The Best Friend of the Bride (COMPLETED)

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Sighing, Samaira shut her eyes again. Flying terrorised her. The taking off and landing bits aside, the thoughts of crashing constantly plagued her and made aeroplane journeys unbearable. Sleeping through them was her only escape. That's exactly what she was doing until an infant started wailing as loudly as his lungs would allow, waking her and in the process making her as grumpy as an old lady. They were just about to land. Mentally she congratulated the kid sarcastically for having the perfect timing. She loved children, but she had suffered from a very hard week and this little one had been testing her patience since the time he boarded the long flight halfway around the world. Now, not only would she have to experience the troublesome landing, but also she couldn't enjoy the perfect kiss that she was just about to have in her interrupted dream. She was finally having some respite from the darkness that engulfed her from within and this baby just had to ruin it!

It had been a week since the wedding; a very long one too. Never had she felt so restless and anxious in Mumbai. Her mind couldn't get over Aryan. He had been a perfect gentleman before, during and after the wedding, never once leaving her side. It was as if she was the only thing that mattered to him, nothing else but her. He would know what she wanted, without her having to say anything. When she was hungry, he'd gesture for a waiter carrying some delicious starters to come their way, when she was cold, he put his jacket around her and when she came face to face with Karan, he introduced himself and made small talk with him until Karan was called away, not allowing her even once to feel uneasy in his presence. Not once did she have to tell him anything. It was as if he could read her completely. She felt both relieved and scared at that.

After the wedding, when he drove her home, she contemplated giving him her name should he enquire, but he never asked again. They sat in an eerily comfortable silence and when the time came to bid adieu, he gently squeezed her hand and gave her a quick hug before driving off into the distance.

The last few days had been hard, not just because she missed Aryan and was constantly thinking about him, but also because her grandfather had suffered a heart attack the very next evening after the wedding. The once hale and hearty man lay in the hospital bed weak and frail.

If there was one place she hated other than aeroplanes, the confines of the hospital would top the list. The first time she had visited the hospital was when her mother had died. The body was unrecognisable from the accident. Nightmares of hospitals and dead bodies plagued her and disallowed her to sleep peacefully for months.

However, she braved her fears and spent practically all day at the hospital; dying internally but having to stay strong for her grandmother. Her once fit grandfather lay sprawled on the bed fighting for his life. The doctors had had to perform a life saving operation on him which he survived luckily, but the functioning of his heart had reduced considerably and he was no longer allowed any strenuous exercise. They also had to make sure that he wouldn't suffer from a heart attack again or else it would be very difficult to bring him back for a second time. After three days in intensive care, he was finally allowed to go home, but with a full time nurse to look after him.

Samaira couldn't see her grandparents and father go through this alone and extended her stay for two days, but could no longer postpone returning to America as she had to transact business with the Kapoor's and the deal had to be signed soon. Also, she had a few tests in the next week that she couldn't possibly skip. With a heavy heart, she left for New York. In a way she was relieved to be heading home and escape all the darkness that seemed to follow her wherever she went. For once she was happy in her life; her grades were good, no more nightmares, her family loved her and she was learning a lot about the business, leaving her past behind. Aryan seemed to be the icing on the cake.

All it took was one heart attack to bring back the memories of loss and loneliness she felt deep inside. The fact that she hadn't heard from Aryan didn't help either as all her waking moments were divided between worry for her grandfather and feeling unwanted by Aryan. She had thought that he genuinely cared for her even though she hadn't spent a lot of time with him. And that he liked her for herself and not her name. But maybe she was mistaken. Her past was enough proof that she wasn't good enough for anyone. It was just her money and her name.

But this time, she had felt something different, in a good way. The way his handsome smile reached his eyes when he looked at her made her heart flutter. He had the most perfect face and gorgeous eyes that Samaira couldn't ever get enough of. His body was like that of a model straight out of the TV screen. She would know, hadn't she see countless of her sisters model friends? But all this thinking about him was in vain, he was just what she feared. He had used her for his pleasure and entertainment as he didn't know much people at the wedding and had forgotten her with the blink of his eyes.

Those hypnotising eyes.

The very eyes that she had been dreaming of until the child woke her. And his lips, the ones she was just about to claim on hers in the dream.

Trapped in her thoughts, Samaira didn't realise when the plane landed and it was time to disembark. She thought of the first time she landed in New York to visit her sister as an excuse to run away from her past, the second time after her mother's funeral and this time to escape from Aryan and the gloominess that engulfed her heart. How similar the situations were, yet how different. Each time she came back to this city, she made an attempt to forget the disappointments that life threw her way and make a fresh start.

After claiming her baggage, she made her way to the exit where she spotted a familiar figure. There was no mistake. It was Aryan in flesh and blood. He received a group of six girls, one of who ran up to him and kissed him straight on the lips, unbalancing them both. Soon they broke apart, for a moment she thought that he wasn't comfortable with it, but all of Samaira's hopes died quickly when he lifted her in his arms and carried her out of the airport, not having seen Samaira even once.

If she had ever felt heartbreak before, this was the Titanic of all heartbreaks. Suddenly, returning to New York didn't seem so appealing anymore.

So that was why he never bothered to know her name again. Why he didn't call. Not only had he left the city, but also had left all thoughts of her behind. She hadn't mattered to him one bit. Her worries had proved to be true. He was the wealthy playboy that she had feared him to be.

A silent tear rolled down her cheek as she stood transfixed to the spot, wishing that the ground would swallow her alive.