24. The Birthday Party and the Kiss

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For the first in months, I got a chance to go out of the mansion and breathe in fresh air. Thanks to Matt. He allowed me to go to shopping with Melanie. Today in the morning when I met him, I asked him that I should buy myself some clothes so he agreed, but with a condition that Aaron would come with me. So he was here somewhere around me, hidden from Melanie's eyes.

Melanie brought me to a shopping mall where things were not very expensive. That was her opinion. I accepted her suggestion. She came with me because she wanted to buy a dress for the upcoming birthday party at the mansion. I was here to buy daily-wear for myself.

"Let's go to that shop." Melanie pointed her finger to some clothing store, "They have good and affordable designs."

"Okay." I followed her to the store.

I met with Matt today in the morning. He called me to give instructions related to Ashar's birthday party, arranged at the mansion. There would be around hundred people who were invited to be a part of his silver-jubilee birthday party including businessmen, investors, family, friends and reporters. Therefore, he advised me to stay hidden and be very vigilant during the celebration. He didn't want me to be seen by anyone, not even as a household staff because he couldn't afford to take a risk. In other words, I was not invited to that party.

Samara and Ashar would be pretending to be a happy married couple in front of the crowd. According to him, this party would be a great opportunity to show everyone how happily the recently-married couple was living together. Once the reporters would be sure that they were living gleefully, there attention would be diverted from them and my divorce could happen after that.

"Buy a dress for yourself as well for the party." Melanie suggested while standing in front of the mirror and putting dresses on her.

"No. I'm not attending it. I'm just here to buy few shirts and trousers." I was at the tee shirts section, searching for my size through the rows.

She turned to me, "But why, Sanaya? All of us are allowed to be a part of it. Are you going somewhere else?"

"No, I'll be inside the house, doing my college work and then taking a long rest." I lied.

"Goodness. How can you do your college work when there would be a party going on in the mansion?"

"I have to. I've several assignments pending and I need to complete them."

"You're impossible." She reacted irritatingly and walked towards the dresses' section.

I wished I could have told her how Hobsons were thinking of me as a threat to their family. I was a fraud for them. But no, I was not going to think about that at least for sometime when I was here to relax. I was happy that I got a break from that suffocating environment and that psycho family.

After we were done with clothes' shopping, we walked out of the store with the few shopping bags in our hands and checked out other shops. My eyes caught a small gift shop as we passed by. The temptation for buying a birthday present for Ashar glued my feet on the ground. Melanie moved forward and went to the cosmetic store and I stood few steps away from that gift shop.

I was not attending the party, but still I could buy a gift for him. With this thought, I began walking towards the shop, but last night's crazy, sensual dream stopped me right there. I couldn't sleep after that dream because it replayed in my head repeatedly and teased me. I was embarrassed to core and the blush on my face didn't go away. And those weird prickles in the pit of my stomach all day forced me to think that something was really wrong within me.

So I had decided I would not think about Ashar anymore and just act casually, even avoid the unnecessary interaction with him. Maybe this method would help me to clear off my brain. The way Samara called me a whore in a dream angered me. I was not a whore. Damn her! Now she had started disturbing my sleep as well.

I walked further, canceling the plan of buying a gift for Ashar. I managed to glimpse at the gift shop when I passed by. My feet again stopped and I found myself drawn to the items there. The birthday vibes forced me to reconsider the idea. Today I talked with Matt about birthday celebration, even Melanie was here to buy a dress for the birthday party and now that gift shops that was full of birthday related stuff. So I just stood there and tried to think of good excuse to buy a gift for Ashar.

The good excuse...

Oh come on, brain. Give me some good excuse. I whispered to myself.

Oh yes, I didn't thank him yet for doing such a good job that my teacher was so impressed with my assignment that he gave me a highest grade. A small gift would be a perfect way to extent my gratitude to that unfriendly billionaire, but helpful in time of need. With that thought, I sprinted inside the shop to search for a simple gift for him.

Thank you, brain.

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On the weekend, Ashar's silver-jubilee birthday party was arranged at the backyard of the mansion. Since morning the entire household staff was busy with the preparations, including Melanie under the Andrew's supervision. I also did some tasks to lessen my friend's workload.

The extra staff and waiters were also appointed for a day to serve the invited guests. The mansion from the inside was usual, but it looked more clean and neat than it looked in regular days. However, Melanie told me that they decorated the swimming pool lounge.

The party was already commenced because I could hear faint sounds of people's chattering and music from my room. I was in my room all alone, solving some math problems. The noises that were reaching to my ears were disturbing my concentration and even compelling me to go out and at least get a glimpse of the on-going celebration.

Once I was done with the college work, I closed my notebook and yawned. I was bored all day because Andrew also asked me not to cook anything. The other chefs would prepare the food that would be enough for the whole day. Melanie's excitement and praises about the decorations of the swimming pool lounge increased the curiosity in me, but Matt had strict orders for me not to step a foot outside this room so I just listened to him.

But right now, my disposition to find out what was going on there was overflowing and I could no more rot in this closed room so I decided to go upstairs and see the celebration from the balcony. Actually I knew there was a spare bedroom on the second floor. From there I could see the backyard lounge through the balcony it had.

I was certain that no one was right now inside the house, not even servants. All of them were busy serving the guests outside, so my way was clear. No one would see me. I stepped outside the room and sprinted upstairs.

The sound of music playing and the people's chattering became louder as soon as I opened the bedroom's door. With the happy smile upon my face, I walked forward and pushed the balcony's door opened. The soft, night breeze started caressing my skin. I didn't switch on the lights of the room and decided to stay in the dark in order to not to catch any attention from downstairs.

Resting my arms on the railing, I moved my head down and observed the celebration closely. I saw a crowd scattered around the area. The backyard was ornamented with colorful lights and other decorations, making it brighter. I located Samara. Despite her obnoxious personality, she looked angelic in her light pink and white, off-shoulder mermaid gown. Her locks were piled up at the top of her head into a beautiful bun.

Ashar was standing beside her, linking his arm with hers. He was in a formal tux. Both of them were plastering a smile on their faces and greeting the guests. I found myself rolling my eyes at their fake show.

Few minutes later, Ashar left Samara's side and started gathering all the reporters in front of him. Some young guy came to him and fixed a collar microphone on his blazer. The guy went away, afterwards.

Ashar smiled in front of the cameras and spoke, "Good evening, everyone. I thank every one of you to be a part of my small celebration. I proudly announce at this occasion that Hobsons enterprise is going to the next level of success. We've signed the contract with our ally Hernandez to jointly build another lavishing and modern shopping center at the heart of the city. Soon, we'll be releasing more information regarding our project."

The crowd cheered for him. Few of the guests congratulated and shook hands with him. He continued, "Moreover, I want to talk about the nasty rumors related to my married life. The rumors are utterly nonsense. I'm very happy with my wife and we still love each other."

Yeah, right. A fake wife. I scowled.

Samara came forward and stood beside him. She held his hand and a smiled at the cameramen. Ashar turned his head to her for a moment and gave her a light nod. He again faced the cameras. For a millisecond, I noticed he slightly moved up his head. "I would appreciate it if you all respect my privacy and first confirm the news before publishing or broadcasting it."

I must say, Ashar and Samara were such a good actors. Even I also thought for a moment that it was true. They looked real.

At the end of the speech, Ashar and Samara smiled in front of the audience once again and turned to each other. Ashar leaned forward and kissed Samara on lips. Samara moved her hand to his chest and kissed him back. I felt knots in my stomach and my nose creased in disgust.

The guests once again applauded for them. I quickly stepped back, lost interest in watching the ceremony. Seriously that was utterly gross and exaggeration. People would have surely convinced by Ashar's speech. The kiss was just unnecessary. They were going too far to prove their so-called love.

I left the balcony because exasperation prickled through me. I regretted getting curious for such a low, foul celebration where all of them were lying and tricking the reporters.

I stood in the middle of the room and got lost in my own thoughts. The way Ashar smiled when he was with that wench, the way he kissed her gave me an impression that definitely his heart had softened for her. Maybe, soon he would forgive her.

If Ashar would do that, I was going to doubt on his mentality because a normal person could not forgive someone so easily who had not only cheated on you, but even left you on your wedding day. That was just impossible to forget everything and move on with the same person. What if he would forgive her and plan to marry her again?

This shouldn't be your concern. The voice in my head said. Ugh. That voice was right. Why was I wasting my time on the issue that didn't concern me at all? It shouldn't be my business. I was going to leave that house soon and break all my ties with Ashar and his family and I didn't have to think what Ashar would do after that.

Yes. I should only be thinking these types of thoughts instead of letting my mind wandered in wrong direction. I began sauntering, but when I saw a shadow of human figure in the dark, I stopped abruptly. That person came forward, making his face slightly visible. My breath caught in my throat.

"Why I'm seeing you here?" Ashar questioned, arching his brows at me.