Crushed and Created- Tangled series (Overprotective famous brothers)

Mobbed

One year anniversary special!

ALISHA

I hated waking up in the mornings, but when it meant shopping I was ever ready. Malaika was overly-excited about this Christmas, and wanted more shopping partners apart from her sister and Bebo. So she dragged me along, promising some free stuff apart from the gifts. Ha, I loved my sister in law.

“Where is everyone else?” I asked her as we got into the car. I was wearing a dress and stockings, with one of my favorite belle flats. No use wearing heels when we had to walk around the mall. We made sure we went shopping on a weekday so there was no crowd in the malls, and we went unnoticed. And I was hoping the casual clothing our security was wearing would help too.

“Ditched us for a holiday in Alps.” She pouted and I giggled. Of course they were off to their cottage in Europe, they loved the place more than any other in the world.

“It’s ok, we are a strong shopping duo.” She smiled at me and we gossiped about yesterday’s party on our way to Market City. It was by far the biggest and the most luxurious mall in Mumbai, with almost all the brands in one place.

“I love holidays!” I looked around to see the snowflakes hanging from the roof and decorations adorning every store’s display. Signs of sales were all around, and I was the kind of person that lived for sales.

“Same here, sis, same here.” Malaika dragged me to the first shop she spotted- Mango. Mango had amazing winter dresses, and I couldn’t help but pick up the green dress with emeralds for straps.

Needless to say, we were shopping around like ten year olds, and Malaika was least bothered about the credit card bill. Her logic was that she’d just do two more photo shoots to recover the dent in her pocket. Wish I could tap on my resources like her, but then I didn’t need to. Half my money came from her wallet, the other half from Salman because he owed me a shopping trip. Of course he couldn’t make it- like it was anything new- but he agreed to pay for my splurging on high-end fashion. And then I had thousands of dollars in my bank account too. No showing off, but then getting on the cover of magazines gives you that kind of money.

“My feet hurt.” Malaika whined, dropping her bag on the floor and slumping on the chair. We were in the food court, taking a break from our trip. It was already four hours since we began shopping and I was ready for more. Yes, when I shopped I shopped like there was no tomorrow.

“Who told you to wear six inch heels?” I raised my brows at her and she shrugged. The truth was she was obsessed with heels. She wore heels during her pregnancy too, so shopping trips were no big deal for her.

“I’m gonna get something to eat.” I went to the china bowl counter, going through their menu. I decided on some schezwan and Hakka noodles, so we both could share. Let’s face it, everyone loved noodles.

“That will be Rs. 267.” The guy on the counter told me and I flashed my debit card. No, I did not have a credit card, since I was just a ‘reckless teenager’ who needed to be kept in control. Yes, that was what my brothers said, and today one of them was letting me buy designer clothes.

“I knew it was you. Pleasure to serve for you ladies.” He grinned, looking at me and then Malaika sitting with her head digging into her blackberry.

“Thank you.” I replied, not sure how to handle this situation. Whenever people recognized me I was taken off guard, and then I made some weird comments. So this time I chose to keep my mouth shut and moved towards the table with our food tray.

“Chinese!” she smirked at me and I winked at her.

We had our lunch in a hurry, eager to get back to what we did best- shop. People were starting to notice us sitting in the food court; some giggles and hushed whispers went about the place. Our security noticed too, and they moved closer to our table in case of any unwanted situation. Chances of anything serious happening were low, but they had to stay alert and safe all the time.