32. The Rebel

Was it possible not to recognize faces when you're drunk? It doesn't even sound convincing. It's not like my features resembled to Samara. Her eye color, hair color, shape of face was different from me. Even our heights were different. I was few inches shorter than her. No matter the substantial amount of hate Ashar deserved from me, I still could not stop my heart to get sad at the realization that the sincerity, the desire I saw in Ashar's eyes that night was not for me.

He couldn't just call it a mere one-night stand. It was not a one-night stand for me. No one would believe on his excuse that he didn't mean to sleep with me. He meant to sleep with Samara.

Dude, what kind of sick joke was that?

I clutched the glass in my hand, standing at the bar. I was at the night party arranged by my classmate, Amelia. She wasn't my close buddy. She gave the invitation to all of the class, so I accepted it because I wanted a distraction. I thought my mind would blow up soon if I won't do anything about it. Mother's death had already traumatized me and now Ashar's unkind rejection.

This time I tried a different way to attend this party. I didn't tell anyone about it. I decided to become a rebel this time and run away from the house. All of the Hobsons family was a piece of shit for me so I didn't want to see anyone's face. Although that vexatious bodyguard saw me going out of the house, but I managed to escape and caught the subway at the right time and after that I didn't know whether he followed me or not. I thought I would stress about it later on.

I was sick of playing the good girl's role. They didn't even give me any credit for it instead gave me emotional abuse always. My phone was not with me. It was with the bodyguard so no one could contact me either. I knew Aaron would have already informed about my little adventure to Ashar or his father. They could come here or send their men to catch me and take me back to the mansion. Till then I had thought I would not think about them and surround myself with this distraction.

"Hey, why are you standing alone?" A redhead guy around my age approached me. He licked his uneven lips and plastered a flirtatious smile on them.

His shape of lips was similar to someone. I could never forget the feel of those lips on my skin. My keen urge to suck all the moisture from there. That night when they moved against my skin I was so....

Damn, Sanaya. You've decided you won't think about that unmanly being. The mental reminder snapped me back to reality. I noticed that guy was waiting for my response.

"Sometimes it's good to stand in silence and enjoy the music and all these colors." I pointed my finger in front for a moment towards the crowd.

Amelia didn't organize this party for any specific reason. She just wanted to gather her friends and acquaintances from college to give them a little break from the studies. People were invited from all over the college so I didn't know majority of the crowd.

"You're sounding like you have fought with your boyfriend." He said thoughtfully. I emptied my glass and put it back on the bar counter.

I rolled my eyes, "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Okay." He came forward and offered me his hand with a thin-lipped smile, "I'm David from NYU. What's your name?"

I shook my hand with his, "Sanaya from the same college."

"Nice name, Sanaya." He kissed the back of my hand. I laughed at his tactics. He was surely trying to flirt with me.

"Let me buy you some snacks." He offered, pushing the plate of chicken wings in my direction.

"Thanks, but I'm feeling nauseous right now." I scrunched up my nose and pushed the plate back to him.

It was happening to me since few days. The smell of food made me feel like throwing up. Maybe, it was because of the stress and anxiety. To avoid growling stomach, I was drinking excessive water. For satisfying my hunger, I was eating raw vegetables and cookies, but only in a small amount.

He nodded his head thoughtfully, "Okay no problem." He minimized the distance between us, "I've never seen you at college. How about if we see each other their often?"

I again let out a laugh at his gestures, "Sure." I observed how he was checking me out from head to toe, how he was trying to get close to me. The persistent cheery smile on his face was a signal he wanted me to understand. I pretended to ignore his signals, but I didn't stop him.

He started tracing his finger back and forth on my bare arm. I flattened my lips. He leaned closer to me. I thought that's what I was supposed to be doing; hanging out with friends, find a boyfriend who should be around my age. That's what people do at my age. This guy was reminding me my youth that was dug somewhere at the mansion. Those rich people had taken my youth from me.

He put his hand on my shoulder blade and tilted his head to level his mouth with mine. I closed my eyes. Flashbacks of that night crossed my mind, reminding me Ashar's soft lips that moved against mine with so much eagerness. A tear unexpectedly rolled down my face. I snapped my eyes opened. David had already stepped back, looking at me with a confused face.

"Are you okay, Sanaya?"

I opened my mouth to give him some excuse, but a familiar, male voice interrupted me. "So, that was your reason to escape from the house?"

David and I both turned our heads at the same time. Ashar was standing few steps away from us in a dark blazer suit. The top buttons of his shirt underneath his jacket were undone, giving a glimpse of his chest skin. The music that was playing in the background was fast, but the volume was low gratefully. Maybe, that's why I heard him clearly.

He frowned at me. His frown deepened when he studied David's appearance. My face contorted in annoyance. He was the last person I wanted to see right now.

"Leave. Go from here." I gritted venomously. I was seeing him for the first time since that day when he said that I should forget about that love-making night. We avoided each other.

I blinked few times to dry off the small tears in my eyes. His angry gaze examined my appearance from top to bottom. I got confused at first, but then I remembered I wore makeup today. He had hardly seen me in a dress before. My army green, fit and flare dress had covered my body till my knees. It had spaghetti straps and a round deep neckline. To look different, I had worn coal black heels, a silver chain necklace around my neck and had applied gel to all of my hair to give them a voluminous and messy look.

Because of that gel, I was sure my hair smelled of fresh oranges. It was a soothing fragrance. As I said, I was here to get some break from the reality so I tried everything, everything that could make me feel good and different. I wasn't feeling good anymore after seeing him, but I was sure that I was looking different than I usually looked in my normal days.

Anyways, I ignored Ashar. I ignored his scrutiny and turned on my side where David was standing. That brainless bodyguard had definitely followed me here and told Ashar my location.

"Do you know him?" David gestured towards Ashar.

"I really want to say NO." I sighed.

Ashar came forward and grabbed my wrist, "Let's go, Sanaya."

He tried to pull me, but I used my strength and stayed still, "I told you to leave. I don't want to go with you." I wriggled my hand under his grip.

Anger rose in me, dilating my nostrils. He separated his lips and tried to scare me through his silent glare. David was watching us silently, but when he saw Ashar was not leaving my hand, he came forward and pulled my hand from his grip, "Dude, she's asking you to leave her alone. Get off."

Ashar's eyes widened. He contracted his jaws. I understood he was now furious. I was surprised too by David's sudden interference. He shouldn't have done that.

Ashar stepped forward and fisted David's tee shirt from front fumingly, "Just who're you to tell me what should I do or not? Get your ass out of my business."

David stayed still, not seemed to be slightest bit intimidated by Ashar's anger, "You can't force a girl."

I mentally face palmed myself. This drama was going in totally different direction. I noticed few people had turned their heads, watching us, giving me a panic attack. I huffed in exasperation. I thought I came here to relax, but oh, my bad luck!

I took a step forward, put my hand on Ashar's arm, hinting him to leave David. "I'm warning you stay out of it." Ashar gave him another threat.

I tried to push them apart, "Let him go, Ashar. I'm coming with you."

David gave me a quizzical look. "It's not what you think. I know him, David."

I turned my head at Ashar who was still giving him a sinister glare, "Ashar did you hear me? I said I'm coming with you. People are looking at us."

He gave me quick glance, then looked at David again. He pushed him back with a full force. David's back bumped with a bar's counter behind. My mouth fell opened. I sprinted to him. He stood straight and started rubbing his back. "I'm so sorry. He's just short-tempered. Are you hur-"

"Come on." Ashar didn't let me finish, grabbed my hand once again and instantly dragged me out of the house.

Once we were out, I thought I didn't have to listen to him anymore so I yelled, "Leave my hand, Ashar."

He ignored me and continued towing me towards his vehicle. I fumed so I used my strength and pulled my hand back from him. At that moment, I felt slightly dizzy. "I asked you to leave my hand."

Dizziness was normal these days. Maybe it was the reaction of my loss of appetite. That's why I didn't pay attention to it because it was obvious. I had to bear the dizziness if I had to avoid the nausea.

He turned around and looked at me. I started rubbing my arm, "What is your problem, dude? You can't force me to go with you. Are you out of your mind?" I said in a high-pitched voice, "You were about to create a scene inside. The crowd there belongs to my college."

"Don't blame me." He reacted, "It's you who left the house without informing anyone. I was so worried."

Worried? Did I hear him correctly?

"I don't have to ask from anyone for going to a friend's party."

"That's what your definition of a party?" His jaw clenched, "To get intimate with perverts. I can't believe you're the same girl who was crying over losing her virtue."

My insides ached at his words. Tears prickled at the back of my eyes. He didn't even think about my heart before speaking. "Why shouldn't I shed tears of regret when I gave in to a coward, coldblooded beast? Besides, it's shouldn't be your concern what I do or not." I retorted.

He was silent for a minute, avoided my gaze. "Sanaya, its...not true. I'm just..."

I wrinkled my forehead at him. When he saw my frown, he sighed in defeat, "Never mind."

"Listen, Ashar. Your photos publish in the newspapers, are shown on TV. People can recognize you and I won't be able to hide the truth from them, so don't act carelessly. You even spoilt my image in front of that guy."

Poor David! He would've been thinking that he just encountered with two psychopaths.

"Since that marriage problem has started, I've been living a low profile life so don't worry about it. No one can recognize me easily." He reasoned, "Let's go back now."

"No." I prompted, "I'm not going with you. The party is not over yet. You can send your bodyguard here."

I shrugged, moving my fingers in my hair to relax them. He grumbled, "I'm saying no."

I let out a short chuckle, ignoring my wooziness, "I'm not scared of you." I raised my head high and turned around. I was not going to let him ruin my night.

I started taking quick steps towards Amelia's house. "Wait for me. I'm coming with you." I heard him yelling behind me, but I didn't stop and scurried inside the hall and got lost into the crowd.