Happily ever after....

Part 2- The stranger who is most familiar

A/N: Thank you all for taking the time out to read and vote on the previous part! And special thanks to all of you who commented. Appreciate your time.

Previously....

Before Sona could think any further, the woman had reached their table, her eyes firmly fixed on Dev; it was evident that she had not really noticed who he was sitting with. As she came close enough for Sona to read her expressions, the first thing that she noted was the look in the woman's eyes, still fixed on Dev. They were bright, lively, excited eyes, the eyes of a child. The next second, her hand was on Dev's shoulder. 

Sona's eyes travelled to Dev's face, just as the woman's hand landed on his shoulder, in time to see his eyes light up with deep affection, recognizing the touch, even before he turned to see the woman. It was the same look he used to get in his eyes whenever he looked at her. 

For a moment, Sona just stared at the woman, taking in her appearance. Short hair cut- pixie style, heavy on the kajal, light on the liner and practically no discernible make up otherwise... hmmm, no jewellery at all, even her wrists were unadorned except for the largish, almost masculine watch on her left- Sona's eyes quickly took it all in, quite surprised at how apparent it was that the woman before her had not even tried to fit into the crowd here. But she had to admit that there was something in her that turned heads and made people glance at her, then stop and pay closer attention to her. 

She knew she was staring at the two people before her, taking in the fact that the woman had eyes only for Dev and that Dev's entire demeanour now showed that here was someone he cared about, a lot. Something deep inside her rebelled at that last thought.

The woman sat down in the third chair around the table, next to Dev, her whole face brightened by her smile and said softly 'Missed you, Mon amour (My love)'. The words were almost whispered, clearly meant only for Dev's ears but Sona did hear them. While she could not understand what the term exactly meant, the tone, the deep emotion with which they had been said left no doubt in her mind that she had just used a term of endearment for Dev. 

He did not say anything but the smile on his face said it all. The woman's hand quickly touched his cheek before she turned to Sonakshi, already apologizing profusely for barging into their conversation, "I am so sorry. I did not mean to butt in like this. Hi, I am Sunaina.", the woman said, extending her hand to Sona, the friendly smile and the truly apologetic tones coming as yet another surprise for Sona, adding to the complete confusion clouding her thoughts.

Her thoughts were all centred around just one question 'Who was this and what exactly was her relationship with Dev?'. And then she mentally corrected herself. It was quite clear that the woman was not just a business acquaintance, she was surely more, far more than that. But how had that happened?? Dev had a woman friend?? The Dev who never had any time for anyone outside his family?? The Dev who had found it so impossible to understand that he loved her, Sona??

And then another thought struck her. How would this woman react once she came to know who Sona was? Would Dev introduce her to his new 'friend'? What would he introduce her as??

As Sona forwarded her hand to Sunaina, she saw the other suddenly freeze, the smile on her face dropping for a moment as a little frown creased her forehead. And then the smile was back, if possible, even wider and brighter than before.

"Sonakshi, isn't it?? You are Sonakshi. My God, you are even more beautiful now than you were then", she said, making Sona's eyes go wide with shock. This woman KNEW who she was and she was COMPLIMENTING her?? She had even seen her pictures, perhaps?? Had Dev showed her the pictures?