Chapter 2 Reunion

Everything happened so quickly, like a scene in a movie. He didn’t see her, at least not immediately since he was so engulfed in what Myra was saying and honestly, Isha would have preferred it that way. She dropped the drinks with shaky hands and was praying to get away from the table unnoticed when he said thank you, he was still the sweet guy she remembered, and as he said that, he lifted his gaze to meet her and all hell let loose.

She saw his mouth hang; it was so obvious and everyone at the table stared at him and then her. The bullet-proof heart she thought she had grown all these years turned out as vulnerable as she last remembered.

“Isha?” his voice was low and didn’t sound confident, almost like he didn’t believe she was standing two feet away from him, across the table.

Forcing a smile, she swallowed as she tried to keep herself from running into his hands and she replied using the exact same voice. “Zayn”

“You know each other?” Myra asked, her smile was still pasted on her face and she looked the least bothered.

Zayn nodded and covered his mouth with his hand for a brief second before rising from his seat to meet her. Isha stood helplessly, the empty tray in her hand and her eyes a bit moist, she couldn’t believe this was happening; she just wanted to pass out right there and then and forget about the scene in front of her eyes.

As he approached her, she noticed he was still stunned, his eyes were fixed on her, still trying to figure out if she were real. She felt her heartbeat increase with each step she took, and she could still hear his too, way louder than hers and she knew that love he had for her was still very much alive.

Zayn restricted the urge to pull her into his arms. He took her hand, closed his eyes for a brief second, and drew in a long breath. “Thank God you are alive, that’s the only thing that matters.” He quickly dropped her hands; conscious that all eyes on the table were on them and everyone was probably wondering what was going on. He turned to them. “Guys, meet Isha Raghav” they looked at her and gave little smiles and little waves. Zayn continued “Isha, this is Krishna, Yash, Rahul, Kayla, Ryan, and Myra; my fiancé.”

She felt her heart fall into her stomach but she managed to keep her cool. She noticed the attention given to her by the other males and even the females at the table, it was like they were noticing her beauty for the first time, she got that constantly, she was used to it.

“You’ve never told me about her,” Myra said and she said it with a pure heart, Isha felt it. “How do you two know each other?”

For a moment, silence hung among them but Isha was quick to reply. “We’re old friends, lived in the same city.” She said and forced a smile. Then turning to Zayn, she added. “It’s really good to see you Zayn, I’m sorry I have to leave, a lot of duties to attend to.”

He nodded and she knew he saw the hurt in her despite her pretense. He always saw through her, deep through her soul, their connection was out of this world. “I’ll see you before the ceremony is over,” he said and she gave him an assuring smile before leaving.

It was a forty-minute battle with her tear gland before she let it triumph over her, she felt miserable and thankful at the same time. Thankful for the fact that the love of her life was hale and hearty, even though she always knew he was still alive, seeing him in person after all these years gave a whole different feeling. The other part of her emotions was due to the fact that he had moved on, not like she didn’t expect him to, but he said nothing about her to his new girl who was the prettiest and sweetest thing to exist in India. It made her feel like she never existed to him like she was not worth the recognition.

Suddenly, the room seemed to turn upside down, the music got a little louder, and she could perceive the aroma of the food right up her nostrils. Whenever she acted up, she got such feelings and she knew she needed to be away from people, however, she could.

Clinging to her talisman, she struggled to maintain composure till she was out of the main hall and staggered the rest of her way to the bathroom where she slumped as she got in. She secured the door lock and felt nausea overcome her as she threw up all into the toilet seat, holding onto it for support. She tried to keep her mind clear but it was too late, she had held it in for too long, tried to deal with the fact that she couldn’t have the life she always dreamed of all because of a gift she never asked for. It was stupid, just plain stupid.

“Ah shit” she muttered as she saw her vision become blurred and felt him fill her mind, and she didn’t fight him, she let him in. He was there with her upstairs, that was his territory and she would do anything to keep him there for life. Then the worst part came, the part when she felt out of breath. She knew she needed help but she didn’t try to scream, no one would hear her as her voice wouldn’t make it out of her mouth so she just laid in calm and prayed for everything and nothing at all.