The Wedding Planner

Chapter 15

The rays of the sun fell on Sidharth's face waking him up. At first he felt he was still dreaming. To sleep on the same bed with Shehnaaz, all cuddled up, after all these years, was unimaginable for him. But it wasn't a dream. He was lying beside her, as she slept like a baby.

Shehnaaz moved a little, the sun rays evidently disturbing her peaceful sleep. Sidharth tried to guard her from it, but her sleep was already broken. She slowly opened her eyes, her head beating like a drum.

"Ughhhhh", she let out an irritated sound. And then it hit her. Sidharth was beside her. In her apartment. On her bed. The events of the previous night came rolling back. She was definitely drunk enough to not have control over her emotions but not so drunk as to forget what she had said.

Sidharth left the room quietly, and went to the kitchen. He didn't know where the medicine box was. It was the first time he had come to her apartment. Being a man of great taste in home decor, he was impressed with the way the apartment was set up. He made lemonade for Shehnaaz and went back in to give it to her.
Shehnaaz looked visibly embarassed. All the while that Sidharth was in the kitchen, she kept talking to herself. 'Ammaaa. Pagal hai kya Sana tu. Jitna sochti hu problems se dur rahugi, utni hi problems mere peeche peeche aati hai. Kya Siyaapa kar diya haaye rabba'. She decided to pretend like everything is cool. But she knew after what she did, Sidharth wouldn't let her off the hook so easily. She tried to calm herself down and with a heavy head, quickly went and freshened up. The smell of alcohol, coupled with the headache, disgusted her. By the time she came out of the washroom, Sidharth was back.

"Ugh. Thanks yaar. Such a saviour you are", she said as she finished the lemon juice, pretending to be all cool and ignorant.

"Where do you keep the medicine box", Sidharth asked, practically ignoring her thank you.

Shehnaaz silently pointed to the cabinet of her dressing table. Sidharth gave Shehnaaz the tablet and settled down beside her.

The air was filled with tension. Shehnaaz, for the first time perhaps, seemed at a loss of words. She didn't know how to begin or what to even say, but she knew, this time she will have to start somewhere.

"So...", she said with a long pause.

"So?", he asked.

"Sidharth yaar. Bann mat zyada. Kal raat zyada ho gayi thi. Maine kuch bakwaas kar di. Khatam kar", she said finally.

"Oh. Toh kal tune jo bhi kaha, sab bakwas thi?", he asked, his voice devoid of any emotion. 

"Nahi..woh..haan..main", Shehnaaz struggled to give any explanation.

"Shehnaaz. It's already 11am in the morning. I have other things to do. Before I leave, I want a very clear answer from you. Can you for once be true to yourself, and confront the situation, instead of escaping like always?"

Shehnaaz took a deep breath. She moved closer to him, holding his hand, and said, "Fine. For as much as I remember what I said or did last night, all of it is true. My reason for running away, my regret for doing so, my feelings for you. All of it". Shehnaaz didn't dare look into Sidharth's eyes, as she still thought that her feelings are one sided and looking at him would break her already broken heart.
"But does it matter anymore? You and me, we were in the past. Right? Your present and future is with Nityami. And she is an amazing woman. I genuinely have feelings of admiration and jealousy at the same time for her. Taking up the offer of planning your wedding, was a way of finding closure I guess. I thought, if we become friends and try to move past our issues, I'll finally be able to move on. But nahi hua. And here I am confessing my unreciprocated feelings for you, a month before your wedding to someone else. Hasi aati hai mujhe kabhi kabhi. But I guess I'll move on someda.....", she said.