~Sometimes, you miss the memories, not the person.~

She sat in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection with blank eyes. Was she doing the right thing? She was acting impulsively, wasn't she? Had he really moved on? Forgotten her? She reapplied the blood-red lipstick to her already ruby lips.

Move On.

Two words, two very simple words. It was so easy to just say them but too hard to act upon them. Her mom told her to move on, her friends told her to move on. Hell, wherever she went, the only thing that people asked her was to move on!

But they didn't understand the pain, the agony and the emotional battles she was going through each and every day. Sometimes, she just wanted to show them the bird and tell them...

It's my life! My problems! My battles! Stay the fuck away! I don't need your goddamn advice!

But she was taught better. She knew better than to react like that. It wasn't their fault. They were all just trying to help. But that's what the problem was. She didn't need their help or sympathy. She wasn't some vulnerable woman who need people's support.

Being a divorcee seemed to her like a crime. It didn't matter that it wasn't her fault that her marriage didn't work. It didn't matter that she gave her hundred per cent to strengthen their relationship. Nothing mattered, except the fact that she was a divorcee. She had to tolerate all their judgemental stares. She needed to accept that maybe she wasn't the best wife. Maybe, she was the one who was wrong.

Her eyes fell on the wedding invitation card lying on her dresser innocently. Today was her wedding. What was that one day that a girl always dreamt about since she was a child? It was all about her wedding day and about her perfect prince charming.

But she didn't feel happy or excited. She didn't feel like all the other girls would have felt on their wedding day. Because it was just not her wedding, it was her second wedding.

The pain of moving on after a failed marriage wasn't even explainable. Defeated. That was how she was feeling. Sometimes she thought that she could have been a better wife. She could have done things a different way. She could have improved herself. Wasn't that what society demanded of a woman today?

She had so much faith in him. She didn't need to think twice about what he was saying. She trusted him with her life. Why had he done that to her?

What she saw in the mirror disgusted her now. A woman dressed in a beautiful white gown with intricate designs, wearing designer jewellery sat there. The colours were so bright, the actual opposite of what the woman was feeling. Her face looked pale and she didn't have a smile on her face. Her lips were curved down and her eyes looked soulless, puzzled and lost.

Was she really ready for this? Was she ready to give up on him?

He hadn't married some other girl in the span of this few years that much she knew. That didn't prove anything though. Maybe, he never had wanted a marriage.

He had his fair share of women in the past few years. He didn't approach her. Every other week, she saw different girls clinging to his arm. He was charming and beyond handsome, she would give him that. But did that give him the right to pay with women like that, play with her heart like that?

Had it been that easy for him to forget her? She really had believed that he would be in as much pain as she had been, staying far from each other when she left her. But, she knew now that maybe she had been wrong all the way.

Sometimes she blamed herself for what happened. Sometimes, she missed him. Sometimes, she cried for her loss, reading their old texts, and recollecting old memories. But today was not some time.

Today, she was going to put an end to all the meaningless, lonely nights she spent, bawling her eyes out. Today, she was finally done.

She needed to look at her life in a new light. She needed to move on. And if there was something she would have made sure to do before dying, it was this. She was determined to see a new day with rainbows and unicorns rather than with grey clouds.

She had to stop blaming herself for his mistakes, his choices and his decisions. As far as her mind could recall, he was the one who had broken her heart repeatedly. He didn't care much about the fact that was hurting her. He had so easily ripped her heart out of her chest and broken it, not once looking back.

So why it was that she was the one who was feeling guilty today?

Why wasn't her heart allowing her to accept it?

Why was she still stuck, confused?

She had tried to forgive him in the last few years. Once she even came to terms with the mistake that he had done and was ready to take him back. If he would have just apologized, she would have accepted him back in a blink. But it seemed like he had no plans of coming back.

He had not changed, not even a little in their time apart. He was still the same, hanging with different women every other weekend. Why didn't she see that she was just a toy for him to play with?

She did understand that he had to act like a couple sometimes and needed to be seen with his co-stars, given the profession he had. He was a star. And she was so stupid to believe that a person like him would fall for her.

Years back, when he was with her, struggling for his career route, they had discussed this thing. She had not minded it too much and had always trusted him to come back to her at the end of the day.

But things never worked the way we want them to. Their life had been way too perfect at that time. She didn't know that it was the calm before the storm. She didn't know that a storm had been raging just beneath the surface and when it surfaces suddenly, everything was gone in the blink of an eye.

She had enjoyed each and every day she had spent with his loving husband. She had forgotten that perfect things only occurred in reel life rather than real life. So one day, when she returned home earlier than usual from her work, she found a girl on top of her husband, tonguing his mouth passionately.

Without wasting a second, she turned around and had run her way to her car. She had never imagined in her worst nightmare that he would ever betray her like this. He had meant everything to her. He was her life.

She had neither dated nor loved anybody else than him. Even when she tried, she wasn't able to get over him. It was like he lay in that part of her heart and brain that she couldn't reach. Wherever she went. Whatever she did, he was always there in the back of her head, in the depths of her heart.

But she could have taken all his evil ways to a limit. When she came across a totally 'awe' moment that Serena, an upcoming star and her beloved ex-husband had shared in the parking lot of a high-class event in the newspapers, she knew she was done.

She had felt bile rise in her throat seeing it. No matter, in whatever way she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew that he had done more than just kissing with other girls after their divorce.

Her mother had tried for years to make her see some sense and now after trying so hard, she would finally be successful today. She was going to marry Henry Jakes, her mother's friend's son who was also a divorcee.

"Raine, you need to stop it. You are hurting yourself, child. Just let him go." Her mother had spoken to her as she combed her hair.

"Mom, you won't get it. He...I loved him, Mom." She had sobbed in her lap, wiping some of her tears with her dress.

"Shhh, baby...don't cry." She had soothed her.

"Mom, I think I still love him." I had whispered before losing consciousness.

Henry was a handsome and kind-hearted man. There was no doubt in her mind that he would try his best to keep her happy. He genuinely cared for her; she had seen it in his eyes. She knew that he understood what she was feeling better than anybody else.

He had a rough past, maybe even rougher than hers. His wife had cheated on him with his best friend. She could only imagine what pain he had gone through.

She hated those kinds of people.

The cheating kind.

Those kinds of people who were loyal to no one, those people who can't keep their promises.

Those kinds of people who were selfish and who hurt others. The David Reyes kinds.

There was a time when even hearing his name made a smile appear on her face. But now it only made the old memories come back which in turn made her eyes stingy and teary, which was not very much appreciated right now, considering the heavy amount of makeup on her face.

So she took a deep breath and blinked back the tears which were trying to escape her eyes with all their might.

Would she be happy with Henry? Would she be happy with anyone?

Would she forget him the same way he had forgotten her? She adjusted the strap of her sparkling cream blouse.

What would have been his reaction if he would have known that she was marrying someone else today?

The day she had caught him cheating on her, he had come to her mother's house to talk to her but she had refused to even see his face. He had tried for months to contact her, but she simply ignored him. After a few months, he stopped trying. It was sad really. Her life was now one great cloud of sadness.

For years now, she hasn't even seen his face nor heard from him. Yes, she had seen him on screen but never had he actually made an effort to try and contact her.

One day, she felt so depressed that she decided to call him. But the reply that came back was an automatic voice saying - ' The number you have dialled doesn't exist. Please check your number or try another time. After that day, she too had decided to just let him be on his own.

She had tried to convince herself that he had always been a bastard and she was stupid for being so oblivious. But then the memories, the years they had spent together, all replayed in her mind making her resolution weak and weaker.

But today if she took this road, she was not coming back. She would move on from her past. Her decision was firm. She would forget everything and start a new future. Henry was the father of two beautiful kids. Now they would be her family. They would love her. They wouldn't betray her and would be there for her forever.

David Reyes, I can and I will forget you, forever.

A knock on the door disturbed her from her deep thoughts. She turned around in her seat to find her mother standing at the door. She was dressed in a beautiful pink gown looking as gorgeous as ever. She came to stand by her side, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

"You look beautiful, my baby." Tears glistened in her eyes. She and her mom had shared the weirdest yet most adorable relationship. Her mom knew just the perfect way to cheer her up always and she loved her beyond limits.

"How can I not? I am your daughter." She smiled at her mother in the mirror, looking at her sharp green eyes with love and understanding.

"Can I...ask you something?" Her voice wavered only for a second.

"Anything Mom." Her mother was the kind of person who oozes confidence and who knew just what she was doing. She never asked for her permission to question her. She didn't have to. They were friends and friends didn't keep secrets from each other.

"Are you happy?"

Her eyes darted back to hers in the mirror. She stared at them for a long while. Her mother was the best mother really. She always understood her better than she herself did. She knew when she was hurt. She understood her better than any living creature in this entire world would. But this time, she wouldn't understand her. Nobody could have.

"Yes, mom. I am getting married today. Every girl is happy on the day of her marriage."

It felt bad to lie to her but she couldn't have spoken truest feelings either. Her mom had waited for this day for far too long and she had no right to spoil her mood, especially when she was just looking out for her.

"I know every girl is, but are you happy?"

Well, was she? She frowned at her mother's insistence. She always had a curious nature and she had probably caught on with her lie but she didn't want to discuss this today.

She had to be happy. She needed to be happy and she would be happy. If not for herself, then for her mom.

"I am like those other entire girls' moms. I am happy, very happy," She forced a smile on her face and turned back to face her.

"You can fool everyone but not me. You know what I am saying, Raine." The mother adjusted her hairpin and looked her right in the eyes.

"Mom, I don't know what you are saying. If by any chance you are talking about my ex-husband, then I am over him. David was my past and Henry is my future. So it will be best if we don't talk about him today."

She had no idea where that outburst came from. It wasn't her intention to shout at her mother. But her mixed emotions were getting to her.

"I just want to see you happy, Raine. I am sorry that I made you think about him but I just want to ensure that you really move on from him. It's good to see that you are trying."

She turned around and left her alone with her thoughts. Was she really trying? Then why was she thinking of him every other second on the day of her wedding? She was going to marry some other man today. Would she keep Henry happy? What if she couldn't move on? What if she couldn't forget him? How could she spoil Henry's life then? He had already been hurt by his wife before. How could she even think of doing this to him again?

What if her life would just be a pretence? Wouldn't she be fooling herself and Henry? Was it okay to fool people if it made them happy?

She had to forget her past. She needed to do it for the ones who actually cared for her. For her mother, for Henry, she would have to do it.

~~~~~~~~~

Any second now and she had to make her entry. It was on such occasions, that she missed her father the most. He was a good man. He was her hero. But he had passed away eleven years ago. She hugged the frame which consisted of the picture of her father with her in his arms on the beach. She was a small kid in the picture, with a dazzling smile settled on her face as her father held her affectionately.

Am I doing the right thing, Dad? Help me, please. Do something. Guide me.

She hoped that he heard her.

"I will start a new life today, Dad. I don't know what I am doing or why am I doing anything, anymore. If I am being honest, I think that I had lost the power to even reason out my actions. But I can't see Mom crying for even a second now." She looked at his picture with a distant expression on her face.

"You know, I saw her crying last night silently in her room. It hurts me to see her grieving because of me. You know her well, Dad. She cares too much for me. She won't say a single word and come out all smiley face in the morning but I know she cries every night for me. Dad, I am sorry. You asked me to take care of her and now see what I have done. I hope you will forgive me Dad and let me-"

A knock on the door interrupted her. She hurriedly wiped her tears and put the photograph face down on her desk.

"Who is it? Come in." She tried to steady her voice and fixed her makeup hurriedly.

The door opened and she turned around, ready to leave her past and enter her future, her new life, a new world.

She looked at the person's well-dressed form and then trailed her eyes up to their face. At that particular moment, she just knew that fate was cruel. 

"David, what are you doing here?"

**********

hey hot stuff, is back with yet another story ;-)

Go! Go! Go!

What? Don't leave! I meant, go vote & comment on each and every fuc*ing line!!!!

BTW, there were some of the sexy ladies out there who were asking me to tell them anything, anything about me and so I did.

I sleep wearing my socks, stinky or not. :P