LOVE TRIALS

iv

The inauguration day came sooner than anyone had anticipated. A week, seven days and yet, it had felt seven seconds when his father came to overlook the arrangements and overrode every decision he made just like his decision to invite orchestra to the inauguration party.

Unique, Amaan groaned. Energy depleted quickly once he found himself standing amidst his peers with the boring piece playing in the background. He almost dozed at one point, Adam slapped his shoulder. He met his sister's eyes who rolled her twinkling eyes at him and scrunched her nose.

"Excuse me," Amaan said with a perk of his lips. He should have tried harder but then, again networking had never been his job. He stayed behind the scenes and preferred his seat at the head of the table.

He found himself gazing at the long, entrance doors, unbidden. Amaan frowned, whatever was the reason? The answer to his question came quickly and his heart slipped in his throat.

She wore a long-sleeved burgundy dress with a side slit at least that's what Amaan Raza saw the moment she strutted into the ballroom with her high heels as if she owned the place.

She flicked a few strands of her hair over her shoulder and spared him no glance when she passed by him.

Amaan blamed the space between them and hated to admit that he disliked the distance between them.

"Another juice, please." He said to the barman without taking his eyes off his father, she stood by his side but Amaan didn't look at her. Not deliberately but she stood in his line of vision and Amaan Raza had eyes that worked perfectly well.

It didn't matter he didn't want to look away, she had his attention the moment she had barged into his life at the age of seventeen and she still had him at twenty-nine.

Amaan Raza willed himself to breath when his eyes caught the bare expanse of her back. She had left her straight hair open to caress as they please, Amaan was oddly displeased as they reached out to touch dimples in the lower back. Amaan put the glass of his juice on the marble, nearly spilling its contents and smoothed both his hands over his hair without ruining his hairstyle.

He picked the glasses, his fingers tight around the stems and he walked to the pair, his father and sister, he didn't care out of all the people in the room she had chosen to greet his family, first. He simply didn't care when their gazes collided and the coursing blood in his veins danced to the brilliance of her smile.

He really didn't care, it didn't affect him one bit when she bowed her head to take his father's blessings. Treated him better than she treated her own father.

Adam smiled at his son.

His lips stretched with barely restrained happiness when he shifted his eyes to look at Yaritza Bellamy conversing with his daughter.

Anaaya laughed a little, catching the fumble in Yara's words when Amaan came up to them, he appeared before them in his tailored black suit with a charming red tie, similar to the colour of Yara's dress, some might think he wore it because he couldn't find one which matched her dress the best.

If Anaaya hadn't been looking so closely at the woman who called herself Yara Bellamy, she would've missed her taking a deep breath, missed the flush in her cheeks and stars in her eyes when she turned to her brother.

Catching his son's gaze, Adam cocked an eyebrow, his eyes flitting to the glasses of juice in Amaan's hands.

A similar eyebrow rose on Amaan's forehead, he might have inherited it from Adam but he didn't get much time to dwell on the thought, Amaan gave a glass to his father and took a singular sip from his own glass, his throat parched.