3- Collision

Noor hated nights like this. She had a strong distaste for the charade, the fakery lying thick in the air beneath fraudulent smiles and pompous conversations as everyone bathed in the same pool of self-importance.

Her fingers curled on the railings as she looked around the room which was buzzing with excitement, trying to find the reason to be as excited as they were but couldn't.

She stood in a corner of the room in her black dress looking as regal and beautiful as she'd always been, isolated but not totally isolated as she turned heads towards her men and women alike.

She didn't notice the stares and if she did, she was trying her best to not look affected by them, her poker face set in place.

"Try not to look so miserable," Nadia teased, nudging Noor's shoulder as she took in the vibrant colors decorating the hall.

"I am miserable," she replied nonchalantly, raising her Chapman flute in mock salute.

"Come on," Nadia's smile deflated a little. "Don't be like this."

"Like what?" she cocked her eyebrow, her gaze firmly set on Nadia.

"Like you're here against your wish."

"I am here against my wish," she rolled her eyes but there was no contempt hiding behind her orbs, just distaste for the event swirling within.

"Oh come on," Nadia groaned. "I'll never hear the end of this, will I?"

"You just answered your question," she smirked, dropping the half-empty flute on the railing.

"Noorul-Huda? Noorul-Huda is that you?" They heard a voice gasp in shock, prompting them to stop their conversation.

They glanced over their shoulders to a gorgeous middle-aged woman, dressed impeccably in a blue lace skirt and blouse, a Prada handbag dangling from her wrist, a veil wrapped round her face.

"It is you." Said voice gasped again, engulfing Noor in a tight embrace. Dafuq? Noor's eyes widened as she went stock still, on the verge of a panic attack. No one has being that close to her except for Nadia, Khaleed and Nadia's siblings.

Being hugged by a stranger brought all the bad memories back and she struggled with her breathing, trying to get out of the woman's embrace. The woman looked slightly familiar to her but for the life of her, she couldn't remember where she had seen that face.

Nadia had also frozen with fear, watching the exchange. As if something clicked in place, she picked up the flute Noor had kept and not-so-accidentally spill the beverage on the woman.

"Oh my God!" she yelped, releasing Noor from her hold.

"I am so sorry," Nadia rasped, dabbing the woman's blouse with her hand. "I am such a klutz, please don't be offended. I'll go and get you some clean towels."

"It's alright." The woman blew out a breath, staring at the red stain the drink had caused on her blouse. It was impossible for her to get angry seeing the lady's face contort with regret. The stain was the least of her problem, she was heading out when lo and behold, she spotted Noor; the daughter of one of her closest friends whom she hadn't set eyes on for eight years.

"How are you Noorie?" she questioned, placing a hand on Noor's cheek with a reminiscent smile. She hadn't noticed Noor's obvious discomfort or the way her body had went rigid again, the moment her hand had come in contact with her face. What she noticed though was the stark contrast between Noor and her friend-Jawahir.

"I am fine," she responded, subtly taking a step away from the lady.

"You don't remember me do you?" The woman questioned wistfully, her eyes glazing over with unshed tears.

Noor shook her head, her discomfort rising up a notch. Nadia stepped closer to Noor, placing a hand on her shoulder, offering silence comfort which she was grateful for.

"I was a friend of your mothers," the woman explained, digging her phone out of her bag distractedly which had began to ring.

I was a friend of your mother's, those seven words were all it took for Noor to connect the dots blanketing her mind. Her mother had only one friend in Nigeria so the woman must be...

"Ammah," she whispered, shocked with the sudden rush of memories.

"I..." The woman began but was cut off when one of her security details ran towards her and spoke into her ears. Her body went rigid as her gaze alternated between Noor and the door before settling back on Noor. With a sigh, she flicked the woman away then brought out a business card from her bag and thrust it into Noor's hand.

"This is my card, call me if you need anything. I know that it is tad bit late all things considered but I am here for you. Do call me soon, I would love to catch up. And remember, you can call me for anything."

That said, the woman walked out of the hall. Nadia had kept quiet through out the exchange but as soon as the woman had gone out of sight, she fixed her gaze on Noor who had forgotten she was there beside her.

"Who is she?" she questioned, plucking the card out of Noor's hand.

"I need to go," Noor snatched the card back, making no move to walk out as if waiting for Nadia's approval.

"Now?" she questioned timidly, biting her lower lip. She didn't want to leave just yet but if Noor wanted to go, she would have no choice but to leave with her too.

"You can stay, I need some time alone."

"Are you sure?" she questioned again, feeling guilty for hoping Noor would say yes. "Will you be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah." She affirmed, picking up her clutch which she had abandoned on the railing.

"Okay. But you call me as soon as you get back home okay?"

"I will." Not waiting for an answer, Noor traipsed out of the building, leaving Nadia behind.

She had lied when she said she was going to be okay by herself but she didn't want Nadia to sacrifice such an event for her again even though she found it ridiculous. Nadia cared about the parties and ceremonies so leaving when it had only began would be disappointing for her.

She couldn't call Khaleed because he was at the office working late, again. There was no one to call except for Nadia's sister Farhana whom she was sure was already asleep right now.

It was times like this when she felt how extremely shallow her life was, with no friends to actually call her own.

As she walked out of the building, she had no idea she was going to come face to face with someone who was going to throw her world off its orbit, making it free fall from space with no strings to pull it back up.

They were going to collide in the most unexpected way and one, if not both was definitely going to get hurt.

{••}

Earlier today,

Three hours back.

"I didn't spend hours doing your make up so you can chew on your lips like a bag of pringles," Nadia seethed from across the room, glaring at Noor who was perched on the windowsill, gazing out into the dark night.

"Apologies," Noor rolled her eyes letting the curtain go back to its place as she adjusted her sheila which had slipped off of her head. "Remind me again, how and why did I agree to do this?"

"Because you're nice and you're..." she trailed off, smiling cheekily as Noor glared at her.

"That's not what happened."

"Okay fine." It was Nadia's turn to roll her eyes as she examined three tubes of lipstick, contemplating on which color to use. "I politely..." she paused, wincing as Noor's black stress ball made contact with her forehead. "What the hell!" she shrieked.

"It's not good to lie," Noor shrugged, examining her manicured nails nonchalantly.

"I wasn't lying," she mumbled under her breath, massaging the spot Noor had hit her.

"'How did I agree?"

"Fine," she huffed again, flipping back a braid which had fallen on her face. "Don't hit me again," she cried out, raising her hands up in surrender. "I blackmailed you into doing so but on a serious note, I do need you..."

Noor hummed in response, tuning out of the conversation. She had already gotten what she wanted, Nadia's confession about how she had agreed to accompanying her to the ridiculous charity gala.

{••}

Marwan loved nights like this. Nights when he could mingle and talk business withother people. But today, he finds himself unable to do such. The only thing keeping him from snapping was the bourbon he had spiked into his drink, dulling most of his agitation.

The booze could only do so much because at the back of his mind, there was a nagging feeling that not even the most strongest of alcohol could dull.

He kept fidgeting, flexing his fingers to hide his uneasiness. From his peripheral vision, he could see his mother giving him a reprimanding look but he didn't care, couldn't care, not when there was a turmoil going on within him.

He had a feeling that something big was going to happen tonight and whether it was in his favor or not, he could only hope it was good.

He downed the rest of his alcohol-laced drink and set the glass on the table, his eyes roving the guests as the alcohol began to kick in. He felt lightheaded, his mood lifting up a notch.

As if pricked by a needle, he stood up on wobbly legs, shaking his head to rid himself of the drowsiness he felt. At this moment, he regretted taking too much of it.

Ignoring the curious looks thrown his way, he dashed out of the hall in need of air. He leaned against a pillar overlooking the door to the hall, plucking out a cigar stick from the back of his pocket, lit it up then returned the lighter back to his pocket.

Yeah, that's more like it. He took a long inhale, letting the smoke travel down his lungs before he expelled. As he took another inhale, his gaze caught a moving figure, heading towards his way.

He let out a low whistle as she stopped dead in her tracks perplexed, not expecting to meet someone out there.

"Hello beu..." his words got stuck as he retched, spilling out the contents of his stomach on the floor.

Oh shit! He groaned inwardly.

"Codswallop!" she shrieked just in time to avoid getting splattered by vomit.

He staggered on his feet, watching the vomit half dazed. His gaze lifted to hers, smiling predatory.

Run! her insides screamed at her but how could she, she was trapped by his gaze, frozen in sight.

"Hello beautiful," he smiled wildly, his dimples popping out.

Yup, she was a gonner.

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