A Piece Of Her I'll Never Have

Chapter 16

     Stacy's POV.
 
    I wished the ground would just open up and swallow me. I was actually receiving an invitation to Jamal's wedding,by the bride herself.
    "Miss De la Fuenté, I'm sure your wedding is going to be grandiose",said a colleague.
       "Of course it will",another said before she could reply. "They have the means. Look at these sophisticated cards already."
       "Please do make sure you come."
       "We wouldn't miss it for anything in the world."
     "Will you attend the wedding, Stacy?",Sarah asked me.
        "Just shoot me instead",I replied, a little too loudly.
      "Miss Cooke. I would understand if you decide not to come but I'd still appreciate a gift from you considering you have so much...taste."
      This girl was declaring war,the spite in her tone made it clear enough.
       "I'll see to that,miss De la Fuenté, if you trust me so much as being up to the task."
    I hoped she got the proper meaning of my reply.
      She smiled at us and went away. The others dispersed, leaving Mahi,Sarah and me.
        "I've come to terms with it,I can't fight you,Stacy",Mahi said.
       "It's nothing personal, Mahi,you're still my friend, aren't you?"
        "Of course." She smiled and I smiled too,glad I didn't lose my friend because I wanted Aamir.
      "I see you openly defied the boss,I mean,you actually made it clear you'd not attend the wedding."
        "I didn't mean to be loud but all the same she can't expect me to be all excited about her wedding to my ex.
        "Yeah,I wonder what that girl is thinking,becoming so full of herself because she's marrying an Alcatraz."
           "Well if you both will excuse me,someone actually has to work around here",Sarah said, walking away.
         "I don't know what you were still doing here in the first place, sucker,"Mahi yelled.
         "Let her be."
      "I've told you several times that we don't need that pushover around us."
       "Mahi,you've been friends with her for a longer time than I have,you're the one who introduced us to each other remember?"
      "That I'm friends with her doesn't mean I like her",Mahi replied in a duh tone.
       That made me reason it out. Sarah's family was filthy rich with a flourishing shipping company and smaller businesses here and there. They even owned a castle back in Ireland,their family house,she called it. I had laughed at that,our family house was an apartment probably the size of a servant's room in that castle.
          Sarah and Mahi had been friends since the university and Mahi apparently didn't quite digest the fact that her friend left all her family's wealth to go job seeking with her just because she wanted to 'follow her own path and her family's wealth wasn't hers'. Mahi had probably thought she'd benefit from being friends with a rich girl and was displeased when that didn't happen.
        "Let's just drop the topic and go back to work. I wouldn't want to give miss De la Fuenté reason to strip me of my job as well."

     
      Sophia's POV.
          
        One of the advantages of working in a large company was that you'd still  have guests at your wedding even if you had practically no friends.
      Miss Cooke didn't seem exactly thrilled at the idea of attending my wedding;not like I expected any better,girls like her who thought just because they're pretty meant they deserved everything good loved to be the centre of attention and that'd certainly not be the case at my wedding. What's more, I was getting married to Jamal of all people. I wasn't trying to be her enemy,I didn't have time for that but she had better not give me reason to because I wouldn't be very pleasant to deal with.
       I went to Jamal's office to check on him,I had to be a good wife.
          "Hey love,how are you?",I said with my sweetest smile.
          He looked surprised.
      "Err... I'm fine... I guess."
      "Well I invited everyone in my department to the wedding."
           "Okay. I even have some extra invitation cards at home in case you have other guests in mind."
        "I'm sure it's fine on my side.  Aamir and I going to the tailor's to try our clothes on. Wish us the best."
        "Of course",his smile looked rather forceful.

        
      "I'm trying hard not to cry."
    "Oh,Aamir this looks so good on you",I beamed, ignoring his sentence."I told you the tailor would know how to make it maintain your virility."
     "Of course,Sophia. I look so manly in my purple lace suit."
       "It's lavender, dear. Now stop sulking, I'm going to try my wedding dress on"

     "So,how do I look?"
      "Like a bride."
     "Don't be silly, how do I look?"
       He smiled genuinely. "Jamal should count himself lucky to be your groom."
     The intensity with which he said it as his eyes held mine made me go a little weak at the knees.
          "Don't I look too thin?",I asked the tailor, trying to get away from the awkwardness.
       "Oh please,miss Sophia,no girl is ever too thin."
        "Malnourished, yes. Anyways, looking at the bright side I didn't have to go on a diet and intense exercise like most brides do weeks before their wedding. I do look sickly pale though."
        "Good makeup can fix  that,miss."
       "True. That's why I hired the best makeup artist in all of Texas."
        "Extravagant much?",Aamir joked.
        "Sweetheart, I'm my father's only daughter, only child. I have every right to be extravagant."
      "You're marrying into my family. I hope you have no plans of making us go bankrupt."
          "Who knows? That's probably why I came to Houston in the first place."
         "Hmm,you sound like you're joking but it's probably true",he said,wide eyed.
       "Too bad you can't stop the wedding",I laughed.
        He gave me the same intense look as earlier. "I love you,Sophia."
         I smiled. "I love you too,Aamir."