We Found Love In A Hopeless Place

Chapter 9 : Party Night

It had been 2 days since they came on the trip. The meetings lasted 4 long hours before the deals were finalised and paperwork was done. Both Sidharth and Shehnaaz had been engrossed in their respective works and nothing specifically significant happened between them since that night. However both of them felt closer to each other a bit more than before somehow. They felt like a part of them that was hidden away from the eyes of the world, laid exposed in front of the other one to see. In some weird way, or felt better to them.

He would steal glances, now and then, when the whole team would be out together for meals,and she would shyly lower her gaze after smiling at him whenever she'd  caught him staring. Their conversations since that night was mostly work - related.

Sidharth, that night, couldn't sleep though. He kept tossing and turning, questioning himself about what he was doing. He never spoke about his family to any of his employees. Yet he contradicted his own firm decisions and shared with her the grief he felt when his father passed away. He was a reserved person who wanted privacy and respected other's privacy. Yet he couldn't help but intrude hers. He was unable to understand why he did what he did. He had dismissed what he felt about this girl as physical attraction, but the truth was it was much, much more than that.

And it troubled him.

He felt quite a bit protective for her, which honestly was weird for him because he hadn't felt like this for anyone before. Her panic attack in the lift, and then her breakdown, it made him feel something for her that he couldn't name - a mixture of pain, grief, sympathy, the urge to protect her and the need to calm her. He pondered upon the thought for what seemed like an eternity and reached the conclusion that it was just because he could relate to her loss. He could relate to her pain ; the pain of losing a parent. And most importantly, he wanted to protect her because of the young and vulnerable person she was. She was a fighter, no doubt, but she deserved to live in peace not fight battles thrown her way.
She was exactly everything he was like 13 years ago.  And that mafe him want to protect her from how harsh life can get. He wanted to keep her secure and safe, he felt for her,he could relate to her grief and her hurdles,but he'd absolutely lwt her fight her own battles, encouraging her throughout.
A soft smile made its way on his lips as his mind wandered back to the conversation about stars they had, and before he knew it, he drifted off to sleep.

Shehnaaz, on the other hand, slept as soon as he left,but the next morning all she could think was how he let him witness the most vulnerable parts of her,and how on both the occasions he immediately wrapped her around himself and calmed her down.
She had heard females drooling all over the  hotness and the persona he had, but she had seen a completely different side of him. A side that she hadn't heard anyone talk about. A side that no one had yet witnessed.

And it was driving her imsane how perfectly he was able to soothe her when her heart was breaking.

She was unsure of what he'd be like, so she chose to be silent and pretend as if that never happened. She was slightly surprised at the formal conduct he had the next day, but she thought it was good actually, and avoided anything and everything about it.

It was the last day here and they'd all be leaving for home the next morning. Tonight, however, the company had planned a party, to celebrate their success.

Shehnaaz chose an elegant yet basic piece of off-shoulder black gown for herself, the dress hugged her at all the right places, defining her curves and outlining her figure with the utmost perfection. She let her hair open, hung loosely over her shoulder. She went against her idea of curling them loosely. She applied minimal makeup and smiled in satisfaction at her own reflection in the mirror.  After locking her room, she left.

The party was organised in one of the halls of the itself to save time amd efforts. She could recognise some of the people there, apart from her colleagues. She joined her co-workers and got lost in a discussion.

Sidharth, arrived a bit late. He had no intentions whatsoever of attending the party, but being the head, he had to be there, so he was left with no choice but to join. He went to the bar and asked for drinks, his eyes searching for one specific person; why, he had no idea. And then he saw her. She looked so breathtakingly gorgeous, he wanted to ram her against the wall and kiss her till she ran out breath. He dismissed the thought, surprised at his own desires.

She is gorgeous. And hot. No one can deny that. He said to himself.

She was sitting on one of the couches at the extreme corner, trying to gel in with others.

She glanced across the room and smiled when her eyes landed on him.

He made his way towards her, but was midway stopped by some one. It was Mr Singh, an old acquaintance.  He couldn't stall him. They exchanged greetings and indulged in a business conversation.

Minutes later, when Mr Singh was gone Sidharth looked at the couch, to find her place empty. A frown made its way to his face. He looked around, searching for her but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Is she..avoiding me?" he questioned.

He asked the bartender for a drink, and gulped down two shots. All he could think of was how she never initiated a conversation after that night, and how she went back to hiding, trying to avoid him. The only time she had talked to him was when she was needed to give him updates about the deal.

He felt suffocated, he suddenly found it difficult to breathe. So he left the hall,and went towards the secluded balcony to get some fresh air.

And that was when he heard her muffled sounds.

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Hello yall. Was hoping to give yall a long update to compensate for being so late, but guess I love cliffhangers.

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