He remembered how he was all set to get engaged five years ago. If not for that incident he would have been most probably a dad by now, while his friends would have been still dating their girlfriends. The reality of the present hopelessness and the memory of the miserable past suffocated him with gloom. Yougal Lucas gulped down the wine in the glass. He wanted to get away from the crowd.
"Lucas, man where are you lost? Is there a problem, buddy?"
Although he was angered by the development of unpleasant events in Nia's life due to his friend's negligence and cowardice to face her afterwards, Nicholas was worried. He could not allow himself to stay unaffected by an otherwise alert and inscrutable Yougal Lucas sitting with a sullen face, lost in thought.
Nicholas's concerned voice penetrated through the coffin of his buried thoughts, inside which he was lying and it hauled him out to his physical present. Yougal Lucas shook his head at his friend and smiled.
"No, I've nothing to add to their conversation. So holding up my peace. Wise people don't provoke women in such matters."
"So, we're the wise guy, keeping ourselves out of the conversation not to offend the women." Nicholas laughed in amusement at his friend's words.
Luckily for him Rhianna, Mark, Eeshani, and Arvind were engrossed in their bantering to notice his pensive mood. Yougal Lucas tried to concentrate on their lively and fun filled conversation and smiled at their never ending ribbing. He was eager to get rid of that suffocating sadness and regret that had tried to overpower him. Then he heard Mark asking Rhianna,
"Haven't you noticed that I used past tense in my sentences? Where's your beautiful friend, Rhianna? I thought Nia would come with you. I was looking forward to meeting her here. I now don't mind drama in married life. Rather I'm looking forward to Nia's nagging."
"Oh god! I almost forgot about her. You're to be blamed for that. She's over there. But aren't you being a hypocrite, Mark? And count me out, I'm not gonna help you with Nia."
Yougal Lucas was annoyed at Mark's open display of interest in Nia. But his heart fluttered at Rhianna's reply and his eyes automatically searched the big hall for her. Then he saw her, the woman enwrapped in mystery and magic.
'Yeah, she must have magical powers in her possession to draw me to her without any effort.' Looking at Nia he thought while smiling inside.
Yougal Lucas was careful not to let the smile appear on the face. The moment his friends see the smile while fixing his gaze at the direction where that intriguing woman was standing, they would pounce on him. Nia was at that side of the banquet hall where there were a few socialites with their rich partners, talking at their tables.
Actually he was stealing glances at her while sipping the wine and exchanging few words with his friends. With that long wavy hair cascading down her shoulders she looked more like a witch than a princess. She looked the ultimate femme fatale. Every time he saw her, a new side was revealed to him, enticing and intriguing him, rendering him helpless against the witch.
Looking at the woman he loved Yougal Lucas felt more determined to live by her side. She was talking with three men, one among them was a man of his age. Another man joined Nia and the other three. Soon despite the distance between him and where the men were with Nia, Yougal Lucas noticed that a not so subtle competition seemed to have begun between the two younger men.
Yougal Lucas frowned. Those four were prospective investors of the Adam Real Estate Investment company. Why were they talking with her? It seemed the whole world was suddenly interested in this woman he wanted to marry. Some men liked rivalry in love so that they could boast of bigger win but he, Yougal Lucas Sinha wanted to be the only suitor of his woman.
As Rhianna walked with Nicholas to where Nia was talking with those investors, Yougal Lucas wished he could follow them and talk with her. But he hesitated. Though she was not that unfriendly the last time they had met at the mall, he felt a little hopeless after Mark Adam's visit to her family home. 'She did not even consider inviting me to Astha's birthday.' He grumbled in his head.
What he did not know was that Mark invited himself when he learned about it from Rhianna and pestered her till she agreed to go with him. It was another thing that Rhianna needed little persuading to go to Nia's home.
To add to his grievance Mark Adam with a wide grin on his face went over to greet her. Yougal Lucas watched as Rhianna, Nicholas and Mark joined Nia and the other four men. The tables nearer to the stage were reserved for the Directors, chief guest, VIP guests, and the probable investors in the Adam Real Estate Investment Company.
Arvind Saxena, Eeshani and he were sitting at one of those tables. The other non reserved tables were occupied by stakeholders, employees. A few minutes later Yougal Lucas saw the woman he loved walking towards them with her companions.
The emcee announced the arrival of the guest of honour. As the guest of honour, accompanied by Mr Adam senior, took his seat the event officially started. Yougal Lucas had hoped that if not at the same table, at least Nia would be sitting nearer to him, since Rhianna was at their table sitting next to Nicholas.
He noticed with dissatisfaction that she sat on the same row, two tables away from him with those four investors and a middle aged woman. 'Why is she sitting with them?' The question whirled around him as he tried to concentrate on the speech of the chief guest.