Chapter 2
Aditya Wahi winked at Sabrina when he spotted her in the crowd.
She was his friend Aisha’s sister-in-law and her closest friend.
He’d met her enough times in the past to know her as more than an acquaintance, but right now, he didn’t have time to focus on her.
His appearance here was creating quite a stir, and he might as well finish doing what he had come here for.
He fixed his gaze on his ex-girlfriend. Kanika had invited him just to show him how she had moved on, and that another man had given her what he had refused to.
His mother would skin him alive for coming here.
His friends had warned him not to give in to Kanika’s games, but he’d ignored all of them.
Knowing Kanika, she would have engineered a scene between them at some point, at some event, where Aditya was also present, to parade her fiancé beside her, just to show the world how she’d moved on from him.
Kanika was nothing but tenacious when it came to proving a point.
Hence, it was better to get this over with once and for all, and on her turf, at her engagement party, where she couldn’t really afford to make a fool of herself.
Aditya knew Kanika had seen him, although she was pretending that she hadn’t. Her laughter rang louder amidst the quiet hush around them, and her spine was a tad bit straighter as she clung tightly to her fiancé’s arm.
Before dating her, Aditya had been a playboy and a party animal.
But as he’d watched his friends marry and build families, a quiet longing had started to take root.
He’d spent years alone, buried in work, and the idea of someone to share his life with had slowly begun to appeal to him.
He too wanted the happiness his friends had found.
So, he’d started seeing Kanika, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she was someone he could eventually settle down with.
They’d met through common friends at a nightclub in Delhi, and she’d made a play for him immediately.
They’d spent that night in his hotel room, and he’d begun dating her soon after.
She was sexy and fun to be with, was cultured and well-educated, and had an excellent family background. However, his mother and his friends hadn’t approved of her. Despite all their concerns—very valid concerns, he could admit now in hindsight, he’d gone ahead and dated her anyway.
They’d been together for five months, and while initially she’d agreed with him to take things forward slowly, very soon, she’d changed.
She’d spent most of their time together pressurizing him to make them official.
She’d wanted to get married, and though he’d been faithful to her, proposing to her that soon in their association hadn’t seemed…
right. He’d wanted to take time to know her better before he made a commitment of a lifetime to her.
As it was, he travelled a lot for work, while she was based in Delhi.
Hence, the short time they’d spent together wasn’t enough to take such a big decision.
Kanika, however, hadn’t understood that.
She’d blamed him for putting up walls between them, for being distant and unemotional, and for not giving her a chance.
Finally, she’d threatened to end it with him if he didn’t propose to her.
He hadn’t believed her. A few days later, they’d had a fierce argument when he had once again refused to succumb to her pressure.
She had called him all sorts of names before she’d stormed off.
That was the first time he had seen that vicious side of her—a side that had convinced him of his decision.
Soon after breaking up with him, she’d found the next rich man willing to marry her and had happily attached herself to him, showing Aditya that he hadn’t really mattered to her. Fuck, he’d been such a fool for being taken in by her. He ought to have known better.
Kanika threw him a fleeting glance before she plastered herself to her fiancé’s side. She really was putting on a show.
Aditya kept his expression calm. He wasn’t going to give her the pleasure of a reaction.
Nor would he allow the throng of people silently watching his every move to say that he was bothered by Kanika’s engagement.
He wasn’t… mostly. But he was human, and he had to admit that his pride smarted at the fact that she had deliberately invited him to taunt him.
He reached Kanika in a few strides and smiled delightfully at her and her fiancé.
“Hello, Kanika,” he said.
“Oh… Aditya, you’re here! How nice.” Her bright voice cut into the hush around them. “Meet my fiancé, Soham Ganeshan.”
“Darling,” she cooed, tugging her bewildered soon-to-be husband toward Aditya, like a child proudly showing off a shiny new toy. “You have to meet Aditya. He’s an old... friend.”
Aditya’s smile remained cool, indifferent even, as he shook hands with Soham. “Congratulations to both of you.” To Kanika, he said, “I see you got what you wanted.”
Kanika lifted her left hand in the air, deliberately showing off her large sparkly diamond. “Oh, you know me. I always get what I want.” She gave her fiancé a beaming smile. “Isn’t it, darling?”
“Always.” Soham looked at her, besotted, before he turned to Aditya. “Thank you for being here for our special day. It means a lot.”
“Aditya wouldn’t have missed it for the world. After all, he and I were close once.”
Either Kanika had already told Soham about her history with Aditya, and he simply didn’t care, or he was too oblivious to see through the performance she was putting on.
Aditya believed it to be the latter. Poor fellow.
If he was indeed that na?ve, then Kanika would eat him up alive and spit out his remains.
“Darling,” Kanika gushed at Soham, “Your mom is calling you.”
“Is she?” Soham asked, looking in the distance.
“Yes, yes,” Kanika said.
Aditya accepted a glass of whiskey from a passing waiter while Kanika ushered her fiancé away from them. Now she stood alone with Aditya, exactly as she’d intended.
“I can’t believe you’re actually here,” she finally said. “For a moment, I thought you wouldn’t come.”
He shrugged. “Why would I not? After all, you and I were close friends once, weren’t we?”
She spread a hand out. “All this could have been for you and me, if only you had agreed.”
He took a sip of his whiskey. “That’s just it, I wasn’t ready, and you clearly were in a hurry. I hope you’re happy with Soham.”
“Oh, I am,” she said. “But he wasn’t my first choice.”
She took a step nearer to him. Her strong perfume washed over him, reminding him of the times he had spent with her. She reached a hand out to touch his face, but he backed a step just in time.
“Stop,” he commanded.
“Oops, force of habit.” She chuckled behind her hand, and then gave him a coy look. “You and I were together for so long, at times I think you’re still mine. I haven’t forgotten you; I doubt I’ll ever forget you.”
His eyes widened at her words. Fuck. She was unbelievable. She was engaged to be married to another man. She had no business talking like that and trying to manipulate him. Her behavior confirmed why he’d wanted to take his time and not plunge headlong into marriage with her.
“Look at the ring on your finger every time you think that.” He gazed in the distance before facing her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a friend I’d like to meet.”
He’d just taken a step away from her, when he heard her cold whisper, “You won’t be able to forget me. I won’t allow it.”
Fuck. She was behaving mental now. He rushed away from her, his mood totally ruined. The conversations around him resumed in full swing when everyone saw there’d be no drama unfolding.
He looked around the crowd, and his eyes zeroed in on Sabrina. She was instructing some of her staff members, pointing to one of the food stations. She looked up as he neared her and met him halfway, a smile on her lips.
“Hey there,” he said.
“Hi. I can’t believe you actually came here. Not sure whether it was a brave move or a dangerous one.”
“Neither,” he said. “It was plain closure.”
He and Kanika being an item and then breaking up was public knowledge, and Sabrina Solanki had become a part of his tightly knit group after his close friend Rithwik married Aisha.
He didn’t meet her much socially, except on the occasions she was catering an event for one of his friends.
He’d always found her to be quiet and composed, preferring to remain on the sidelines.
He looked around the beautifully done arrangements, knowing it was all Sabrina’s work. “So, all this beautiful setup is thanks to you?”
She gave him a small smile. “Yes, it is.” After a beat, she asked, “Are you okay?”
He took another sip of his whiskey, the ice clinking. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You and her… at one time…”
“… it’s all in the past,” he said.
“At least your interaction with her was composed, very… civil,” she deadpanned.
He chuckled. “You sound disappointed.”
“Only a little. I expected more drama.”
Seeing her dark eyes sparkling with mischief, he said, “Apologies for not living up to your expectations then.”
“You coming here is enough drama for this event to be a success.” A small smile curled her lips.
“However, a glass of wine thrown on someone’s face would’ve made it more entertaining and memorable.
Then, even those not in attendance would want to know everything about the event.
Who was in attendance? Who was the caterer?
Who was the event planner... Good for my business, you see. ”
His lips curved at the amusement in her words. “If you want, I can flip the dessert table for you. Would that be enough drama?”
“Tempting. Unfortunately, I’d have to decline.
Mainly because then I’d have to scrape up all the chocolate ganache and Crème Br?lée off the ridiculously expensive grass, which they probably imported from Switzerland, and then also organize new desserts.
Not to mention I’d also have to deal with your ex’s wrath. ”
“Kanika’s been giving you trouble?”
“If several tantrums over the color of the paper napkins qualify as trouble, then yes, a lot of trouble.”
The utter horror on her face, combined with her no-nonsense tone, made him bark out a laugh, and then another, until he was laughing out loud. Her lips twitched, and then she, too, was laughing with him. Around them, people were beginning to take notice, several already watching them closely.
“I’m glad you laughed,” she finally said. “You look so much more at ease now.”
He studied her carefully, caught off-guard by the softness in her tone. It wasn’t pity or flirtation. Just plain honesty.
Something inside him had eased after talking to Sabrina and laughing with her the way he had.
The tension that had gripped him ever since he’d decided to attend Kanika’s engagement had fully dissipated, leaving him feeling free.
Like he could breathe properly again. And it was all thanks to Sabrina.
They weren’t close friends, yet she had taken it upon herself to better his mood. It was very kind of her.
“I’m sorry,” Sabrina said. “I didn’t mean to disparage Kanika in front of you like that.”
“No apology needed. If she’s giving you a hard time, you have a right to call it for what it is.”
He looked beyond her and found Kanika back with her fiancé, but her eyes were on Sabrina and him.
Leaving Soham, she began to make her way back to where he was standing with Sabrina.
Fuck. He did not want to give her another opportunity to try and manipulate him in any way or say things that would piss him off again.
Handing his whiskey glass to a passing server, he said, “I have to go, Sabrina. I’ll see you around.”
Sabrina spotted Kanika approaching and said, “Go, I’ll distract her till you make your escape.”
His lips curved. She clearly didn’t miss a thing. It was very sweet of her to help him.
With a quick nod, he began to walk away. At the exit, he turned and found Sabrina talking to Kanika. From the side, some of the staff were wheeling in a three-tier cake. Soham arrived and put his arm around Kanika, just as Sabrina backed away, disappearing into the crowd.
He sat in his car, feeling utterly relieved for the first time in months. Kanika no longer held space in his life. Tonight had genuinely been about closure.
And now, it was time to move on. Hopefully to something better…