PERFECT TEMPTATION

SEVENTEEN

"Surprise!"

The living room suddenly lit up revealing the unusual crowd in their usually two-filled house. It all made sense now. Why Jonathan had mentioned feeling unwell out of the blues on their way to their anniversary and insisted that they go back home.

The whole drive to the dinner was probably all a distraction too judging from how they 'lost their way', twice, to the allegedly new restaurant in the city. He had just been buying time for this grand welcome by the many not so familiar faces, except for a few, Leena was now seeing.

She turned to Jonathan smiling and from the delighted expression on his face, he achieved what he wanted.

    "How did you do all this? And when?"
   
    "A magician never reveals his secrets you know..."

    "Except that secret will not keep itself hidden, will it?" Leena's mom said, moving out from the crowd towards them.

    "Mom?"

    "Yes. She planned everything, I just made the guest list."

Both of them were already dressed for the occasion and soon, their anniversary party became and introductory one. Leena went around arm in arm with her husband as he introduced her to the new faces. Most of them his investors, clients and friends.

The party was rather extravagant. One she would, without a doubt, expect from her dearest mother. But she could not overlook the fact that for the first time, her mom had taken time for someone other than herself. It was obvious that they still had to talk and clear up the tension between them but first, she wanted to enjoy every moment of her anniversary.

She would have if only the next person they had to speak to was not a man she had cheated on her husband with less than five days ago. Jonathan seemed to have a lot to say to him, mostly involving business, and he slowly got carried away talking.

No one else in the room could see it, not even Jonathan, how he stared at Leena. He looked directly into her eyes while managing a smooth conversation with Jonathan. She kept a plastered smile on her face, like she had done all night with all the other guests but it got harder to. She could not maintain her gaze on him and she did not know where to look either without making everything awkward.

When it finally felt like she could not keep up the act, that too with the tight feeling in her chest, she had to excuse herself. Jonathan, engrossed in his talk, did not make it hard for her to and she slowly sneaked past the guests upstairs to their room.

The feeling in her chest was now tighter and she kept rubbing it as though it would somehow lessen it. It felt like she would fall and for some reason, she was crying. She sat on the edge of the bed, struggling to breathe as she unconsciously clutched onto the sheet forming a fist so hard that her knuckles started to hurt.

Everything else around her was numbed and all she could focus on was trying to not suffocate like she felt she was, that too without much success.

Then she felt it. The familiar touch that were his hands holding hers. Making her slowly loosen the grip on the sheets. His voice, gently and in the most assuring way, convincing her to breathe. The spark in his eyes, serving as a light, pulling her out of from what felt like a dark void she had fallen into. Her body seemed to obey his command and she felt herself slowly loosen from the tension. She could finally breathe and it felt like she had almost died and been revived.

He looked at her and wiped the tears that still cascaded down her cheeks and all the while, Leena did not break her stare. He slowly leaned in, closing the distance between them till she could feel his breath on her skin. They were inches apart from what would have been a kiss if she had not pulled away.

She got up abruptly, composing herself and right before she could say anything, a woman's voice startled them. It was Leena's mom and her presence caused a feeling of guilt to wash over her. As if she had done something wrong. She almost did though. Almost made the same mistake again right in their room, on their anniversary, with her husband downstairs.

Michael excused himself at Mrs Anderson's request and she slowly made her way to Leena who did not once try to look at her.

    "Mom, if you're here to argue then please don't."

    "Helena..." she said sitting beside her.

It was the second time she called her by that name. Her grandmother's name, eho she was named after. She hated it. It reminded her of the past. A past she tried so badly to discard and not relate to yet even then, she could not make her mom do the same.

    "I don't want to argue today. I want to apologize to you."

That definitely got her attention. Her mom was not one to apologize. She would be caught dead owning up to her own  mistakes let alone apologizing for them.
This was far better than them arguing though, so she was going to listen to whatever her mom had to say.

    "You were right," she started.
    "I have had a habit of running away from difficult situations, and sometimes responsibilities too. While trying to make things easier for myself I made it harder for you. But I promise you that was never my intention..."

It was the first time her mom spoke so emotionally and it was all true. Her mom, just like her, did not know how to deal with difficult situations, so she ran. She found her escape in drugs till she was too ashamed to return to her daughter.

She hid instead. From her life, her child and herself. Now Leena understood where she got the trait from, and for the first time she understood her mother beyond the abandoning habit she knew her for.

After a rather heartfelt conversation, they both hugged each other in tears, both mother and daughter letting each other in to parts of themselves they kept so hidden.

    "That's enough now," Mrs Anderson said when it became clear the crying would not end. 
    "We still have a party to attend and look at you ruining your makeup."

Leena chuckled before getting up to go freshen up before going back downstairs.
  
    "Leena?" Her mom called out, " Jonathan loves you deeply. I hope you remember that."

She smiled, understanding what her mom was trying to say to her with these very simple words,

    " I know mom."