around the mug and she took another sip of the green tea. She was snuggled up in her office looking over a couple of files. The sun shone brightly through the windows and she was momentarily blinded.

Her office was quite different from the rest of the condo. It didn't have the same modern, eloquent look that the rest of the space did but that's what made it special. While Nyla had hired an interior designer to set up the rest of the space, the office was something she'd done herself.

The walls were white for most of the part, but a feature wall was coloured a deep grey, outlining a map of the rest of the world. Nyla had plotted black stars for places she'd visited. Highlighted in gold were her favourites. She had a comfortable couch and plenty of throw pillows. Most of her weekends were spent in here so she'd gone for a homier look.

As Nyla reviewed the meeting minutes once more, her phone buzzed. She picked it up without looking at the caller ID.

"Nyla," she said answering the phone.

"Are you ready yet?"

Nyla frowned. "For what?"

"It's Karishma's bridal shower today."

"That's wonderful, but I'm not going to that. Do send her a present though." Nyla said absentmindedly.

"I've sent Anthony to get you, he will arrive in an hour."

"Are you not listening to me, I'm not going."

Hyeon ignored her. "He also has the gift, so you don't have to worry about it. The invitation says the theme is pastel colours so I think the light blue cocktail dresses you wore to the company's summer party will fit."

Nyla put down the paper in front of her. She couldn't focus anymore. "Why are you so insistent that I go?"

"Because you need to have fun," her assistant said. "As much as it is nice seeing you work so hard, you need a break and what's better than a few drinks with some old friends?"

"I can think of a thousand things better."

Hyeon ignored that as well. "Remember to have enjoy yourself. Oh, and smiling is not a crime."

Before Nyla could retort back, Hyeon hung up the phone. She glanced up at the brass clock—she didn't have much time. Since Nyla hadn't expected to be going out anywhere, she'd kept things casual. Guess it was time for her to change. Closing the folder, she stood up—she needed to take a shower, and fast.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

Nyla stared at the building from the car. A funny feeling was building up inside her. "I'm going to throw up."

Anthony spun around, and his worried eyes met hers. "It will be fine, it's just a bunch of ladies. How bad can it get?"

Nyla took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Bad Anthony, I don't know these girls and I'll be alone."

"Think of it like a networking party." Her driver consoled her. "You just have to smile, be polite and work around the room. I know you can do that."

"That's actually a smart way to think of it."

Anthony shot her a smile, "Now get out and have some fun. If you need to be picked up, give me a call."

Nyla nodded and stepped out of the car. The building she was standing in front of looked rustic but held a certain charm. A doorman was standing right outside the building.

"Are you here for Miss. Karishma's bridal shower?"

Nyla replied yes.

"Just take the elevator to the top floor. There should be a sign leading to the rooftop and that's where the party is."

Nyla smiled at him in thanks before dragging along the large box that Hyeon had given to Anthony. She didn't know what Hyeon had bought for Karishma, but she was sure that it would be the perfect gift. Hyeon had a knack for finding perfect gifts. Nyla followed the directions and when she reached the top floor, she could hear the voices of other women.

It seemed like a lot of people. For a second, Nyla thought about turning back—Hyeon would know but then the door swung open and a young brunette holding a drink stumbled out.

"Oooh, you must be here for the party."

Nyla shot her a nervous smile and walked towards her. So much for ditching the event now. The brunette introduced herself as Jenny. Nyla also introduced herself.

"The gift can go there," she pointed to a table in the corner. "Drinks and food are on the other side."

"Thank you," Nyla said.

The brunette—Jenny stepped closer to her. "It's an open bar so I would head right for the drinks."

Nyla gave her a fake smile and slipped inside. The rooftop was stunning. It had been decorated with little fairy lights and although the sun was still shinning, there was a halo effect present. The rest of the rooftop was decorated as most bridal showers were—with flowers. A makeshift dance floor was covered by little rose petals and a D.J was spinning a few beats in the far east corner.

Nyla placed her gift on the table and looked around. She didn't know what to do. It was too early to drink, and she wasn't quite hungry. There was just so many women that Nyla couldn't spot Karishma at all.

So, Nyla just stood in the corner awkwardly. The women around her seemed to be having fun but she clearly wasn't. The same brunette from before—Jenny came handed a glass and handed it to her.

Nyla took it without any intention of taking a sip.

"So, how do you know Karishma?"

Realizing where this conversation was headed, Nyla took a small sip and was hit by the tropical taste of the cocktail.

"We attend university together."

The women looked impressed. "So, you're a Harvard graduate as well?"

Nyla nodded.

"Well, I met her when she first came to the bar I work it. She ordered a cosmo, a terrible drink but we just hit it off and became friends soon after."

Nyla gave her a small smile. She couldn't really imagine Karishma as a drinker. Back in the day, the girl had been focused on keeping her 4.0 GPA and she'd rarely gone out. In fact, it had been Nyla who often dragged her out to parties. They had become quite close after rooming together in their first year.

A couple of other ladies joined the two of them.

"Jenny!" One of them shouted and the brunette was engulfed in a hug.

Nyla stepped back, trying to give them space but then Jenny introduce the other women as her friends. They all worked as receptionists for a marketing agency. Nyla began feeling more uncomfortable, it was evident that the other women were quite familiar with one another and she felt left out.

"—and Rohit are going to be the cutest couple ever." One of the women said.

Nyla did a double take. "Excuse me," she interjected. "But what did you say Karishma's fiancés name was?"

The women frowned at Nyla. "Rohit Parveen, he's actually quite cute if I do say so myself."

Nyla felt sick. A sense of numbness filled her. She was frozen, like a deer in headlights. She needed to leave, and right now.

Before she could make her escape, Jenny slipped her elbow through Nyla's. "It's time to eat, you look quite tired. Hopefully, a meal will cheer you up."

Nyla didn't respond. She didn't need a meal, what she needed was to leave. The rest of the women took their seat at the long table and Nyla was forced to do so as well. She couldn't leave now without making a scene.

She slipped into the chair and saw the bride-to-be at the head of the table. Karishma was smiling and laughing with the girls around her. She looked beautiful, and happy. Nyla glanced at her closer and located the diamond ring that shone on her finger. Subconsciously, Nyla watched as Karishma rubbed a hand over her belly.

Nyla couldn't believe it, Karishma had to be pregnant. She probably hadn't told anyone, but the glow was unmistakable. Internally, Nyla smiled. She wondered how happy Karishma's parents would be to find out that their daughter was pregnant before marriage. As soon as the thought popped in her hand, she shook it out. She wasn't mean, and what Karishma did with her life was her business. She couldn't possible fathom destroying the girl's relationship with her parents—even if they had adored her once upon a time.

Suddenly, Karishma stood up and a hush fell over the rest of the girls. "I'm so thankful you could make it here today. I've met some of you here in New York, while others in different places around the world. I'm blessed with your friendships and I'm go glad that you get to be a part of a very important day for me."

There were cheers from the crowd. Karishma's eyes met Nyla's and they widened. Nyla immediately looked away.

"Anyways, enjoy the food everyone!"

There was a polite round of applause before everyone began digging in their meal. Nyla didn't really feel hungry, but she took a few bites, so nobody would say anything. Jenny was still seated beside her, digging into the chicken salad.

She looked over at Nyla and smiled. "This whole bridal shower is super cute, I can't wait to find myself a husband."

Nyla couldn't really relate to that feeling. A part of her had expected that should would be alone forever. Hers was a life different from everyone. She travelled a lot, worked a lot, and didn't have time for relationships. The last serious relationship had lasted a month before the man had walked away saying that he didn't feeling like they were dating.

"It is pretty nice." Nyla said agreeing with Jenny.

"I've been asking Rohit to introduce me to a couple of his rich friends and he refused." Jenny pouted. "I was quite hurt. Seeing the two of them together really makes me believe in a fairy tales."

Unable to help herself, Nyla asked the question she was dreading. "How did they meet?"

"At college, Rohit also attended Harvard." Jenny turned towards Nyla. "You also went to Harvard; did you ever meet Rohit there?"

Nyla dogged the question. "There are a lot of people and I'm pretty bad with names."

Jenny nodded sympathetically. The rest of the meal couldn't go fast enough. Nyla was counting down the minutes until she could flee. When the food was cleared away, she made her escape. "Bathroom," she whispered to Jenny.

Walking towards the exit, she was stopped by Karishma's voice. "Nyla, wait up."

She turned around to see her old roommate rushing to get to her.

"What do you want?" The words were cold, and rude.

Karishma's face crumpled. "I just wanted to thank you for coming, I didn't think you would."

"That makes two of us."

There was a stretch of awkward silence between the two of them. "Listen, I wanted to tell you, but you never returned my calls. As soon as you switched majors you disappeared, thinking that you were better than us."

Nyla snorted and gripped her handbag with unnecessary force. "I was not the one who thought that I was better. You all did."

The last few words came louder than she expected and plenty of women turned around to listen to this conversation. Nyla didn't need this. "You know what, thank you for inviting me but I don't belong here so I'm going to leave now. I wish you all the best and have a wonderful life with Rohit."

Nyla exited before Karishma could say anything else.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

As Nyla walked out of the building, she realized that she had two options; she could either go to the gym and take out her frustrations in the ring or she could go to a club and forget everything that was bugging her. The former sounded more appealing but as she began dialing the phone, she remembered that there was a fight at the gym, so it would be packed—she wouldn't be able to get a free mat.

Realizing the best strategy was to get rip roaring drunk, Nyla walked further north down the street. She'd seen a bar when Anthony had dropped her off earlier in the day. The sun was beginning to set and there was a chillier feeling. Nyla walked into the bar and was surprised to see that it was crowded even though it wasn't even close to nighttime.

She made her way to the front and hopped onto one of the empty barstools. She held up her hand trying to gain the attention of the bartender, but it seemed like they were too busy. Finally, a large tattooed man came to take her order.

"Dry martini with extra olives."

The man nodded before he began pouring her drink. He slid it across and Nyla took a long sip. The alcohol burned as it went down her throat but for the first time today, she felt better. She usually didn't turn to alcohol to nurse her feelings, but today was an exception. She knew it was a bad idea for her to go to the bridal shower and yet Hyeon insisted so much that she'd gone.

And it had gone as terrible as she'd expected.

Nyla kept on ordering drinks. There were a few men in the bar who tried hitting on her but after receiving her glare, they had backed off.

After pouring the fifth drink the bartender asked, "tough day?"

"It was an absolute shit show." She replied.

He raised a bushy eyebrow and it looked like he was about to ask her more but was called by another drunk person a few stools down. A little while later, or maybe hours later—Nyla had downed to many drinks to know a smooth voice from beside her said, "One old fashion whiskey."

Nyla spun around but she must have done it too fast because she almost slipped from the stool. The stranger caught her. "Wow, watch yourself."

Her eyes narrowed because she knew that voice.

"Darius, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"Someone has a potty mouth tonight."

"Are you stalking me?"

He sat down on the empty stool. "Don't flatter yourself sweetheart. Hyeon asked me to check in with you because you didn't arrive at the gym like you'd said."

"Is she stalking me?"

"Probably," Darius said with a straight face.

Darius' drink was delivered. "Thanks man," he said to the bartender before pointing at Nyla. "I think it might be a good idea to start diluting her drinks."

"Hey!" Nyla interjected.

The bartender grinned. "Already did so after the second one."

Nyla gave the bartender a glare. "I expect quality service for the money I've been throwing at you the past hour, not diluted drinks."

The bartender smiled before moving away. Nyla turned towards Darius. "You can't take my drinks away."

"I just did," he said smoothly taking a sip of his own drink. "You'll thank me in the morning, you have some sort of event tomorrow."

Nyla pouted.

"So why have you been drinking so much tonight?"

"The stupid bridal shower."

"The bridal shower made you drunk?"

Nyla scowled. "No, the bride-to-be did."

"So, she force-fed you alcohol? What a terrible friend."

It was at this point that Nyla had enough. "She is a fucking awful friend for marrying my ex-fiancé!"

A number of people in the bar turned around at Nyla's proclamation. It was at this point Nyla just wanted to melt into the bar stool.

"Can you just drop me home?" Nyla asked tiredly.

Darius was still starring at her and not responding.

Nyla stood up and wobbled, "Never mind, it was foolish to ask. I'll take a cab instead."

Darius downed his drink in under a minute before touching her elbow lightly. "Come on, I'll get you to your condo."

The two of them walked out of the bar. The frigid air pierced her body and she shivered. They walked down the street and that's when tears began falling down Nyla's face.

"It's stupid." She sobbed. "We broke up so many years ago so why does it hurt?"

Darius engulfed her in a tight hug and let her cry it out.

"It's okay to feel down sometimes." He whispered softly. "Heartbreak hurts, but I promise it will also get better. You'll find someone new and then you'll forget all about them."

"I'll be lonely forever."

Darius kissed her forehead and held her tightly. "No, you won't, because you'll always have me as your friend, whenever you need me, I'll be there."

A sense of warmth filled her after Darius' words. Somehow in the moment, in the cold busy streets of New York, she did feel better.

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We get to see a bit of Nyla's background in this chapter thanks to Hyeon forcing Nyla to attend the party. What did you think of Darius' consoling her? Please remember to vote or drop a comment below!