Episode 05 - Catching secret glances

Nithya was surprised by the pain she felt when he left suddenly. He was a nobody. They only met thrice. She didn't know him and he didn't know her. Then why was she feeling this strange pain when he left? She walked around the store amongst the strangers to distract away from the pain and ill thoughts. She looked momentarily at the clothes and the crowd. The crowd was a mixture of people who were either trying out the clothes or indulging themselves in worldly gossip. 

And then she saw him with his friends. Her heart broke when one of his friends, a girl was intimately brushing his neck and he was staring into her eyes. She turned away. She convinced herself that it was better if she found out early that he already had a girlfriend. She would have built imaginary stories of them together and now she wouldn't. His girlfriend seemed familiar but she couldn't recollect where she had seen her. Anyway, why does it matter if he has a girlfriend or not? She wasn't over from her past relationship. She was still nursing her broken heart. 

As she turned to walk away, she saw Shalini and her daughter coming towards her with warm smiles. "Hope you are having fun. I saw you alone so I thought why not introduce you to my daughter. She can be a great company to hang around with. This is Preeti. Preeti, this is Nithya, Aunt Roopa's daughter.", Shalini spoke. Preeti grinned at her while she shook hands with her. Nithya didn't smile back but politely greeted her. 

When Shalini left, Preeti decided to break the ice between them. 

"So how is London treating you?"

"Great!"

"Did you like something from my collection?"

"Hmm..still checking. But your collection is really good."

"You are so thoughtful. Let me show you something that I think might suit you."

Preeti liked her though she found it odd that she hardly smiled. She browsed the couture from the Western as well as Indian sections. Finally, she found a baby pink shimmery lehenga which she felt would suit her well. "This will look good on you. You should try it.", she handed her the lehenga. Nithya was hesitant," I don't wear such clothes. I mean I don't have any occasion to wear this." "Then you have one, my love. You are formally invited to my favourite cousin's engagement party.", Preeti said as she handed her the lehenga. Nithya couldn't decline instead she despondently took the lehenga choli and headed to the nearest trial room. 

The lehenga-choli fit her perfectly. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun. She looked pretty and it was quite many years since she dressed so well. Her mind began to travel back to those memories when Vineet couldn't take his eyes off and he had appreciated by showing vitarka mudra, an Indian way of saying "Wow" and she had blushed. It was their engagement day. She was bought back to reality when someone knocked softly on the door. She opened the door immediately to find Preeti waiting impatiently to see how her design looked on her. 

"You look so beautiful !", Preeti shrieked in happiness. "Wait! Let me take a picture.", she said but Nithya stopped her, "No, I don't have my hair right. I look messy." Preeti didn't listen and she rushed to get her phone. 

Nithya hesitantly turned to look at herself in the mirror in the trial room. As she was about to loosen her hair from the bun, she saw Shiv staring at her from the mirror. When their eyes met, he looked away. She felt disappointed and when she decided to change back to her normal clothes, Preeti appeared. She waved her phone at him and gestured for him to take their pictures. He obliged and walked towards them. Nithya seemed suddenly uncomfortable. She felt exposed. 

He tried to keep his eyes off her but he couldn't. They eventually found their way back to her. As Preeti stood closer to her and said her signatory cheese before taking a picture, Nithya seemed out of place. He handed the phone back to Preeti and was about to get back to his friends when Preeti stopped him and asked him to stand next to Nithya. He didn't decline instead he found an opportunity to touch her. He stood closer to her and when she moved a bit further away from her, he grabbed her by her waist and brought her closer to him. She turned her gaze towards him in shock and found him staring at her with a smirk while Preeti captured this shot from her phone. Suddenly time stayed still and they froze at the moment, not wanting to let go of this moment.