All Of My Heart❤️💔

Present Day pt-2 ❗️

Thankfully, I haf to attend Vikram and Mihika's anniversary party that evening because thoughts about Taani continued to occupy my mind. Her eyes, her smile, her face —— everything about her had possessed me once again. I found myself under her spell yet again. She had joined a support group to get away from whatever issues she was facing and her family was okay with it. So, why should it worry me? I must not encroach upon her privacy. I went to the party to get away from these thoughts. I searched for the waiter across the bar to order a drink, but instead my eyes landed on someone else. Dressed in a button-down Hawaiian shirt and cream-coloured cotton pants, he was seated on a bar stool, smoking a cigarette and laughing with a bunch of people around him, all swaying lightly to the music. I tried to remember where I'd seen him before. One of the women with him gave him a light peck on his cheeks and he smiled at her.

Why did his face looks so familiar?

It suddenly struck me. This was Taani's husband, Sameer. I was positive that it was him. I couldn't forget the face from the wedding photo I had seen earlier that day. But, what was he doing amidst a bunch of women? The way he flirted with them and vice versa didn't seem proper. Was he having an affair behind Taani's back? Was this reason why Taani had sought help from a support group? It started to make sense now.
Clenching my fists hard, I stepped quickly towards him but someone grabbed me midway.

"Rey! Where are you going?" I turned around to find Mihika glaring at me.
"Oh, hi," I exhaled deeply.
"What's up? Are you okay?" She said with a look of suspicion.
"Yeah, I'm perfectly okay. Were you looking for me?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Yes, we're going to cut the cake on the top floor. Come, join us."

She held my hand and dragged me away. I turned around to take a quick look at the jerk who was still flirting with the women. I couldn't believe Taani had left me for this prick. She chose this man over me. Why Taani, Why?

The next morning, I dragged myself out of the bed, my head throbbing from a hangover. Ruffling my hair, I made a stop at the kitchen to switch on the espresso machine for a shot of coffee. I sat down on a stool at the counter. Flashbacks from last night ran through my head. I wanted to tell Taani everything I had witnessed at the club. Whatever followed next was up to her. Whether she considered me a friend or not, I know I had to play my part. Either she was too naive to notice anything or she pretended to ignore it. Both of these options seemed unlike her. Whatever she decided, I had to get this off my chest. My cell phone buzzed, breaking my reverie. It was a call from my assistant at the studio, Nikhil.

"Yeah," I asked.
"Morning! Are you done selecting the pictures? I kept waiting for you email until late last night. I left a call and a message but there was no response."
"Shoot!" I hissed. I had completely forgotten that I had work. "Yeah, I have." I lied to him as I sprinted to my room to grab the laptop.
"I'll send the email to you in a second. Hold on." With cell phone tucked under my ear, I got the laptop and put it on the kitchen counter. The espresso machine beeped. Damn My coffee!
"No! Don't send them through email. Store them on the USB drive." I asked, ruffling my hair, confused.
"The one I left yesterday?" he reminded.

I looked for it, and found it still plugged into the laptop.

"Yeah," I said, detaching it from the laptop. "I have it."
"Great, I'll come over to get it."
"Sure, I'm heading out in an hour so you won't find me here. Ping me whenever you need me."
"You going somewhere?"
"Yeah," I said, my mind drifting back to Taani, "I have an important meeting to attend."

It was drizzling when I was jutted my head out of the car to take a quick peek at the main entrance of the support centre. I had taken a chance as I had no idea when she attended the sessions. Shekhawat Uncle would have definitely told her that I dropped by her place to return her membership card.