. I knew it. You and paa had already began the matchmaking, isn't it? Why, maa? Why are you guys very adamant to tie me down so badly." I grumbled in my high tone and I heard her sighing.

"Kameela, you won't understand. A woman needs to be settle down so that she would have someone by her side forever. You can't tolerate your whole life being a spinster." My mother explains in her motherly tone.

"I know that, maa. B-But...you know of how those men want their women to be. You know of how much of humiliation I went through from the previous suitors you guys arranged. You know of how much I take my self respect high rather than listening to their stupid accusation over the way I look. I-I just...don't want to go through all that anymore." I confessed in my lowest voice as I swallowed down the lump in my throat. My cheeks slowly getting stains with tears which I'm really unaware of.

"This is why I asked you to lose at least 10 kgs of your weight. If that happens, I'm sure you will be in a better look and the guys would fall head over heels on my daughter's beauty. " Is she seriously taking the stupid fellows' sides again? This is why, this is exactly why I left my parents.

I decided to move out and stay on my own just because of this continuous blame or should I say their advisory words that would only hurt me to the core. It sucks to even think that my parents taking sides over those useless junks rather than their own daughter.

"Enough, ma. I'm not going to come over for any of your matchmaking thing again. I know how to live my life and thank you for your concern!" I raged in a breath and cut down the call.

Quickly shutting down my phone, I threw it over the table and old sulky memories started to pop up its way in my head.

"Everyone is talking about how disgrace for a woman in your age to not get married by now and here you are, eating some unhealthy junk foods without even having a single thought of how our reputation sinking because of you!" I heard my mother shouting and my heart burst in finality of what I planned to do next.

Though, this was the words that put me into peak and I was done with everything.

I bolted upstairs to my room and slammed the door shut. I stuffed up my clothes on my luggage bag and carried downstairs.

After few minutes, I was already ramming my car's engine with my stuffs packed up and sped off without giving any single explanation to my so called parents. I spent the night in Lisa's apartment and the very next day, I went to house-hunting yet thankfully I got to rent the condo which is only two blocks away from my work place. Also, the location was right middle in the city which makes my life easier.

Since that day, I started to live on my own while shrugging off those talks people give of how the well-known parent's of mine had let their only daughter living in a one bedroom unit condominium.

None of them known of how much I went through and this gossips were one of the reason why my parent's used to think me as the ruin-er of their reputation. Like, this people would bluntly go behind my back and would began bad-mouthing about how contempt I'm with the way I look.

The separation did hurts, I have been with them since the beginning and I knew of how much worried they could be. But there's a limit for everything and you can't always put up with accusations or humiliation, no matter whoever is it from.

I eventually began contacting back with my parents and I did felt bad to rash out on them. Thus, they were still adamant to find me a man but everything went into vain when the suitors rejected me on the very first sight.

It's been roughly 3 years since I began living in serene and it wouldn't even fit a day if we start talking about how the 27 year old me survived this world of dispute.

*****

I dressed up quickly in a red dress for the party hosting by Lisa to celebrate her first year anniversary and I'm sure she's going to kill me cause I'm going to be late.

I cued myself out of my condo and after taking the elevator to the basement parking, I sped away to the location she send me.

In an hour, I was in front of the huge building and it was located just closer to the center of the city. After parking my car, I strolled into the building and the concierge guided me to a see through glassed elevator. I thanked him with a smile and some people even joined with me in the space before the elevator starts moving.

The elevator halted in the highest floor which is 43th and it dinged open, revealing our colleagues and some other new faces in between. I joined in the crowd and it was more like a night club on how the place circumstanced as.

Luckily, I'm a teetotaler and the fresh smells of alcohol were freely swinging around the air. I spotted Lisa with her boyfriend and who am I kidding, they both looks significantly perfect for each other.

"Ahh! You came." Lisa squealed as she hugged onto me.

"Well, I was actually planning to not to come though." I joked while returning her hug and she pulled away with a huff.

"Huh...liar. " she snorted and I laughed at her reaction.

"Baby, come here." She began extending her arms to her boyfriend and Ricardo slides her into his arms.

"Hello, Kameela." He greeted as he smiled softly at me.

"Hi, Rick. I guess, she had you wrapped around her all the time. By the way, congratulations you two." They thanked me equally as he pulled away from her to give me a warm hug and he was back to her side.

"Though I really love being wrapped around her." He was mumbling to me but his eyes were on her. Looking at her as if she meant the world to him and I'm super happy for my best friend.

Their love story is different from how we usually experience it to be. Ricardo is 12 years older than her and their first meet was when he came to our store to shop for someone he knew yet Lisa was his consultant at that time.

She seems to be in daze after that and Ricardo started showing up frequently. Day by day, I only evident my best friend glowing and I knew straight away that Ricardo was behind this changes on her. I even saw Lisa going through depression and I tried my best to keep her calm down.

Months passes by and there's one day when she squirmed out in excitement that she's officially someone's girl yet she loves him so much. I was in cloud nine with her and since the day, they had been the most favorite couple of mine.

They were the real reason behind the phrase, Love Is Blind. He doesn't cared about how she looked and she doesn't cared about how much older he is.

"Everyone is with a date here. Hey, Kameela...where's your date?" Ricardo asked as he looked around for that no one and Lisa slapped his chest.

"Why do she need a date? Would you please shut up." Lisa hissed under her breath and Ricardo gave her an understanding nod.

"Hey, that's okay. I...I just don't have a guy to ask me on a date." I answered truthfully in my lowest tone and Lisa looked at me apologetically then glared back at Ricardo.

"Go away, you." She pushed Rick away as she huffed at him and turned her attention towards me.

"Come on, babe. I'm your date for tonight." Lisa do that dramatic gentleman hand holding with me and dragged me away from him.

"Lisa, you just ditched him and you shouldn't do that." I told her and she kept escorting me around to the people without listening on any of my words.

"Lisa, stop. " I stopped us from moving and she gave a look of confusion.

"This is your anniversary party and supposedly you should be with Ricardo and poor man...don't know what might he been doing all alone there. Go and stay with him." I curtly told her as I pulled away from her holding hands.

"I am no-" She was about to protest and I shushed her words.

"Nope. Now go and be with him. You know that I don't like this sympathy act on me and I will be fine on my own." I said and she shake her head negatively.

"Ma'am it wasn't because I sympathize you. It's because I wanted to stop him from going any further by touching me. You didn't know of what he did when he wrapped his arms around my back just now." She declared while rolling her eyes and I only smiled at my best friend's cover up.

She just don't want to agree to the fact and planned to make a different excuse.

"Girl, I'm super fine okay? I will be in the bar right on the corner there, you please go and stay by Rick." I explained, more like pleading to this woman who would never listen to anyone.

She took an exasperate sigh and nodded.

"Great, now go and be with your man." I shooed her way with a cheer and she rolled her eyes before wandering away to his side.

Have I said of how much I love her?