'Did I hear you right?' Navya asked me.

'Yes.' I muttered.

'Holy fuck! You are going to Manik Malhotra's party! Is this a dream?'
She asked.

Honestly, I felt Navya was just overreacting to this situation. I know that I was never the one to go to parties but she didn't have to react like this. Navya was really crazy and she was the complete opposite of me. We got along since we were friends since nursery.
'Actually, he invited me. He told me that I owe him for saving me against Madhyam so I couldn't decline.' I said, shrugging.

'Yes!' She squealed as she hugged me.

I smiled looking at her craziness.

'I am really happy for you. This is going to be your first time at a party like this.' She said, excitedly.

'Yeah.' I said slowly.

'And you are not going to wear your normal clothes. I'm gonna give you a makeover and that's final.' She said.

'Well, what's the problem with my clothes?' I asked. I really didn't get the big fuss about dressing up. I never really cared for it.

'No, not a word. I'm gonna give you a makeover and that's final.' She concluded.
I sighed in defeat. Arguing with Navya was imbecile.
***

Navya dragged me to her house to get me a makeover. I greeted her mother whom I had known since my childhood. She was like a mother to me too. She knew about my life and always insisted on me moving in with them but I always declined because I didn't want to be a burden to them. Navya's father had gone to Berlin for a business trip. He was a business tycoon.

I knew him well and he suggested to me earlier many times to complain to my father to the police but I didn't want that either. After all, he was still my father.
I sat on Navya's bed while Navya was searching for an outfit for me in her wardrobe. She took out a wine coloured satin gown which was long and shiny. I couldn't deny the fact that it was beautiful. It had a slit on one side that would probably show the legs of whom it was wearing. The slit was somewhere up to the knee. I loved that dress but I dreaded wearing it because I had never worn anything like that.

'So, how's this?' Navya asked me, showing me the dress.
'It... it's beautiful.' I said.
'Yeah, it is. I've never worn this because it's too long for me. But it will fit you since you're taller than me.' She said.

'But I don't think I can wear it.'

'You can. You have to come out of your shell, Nandini.'

'But...'

'No ifs and buts. You're going to wear this. No more arguments.'

I groaned.

I wore the dress as she demanded. I was feeling uncomfortable because of the slit that ended slightly above my left knee. I almost felt naked in that dress. Fortunately, I didn't have any fresh bruises on my left leg and Navya promised me that she would conceale all the marks that were visible. That was a relief. Another relief was that the dress had a high neckline.

She put on light makeup on my face, concealed my bruises, curled my hair and gave me a matching necklace and earrings to wear. I never left my hair opened and this was the first time I was doing so.

'No glasses.' She said, pointing to my spectacles.
'What? I can't see without it.' I said, scowling.

'Come on Nandini, you're not blind. It will be fine.' She said, taking off my glasses. She was true, my eyes weren't that bad. She also gave me low heels sandals which were quite manageable. I swear I would have tripped over a hundred times if I had worn high heels sandals.
'You look....sexy.'

She acknowledged, admiring me with her grey eyes. This was the first time I was being associated with the word "sexy" and it felt good. I slowly looked myself up in the mirror, inhaling a deep breath. I was literally shocked when I saw the mirror. I couldn't recognize myself. It felt as if the person in the mirror was from a different dimension.
Navya laughed at my reaction.

'I told you. You look sexy. You seem like you've fallen in love with yourself. I now decided that my wardrobe needed a makeover.
***

I was sitting in the back seat of Cabir's car. Cabir was really happy that Navya had agreed to come to the party. He also thanked me for coming since Navya had told him that she would only come if I was there. We reached Manik's house. I was awestruck by the building that stood in front of me. It was a mansion and it was the biggest one I had ever seen.

Manik must be insanely rich. What does his father do after all? I thought.

We stepped out of the car. Cabir put his hand around Navya's waist and Navya blushed. He was looking at her with pure love in his eyes.

Awe, they are so cute!!!
As we neared the main door of the mansion, I saw muffled sound of the music from inside. Cabir opened the door and we entered. The interior of the mansion was more magnificent and majestic. Although my own house was quite big, since it was built during the time when my father was a multi-millionaire business tycoon, Manik's living room alone was larger than my whole house. Coloured lights had been installed due to the party, so I couldn't see many things clearly and also, I wasn't wearing my glasses, thanks to Navya.

Cabir wanted to be alone with Navya but he was hesitant to say it. I understood it from his face and asked them to have their private time.

'You guys can go.' I said.
'But...but you'll be alone.' Navya said, looking at me worriedly.

'I'll be fine. Plus, I think Manik would make sure nothing goes wrong in his party.' I said, smiling.

She smiled at me and went away with Cabir upstairs. I prayed that their relationship would be like this forever.

I looked around the mansion. There were loads of teenagers either making out or drinking alcohol and tripping over their steps. I decided to take a look at the mansion, so I started walking around. Just as I was entering the kitchen, I saw Manik coming out. I smiled at him but he didn't even cast a look upon me.

Well, that's mean.
I decided to ignore him and walked towards the kitchen when I heard him call my name. I turned around and met his dazzling green eyes.

Oh my god! His eyes...!!

'You're Nandini?' He asked.
What a dumb question.
'Yeah.' I replied nervously.
'Oh my god! You look so.... different!' He said, his eyes scanning my whole body. I felt naked under his piercing gaze. I gave him a nervous smile.

'You look beautiful and so......sexy!' He exclaimed.
I had an adrenaline rush pumping through my whole body. I bet I was looking like a red tomato. Thank god, the whole house was dimly lit. This was the first time I was being complimented by a guy and I was literally freaking out in my mind.

'So, what's the story behind this sudden change of style?' He asked, eyeing me.
'Navya wanted to do a makeover.' I simply said.
'Ah, I would recommend you to stick on to this new style. No glasses, open hair, just purely beautiful.' He said.
All of this was too much to take in for me. I needed to breathe since I was feeling suffocated.

'Th... thanks.' I muttered.
He grinned.

'Want a drink?' He asked me.
'Er....no. I don't drink.' I said.
He gave me a thumbs up. Well, I was expecting him to force me to drink but he didn't.

What a gentleman.

Just then, his phone started ringing. He accepted the call and after a few seconds of silence, he cut the call.
'Uh....I need to go somewhere. I'll be back soon.' He said.
'Okay.' I said.

'Bye. And don't leave, I'll be back.'

'Bye.' I said, waving my hands. I felt at relief now since I didn't want him to see me blushing so much.
I then resumed the tour of the mansion. The whole house was wonderful.
I started walking upstairs when I saw a tall man walking towards me. He was stinking of alcohol and was staring at me with pure lust in his eyes.

'Hey beautiful.' He said. Oh my god, It's Madhyam.
Shit!

********

A cliffhanger!

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