𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐈: 𝐄𝐘𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖

SEHER and Shehryar were sat in the little coffee house that was just up the street from the hospital. They had just successfully completed their final eighteen hour shift of the week, and were waiting for Alisa to arrive. Seher sipped away at the Americano she'd ordered, whilst Sherry answered yet another email- Kayani Corp didn't let him rest, and as he was a shareholder, he was always needed here and there.

Seher's eyes traced the buildings outside and the cars on the streets. It was still bitterly cold, and she focused on the frost on the cars outside. "Have you got a date for the Gala yet?" Sherry asked, placing his phone on the table. "Nope." Seher smiled, not turning to look at him. She had no interest in attending the Gala.

"Have you asked anyone to accompany you?" He asked, observing as Seher's fingernails started tapping on the porcelain cup. "I think you know the answer to that too, Sherry." She also had no interest in asking anyone to go with her, either. It was the Kayani Corp Gala, a quadrennial event where Altamash and Anoushey Kayani gathered their wealthiest friends to fundraise for different charities. Seher had attended the last two, at Armaan's side both four and eight years ago. She wasn't going to go now, especially not to an event where the press would be breathing down her neck.

Sherry shook his head in disapproval. He thought it was narrow-minded of Seher to avoid the event altogether. "Are you even planning to attend, Seher?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. She knew he wasn't going to stop pestering her about it. He was just as adamant as Alisa to see her happy.

"Well Shehryar, at present I have no intention of attending the gala where not one, but both of my two exes will also be in attendance. " She muttered. Sherry tutted, seeing Armaan in her. Her demeanour in that moment reminded him of Armaan.
"Look Seher, as awkward as all of that sounds, it's a huge event. It's actually more than likely that you won't see either of them on that evening, you know." Sherry frowned, looking at her.

Seher finally looked away from the window and placed her cup on the table. "Fair enough, it may well be that I don't bump into Mehraab- I don't even know if he will be going. But Sherry you cannot tell me that Doctor Armaan Ramez Kayani, the next CEO of Kayani Corp won't be in the limelight and that I won't see him. Seher rolled her eyes, her cheeks warming at the thought of seeing Armaan.

"Is this a bad time?" Alisa asked, placing her bag on the spare chair at the end of the table and sitting down in the booth beside Sherry. "Not at all babe, Doctor 'Worked up over nothing' here is just scared of seeing Mehraab and Armaan at the Gala." Sherry teased. Seher groaned, hiding her face behind her hands.

"Sherry I'm not scared come on now. I just don't want to go solo, that's all." She spoke, attempting to shrug it off. Anything to avoid the Gala. "Come with us then!" Alisa insisted, looking up and grinning at Sherry. "Thank you but I'm not up for third wheeling either." Seher rolled her eyes, tapping her fingers on the table.

"What about Zaid? Why don't you guys go together instead?" Sherry suggested. Seher thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head. It wasn't a bad idea and Seher knew he wasn't dating anyone- they were good friends. The media however, would make a fuss out of nothing, as always. Zaid wasn't an unfamiliar face in the, just like the rest of the Kayani and Ansari families.

"I really don't want to give off the wrong impression to the press guys, not at an event like this one." Seher muttered. "Look I'll talk to Zaid, I'm sure he'll be down. Sherry will talk to the press secretaries, he's meeting with one of them tomorrow anyways. You've got nothing to worry about." Alisa beamed. Before Seher had the opportunity to protest, a waiter came to take their orders for lunch.

Seher was in her car, driving home when her phone began to ring. The number popped up on the dashboard- it was Alisa. Seher pressed the button on her steering wheel, answering the call. "I spoke to Zaid." Alisa trailed on. Seher hadn't thought Alisa was being serious.