THICK: The Big Girl's Skinny Guide To Revenge (The McEllis Belles)

Chapter 4 (Filler Chapter Part 1)

(Before you ask me and tell me that you are lost. Firstly look at the side. Valerie and the character in this chapter are connected. Now i changed the name of Valerie's doctor but its the same person. She is involved in the storyline because she helps Valerie overcome the cycle of abuse. )

After the first blow you should leave.

 

I promise I'll leave after the next one

 

Somehow that became my way to tell myself I could leave him.

 

He's gone now.

 

My heart aches for the pain I feel.

 

But I don't miss him

 

-Valerie

 "Your sister is getting married and you look as if you are going to her funeral," Abha Singh swatted her youngest daughter's shoulder as she poured herself into her medical books.

Aashiyana sighed, grumbling as she was forced to participate in the ceremony as the questions of whether she was interested in marriage or not would be thrown like sharp daggers. "I'm doing research on a case mother," When she had taken her oath to serve her patients,  getting involved in their lives had not been something she had been expecting to do but as she saw one of her patients on the verge of a nervous breakdown the choice to save Valerie became an easy one.

"I am convinced that my youngest daughter was born a boy," Groaning, Abha removed the baseball cap from her daughter's head, running her fingers through the wild, untamed locks. Today was a happy day yet her youngest daughter was intent on being the bookworm once again. She however knew better than to interrupt her child from her work.

 Despite it being her older sister's wedding in her heart knew that all eyes would be on her now to marry well and finally settle down. At twenty-seven and as virginal and unmarried as Mary herself,the pressure was on for to marry a "nice Indian boy" and spit out a few babies before she entered her thirties.

   "I hate weddings. Why couldn't Anju get eloped like you and poppa did?" She cringed as she saw the pain flash across her mother's face. Her parents could not afford to have the big Indian wedding after moving to America and instead had to settle on getting married in a court house.

Her jaw dropped as she saw a glance of her past as a man who she thought would never appear before her again walked towards them. "Aashiyana Singh, is that you?" Heat pooled in her cheeks as she looked everywhere but at the man.

 "Darling do you know..." Before her mother could speak, she  cut her off almost rudely.

"We've met," Before her stood Shadid Sharma, dressed in his finest Indowestern suit. "I'd never forget your daughter's beauty," She scowled as he manipulated her mother with his charming nature, wishing that the ground would open up and swallow her instead of being forced to go through this conversation.

 "We met in Amritsar. His brother is married to Shoti," She smiled as she recalled her best friend who had taken a different path in her life and married as soon as they left high school.

 Before marriage the two bosom buddies had been talking about finally going to college in India together but fate had other plans. Abhijit Sharma and Shoti took one look at each other and somehow knew it was love.

His brother on the other hand had gladly made her life a living hell in college as girl after girl was paraded before her.  He made fun of her thick glasses and her thick Indo-American accent . While in college, she had met Ramjit who made living in India bearable. It was only when his family began to put pressure on the couple to get married that she broke off the relation.

That was the story of her life...when the relationships got too intense, she ran.

"Why are you here?" She pursed her lips together, suddenly cold as his eyes devoured her body. "When I said I never wanted to see you again I meant it Shadid," A soft smile warmed his face as the sounds of the dandiya sticks could be heard from the dancefloor.

 "Do you remember when we danced together on our graduation night Shi Shi?" His voice soothed her just as he had on the night of their graduation. It was that same voice that promised her the earth and stars when in a half-drunken state had told her that seducing him unless they planned to get married was wrong.

 "You told me you never wanted to see me again but I gave you four years to calm down," Aware that by now they probably had an audience as her mother played hostess to her guests, she proceeded to find the nearest exist sighing heavily at the recent turn of events.

 On her graduation night, the normally arrogant and heartless Shadid had shown another side of himself after her escort for the evening reconciled with his girlfriend, leaving her dateless and embarrassed. Despite his whining about arriving with the class geek, they had both taken each other's breath away when they saw each other. Shoti and Abhijit had treated her to a makeover in Delhi after the stressful exams during Shadid's internship at a rural clinic.

On her graduation night, he stayed by her side giving her parents a rare glimpse of the daughter who hid behind her geeky appearance.

  "You're shaking," Muscular arms found themselves around her body as his presence immediately warmed her. "Is four years not enough time to stop running from me? I am not the enemy," At his statement she pulled away, preparing to run as she always did but he caught her by the wrist, pulling her back into his arms almost violently with such a force that her cheek slammed into his chest.

 "I can't be what you want Shadid,"She squired until she exhausted herself, closing her eyes as she realized she was losing the battle. "Please..." She opened her mouth to protest feeling tears prick her eyes.

"And what do I want Shi?" His hold loosened at he looked down at her.  "I've had four years to figure out what I want and since the night of our graduation, it's always been you," His thumb swatted away the tears that fell from her eyes.

Still the words of his sister rang clear in her head.  "I can't..." His lips on her own interrupted the rest of her denial. "I can't... do this... with you," She found strength pushing him away with as much strength as she could find within herself.

 "It's a little too late for that since our parents have chosen to arrange our marriage," There was a victorious smile on his face but she cowered into the shadows.

 "You are to be my wife Aashiyana,"