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“Dr. Narayan, we are raising toasts. Please join us in celebrating this part first.”
Laughing, she raised her glass. As scientists who spent most of their time in labs, they enjoyed getting their wild side out occasionally during such parties.
Everyone took a sip from their glass for the celebration toast, but she just touched the liquid to her lips before lowering the glass with a smile.
“We were discussing who’d win the Eminent Scientist award this year.”
“We feel you would win again, Dr. Narayan.”
She had won the award the previous year. But it had been a bittersweet feeling accepting it without Dheeraj.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “But there are so many who deserve the win this year.” She looked at one of the men in front of her. “Dr. Malhotra, I read your recently published article about mutations. It is very insightful in predicting transmissibility.”
The young, bespectacled man’s face brightened and flushed with pleasure. “Thank you, Dr. Narayan. All the credit goes to you as you were the one to provide the preliminary assessment.”
Sitara smiled. “The research and the findings are yours, Dr. Malhotra. The credit is due where it should be.”
“You have set the bar high, Dr. Narayan,” one of the other men said. “With groundbreaking research and a product like Eureka, it’s hard to match up.”
Eureka was the brainchild of Dheeraj and her for which they had worked together for five years.
She smiled. “Thank you. But let’s not talk shop all the time. Let’s enjoy the party.”
They nodded in agreement and the topic changed.
“I can’t believe they invited so many celebrities tonight,” a female scientist said. “Isn’t that the lead singer fromImagine Dragons?”
“And that is Mithali Kaur, the famous actress who is working on one of the most awaited war movies this year! I heard she is even dating one of real-life war heroes.”
Sitara didn’t know who they were talking about, but she enjoyed listening to the lighthearted conversation.
She held onto the same champagne glass while others went through a couple more drinks. But to make sure, no one noticed, she helped herself to the bite-sized appetizers being served.
She was just biting into a piece of succulent shrimp when she felt a prickling behind her neck.
Wondering if she had imagined it, she ignored it. But the feeling only got stronger. Her neck prickled and the air felt strangely charged.
Feeling the heavy gaze of someone, she put on a smile and turned, wondering if anyone was looking for her. Her smile froze and her heart jerked violently when her eyes clashed with a familiar dark gaze at a distance.
No. It’s impossible.
Even as she thought those words in denial, she knew it was him.
He was wearing a black suit and was surrounded by a large group of men and women. But he was so tall that she could see his face unobstructed. And he was watching her.
She quickly turned back and faced her group again.
Oh God.
She began to panic.
Maybe he doesn’t recognize me.
It had been seven years, and she wasn’t in simple clothes with a long ponytail and no makeup. She looked and dressed differently because of the formal party. And even if he did recognize her, he probably wouldn’t bother acknowledging her. Not after what happened between them in the past.
But he had always been cocky and arrogant.
She bit her lip as she recalled that he was never the kind to back away from confrontation or an awkward situation. He faced them head on.
