Forget-Me-Not : Bound by Secrets

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Five

First week of December, 2000

After a long day of fun and laughter and arguments, Vidhi, Dia, Geet and Ananya all got into Ananya's car. Vidhi still couldn't believe they'd had so much fun. She couldn't believe things had gone the way they had. She couldn't believe that Dia was becoming friendly with Abhay. She couldn't believe that Ananya was getting happier by the day. She couldn't believe Geet had agreed to sing to karaoke at the club, something she'd never done before. She couldn't believe she herself had agreed to sit on a bike, to sit behind Abhay while they sped. She couldn't believe that Abhay had become a part of their tight group, and that surprisingly, he liked it.

She couldn't believe she was falling in love with him.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she went still. A lot had happened in the last few months. Ever since Abhay had entered their lives, nothing had remained the same. Now, all of a sudden, Geet was laughing at stupid jokes. Dia was arm wrestling with him and giving him a good fight. Ananya was becoming a good girl. Her friends were slowly beginning to accept his presence in their lives. Each one of them liked his company. Not because he was hot, rich and famous. No, her friends liked him because he was nice, friendly, funny, and at times dangerous even, but mostly good.

She couldn't even realize when her thoughts took such a turn. When had she exactly started falling for him? Was it when he'd come to Geet's house that night for the first time, bringing chocolate cake from his car and teasing Dia that she should have some to make her sweeter? Was it when he'd helped Geet with a guy who'd suddenly started stalking her? Was it when he'd insulted Ananya's parents in front of them all, making them appear stunned for the first time in their lives, and notice their daughter? Was it when he'd insisted on dropping her home late one night when they left from Ananya's place together? Or was it when he'd kissed her that first night at the party?

She didn't know. All she knew was the fact that she was in love. She'd fallen for a man who she'd never have thought of looking twice at. He was everything she didn't need-rich, confident, sexy, intelligent in a very scary way, and dangerous. And yet, he was everything she was attracted to. Underneath all his hard, bad boy image was a man she'd seen more than once. A person who was soft inside, who was emotional, who was kind and considerate, who had morals, who stuck to principles, who helped people in need and never turned his back on a friend. He'd had heartbreak too, he'd dealt with the separation of his family. She didn't know everything about him, but Ananya had told her about his parents' divorce.

He never showed his unhappiness. He made the world a better place by making people happy. Hell, he'd made Dia smile. Dia, who had hated him on first sight. He'd managed to turn her dislike into reluctant respect. He'd turned her from a hater to a friend. Now Dia liked him as much as the rest of them did.

Her friends were talking, chattering excitedly about their day, but Vidhi was hardly listening. She was buried in thoughts of their day. They'd all had a free day today, so Ananya had made a plan. They'd decided to go sightseeing, even though they had all probably done this a lot of times. Still, it had been fun. They'd gone to the Prince of Wales museum, the Jehangir Art Gallery, gone to the Nehru Planetarium for a show, gone to the Gateway of India and had a ferry ride. They had dined in a south Indian restaurant in Colaba, then spent some time by the sea.

They had laughed, talked, argued, played pranks on each other and outsiders, Abhay had given everyone a ride on his bike in turns, Geet had clicked pictures with her camera, Dia and Abhay had had their usual bickering and bantering, Ananya had bought her a set of earrings that she absolutely loved, and she'd never felt better. Now they were heading back home after a long, long day, and all of them were tired but content. Happy.