Three months two weeks and five days of complete and utter torture. Yes, that's how long it has been since Ryan and Mini's episode. These three months haven't been easy. Mini had to dodge from all the unnecessary questions and publicity. Ryan was dealing with some crucial deals along with the 'girlfriend' issue and as for me

Hmmmmm, just some amazing fun time with the media.

Everything has been cleared and we aren't in any mess, anymore. Sara got a promotion along with Jack, Kira and I got a good hike. Things aren't that bad if you don't consider Mini constantly being all lovey-dovey with Ryan or the cameras that followed me everywhere I went for a few weeks or my Mom's never-ending list of people getting hitched or Sasha's and Ash's indecisiveness about talking to me in the last four weeks.

Life's good.

"Hey honey, are you alright?"

I turn around to find a woman in her mid-thirties looking at me like I am some beaten bird.

"I am fine, thank you." I smile at her despite not knowing who she was.

"Oh hush. I know it must be hard. You don't have to lie to me. I can see right through you. I know this was supposed to be your day but unfortunately it is your friend's," she looks in the direction of Ryan and Mini, who are receiving guests at their engagement party, and continues "I think they are happy. But I cannot for the life of me understand how Ryan got over you so fast and fell in love with your friend. He wasn't such a jerk when he was younger."

I don't bother correcting her as she walked away. Because, let's face it, Ryan kind of deserved that.

I look around me and see everyone happily talking to each other and the grin on Mini's face is all that takes for me to not walk away from here. I don't hate parties, but I am not a huge fan of them either. I find them suffocating.

"So, the gorgon is getting married to naughty boy. Not all matches are made in heaven after all" Sasha oh so nicely puts it, again showing her passionate hatred for Mini.

I did not respond, just smiled at her and walked away.

In the last month I met Sasha twice. Once when Vivi was leaving us, again, and today.

After the day with our mothers, I constantly asked her to talk to me and she brushed it off with some lame excuse. Later, she messaged me saying that everything that had happened was done for my wellbeing and some sh*t along those lines.

I had very simple questions and her answers never matched my questions. So, after a few weeks I gave up. I was no longer interested in knowing what happened or was happening.

Was I upset, yes.

Disappointed? Yes.

Hurt? Yes.

***********************************

'All alone I watch you watch her

Like she's the only girl you've ever seen

You don't care you never did

You don't give a damn about me

Yeah, all alone I watch you watch her

She's the only thing you've ever seen

How is it you'll never notice

That you were slowly killing me'

I was busy singing the song when my watch buzzed violently. I gave a temporary break to my award-winning performance and looked at my watch.

It showed that the hours and minutes hand stood at 12 exactly. I slowly got off the roof of my car and pulled out a piece of my favorite pastry from the passenger seat. I climbed back to the car's roof and closed my eyes for a few minutes and devoured my pastry.

I was far far far away from the party. Far away from all the people who had a place in my life. Far away from all the chaos, from all the confusion and most importantly from all the drama. I was peaceful here, parked somewhere in the middle of a road, sitting here on my car that was parked on an elevated road, overlooking the city's night lights. I didn't have to deal with anything or anyone. There was no one around me. I don't think there is any human movement for at least 2 miles around me.

The wind was breathing secrets to my hair that was left down. The moon was smiling brightly at me from the sky. My hands were around me like they were protecting me from everything that was wrong in my world.

This was one moment I was dreaming of, ever since I was a kid. I wanted to remember this moment. I was smiling for no reason; it was the kind of smile that slowly breaks on your face when you have seen an art that touches your soul.

I had a not so nice confrontation with Sasha. I had a small awkward conversation with Nick. I had to escape from Mini without her catching hold of me. I had my phone switched off because it didn't matter right now. Actually, nothing mattered right now.

Only me, the place where I am sitting, the view before me, the pastry in my hand and one small thought,

Happy birthday, Riya.

I never really liked birthdays, but this one was ideal. I always pictured me doing exactly this on my birthday and this is a present I was giving myself. After some time, I drove around town for a while and little after 2 am I reached my apartment.

Once I was in my PJs and raiding my fridge for my Nutella jar, because I planned on spending the entire night on my couch watching TV, I heard a knock on the door. Slowly making my way to the front door I shouted, "who's it" while looking through the peephole.

IT WAS NICK.

"What are you doing here?" I asked bewildered by his appearance, opening the door wide open. It looked like he came from Ryan's party, his jacket was missing, and the first two buttons of his shirt were open. He had the sleeves folded and the tie was gone. In short, he looked like every girl's dream.

And I was one of those girls.

Snap out of it, betrayer. You cannot have fantasies about him.

What I failed to notice was, while I was busy drooling over his looks, he was shooting arrows at me with his eyes. He looked beyond mad by the time my eyes reached his smoldering darkest pits of hell. What did I do?

"? Are you crazy? We have been looking for you for the last 3 hours. Your phone could not be reached. No one knew your whereabouts and I have been going crazy looking for you everywhere. I was minutes away from calling the cops and telling them you were missing. When are you going to be responsible? You are not a child anymore, so stop acting like one."

I was pissed with a capital P.

"The last time I checked, I was a fully-grown adult who did not have to let his Liege know everything I did in my life. And like you so nicely pointed out I'm not a kid so stop reprehending me like you are my father."

The door was fully open, and he stepped in, shoved me in and closed the door behind him.

Smart move I must say because the two us were screaming and it did not look like either one of us was going to back down any minute now. I did not want my neighbors as audience for my bit*h fight with Nick.

Only, I did not particularly feel like complimenting him.

"Where were you?" he slowly exhales and keep his hands on his hip and asks in a voice that was downright patronizing to me.

"Oh me? I was 5 miles away from why do you bloody care?" I couldn't stop myself, but not a wise thing to say to a person who was twice my size and looked like a humanized fuming train engine.

One minute he was clenching and unclenching his fist and the next minute his hands where on either side of my face and I was pinned to my door.

Let's get something straight right here, any brain using, heart functioning human with legs (that work very well) would have moved away or at least tried to escape. But I didn't, and that was because my brain froze, heart stopped, lungs were over working, the coalition of cheetahs in my stomach were causing a rampage and legs got numb. I was too busy looking for even the slightest speck of color other than black in his eyes that were mere inches from my eyes and forgot to move away.

If this continued for few more minutes I would be squint in no time. His eyes were boring into mine when he finally said,

"Listen to me clearly because I am not going to repeat my words. The next time you pull a stunt like this, I will not think twice before throwing you over my shoulders and taking you to my home and holding you captive there." He whispered the last part.

I was trying to concentrate on anything but him, because I could feel the heat raising from my neck and reaching my cheeks and ears. I am not a person who gets flustered easily and if he could make me feel like this, I didn't want to know what he was capable of.

"Happy birthday" he leaned in and I tried to move away when his lips touched my neck. He left a small, lingering kiss there.

~*~*~*~*~

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