Chaahat

Chapter 2: Invite

The following morning, a knock on his door wakes Shourya up. Grumbling he turns, wraps his arm around his wife and shuts his eyes again. The knocking gets louder, and this time wakes Meera.

"Suniye." (Listen.)
Shourya smiles against Meera's neck and pulls her closer, "Sunaiye." (Listening.)

Meera feels her cheeks heat up, even after years of marriage, the tiniest thing her husband does makes her blush like a teenage girl. "There's someone at the door."

Shourya groans just as the knocking gets louder. Grumbling he shouts at the door, telling the person to wait whilst he scrambles to find his shirt off the floor. Helping his wife into his shirt, he walks into the wardrobe to put on his sweatpants and a t-shirt. Meera sighs and cuddles deeper into her blanket trying to get some sleep as her husband walks over to the door. The scowl on his face disappears as soon as he sees his sister. Riya smiles brightly at her brother, her hair tied back in a sleek low bun, her sunglasses placed on her head and her new Dior book tote in her hand matching her beige knee-length dress.

"Why are you not dressed? You promised us shopping!"

Sighing to himself, he tells his sister to wait downstairs while he gets ready and soon enough Riya finds herself surrounded by her family at her favourite store. Rohan picks out everything he likes for his one-year-old, Ayaansh, and Chhaya runs after him with the pram. Meanwhile, Shourya and Meera waiting for their kids to come out of the trial rooms and Muskaan picks out some things for Aarav.

Surrounded by beautiful couples, all Riya can think of having someone of her own. She wishes to have a man on her arm, and one day a mini version of herself. Sighing she returns her attention to heels in her hand. Soon she finds herself walking out with a few shopping bags in her hand. They decide to go to a nearby beach to relax for the rest of the day. She sits next to her brother and sips on her drink, looking out at the waves crashing in when she hears his phone ring.

She notices the smile on her brother's face as he picks up.

"Hey, Xavier. Missing me?"

Riya's breath catches in her throat when she hears the name. She has a love-hate relationship with that name and the person associated with it, but right now all she wants is to pull the phone out of her brother's hand and hear the voice on the other side.

She watches her brother lean back from the corner of her eye, throwing his arm behind his head as his eyes find Meera and the twins. He laughs at something Xavier says on the other side.
"Of course, she says that. You're so busy, I'm sure she wants your attention!"
A frown settles on Riya's face at Shourya's words. Who are they talking about?
She pulls her phone out to distract herself, but all she can think of is her brother's conversation.

"Well, why don't you bring her to India? We'll be back in a few days. I'm sure she'll have a good time and you'll be able to give her all your attention. And Riya can keep her company too."
Riya huffs at the thought of her keeping some girl Xavier wants to please company.

Trying to distract herself, she pulls out her powder from her bag to fix her makeup.
"Of course you can. The two of you are always welcome."
Patting the powder under her eyes, she smooths the creases under her eye.
"Oh definitely. You're her first love!"
Shourya's eyes snap in his sister's direction when he hears Riya shut the compact. The sound echoes at the noisy beach.

Looking away from his sister, Shourya's eyes search for his daughter.
"You love her. It's normal to feel like that."

Riya rolls her eyes before pining her brother with a glare. He frowns but alas hangs up the phone to give her attention. He smiles at her, but she pouts.
"Bhai, I'm not entertaining some girl, even if she's a guest."
Shourya is stunned at his sister's words. She's always happy to have guests and hang out with them.

"But why? Plus she's adorable."
Riya scowls at her brother. "How can you call some girl adorable? Seriously bhai!"

Shourya frowns, confused at his sister's words. "Why is calling a five-year-old adorable, a problem?"

Riya's eyes widen at Shourya's words, "A five-year-old?"

Shourya's frown deepens, "Yes, Xavier's daughter. Who else would come with him?"

Riya bites her lip to stop her from smiling like an idiot, "So, you were talking about his daughter when you said all that stuff about love?"
"Yes."

Riya feels a large weight lift from her chest as she nods. "Ohhh! Of course, maybe I'll even go pick them up from the airport."

Shourya nods at her words, he sees the bright smile making its way on her face and he likes it. The sight brings an idea to his mind, but knowing his sister might not like that idea just yet, he keeps it to himself. He walks off to tell Meera and the others about Xavier's arrival. The family had met him before a handful of times and Meesha absolutely loves Sofia. So the excitement is clear across the family. However, the one most excited is Riya. And a part of her wasn't even sure why.

Soon the family make their way back to their holiday home and Riya trails behind everyone, basking in the moment for herself. As she follows behind the couples, a thought pops into her mind. Pulling out her phone she opens Instagram and she types in the name of the man she's been thinking of all day.

There were several profiles but only one spoke out to her. Her eyes zoom in on the profile picture. It's of him holding a little girl in his arms. Her hair is tied in a ponytail and she's in a light pink dress. Whilst he's in a formal black suit. She clicks on his account and grins when she finds it's public. There's only one post. Seeing this she sighs but clicks on it anyway.

It's a picture of himself, wearing a black suit. His hair sleek back and sunglasses on his eyes. The background is a beautiful hall decorated with red roses and golden fairy lights. He has his daughter in his arms. She's in her pink dress with matching pink lipstick on smiling brightly at the camera and her little arms around her father. The tiny pink smudge on his cheek is evidence that she has just planted a kiss there.

But Riya overlooks all of that. Her eyes focus solely on the woman standing next to him. She Looks at the date on the post and it's from a week ago. Her heart drops to the pit of her stomach as she looks at the beautiful, sweetheart neckline of the white gown this woman is wearing. Her hair is tied up in a bun with a veil hanging off it. She's the bride. And he's standing next to her, in a hall. With his daughter, in his arms.

Riya scrolls to look at the caption, Love you momma - Sofia

What does that mean? Her eyes scan the entire scene in front of her and she can't help but almost wail.

SO THIS IS CHAPTER TWO! HOW WAS IT?