Page 8 of Let's Start with Forever
Finally, on the night of Keya and Kabier’s reception, she had given in to him. On looking back at that encounter with him, which she had done so many times in the last few months, she always cursed herself for being so vulnerable and having allowed him to seduce her.
She had been especially low that night as both her best friends were married and had their own lives. And though she was genuinely happy for Keya and Sheena, she wasn’t sure that she herself could ever be as lucky as them. She had been lost in her own mind, thinking all those depressing thoughts when Sameer had come and whisked her off, first to dance with him and then later to his bed.
That moment just before she had kissed him, she had looked into his face and thought that perhaps she could also find her own happiness, like her friends, with him. The past months that she had spent with him had crossed her mind in a flash and she had realized that she had fallen for him. And so her heart glowing with happiness, she had taken his hand and let him take her to that hotel room.
But, her happiness was not long lived. What had been a magical night for her had been nothing but a one-night stand for him. She had woken up and had been horrified to find herself all alone in a hotel room with Sameer nowhere in sight.
Naively, she had waited for him, thinking he would return soon until she’d finally accepted that he had walked out on her without a word. In the end, she had left the hotel disillusioned and hurt. Still, some part of her had hoped that he would call her. But he never did. She was not a fool; she had understood the situation for what it was. She had become just another one of Sameer Sehgal’s conquests. He had destroyed her self-esteem thoroughly and surely. So, keeping her own pride intact, she had never called him and had astutely avoided any public occasion where he would be present.
Try as hard as she could, Raashi couldn’t help remembering the despair and the complete lack of self-confidence she had felt at his rejection, She had given into him that night believing with all her heart that he liked her and cared about her and that theycould actually build a relationship together. But, of course, he hadn’t felt the same.
Had she truly meant nothing to him? Had the night not been as magical for him as it had been for her? Had she dreamt the way he had made her feel? Was it her inexperience that had put him off? Why had he not called? Why had he so thoroughly rejected her? She had so many questions and no answers. She blamed herself for letting him seduce her. She had wanted him as much as he had wanted her that night and she hated herself as much as she hated him for that night. It had all been a game to him, a game to seduce her and she had fallen victim to his carefully planned seduction.
She had asked him to stay the night with her because she was finally ready to let him into her life. She had finally accepted what she felt for him. She had assumed that he was also ready to take their relationship to the next level and see where it went from there. And mainly, she had asked him to stay because she did not want to feel inconsequential, like she was just another one-night stand. But, he had done exactly that. He had used her and left her and she had never felt more humiliated in her life than she had that morning when she had woken up alone.
In the days following that fateful night, Raashi was heartbroken. She had not slept at all, eaten even less, hardly answered any calls, and barely lived, until the day when Sheena had come home to check on her, worried that something was wrong with her. One look at her and Sheena had hugged her tight and Raashi had poured her heart out to her.
Sheena had wanted to confront her cousin, but on Raashi’s insistence, hadn’t. And since Keya had been away on her honeymoon, they had decided to keep this incident only to themselves.
Slowly, Raashi had come around to being herself again. She had let Sameer Sehgal make a mess of her life, but she had comeout of it stronger. She was never going to let him get close to her ever again. He was dangerous and judging by the way she still responded to his touch, she had to stay away from him at all costs.
3
Sameer woke up with a jerk, wondering what had disturbed his sleep. When nothing hit his conscious he shut his eyes again. He needed to sleep, he was exhausted and this was one of the rare nights he had actually fallen asleep the minute his head had touched the pillow. His phone vibrated. He blinked and sat up on his bed. Yawning, he took a look at his phone. It was his GM, the General Manager of his Hotel, The Marquis. A call so late at night meant only one thing; there was a problem at the hotel. Exhaling, he rubbed his face and picked up the call.
Five minutes into the call and Sameer had understood exactly what had happened at The Marquis. He heard his manager out and told him he would get there as soon as possible.
He changed quickly. He needed to get to The Marquis fast and there was only one person who could get him there in super speed. He left his room and walked across the hallway and knocked on his brother’s door. When there was no response, he banged hard on the door. He didn’t have a lot of time so he called him from his cell phone.
His brother answered after several rings.
“Rishi,” Sameer spoke into the phone in an urgent tone, “open the door, I’ve been knocking since ages.”
“I need to go to The Marquis right now. There’s a problem,” Sameer told his brother as soon as the door opened.
“Now?” Rishi asked, yawning loudly. “What has happened?”
“One of the guests valet-parked their Audi at The Marquis and now it has gone missing. The guest is very disturbed and has called the cops. I need to get there as soon as possible.”
Rishi rubbed his eyes. “I can’t believe you woke me up for this. Why do you need to be there? Why can’t the GM handle it?”
“Because the car belongs to a politician’s son who also happens to be grandfather’s friend.” Sameer took the name of the politician.
“Bloody hell!” Rishi slammed his palm on his forehead.
“Exactly,” Sameer sighed. “Obviously, the son is cashing in on the friendship between his father and our grandfather and demanding to talk to me directly. He’s creating quite a stir and is refusing to deal with the GM. Besides, he’s a regular guest at the hotel and his company rents rooms round the year at The Marquis. He is threatening to stop his business with us and has called the media already. I need to get down there and talk to him myself before this becomes a publicity nightmare.”
“Fuck!” Rishi made a face. “Let me get dressed. I’ll meet you down in five.”
“Oh and take your bike, Rishi. We need to get there quickly,” Sameer said, walking out of his brother’s room. He called the GM again to get the latest update from him.
Bikes were Rishi’s pet passion. He raced bikes along with some biker friends of his frequently. It was crazy and he and his parents had been trying to warn Rishi off this for so long. Then again, being reckless as he was, he didn’t pay any heed to them. But tonight, he needed Rishi and his bike. It was the fastest way to reach across to The Marquis, which was at the other end ofMumbai in Marine Drive. If he took his car, even at this late hour, it would take him at least forty- five minutes to reach there. On Rishi’s bike, however, they would be there in no time at all.
Just as they reached their garage, they heard a car pull in. Sameer watched his younger sister, Rhea park her car. Shauna, Rhea’s twin, and she both studied in London until Rhea suddenly dropped out of her college. She had returned home three days ago without any prior intimation to them. Worried about her, his parents had tried to talk to her, but she had refused to speak about why she had come back so unexpectedly, requesting them all to leave her alone. Something was going on with her but she rejected all their efforts to talk to her about it. Sameer had even tried speaking to his other younger sister many times but Shauna too remained tightlipped.
Rhea got out of her car and strode to the front door, ignoring them both. His normally chirpy and bubbly sister had changed and Sameer had no clue why.
Rishi exchanged a frustrated look with him before he asked, “Rhea, where are you coming from?”