Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, flowers gracefully wrapped around the tall pillars and candles floated in the antique pool, especially set up for tonight. Laughter roared in the hall while men chatted about the brands of whiskey being served (this is all you can expect in punjabi weddings) and women gossiped in their small groups. Everyone gulped down some snacks as they impatiently waited for the bride. Alia had gone to the Parlor to get her makeup done for her mehndi (henna) ceremony around three hours ago and now it was past 7pm and she was just about to arrive.

While all the ladies decided to get a professional to do their makeup, Siya planned to catch up with Tanya instead. She chose to stay at home and fill Tanya in with everything that had happened in past few years and Tanya did the same. They didn't bother much about the getting ready part as it somewhat seemed more like a family reunion.

It was the third day and everyone was still focusing on sharing their life stories with each other. Some ladies just couldn't get over the fact that they were finally meeting again after years and they had actually shed a few tears over that. Of course it was an act they had to put up to show their fake 'love and care' as no one spared a single chance of gossiping about the person they admired a couple of minutes ago.

Siya casually walked around the hall, amazed by its beauty. She wondered why her family never used their basement for other events before.

She wore a maroon lehenga (long skirt) with heavy embroidery and sequins on its edges. There was a short blouse which sat perfectly a few centimeters above her belly. The drape was cleanly folded and placed around her neck. There was some silver embroidery work on it which made it appear as if it was a necklace so she did not bother wearing an actual necklace, yet she did slide a few plain-metal bangles in her right hand. While she kept her makeup as simple as possible, she did a regular french braid in her long hair and decorated it with silver beads and hair glitter.

A couple of minutes later, the lights were dimmed and soft music filled the room as Alia emerged from behind the big bronze door along with her mother, mother-in-law and a few other girls. Mihir, her would be husband, walked up to her and held out his hand. She nervously looked up and briefly scanned all the faces around her before holding on to his hand. Together, they walked on the red carpet, covered with red rose petals, and made their way towards the stage. The way they looked in to each other's eyes, regardless of this being an arranged marriage, was a sign of truly made for each other.

While 3 camera men were filming this very beautiful moment, some people decided to capture it in their phones too.There were a few whispers here and there. Some people were still gawking over how stunning Alia looked and how lucky she was to have Mihir in her life and how madly in love they were.

There were tears in Alia's parents' eyes as they saw her climb up the stage. Siya too felt emotional and she looked for her mother. Her eyes wondered around until she spotted his face. Her heart skipped a beat and lungs tightened up as she struggled to breath. It hurts how he interpreted everything in a wrong way and how her odd behavior made things even worse.

He hates me, Siya thought out loud which made Tanya's and Alison's heads turn in her direction.

'Who does?' Tanya asked out of curiosity as her eyes followed the direction where Siya was looking.

'No..no one,' Siya shook her head instantly and looked away. To avoid anymore questions, she made her way to the stage where everyone was taking their turn to congratulate Alia and Mihir.

'Wait! Come with me!' Before Siya could reach the stage, Kaira grabbed her by her arm and dragged her near a window where Sameer was standing with a glass in his hand.

'What are we gonna do about him?' She asked.

'I honestly don't know. I thought he would at least talk it out but I guess he won't say a word to her,' Siya sighed.

'Your brother is an asshole,' Kaira muttered as Siya gave her a blank look, "he is still my brother," she warned Kaira and walked over to Sameer.

'Hey!' Siya said cheerfully but Sameer only passed her a faint smile, 'you think that really helps?' She asked while pointing towards his hand.

'You are not having one, are you?'

'Naah.. Just wondering,' she rolled her eyes, 'does it actually helps you switch off that emotion button?'

'Siya, let's not go there ple-'

'Well too bad! We already are here and you have to do something bhai (brother),' she gave him a puppy face while Kaira stood meters away from them, trying to figure out what was going on there.

'You are my brother, she is my best friend and I completely-'

'There is no place for and's and but's here,' Sameer raised his voice a little and Armaan noticed the tension between them. He made his over to where Kaira was standing but Tanya blocked his way.

'Why make her pay?' Siya kept her voice as low as possible and left Sameer there to think.

Flashbacks jumbled up in his mind as he watched Siya walk away in disappointment. It was his first day as a grade 13 student and he had offered to help the new grade 11 students to settle in a completely alien environment. That was the first time he officially met Rhidhima. Quite and lost, she tried helping herself around the campus using a useless school map. She had just changed school as her middle school only offered classes up to grade 10. He knew she was Siya's friend but never really got to talk to her. Especially not after what Kaira did.

First it was awkward with Rhidhima being his sister's best friend but soon they got to know each other. They used to casually pull up conversations while walking to school or during lunch times or just visiting each other's places. It was mostly Rhidhima who used to come over as Sameer tried his best to avoid Kaira.

They could talk about all sort of things, for instant; about school or favourite music or their views on something. Their choices and views did not really match all the time but they both understood that they were not wrong, but different and that was something they both liked about their secret friendship. Yeah, they didn't really tell anyone about their short walks and chats until Siya and Kaira randomly went through Rhidhima's diary.

They read each and every page of her journal, with over 12 months of entries written in there. There were things even Siya didn't know about Sameer and it was shocking for her to know how she never realised what was going on. Before Rhidhima could explain anything, Siya had stormed off to Sameer, complaining about how upset she was.

She took that rule, 'best friend's brother, ex or current are out of limits,' too seriously.

It was 14th feb that day and Sameer wanted to express his feelings to Rhidhima, the only girl he had ever dreamed of. Siya's anger was a wake up call for him when he decided that it was wrong. He couldn't be in a relationship with his little sister's friend. From that day he cut down on his late night chats and being a university student gave him a 'work load' excuse too. He tried distracting himself by dating a few girls and that really broke Rhidhima's heart.

Although He was able to convince Siya that it was just friendship, she soon realised how badly she had screwed up everything. Rhidhima laughed and talked but something changed inside her. She tried her best to hide it from everyone but it was not that easy. Seeing Sameer walking while holding hands with another girl, wasn't a pleasing sight for her but she could never hate him, no matter how much she tried. Her love for him grew deeper and deeper but, Rhidhima being Rhidhima, did not say a word and buried her feelings somewhere deep inside. Sameer knew this all along but he did absolutely nothing about it and that's what made Kaira hate him.

Sameer pulled himself away from her thoughts and finished his drink in one go. He slammed the whiskey glass on the table and walked over to Alia.

'Did he?' Kaira asked curiously while Siya just shook her head.

Siya couldn't help but blame herself for this while Kaira was happy to know that there was still hope. Sameer and Rhidhima's chapter was closed long ago but when that car brutally injured Rhidhima, Sameer eyes did express his feelings but words never came out of his mouth. He did not own up for his love for her so now Kaira and Siya wanted to make things right. Maybe it was that guilt feeling of ruining everything that they were trying to get away from.

'He is an ass,' Kaira grunted.

'Find a better word,' Alison joined them.

'You stay out of this!' Kaira groaned. For some reason she hated Alison but was able to get along with Shannon without any problems

'Uh, he is my brother,' Alison scoffed.

'Cousin!' Kaira bluntly corrected her, 'Oh My Freaking Goat!' She blurted as she looked over Alison's shoulder.

'Better watch it,' Siya reminded her.

'Yeah,' Alison mocked Kaira, who was far more interested in something behind Alison.

'That bitch is here,' she grunted as she fixed her curls.

'Who is?' Alison and Siya asked simultaneously.

'His ex?' Kaira rolled her eyes.

'You mind elaborating?' Shannon joined in and turned to Siya, 'Armaan's ex is here,' she raised her eyebrows as she particularly put more emphasis on Armaan.

Siya's jaw nearly dropped but she managed save herself from another set of questions which Kaira would have bombarded her with.

'Who told you that?' She asked, trying to look as normal as possible.

'He did. When she came in this morning.'

'This morning? Do we know her?'

'Inside out, babes,' Shannon claimed.

'Oh,' she finally managed to say and looked around to see if she could spot Armaan or his ex.

'Look,' Kaira pointed out to an issolated corner of the hall, 'there she is. Poor Armaan was finally getting better but she is back again.' She groaned.

Siya took baby steps towards them, trying to look as less curious as possible. All she could see from this angle was his ex's back. A very familiar back....

Wait...

Tanya's back?

************

HeyYa!

So here you go! This was chapter 13 :)

Sorry for any spelling mistakes as I literally just typed it with in 2 hours. Had a tight schedule but wanted to write :)

Leave me COMMENTS about how you like the story so far. Suggestions and criticism are welcome!

VOTE if you liked the chapter and I will try updating as soon as possible... Maybe by Wednesday, depending on how I manage my time.

Loads Of Love,

xx