When You LOVED Me...

*Unedited*

Star-dust.

She gazed at the sky filled with twinkling stars and bright shines, as they made a symphony of their own. It filled her with a sense of peace. Being an insignificant part of the ever expanding universe was more relaxing than she had imagined. More relaxing than being part of the 'real world', at least.

At 24, stargazing has become more meaningful than it ever was. Only the universe seemed to be by her side in this whole world. She closed her eyes as tightness creeped into her heart. Only this universe.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A deep voice startled her. She opened her eyes and  found  the guy just beside her. She stepped away creating some distance between them. What the hell, she hadn't noticed him approaching at all. She had the habit of losing herself in thoughts but she was trying to be more mindful about her surroundings.

"Yes, it's beautiful." She replied after a moment. Her voice was characteristically quiet.

She avoided eye contact. His presence had disrupted the solitude she had created. She tried to hide her irritation. Anyway, It was hopeless to expect to be left alone especially when at a destination wedding,.... an Indian destination wedding.

"Are you not attending the Sangeet, the function started a while ago?"

"I am not a big fan of music and dance." She replied.

"There's more to it than that though. You might be surprised." She smiled at his response.

"Why are you here then, missing out on the fun of a young sangeet night?"
He let out a low, amused chuckle. "You have got me." He raised his arms in mock surrender.

That made her notice his features. High cheekbones, dark eyes and defined jawline. For someone as average looking as Mia, he had the beauty of a celebrity. It was hard to look at him.

"Here, it was much more peaceful." she explained as she glanced at the stars.
A low hum was his reply.

They both stared ahead at the vast crashing waves of the sea that were in the symphony of nature. The beautiful moon and blue of the sea bleeding into each other. The view was serene.

The only disturbance was the mild sound and vibrations of the loud music under her feet making her the part of the party she had escaped.

As much as she wanted to revel in the breathtaking night view of the beach, she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. Getting caught by one of her aunts or worse, her mother, leaning against the railing with a handsome stranger by her side, was not part of the plan.

As she turned to leave, a hand grasped her wrist, halting her. She glanced down at the hand, then up at him, her heart skipping a beat. His touch startled her again.

"I apologize if I disturbed your peace. I didn't mean to." His blue-black eyes held so much depth. They are the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen.

"You can let go of my hand." She spoke up when she realized they had been staring at each other for too long. Normally, she would feel uncomfortable in situations like this and end up embarrassing herself. Her shy side lacked experience when it came to something as mundane as talking to a guy, especially a handsome one. She felt self-conscious, judged, and boring on those one or two random dates set up by her college friends; as a result, it became second nature to avoid such encounters and spare herself the feeling of utter despair. Her interaction with males on a romantic level was almost nonexistent.

Most girls handled it with ease—the talking, flirting, and relationships. But she wasn't most girls. She had learned that the hard way. He released her hand, but his gaze lingered.

She chose to stay. She moved to the porch swing on the terrace to give her legs a break and put some much-needed distance between them. She carefully removed her six-inch heels. She set them aside, wriggled her toes, and sighed in relief. Heels were a nightmare.

When she looked up, she found him still staring at her, giving her goosebumps. To avoid the awkwardness and butterflies, she initiated conversation with the most cringe-worthy and overused wedding line from Indian marriages ever.

"Are you from the groom's side or bride's side?" she cursed herself mentally after it came out.

As not so social person her lack of knowledge about her relatives always added the barrier to being the perfect -daughter- she was supposed to be. Maybe that is why most of the time she isolates herself from social gatherings, well, she had come to terms with chores she had to do, but showing that she was enjoying herself when she was not, was still difficult for her.

Just a little work on the bright fake smiles.

Everyone knows that everything was a facade and they wanted it to stay like that. So be it.

"You don't know me." The guy said startling her out of her thoughts again. His voice held no emotion, she couldn't tell she offended him or not. She did offend some of her relatives by just being her ignorant self.

"Am I supposed to know you?" She asked while her cheeks became hot due to embarrassment. So much for not disturbing her peace. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't recognize. Just when she was supposed to know a whole bunch of relatives, who never showed their face otherwise and respect them and oh, her most favorite part, pretend to be overjoyed.

Did the list of her imperfections would ever end.

He chuckled lowly and her cheeks became hotter. Her ignorance is too much for her own good.

"From which side you are?" He asked instead of replying but she didn't mind. Anything to escape the embarrassment she caused herself.

"I am bride's cousin sister," she flusteredly replied. Sophia was her immediate cousin but she was not so close to her either. She attended the wedding for the sake of her mother. And she liked the idea of a destination wedding in Goa. Even, if attending awaiting was close to torture for her.  On the bright side, she could see it as a vacation when the wedding ends and she would get time to be herself.

"Interesting." he replied. For some reason, it felt like she had to know this person being the bride's cousin.

An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. But neither of them had anything to add to it.

She glanced at him after a while. Her eyes met with his broad back and squared shoulders hidden beneath his navy blue tux, his styled black hair just complimented his look.

A loud tune of instrumental guitar startled her and she came out of the magical spell he trapped her in.

She saw the stranger cutting the call on his phone. He sighed and after a moment turned towards her. She held her breath and locked her gaze with his striking blues. For a moment, she read something in his eyes but it was gone as soon as it came. She was overthinking things, she was an overthinker.

"Well, It's time for me to leave you to your solitude, beautiful. Maybe, we will meet again." He passed her a charming smile and then he was gone.

A grin spread upon her face unknowingly but she had a feeling it has something to do with the stranger.

*