𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴

• 16 •

Her eyebrows furrowed trying to understand what he meant, "Koun hai woh?" Kabir answered in a surprising tone, "Aapko nahi pata koun hai woh. Bataya nahi aapko Sameer ne? Woh Mia hai. Mr and Mrs Mathur ki beti. Bechare ke peeche paid hui hai."

She found her name familiar and her eyebrows relaxed as she realised it was the same girl Mrs Mathur had mentioned about when she had come that day with the invitation.

"Ohh...N-nahi nahi...bataya tha Sameer ne...bas dekha nahi na kabhi toh yaad nahi raha." She said a bit hesistantly under his intent gaze. He bent a bit towards her and mumbled, "Mujhe toh yeh bilkul pasand nahi hai. Aap hi bacha sakti ho Sameer ko uske prakop se. Jaldi jaao."

Standing a bit far from them, she watched Mia talking animatedly to Sameer while he just stood there, replying to her using only monosyllables. His expressions implied his lack of interest. It was his helplessness to stand and listen to her meaningless utterances, otherwise Mrs Mathur won't leave a second to make a fuss. She could never bear her daughter getting insulted in any form.

Feeling the need to do something, Naina tried to think since Kabir and Anika were momentarily watching between her and Sameer. 'Kuchh toh karna padega warna yeh kuchh galat hi samajh lenge.' And then, an idea passed through her mind though it was going to be a huge step. Gathering all of her courage she stepped in their direction.

Mia was busy telling Sameer that she was the one who had insisted her parents to go for the blue-white theme. He was having a hard time pretending to take an interest when a pair of hands looped around his arm making his gaze turn instantly. He was amazed to see Naina standing there putting a smile on her face, but didn't let it evident on his face and passed a smile too. Mia's mood took a three-sixty degree turn on seeing Naina.

If it was to be in her hands, she would have hugged Sameer out of excitement but composed herself realizing that he was a married man now. She had felt something burning inside her when she had seen them both on the dance floor as her only serious crush had gotten married. Her mother was beside her the whole time, inducing more envy as she said how good it would have been if only Mia was in the place of Naina. Now, as she was face to face with her, jealousy was the only thing she could feel and it was a natural response. You can't expect someone to be cool on meeting their crush's partner.

She thought as she glimpsed Naina, 'Aisa kya khaas hai isme jo Sameer ne mujhe chhodke isey choose kiya? Mom was right. She doesn't even deserve to stand beside him. Kaha woh aur kaha yeh.' It was just a harmless crush but her mother had overstated it due to which she couldn't understand her own feelings about him. Since her childhood days, she had been living on the principle of 'getting everything by hook aur crook' which her mother had taught her, the main reason why she was feeling so upset on losing Sameer.

A restrained smile formed on her face as she turned towards Naina, "Hey...Nice to meet you. Naina right?" Saying that she forwarded her hand.

Naina accepted and shook hands with her, "Ji...Nice meeting you too." It wasn't hard for her to recognize the look of aversion behind her smile.

Earlier too, when she was with Anika, some ladies were muttering behind her back making comments like,

"Kuchh dikhti bhi hai yeh..."

"Maheshwari ji ke pote ne yeh ladki pasand kari apne liye?"

"Saree toh dekho, pakka kisi street market se li hogi..."

"Aisi ladkiyo ko khub dekha hai maine. Paiso ke liye phasa liya hoga, aur kya..."

The last comment had pierced through her heart making her vision blur due to the dampness in them. Anika had noticed it and as if to console her, kept a hand on her shoulder and shook her head cajoling Naina not to listen to them. It took her an ounce of strength to bring back herself to normal.