A few weeks later

"Anu, we're getting late, can you please hurry up?" I asked on the phone as I waited outside in my car.

Gia had reserved some seats for us in the store launch of the company she worked for and that's where we were headed. I was picking Anu up and she was taking all the time in the world.

Finally after waiting for what felt like an eternity, she came downstairs.

"Wow, you're on time," I said sarcastically.

"Arre baba, a girl needs some time to get ready na," she replied apologetically.

I hadn't really noticed how she looked as I was too worried about being late. Gia had asked us all to be there on time, so yeah, getting worried was justified.

"Zaid, how do I look," asked Anu finally as I drove to the place.

"You always look amazing babe," I replied almost mechanically.

"You didn't even look at me Zaid," she said.

I felt a little bad for her as she had absolutely nothing to do with my perpetual bad mood. So, I checked her out and then complimented her for how she looked.

She looked quite elegant and beautiful in her light blue gown. I also liked how nicely her hair was done. So, after carefully looking at her, I told her how she looked amazing.

"Thanks Zaid," she said," but are you okay? You've been in a terrible mood for the past few weeks, it's as if you're not my Zaid anymore."

"What? I'm still the same yaar, just busy trying to finish the book that's all," I said.

In all honesty, I was in a bad mood. I had been in a bad mood for a while. Especially after that day I saw Al with that guy. I didn't even remember his name. But yeah. I hadn't met her in a while, so I was assuming that things were alright with her. It was a conscious decision to not see her. I didn't want to cause more trouble in her life than I already had, so it was best that I stayed away from her.

However, I wasn't being able to act normally. Even around Anu. There was a time when she made me forget everything bad, now, I felt like it was impossible for that to happen anymore. Who was I? I was never this bitter. What was going on?

As we got there, we saw how a lot of people had already arrived. The store looked fantastic. Gia's boss was greeting everyone and she greeted us warmly when Gia introduced us to her.

Gia was very happy to see us and really appreciated the support. Rohan and Isha had arrived right after us. We were all sipping on our cocktails and munching on our canapés when I saw Alveera enter.

As she entered, I couldn't help but check her out. Was she trying to tease the whole crowd or what? Nothing else explained how sexy she looked.

Starting from her beautiful black gown to the perfectly made bun, she looked amazing. As she entered, almost all eyes were on her. Including mine.

"Hey," she said as she caught my eye.

"Hi," I replied.

We were standing awkwardly in front of eachother, until Anousha arrived.

"Hey Alveera," said Anousha as she embraced Al to say hello.

"Hi you, it's been a while, no?" Said Alveera.

"Yeah," said Anu awkwardly as she recalled the last time they met (Isha's house where Al left after our showdown)

Al looked pretty chill about everything. She was actually looking like she was doing well. We were all hanging around when I saw Gia and Isha come in and talk to Alveera.

"Okay, so there's this guy that we want you to meet," said Gia.

"Don't say no, bohot cute hain," said Isha.

Alveera laughed a little, then complied with their wishes and went away with them. Anu and I were still there with Rohan. Anu and Rohan were engrossed in conversation as I blankly sipped my drink. Actually, I wasn't blankly sipping my drink. My eyes were following Alveera.

I saw her walk up to the bar where Gia introduced her to the bartender. Really? They were introducing her to the bartender?

Funnily enough, they started talking. I tried to look away, but couldn't. They were completely into the conversation. Even when the guy was actually making drinks for the guests.

As Isha came near us to speak to Rohan, I overheard them speaking.

"Ro, we introduced Alveera to that guy, cute na?" Asked Isha to Rohan.

"She seems pretty interested," pointed Rohan.

"Yeah, she should be, the guy is the marketing manager here. They must have a lot to talk about." She said.

"Wait, if he is the marketing manager, why is he bartending?" Asked Anu as she joined the conversation.

"It's his mom's party, he's Gia's boss's son, so just helping her out, besides apparently bar tending is his hobby," replied Isha.

This guy seemed quite impressive. Alveera seemed smitten. Was this for real? At first there was that guy at Rohan's club and now this guy? What was up with her?

I had almost finished my drink, so I moved towards the bar to get some more.

"Can I get some vodka with coke? On the rocks," I told the supposedly impressive bartender.

"On its way," he said as he excused himself from Alveera and went over to make the drink.

"Cute," I said to Alveera.

"Who me? Gee thanks," she replied smirking.

"No, the guy, you like him?" I asked.

"Does he look my type?" She asked, smirking.

"What do you think?" I asked, turning to her, gazing deeply into her eyes.

She looked away, gave a deep sigh and then looked me in the eyes and said," he's not you."

I didn't know how to respond to that. But at that precise moment, I forgot that there were any differences between us. Were the feelings still there?

I was trying to fathom what just happened when Alveera just turned away, and resumed talking to the guy. After a while, when everyone went over to the dance floor, she was one of the firsts to go there. With that guy.

I actually went on the dancefloor with Anu just to keep an eye on Al. I wanted to be there, with her, but I couldn't. She was gone, far away. And I couldn't get to her.

Then, I saw her leave the guy and head out. Was something up? Was she okay? I needed to make sure that she was fine. So I excused myself from the dance and followed her outside.

Alveera's POV

Sid was such an interesting guy. Oh, Sid was the guy Gia and Isha introduced me to on this party. Apparently, Gia invited me only to introduce us.

Sid was bartending for his mom's party and was an absolute delight to talk to. And yes, our conversation had a flow and there was definitely some chemistry. He was HOT! And, he didn't shy away from telling me exactly how attractive he thought I was. So that was great.

However, in all honesty, the only reason why I was trying to build something with this guy was so that I could distract myself from crying over Zaid. It had been way too long. Especially after that day at Rohan's club, I was pretty upset. Crying and being sad had become a regular thing for me. So I had to get up and finally, MOVE ON.

Zaid and I were done. He wasn't going to leave Anu. So it was best that I stopped trying.

Sid and I were talking about this one time he went to Maldives with his ex girlfriend and lost his passport there. It was a funny story. I was laughing my head off when I saw Zaid approaching me. I got a little conscious, but then I realized he needed a drink.

He asked me about Sid. And in all honesty, I didn't know how to respond to him when he asked me if Sid was my type. So I just went with my gut and admitted that Sid wasn't him. No one came close to him.

I realized that I had said something I shouldn't have as soon as I saw Zaid go silent. So, I just moved away and resumed talking to Sid.

Afterwards, I even took him to the dancefloor just to get away from Zaid. But, there he was, right around the corner, glaring at me, with his steely eyes.

I couldn't take it anymore. It was as if he was scanning all of me as I danced away. It felt weird. I felt claustrophobic. I had to leave and get some air.

"Sid, could you excuse me? I need to get some air, I'm feeling bad,"I said and then left immediately.

I was already outside the store. I walked to the backside where there was a place to sit. I sat there and was contemplating what had happened when I saw Zaid walking up to me.

"Why are you following me?" I yelled

"I'm just here to make sure that you're okay," he said calmly.

"Well, I'm not okay. Are you satisfied? Why do you pretend to care? Why do you keep staring at me?" I started bawling.

He came up to me, probably wanting to calm me down. Unfortunately, I was way past calm and I needed to say things out loud.

"Stay away from me! Why do you keep looking at me? Does it satisfy you to see me be all miserable? Or does seeing me struggle to somehow be happy feed your over inflated ego?"

I had probably gone too far. I shouldn't have said that. But i couldn't help it.

After a pause, I heard Zaid say," Do you think I want to look at you? Do you really think that I'd rather not look at my girlfriend? She doesn't make it as difficult. She doesn't torture me by dancing with every man she meets."

"Did you just imply that I'm a slut? You fucking take that BACK" I yelled. I had lost it. He was way out of line.

"No Alveera. For fuck's sake, try to get the fucking context for a change. I hate seeing you with anyone but me, I always have," he said, yelling as he held my arms.

"Why? Why do you care?" I yelled, bawling.

"I love you Al, I'm tired of pretending otherwise," he said, finally.

I couldn't believe my ears. I started crying as all the strength left in my body was gradually leaving.

Then, in a matter of seconds, Zaid and I were engaged in the most passionate of kisses. His hands held my waist as they brought me against his body. My arms wrapped around his neck as my nose tried to fit in between his delicate kisses on my lips. He then took one of his hands and cupped my chin as I kissed him like I had never kissed him before. I missed this so much. I missed my Zaid. Kissing him in the moonlight, right here, felt so serene.

This moment felt so right. I didn't want it to end, ever. Our bodies were intertwined, as if we were one entity. He still loved me. Every inch of his body declared that as he continued to kiss me.

We were kissing passionately when we were suddenly interrupted by someone.

It was Rohan. He looked extremely disappointed in us as he knew the magnitude of what had just happened. This was bad. It was hurtful to Anousha, who was nothing but delightful to me.

"Bhai?Alveera?" He said in utter disappointment.

After we pulled away and came back to our senses, he said," this is disgusting," and left.

I suddenly realized the exact magnitude of what had happened. Zaid looked devastated. He never wanted to hurt Anu.

"What does this mean?" I asked Zaid.

"I don't know," he replied and went inside.