Recap:
Hi it's me Riya. I'm back again to tell you the next part of my story. Firstly, here's a quick refresher: in the last chapter, I discovered that Aliya was responsible for all the hate mails, so she got asked to leave Plutus Heights. Then Nisha moved out too so I moved in with her and that's when she told me she felt as if was in love with me. Fortunately, after I politely rejected her, we could still be friends. As for things with Sameer, we bumped into his parents in a French restaurant right on our six-month anniversary and his dad told him to break up with me! I hoped that he would protect me from his dad's insults, but no - can you believe it? Sameer didn't even stand up for me. I was so angry and we started  quarreling. Then I went on a trip with Nisha, Shiva and Ranjan; where Ranjan told me that if I was his girlfriend, he'd never let anyone hurt me.
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When we got back from that trip, I felt much better, because it reminded me how amazing and supportive my friends are. 

I kept thinking about what Ranjan had said - that I had to go speak to Sameer and see if he thought we had a future together. Maybe he was right.

However, Sameer and I hadn't even talked since then. 

In fact, he hadn't even tried to contact me - this silence made me exhausted. Although I couldn't forget what Sameer's dad had said about me, I still loved Sameer so much, and honestly I missed him like crazy. 

I couldn't wait any longer so eventually, I decided to just call him.

When he answered, he sounded like he didn't even have time to speak to me and his voice had such a cold tone, that I found myself apologizing to him for what I'd said because it was not okay. 

Then I said that I wanted to continue with our relationship and that we didn't need to worry about the future yet because we were still so young. Sameer agreed, but he didn't say much - just that he was busy and would call me back later.

Afterwards, I felt relieved the cold war between us that had made me sad and miserable was over. Everything was going to be okay, and yet I couldn't get his cold tone out of my head. 

Why was he acting so indifferent? Did he not love me anymore?

A few weeks later, things weren't much better - I could count on one hand the amount of times Sameer and I had seen each other, because he was so busy with his company and the investment club. 

If I didn't call Sameer, he wouldn't call me at all. As for me, I had to study a lot before graduating so that I could help my parents - it was really frustrating.

I often looked at the ring that I'd found when he saved me and found myself getting lost in thoughts of the past. He used to call me all the time no matter how busy he was. 

He would give me cute nicknames like Rose, Pumpkinpie, etc. We would spend so much time together and I missed that.

Suddenly I felt like our love was fading and nothing could prevent it. If that really happened, how would I be able to handle myself?

One day I called my dad to see if he was okay and he sounded exhausted. Then he told me something that shocked me even more than the bankruptcy: my dad and my mom were getting a divorce.

I couldn't believe it!

I asked him how this had happened but he just sighed and told me that he wanted rest and would call me back later and then he hung up.

Eventually, I called my aunt who was my dad's sister to find out the truth. She said that my mom had been having an affair with a rich man who'd been my dad's partner for a long time, because she couldn't stand this poverty anymore.

Oh my god, this was too much! Here I was wrapped up in my own petty love drama when in fact my dad needed me - this had to be the most difficult moment of his life and there was no way I could leave him all alone.

I got to my parents house and I was shaking as I opened the door. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare and to have my mom back. When I saw my dad sitting on the couch, he looked surprised to see me.

He just smiled and asked me to come sit down. It looked like he'd lost some weight and he told me my mom had moved out with my brother a few days ago. 

I couldn't hold back my tears - our lives were falling apart. My mom hadn't even told me any of this! She just made the decision by herself and left.

How could she do this to us? How could she be so selfish?

Back at Plutus Heights, everyone knew my parents were getting divorced since it was all over the internet. 

Nisha and Shiva had texted me to comfort me but Sameer hadn't even texted me once - he must have known because Shiva was his cousin and told him everything and besides, the news about my parents' divorce was viral.

So what was wrong with him?

He was my boyfriend and he didn't even care! All he had to do was call me or even just text and say he hoped I was okay.

But nope. Nothing.

Suddenly I realized how stupid I had been - I'd been chasing him this whole time and now when I needed him the most - he was nowhere to be seen.

That evening, I decided to make dinner for my dad and it made me think about the good old days when mom was still here. 

My dad loved to cook and my mom would always be his assistant - helping him chop veggies and clean up the kitchen.

I missed my mom so much - why did life have to be like this? True love was so fragile, could Sameer and I get through this? At this point, I almost gave up on our relationship. 

Wait, did we even have a relationship? He barely even talked to me - its like he didn't know I existed!

As I was wondering about this, the doorbell rang. I ran to open it and to my complete surprise, Ranjan was standing there with a bottle of wine and a basket of fruit. I literally gasped in surprise.

What was he doing here?

He just smiled and said that he'd had a meeting nearby and wanted to pop by to say hello. My dad was excited because ever since the bankruptcy, no one had been around to visit him. 

My dad went into the kitchen and started cooking and Ranjan and I helped him. Ranjan chatted to my dad in such a friendly way and they were getting along so well. Very often Ranjan would look over at me and smile - it made me blush and I didn't understand why.

The three of us sat down to enjoy the meal and it made me happy to see my dad so excited - he couldn't stop chatting to Ranjan and even asked him if he had a girlfriend. At one point Ranjan just laughed and said, "I'm just waiting for the right girl."

Then he looked at me. Suddenly I felt a bit flustered and reached out for the bottle of wine but Ranjan reached out at exactly the same moment and our hands touched. I blushed and felt so embarrassed.

What was wrong with me? Was it because I was drunk?

Ranjan must have sensed I was embarrassed because he changed the subject and started saying how he was a big fan of the dishes in my family's restaurant and that he missed it so much. So my dad said that he could come over whenever he was free and my dad would cook them for him.

Then they continued to chat about food and business and Ranjan said that even though he couldn't afford to help my dad rebuild the business, he wanted to invest a little bit to help him open a small restaurant and start again.

At first my dad was so shocked and moved by Ranjan's suggestion, but then he agreed and kept thanking him saying that cooking made his life more meaningful.

I couldn't believe it - Ranjan was being so kind and I didn't know how to repay him. I told him I'd pay him back after graduation. Then, after dinner, he stayed and chatted to my dad for hours - I could see it really cheered my dad up. 

I was so grateful to Ranjan and couldn't stop thinking about that evening. He'd made me feel so secure and he was just so considerate. I wished Sameer would have done whatever Ranjan was doing now.

Soon we were about to graduate. We decided to organize a ceremony along with a big photo shoot together to celebrate and it was going to take place at a resort - which was owned by one of our classmates' family. 

However, just before the event, there was a rumor going around that Aliya's sensitive photos had been exposed and her rich fiancée had decided to cancel their wedding, even though it was going to be in a few weeks. 

This was such bad news for Aliya, I wondered if she would come to the ceremony. Well anyway, the ceremony day arrived and tons of photographers had been hired. There was so much wine and food and there was even a red carpet - it was so fancy and we all took photos together.

This was our last party of students and we wanted to make it one to remember. Sameer hadn't arrived yet as he said he'd had a meeting to go to first so it'd be a bit late. I was hanging out with Nisha and Ranjan. 

As for Arjun, he had a drink and chatted with others on the other side to avoid Nisha. Then after a while Aliya arrived too - she looked really annoyed and Nisha whispered to me to be careful around her in case she caused any trouble.

Well not one minute later, Aliya was marching towards me. She was smirking and said, "So your family went bankrupt and yet you can still afford to attend this fancy ceremony Riya? Honestly, you don't belong here - run back home to your poor family."

Finding that what she was saying was nonsense, I just walked away from her without saying anything. Honestly, I had nothing to say to that rude girl. But then I heard Nisha and Aliya arguing. Nisha held Aliya's shoulder and said in a sinister voice, "Judge my friend again, and you won't be alive."

"Are you trying to threaten me?" Aliya went closer to Nisha.

That's when I realized I had to do something. I stepped in between them and asked them to stop, but Aliya wouldn't give up.

Suddenly, she pushed me into the pool. The next moment, I was under the water and I was shocked -  couldn't get to the surface - I was choking and struggling and felt myself sinking. 

When I was panicking the most, I could just make someone out jumping into the pool and grabbing me. I thought to myself, 'Sameer, is that you? Have you come to save me again?'

Then I passed out.

As I opened my eyes, I saw a guy  standing over me soaking wet. He was calling my name and he looked so worried - I was still so scared and was clutching onto his wrist. Then I saw something familiar: the ring.

'Is that Sameer?' I thought.

But when I started to see more clearly, I realized it wasn't Sameer.

It was... Ranjan.

He was so relieved to see me awaken alert and gave me the biggest hug. Then he asked Nisha to help me up while he ran to get my coat. 

Aliya still had the audacity to stand there and laugh at me. "Look everyone - it's Riya the drowned rat. She's so poor that she has to rely on rich guys to look after her. Pathetic!"

Nisha was so furious that she slapped Aliya and asked her to leave immediately otherwise she'd call her bodygaurds. People were pointing at us and saying something. 

I turned around and that's when I saw Sameer - he was standing in the crowd looking at me. When he saw I'd seen him, he just turned around and walked away.

I had never felt so small in my life. Clearly, our relationship was over. To make it worse, Aliya saw Sameer leaving and said, "Like father like daughter: your mom left your dad and Sameer has left you. Serves you right - who would want to be with a poor girl?"

My heart was completely broken.
Was Aliya right? Had Sameer left me because I was poor now? 

It wasn't going matter anyway because whatever we had between us - it was over. At some point I even questioned myself, was the love between me and Sameer even real? 

Real love was supposed to be irrespective of the economic background, right? Had I made a mistake in believing Sameer loved me? What if I was just his time-pass tool?

But there was something else also on my mind: the ring. Had I mistaken Sameer... for Ranjan?

Was it Ranjan who had saved me that day?

In the background, I could still hear Aliya mocking me but I just blocked it out. 

Nisha was hugging me and telling me everything was going to be okay and then Ranjan appeared and put my coat over my shoulders and said, "You don't need to worry about a thing."
Then he took my hand and we left that mess behind us.

Vote and Comment to tell me what do you think of Sameer & Aliya!<3