Page 40 of Always? Forever.
I leaned down once she came and stood beside me. I held her at her waist, holding her close. “Are you okay?” I asked in her ear.
She took a deep breath, “You didn’t tell me there would be paps at this event” she said through gritted teeth. She was not okay and it scared me as much as it worried me. I wanted her to be okay. It didn’t help at all that I had forgotten about it and the fact that she had anxiety, which made it worse. Not because it would be all over the news if she panicked but it would be embarrassing for her and I had no idea how she would react. I guided her through the crowd towards the entrance holding her close.
With random questions being thrown our way, “Who are you wearing?”, “Is she your new girlfriend?”, “Who is she?” and whatnot. I think I felt her flinch several times when anyone asked if she was mynewgirlfriend. Yeah, I wouldn’t like it either if it was the other way around. Real or not she was mine and I was hers, till she allowed me to be.
We entered inside and the cool air hit us once again. It was my mom and dad who rushed to greet us. My mom quickly pulled Samaira into a hug.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am that Kartik found you and decided to keep you for the rest of his life, you’ll be a good influence on him, I can already see the changes in my son.” She said.
Samaira smiled kindly at her. “Well if anything it’s the other way round ma’am, he’s the one who’s had a good influence on me,” she said looking at me, making my heart pound.
If I didn’t know it before, I would know now that there was no way I was letting her go. I’ll tell her tonight. No one can act this good. She surely must feel something for me. I’dtake the chance of telling her how I felt and maybe getting rejected or maybe having to be with her forever rather than not telling her at all and losing her forever even before I had an opportunity.
My mom beamed with happiness as my dad gave her a proud dad smile that I had seen him give me even at my lowest. I knew he would like her. “I think it’s about time we cut out formalities, you can call me Mom, or Ma since now that y’all are engaged.” My mom said as she practically gushed with excitement. Samaira gave a hesitant smile.
My dad looked at me, “Well done son” he said, patting me on my back. Samaira’s little answer about me had impressed him.
When I had introduced them to Tanya, she plainly said that I needed to do better in every way and it wasn’t that she said that, it was the way she said it. As if I would notice such things. It was my mother who brought it to notice.
We talked some more with my parents, and all the while I kept my hand on her waist, brushing my thumb every once in a while where my hand rested. We finally sat down at our table. Once we sat down, I pulled her chair closer to mine and she let out a squeak. She looked at me questioningly. I just shook my head smiling and said, “I like having you close” I shrugged. She looked surprised.
Before I could say anything else, my brother, Aarush approached me. “Hello brother,” he said. I glared at him. He smiled brightly. Once there would come a time when I would break his teeth.
“Samaira, you look absolutely gorgeous,” he said, leaning down to give her a kiss on her cheek. Yeah forget his teeth, I was thinking about breaking his bones.
The fucker gave me a cheeky smile as he straightened up. I fumed. I was about to say something, “You need to come with me for a second, there’s a client here and I think it’s the best way to poach him.” Aarush said.
I was hesitant to leave Samaira alone. Last time when I was with Tanya and I had left her for a couple of minutes she had gotten pissed at me. It also resulted in the first time that she cheated on me with my brother.
I looked at Samaira, and she brushed me off, “Go go I’ll be fine for a few minutes. I have food to keep me company” she said in a kind polite manner. I gave her a peck on her lips before I got up, leaving her gaping. I winked at her as I said, “I’ll be back princess.”
Samaira
Kartik kissed me before he left. I touched my lips where he’d just kissed me. It was amazing how every time he did something he left a lasting impact on me. His hand had been on my waist the entire time we had arrived as he occasionally brushed his thumb where it rested. It gave me jitters. Good jitters as he made me feel things and bad jitters ashe made me feel things. It wasn’t going to end well if I developed feelings for him.
Kartik excused himself as he and Aarush wandered to some clients. It was during this momentary lull that his grandmother leaned in and told me, "I see you both have actually fallen in love."
My eyes widened in surprise, and I craned my neck to look at her, utterly shocked.
"What? Did you two think that just because I'm old, you could fool me?" she asked with a smug expression. "You may have only just met me, but I know how your mind works. Why? Because I was once in your shoes too. How do you think I convinced Kartik's grandfather to marry me?" She winked at me, leaving me utterly dumbfounded. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Kartik's grandmother would be the first to uncover the truth behind our fake engagement.
"But don't worry," she continued, mischief dancing in her eyes, "it won't affect his inheritance, nor will it harm your relationship. I never planned on giving away his inheritance to Samarth. I only put forth the clause so he stopped being a baby and took on his responsibilities. Let's keep this our little secret. We can let the boy believe he managed to outsmart his old grandmother."
I nod amused and astounded at her. There really was a reason why Taani Kapadia.
I got up to where the food was. One place anyone could find me at weddings was at the food counter. As I glancedthrough what was available while grabbing a plate, I heard a voice that I knew.
“Find something good?” a voice asked behind me.
I turned and smiled when I saw it was Aarush. There was an easy kind of mischief to him, like he walked through life one inside joke ahead of everyone else.
I liked him.
There was definitely a spark brewing between those two, Aria and Aarush, something I hadn’t quite figured out yet. Maybe it was subtle. She hadn’t said anything yet, but she didn’t have to. I could tell. Ilivedfor this stuff. I couldplay a little Cupid.Hmm.
“Weren’t you supposed to be helping Kartik?”
He gave a dramatic shrug.
