CHAPTER 2

'Shreya! Wake up!' shouted Sameer.

She didn't move. She was still in deep sleep.

He filled a quarter full of glass with water and threw it on her face.

She sat up in bed instantly as ice cold water hit her like sharp knives.

Sameer's angry face came into view. 'What the hell are you doing?' she shouted.

'Is this the time to wake up? Can't I even expect breakfast from you?' asked Sameer.

'Oh you cold blooded murderer! How can you act so normally when your hands are splattered with someone's blood? You have murdered him, haven't you?' she yelled.

'I told you to stop thinking about that! Don't you get it?' he shouted.

'No I don't! And stop commanding me!' she shouted.

'Shut the fuck up and get my breakfast ready. Just remember you are my wife! And I'll do whatever I want! You don't have to teach me!' he roared.

'Yeah, you too should keep in mind that I am your wife not your servant!' she said.

Now he had had too much of her nonsense. He slapped her with such a force that she almost staggered backwards. 'I will not be spoken to like that, do you understand?' he said anger etched all over his face.

Not a single tear drop came from her eyes. She couldn't cry. She had to be strong and stand against him now. There was no place for tears.

'I want a divorce. I can't stay with you anymore. You are a cold blooded monster', she said defiantly.

He laughed. An evil cackle.

'Never in my life! Till death does us apart!' he said.

Her eyes widened in shock as that sentence triggered something in her memory. She looked at him.

'Surprised right? But I know everything. That a*****e had promised you he would love you till death will do you apart. Look he's dead. And now I promise you I won't let you rest in peace even after my death. Mark my words', he said and walked away.

She felt drained. She really wanted to die. But then if she died, it would be so easy for him. No! She would die but only after taking him to hell.

She made herself a cup of strong coffee and switched on the television. She was flipping through the channels but found nothing that would interest her.

By noon, she had finished doing usual household chores and preparing lunch. Her cell phone beeped. It was a message from Sameer - Travelling to Alabama for a meeting. Won't see you until Thursday.

'Great. That meant she had two whole days all to herself. To hell with you and your business Sameer.' thought Shreya.

She switched on the television again. As she flipped through the channels she paused when she heard a song from the film 'The Sound of Music'.

A song which brought memories from her college days back to her.

"Raindrops on roses and

Whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and

Warm woollen mittens

Brown paper packages tied

Up with strings

These are a few of my

Favourite things.

Cream coloured ponies and

Crisp apple strudels

Doorbells and sleigh bells

And schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the

Moon on their wings

These are a few of my

Favourite things.

Girls in white dresses with

Blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my

Nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that

Melt into springs

These are a few of my

Favourite things.

When the dog bites,

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my

Favourite things

And then I don't feel so bad"

Shreya was the only child. She was staying in, a small city of Forest Grove, Oregon USA with her family. She was a Science Student and attended Montfort High School.

She missed her two besties Anisha (an Indian, daughter of a wealthy businessman based in USA) and Bonnie (an American African girl) and the fun they had. How she wished she could go back in time and relive those moments!

Bonnie, one of her best friends had made them see the movie 'The Sound of Music' one afternoon. And they had really enjoyed watching the sweet romantic film.

A smile crept on her face automatically.

Suddenly she remembered something. She rushed to her room and took out a diary from her closet.

She had the habit of pouring her heart's deepest secrets to her diary. She opened the diary entry and started reading -

Wednesday, 23 April 2014

Today evening we were sitting in the cafeteria...

'I hate that language class! And to add to that Mr. Webber hates me because of my bad grades. We are Science students for heaven's sake! Why would I want to learn a foreign language?' I said.

I was with my besties. We were sitting in the cafeteria sipping coffee to kill time.

'Chill babes! I feel you are thinking too much. French class is not that bad!' said Anisha.

'Oh yeah. That's just because your latest crush happens to be in that class! I was wondering lately why you had suddenly grown fond of the language', I shot back.

'Girls relax. Stop arguing over a stupid language class, said Bonnie.

'Hey there! I forgot to tell you guys yesterday. The much awaited prom night is finally here! Friday evening from 7 pm on wards. Do come. See you', said Rachel their classmate.

I opened my mouth to reply but Anisha cut me across.

'Thanks Rachel. We'll be there!'

'I am not going to that dumb prom night', I said flatly.

'Yes you are', said Anisha.

'No I am not!' I said.

'Yes you are!' said Anisha.

'But what am I going to do at the prom night? I don't have a dance partner to dance with', I said.

'There no need to dance. You can just hang out with everyone else. Come on how a can you be so selfish? Are you going to leave me alone in that party? And there would be lot of cool guys. Who knows? Maybe you will meet someone interesting at the Prom. Coz it's not just our college. It's open to all.' said Anisha.

'Anisha I am engaged to somebody. I shouldn't be looking for anybody else', I said.

'Well you don't seem to happy about it', said Bonnie watching me intently.

'I really don't know. Sameer is really nice. But it's just that I don't know much about him. Our families know each other really well. They are waiting for my higher education to get over. Then we'll get married. But before that I should get to know him really well. How can you get married to a total stranger? But unfortunately he is not around most of the times. He is coming next week for few days. Let's see.' I said glumly.

'Hey everything will be fine. Don't worry', said Anisha squeezing my hand.

'Yeah and let's go to this party. We'll have fun', said Bonnie.

Seeing no other way out, I finally agreed.

Thursday, 24th April 2014

Today we went shopping. Anisha was super excited. She wanted to look her best so that she could catch Mike's attention. (Her 25th crush. No, was it 27? Whatever... Number is not important) She is pretty serious about him and I really did not want to break her heart by showing lack of interest. Anisha is one of those crazy romantic types. She would talk to her boyfriend for hours. She would love when he would shower her with gifts and stuff.

Bonnie on the other is passionate only about one thing. Science. She would lock herself in her room and read books about science. She could go on for ages forgetting even about meals and sleep. I am kind of neutral. I don't know. I haven't felt so strongly for anyone till date. I hope I will be able to spend some time with Sameer. Then maybe I would feel the same way as Anisha.

Even I got myself a purple and black one piece. It's really pretty. I am now really excited for Saturday's party.

Saturday, 26th April, 2014

Bonnie, Anisha and I arrived at the destination. Soon Anisha spotted Mike and went off towards him. Bonnie had promised to help her in her Biology assignment if she managed to kiss Mike tonight. Anisha was fully determined. We met some of our classmates and joined them inside the hall. I could see many new faces. Tables were stocked up with booze as well as soft drinks. I got a small coke for myself and we sat at a round table

A group of four guys and two girls were sitting nearby. They were playing spin the bottle. I watched them play out of the corner of my eye. I could see everyone except one guy. He was sitting with his back to me. I couldn't see his face. One of the guys's spun the bottle. It stopped at the girl. 'Dare', she shouted immediately.

'You have to give a lap dance to your boyfriend', said her friend guffawing.

'How cheap', I thought and turned towards my friends to chat.

After some time I glanced at their table again.

The bottle stopped at the man who was sitting with his back to me. Everyone cheered. 'Dare', he said.

'Okay. You have to give French kiss to a girl who is sitting right behind you. The one with a purple dress', said his friend with a wicked grin at me.

Yes! He was pointing at me.

I turned away. What the hell? My heartbeats increased. I should run right now. But I couldn't move. I heard the scratching of the chair as he got up. He walked towards our table.

'Excuse me', he said.

'Just go away. Leave right now. I won't tolerate this nonsense', I said.

'It's a dare. I have to do it', he said.

He grabbed my arm. I stood up and faced him.

'What the hell? You can't...' my voice trailed off as I set my eyes upon him. He was indeed very handsome.

He was almost 6 feet tall and incredibly toned and muscular and looked to be in his early thirties. His hair was slightly messy in a sexy way. His features were sharp and he sported sexy stubble. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever laid her eyes on.

He flashed a charming smile at me and suddenly I snapped back out of my reverie. I was breathing heavily. He leaned in closer and pressed his lips on my cheek. I inhaled his aftershave. 'Don't worry. I am not going to give you a real French kiss. But we'll have to act. Close your eyes. Relax.' he whispered softly.

I didn't know why but I obeyed him. His lips touched just around the corner of my mouth. He lingered for a few minutes and then broke off.

'Hey you didn't give her a French kiss', said his friend.

'I did. You didn't pay attention. And why would I waste a chance of French kissing such a beautiful girl?' he asked looking at me.

I flushed and hated myself for doing that because even he noticed it. He flashed a mischievous smile at me.

'Okay. Let's go back then' said his friend.

'I'll see you around', he said to me and followed his friend.

Bonnie turned to me. 'What was that?'

'What?' I asked.

'You let a total stranger kiss you. He was gorgeous though!' said Bonnie.

'Hell I don't know what happened. My god! How can I be so foolish?' I said.

'Relax. It's fine. Forget about it. I was joking', said Bonnie.

Throughout the remainder of the party I kept thinking about him. He had disappeared. He or his friends were nowhere to be seen. He was definitely an outsider. I had never seen him before at Montfort High. Disappointment washed all over me. I felt attracted to him. I wanted to meet him. I had sort of lost control over myself. They must have left the party. I didn't even know his name. Finally I decided to forget about him though I knew his thoughts would linger in my mind for a long time.