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Anaya, G, Raya and I drove together for the kitty party. I had assumed we would go to the same house I had been to a number of times before but I was surprised when G drove the car into a very posh area, the kind where huge mansions with well-manicured front lawns were a sight to behold. Raya asked the question I was thinking about and Anaya informed us Mrs. Khurana had moved into the palatial white mansion we stopped in front of just then. It had almost been a year now since they had left their previous house.
I could see fresh and colourful flowers blooming in the small gated garden at a corner of the beautiful landscape of their front lawn. The exteriors were astounding but when we stepped inside, I was spell-bound by the grandeur of it. A uniformed butler led us through an arched corridor into a lushly furnished drawing room where a few ladies were present. Mrs. Khurana and Zara came to greet us before we were guided to sit among the kitty group.
The women chattered among themselves as they munched on the light snacks which the servants presented to them. Aunty was very pleased that we were able to come and she kept insisting we eat some more.
"I want to see Ameerah." Raya requested to Zara and I turned to the two after having taken part in a conversation with one of Zara's friends about the latest fashion trends.
"Oh yes. Where is she? Haven't seen the cherub yet!" Anaya piped in and Zara laughed lightly.
"She must be with Maan." Zara turned to one of the servants and told him to bring Ameerah here.
"Maan is at home? He's usually out at this time on Saturdays, no?" Anaya was surprised. Zara nodded.
"Yes. I guess he had plans for late evening today." Zara shrugged callously just when a small girl in a pretty frock came running into her arms and hid herself. Zara turned her daughter so she could see us. "Say hi to all the aunties."
She was the same girl, the one with grey eyes I had seen at the airport with Maan. As the girl looked at all of us shyly, I mulled over my own thoughts. Why hadn't I thought of this? Ameerah was Zara's daughter, Ranbir and Zara's. She had the same grey eyes as Zara's. I blinked a few times to compose myself. Maan wasn't married then, was he? It sure didn't seem like it considering how I had seen him with different women around the city. The new conclusion I had come to was confirmed when I overheard two women from the kitty gang discussing Maan and his ways.
"Women, women and women, that's what his life is now!" I sneaked a glance at the young woman in a black dress.
"Mostly. Of course he does go around with new women every week or so but he still doesn't compromise on his work. That's why Khuranas are now millionaires. Both the brothers have expanded their father's business a lot." The second woman, who seemed a little more mature, put forth her viewpoint.
"I know. It's probably the intoxication of all this wealth and power that he's the playboy kind."
"Probably." The second woman agreed.
"I wonder, though, why he wouldn't get married. I mean, he dates beautiful women all the time. He could choose one from them and settle down. He's twenty-eight, after all!" It felt to me that the woman was envious.
"I don't know. Who cares, anyway!"
I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to what Anaya and Raya were talking about. Gossip and kitty parties were synonymous, I mused. But one thing I had found out from the eavesdropping. Even though Maan hadn't gotten married, he had still moved on and changed beyond comprehension. At least, that was what the women's gossip made me decide.
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