* Jessica's POV *

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you wanted the ground to open and swallow like you've never existed before?

I was feeling the same, cursing universe for playing this cruel game with me.

He couldn't be here!

I gasped and took a step back, but stumbled on my heels and lost my balance. Before I could fall backward, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him. His face was just a few inches from mine. I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Jazz," he whispered in my ear, making me flinch.

All the bad memories started replaying in my head at the sound of his voice. The pain, the betrayal, the heartbreak. . . Everything.

I felt my throat clog up as my tongue felt tied. My mouth came crashing down to the ground as my mind started to twirl.

"Jazz?" he said again, a bit louder this time.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at him, feeling my blood start to boil at the sound of him calling me Jazz. How dare he? He didn't have any right to call me that; not now, at least. I pushed him, hard, and he frowned for a second, but quickly composed himself.

"Good to see you again, Jazz." He smirked.

"Don't you dare call me that," I hissed and pushed him away.

My legs moved on their own record and turned around to go back to my resort. I couldn't handle him right now. Hell, I couldn't handle him ever! He knew me too well. He was my weakness, and he still had some effect on me, but I couldn't let him know about it.

What could I do?

He was my first love. . . A person never gets over that.

That's exactly what happened with me; he was the one who introduced me to everything, made me love him, and also broke my heart.

But no matter how hurt you are, deep down you will always miss him.

"It's been two years. C'mon, Jazz. Forget whatever happened in the past. Try to move on," he shouted behind me, disrupting my thoughts.

After taking a deep breath, I stopped and turned to face him. His facial expressions were smooth, rounded and unassuming. In subtle ways, however, he looked a bit unusual. His hair was short now, which used to be long and curly. He was wearing a simple plain white shirt and pants-nothing "loud," nothing "hip," nothing bearing popular sports team logos or name-brand insignias like he used to wear.

My blood started boiling as, I took some steps in his direction and slapped him hard in the face. "I told you not to call me 'Jazz.' You lost that right when you shoved your tongue in that bitch's mouth! And, Mr. Nick Singhania, I moved on that day, when you humiliated me in front of everyone," I said, fuming from anger with a finger pointed at his chest.

After my sudden outburst, he froze and stared at me with wide eyes. He took a step backward and rubbed his cheek, which was now red.

"Whoa, you still remember everything? Well, it means you also remember our special moments?" He cocked an eyebrow.

I wanted to slap him again, but I controlled myself. He's not worth it, I reminded myself.

"Why are you here?" I asked, ignoring his comment and crossing my arms over my chest.

"I came here to meet you," he admitted.

His eyes travelled down my body, making me feel uncomfortable. I wanted to run to my room and hide in my bed, under the covers.

"By the way, you are looking so hot in that outfit. It took me a few minutes to recognise you. I must say, New York changed our traditional Jazz," he added with a wink, eyeing my body again.

Bastard!

"Stop giving me that shit and just spit it out, Nick! What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled. "And the most important thing, how did you know I was here?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh, c'mon, it's not rocket science to track someone in the today's technological world. I just stalked your Facebook profile through a friend's account, as you had already blocked me. I saw your check-in at Coney Island, so I followed you here," he said confidently, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

My mouth hung open. I remembered doing it this morning, but never expected this could happen. Anger started rising in my body, and I gave him a cold glare. "But, how did you-"

"I got an internship in New York. I need to report there on Monday, but I came here earlier because I really wanted to talk to you. I heard about your admission in NYU, and when I got this opportunity, I got the idea of meeting you. You could call it fate, Jazz." He stopped when I gave him a death glare for calling me Jazz. He shook his head and continued, "I mean Jessica. It's only fate that I found you again." He winked. The arrogant and confident Nick was back.

I closed my eyes and mentally cursed my fate. Seriously, God? In the whole world, he had to get an internship in NY?

Someone cleared his throat, and I opened my eyes. I looked at Nick in confusion, but he was looking behind me. I turned around and there he was, standing with a scowl on his face.

Max. Great! Great!

My eyes widened from the shock. He was the last person I expected to see here. I was already having a hard time dealing with Nick, and now Max was here too. I shook my head in disbelief. He couldn't be here. But how did he know?

Then I remembered telling Kyle about this and I groaned.

Max must have heard my conversation with Nick, because he quickly covered the distance and stood beside me, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Hey, baby. I was looking for you. What are you doing here?" he asked casually, ignoring the glare I was shooting in his direction.

Baby? Seriously? Did he just get hit by a truck? Or maybe he just had brain surgery?

I was about to remove his hand, but then I realised Nick was still there. Then, it clicked, and I smiled mentally. This was the perfect opportunity to get rid of Nick.

"Um, I was looking for you, but lost my way," I said, and tried to stretch my lips in an upward direction.

"You could have given me a call, baby," he said, taking advantage of the situation, as he had already guessed about my discomfort with Nick.

"I forgot my phone in the room," I said, and pinched his back.

His body stiffened, but he didn't loosen his grip on my waist. I turned to face Nick. I smiled victoriously when I found him glaring at us.

"Silly girl," Max said, pinching my cheeks lightly.

I suddenly felt warm from his touch and my body relaxed for few seconds. I looked at his other hand, which was still on my waist. My heart started racing as I realised that I didn't try again to remove it. The reason was simple; I felt safe with him. In spite of everything he did, I still felt safe with him.

Damn, Jazz! You are going to regret it again.

"Who is he?" Nick asked, slight anger evident in his voice.

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and shook my head as realisation hit me, I was staring at Max.

"Well, I should ask you that question," Max replied and squeezed my hand.

I looked at him and my eyes widened. Did he know about Nick?

Obviously no, Jazz... I didn't even tell Nina. Then, why? What he was doing here? After whatever happened between us, it was the last thing I expected from him. Too concerned for me!

"I'm an old friend," Nick replied, getting frustrated.

"Actually, only an acquaintance," I corrected Nick with a sweet smile on my face, but he ignored my comment and looked at Max.

"And you?" He raised his eyebrow.

I gulped and looked at Max, waiting for his answer. Honestly, I didn't have any idea what we were. He turned his face in my direction and smiled. It wasn't teasing; it was his genuine, and rare, smile. My heart immediately skipped a beat as I got lost in his beautiful eyes.

"Her boyfriend," Max said softly, looking into my eyes.

He said it with so much sincerity and love that for a second, I almost believed him. There was no teasing in his voice.

Then, I heard a cough from Nick and snapped my head towards him. A rare emotion flickered on his face. If I didn't know him better, then I would have considered it to be hurt. Then I realised what had just happened.

Max, my boyfriend? No freaking way!

"So, boyfriend, huh?" Nick asked suspiciously, composing himself.

"U-um," I stuttered and looked at Max. I narrowed my eyes and gave him a glare for the stupid stunt he just pulled.

"Well, I'm happy that you finally moved on," Nick replied sarcastically.

I noticed Max stiffen. His shoulders tensed and he removed his hands from my waist. Suddenly, I felt cold again. I sighed. What's happening with me?

I looked at Nick and gave him a fake smile as I knew he did this purposefully. "Of course, Nick. What do you expect, that I would wait for you to come back and apologize to me for the pain you gave me? Or did you think that I wouldn't be able to move on, ever?" I said, raising my eyebrow.

I heard a noise beside me and when I looked at Max, I noticed him chuckling quietly. He seemed relax after hearing me out and I smiled mentally. Agh! Jazz, wake up. You shouldn't care about the jerk. But at this moment, Nick is the jerk and Max is. . . well, my saviour!

I groaned because of my stupid thoughts, and Max nudged my shoulder, giving me a questioning look. I shrugged and turned back to Nick, who was staring at me. Obviously, he didn't expect that from me.

"I didn't mean that. It's just I never expected you to fall for a foreigner," he said, staring at Max.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but it's my life and this foreigner is much better than you," I said grabbing Max's hand and starting to walk towards the resort.

I knew I had lied, but I didn't have a choice. Obviously Max was no better than Nick. They're both jerks!

"Jazz, wait!" Nick shouted, but I didn't stop. "Vo tumhare liye sahi nahi hai" he shouted again, switching to Hindi language. (Translation: He is not good for you.)

I stopped dead in my tracks, and Max gave me confused look. I gave him an assuring nod and turned again to face Nick.

"To kaun sahi hai mere liye? Tum?" I said calmly. (Then who is good for me, are you?)

"Jazz. . . I am sorry for everything. I am truly ashamed of my actions. Please forgive me," he said sadly, switching back to English.

I could feel the sadness and guilt in his voice, but it must be because of my changed status. I am studying in NYC, I have a boyfriend, and I am wearing this hot outfit.

I couldn't fall into his trap, not after what he did to me. "You were an entire story to me, and I was nothing but a sentence to you," I whispered staring at him.

I laughed a bit and shook my head. "You realised this so soon, Nick. I am glad for that, and fine, I forgive you. I have no more hard feelings against you. Now, go and enjoy your life and let me enjoy mine," I said, swallowing the lump in my throat and realising the need to forgive him.

If you want to forget him, you need to forgive him first.

"Really? Thanks a lot. You have a really big heart. I was such an asshole. I never realised your value. I won't do it again. Just give me one last chance, please," he begged, taking a few steps in my direction.

"Whoa, hold on, Nick! I only forgive you. Don't expect more, please. I don't want any link with you, I don't even want to see you again. From now on, you are just a stranger to me."

"It's because of him, right?" he asked, pointing a finger towards Max.

"Enough, can't you get it? She is not interested-" Max started, but I stopped him by holding his hand.

"It's not because of him, but of you, Nick. Stop blaming others for your actions. I have already moved on. Now, I am with Max, so please just leave me alone," I said furiously.

He stared at me for few seconds then turned around and started walking away.

"Nick, wait." I jogged towards him and he turned to face me with surprise. "When you go back and people ask you about me and you find yourself thinking back on all our memories, I hope you ache in regret as the truth hits you like a bullet and you find yourself replying: 'she loved me more than anyone else in the entire world and I destroyed her.'" I added, glaring at him.

My words hit him hard and he lowered his face in shame but I wasn't done with my frustration so I continued, "You know what my biggest mistake was? It wasn't falling for you, but it was thinking that you had fallen for me too."

"Don't say that please, I still love you. I'm sorry, I cheated on you. I'm so sorry for humiliating you. I was so stupid that I didn't realize your value until you moved away. That's why I chose this internship, so that I could talk to you. My chances were minimal, but I took a risk, and look, Destiny is also with me. You are here, with me."

"I wish you knew how much you hurt me, but then again, no, I don't. It would be too embarrassing to have you know how much you affected me." I shouted and clenched my fist.

There were so many sleepless nights and wet pillows. I used to stare at my phone for hours, expecting an apology text or call from him, but there was nothing. He was the reason that I didn't open up anymore. I'm changed and more guarded. I'm not the same person I was before, and it's all because of him.

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it, looking at Max, who was fuming with anger. Without wasting a second, I took Max's hand and walked away. This time Nick didn't stopped us.

I was a sweet and simple girl. A girl who liked to help everyone with her knowledge. I wasn't the bitchy type, but this guy changed me. He taught me many lessons, and I was really grateful to him for that. If he wasn't there, I wouldn't be here. Everyone needs a push in their life, and Nick was my push.

It was my dream to study here, but it was just an ordinary dream. I wasn't passionate about it, but Nick made me. I wanted to run from everything. I wanted to prove to him that I wasn't a loser. I don't need a rich status to become successful in my life. I don't need to compromise my morals for a healthy relationship.

He challenged me and I accepted it.

He betrayed me and I learnt from it.

He took advantage of my innocent nature and I changed it to bitchy one.

He was my first love and I changed it to the last.

I stopped trusting boys and wiped romance from my vocabulary.

**********

Song :- (by: Roxette)

(Must have been love...
But it's over now.)

Lay a whisper On my pillow
Leave the winter On the ground
I wake up lonely
There's air of silence
In the bedroom And all around
(All around)
Touch me now, I close my eyes
And dream away.

It must have been love But it's over now
It must have been good But I lost it somehow
It must have been love But it's over now
From the moment we touched
'Til the time had run out.

(Must have been love...
But it's over now.)

Lay a whisper, On my pillow
Leave the winter, On the ground
I wake up lonely, There's air of silence
In the bedroom And all around
Touch me now, I close my eyes
And dream away.

It must have been love, But it's over now
It must have been good, But I lost it somehow
It must have been love, But it's over now
From the moment we touched
'Til the time had run out.

Make-believing, We're together
That I'm sheltered, By your heart
But in and outside
I've turned to water, Like a teardrop
In your palm
And it's a hard Winter's day
I dream away.

It must have been love, But it's over now
It was all that I wanted, Now I'm living without
It must have been love, But it's over now
It's where the water flows, It's where the wind blows.

I loved this song (:

****

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