Chapter 3

Next Morning

Zaroon waited for Kashaf in the guest house. He strolled around every length and breadth of the hall.

He glanced at his watch which showed '7:56' yet again.

After a couple of minutes, he removed his cell phone from his pocket and dialled Kashaf's number.

"Main aa chuki hoon!", came a voice from behind. He turned around to find Kashaf standing there.

"Oh.. Achha.. Sorry.. To bata dena tha.. Kaafi der se inetaar kar raha tha main!", said Zaroon.

"8 baje ka call time tha.. 8 abhi baje hain!", she replied with a slight smile.

"Thoda jaldi aa jaati to kuch ho jaata kya?", he asked.

"Agar tum chahte the ke main jaldi aau, to ek call kar lete.. Main aa jaati!", she replied with a smirk.

Zaroon smiled and asked, "Chalein?"

Kashaf nodded in a 'yes'. Zaroon quickly walked over to the door and open it for her. She walked ahead and he followed her.

The day went off quickly with a lot of location visits. By the time they returned to the guest house it was 9 pm. They got off the car with the clients.

"It was really nice meeting you Miss Kashaf. Thank you so much for the lovely tour!", said the client.

"My pleasure! So shall I tell the cooks to serve dinner?", she asked.

"In an hour so.. We could freshen up by then!", replied the client.

"Alright!", she replied as the guests retreated to the guest house leaving Zaroon and Kashaf behind.

"So...", said Zaroon breaking the silence.

"So?", she asked.

"Tum dinner par rahogi na?", he asked.

"Nahi.. Mere liye dinner par maujood hona mushkil hoga! 10 baje bohot late hai!", she replied.

"Kyun?", he asked.

"Agar dinner 10 baje, to main aadhi raat ko hi ghar pohonchungi!", she replied.

"To?", he asked confused.

"To main aadhi raat tak ghar ke baahar nahi rehti!", she replied with a smile.

"Abhi tak???", he asked in a shock.

"Haan to?", she asked not getting his reaction.

Zaroon laughed. She looked at him confused.

"Sorry! Nahi.. It's good! Agar tumhe aitraaz na ho to main tumhe ghar chhod sakta hoon! Expreience hai mujhe!", he said.

"Iski koi zaroorat nahi hogi! Aap yahan rahein aur apne mehmaano ki khaatidaari karein!", she replied with a grin.

Zaroon laughed.

"Bye!", she said.

"Bye! Give me a call once you reach home!", said Zaroon.

Kashaf nodded in a 'yes' and got in the car.

Zaroon waved his hand as the car went out of the gate. He went and sat in the lounge area and drifted to an incident that took place a month back.

Flashback

"Hello! Tum kab aayi?", asked Zaroon as he entered the hall with a cup of coffee in hand.

"Abhi thodi der pehle! Tumhe maine message kiya tha aane se pehle!", replied Asmara who sat along with Zaroon's sister Sara.

"Phone check nahi kiya main!", replied Zaroon apologetically.

Sun rahe ho tum Farhan ke kisse?", asked Asmara.

Zaroon sighed and replied, "Sunta rehta hoon!"

"In sahib ko koi hamdardi nahi hai mujhse! Ye Farhan ki side leta hai humesha. Wo hi victim lagta hai isko! ", replied Sara as a matter of fact-ly.

"Don't tell me!!!", said Asmara not believing what Sara just said.

She turned to Zaroon and asked, "Zaroon! Why do you do this?"

"Bechara hai yaar! Mujhe use hamdardi hai!", said Zaroon.

He continued, "Aur waise bhi Farhan ne galat kya kaha hai? Bas wohi kuch kaha hai jo kal main apni biwi se kahunga!"

Asmara and Sara opened their mouth in a big 'o' in shock.

"Meet your Mr. Chauvinist!", commented Sara as she looked at Asmara.

Asmara looked over at Zaroon and said, "Waise Zaroon.. I didn't expect ke tum Farhan ki tarah ho jaoge!"

"To aisa kya kar diya Farhan ne? Socialize karne se mana kiya hai na isko! Kaunsa bada issue hai ismein?", asked Zaroon.

"Zaroon.. Waise tum mujhse expect mat karna ke shaadi ke baad main ghar baitthungi, har kaam tumse poochh poochhke karungi, yahan tak ki friends bhi tumhari marzi se banaungi! Main pabandiyon ke saath aisi zindagi nahi jee sakti!", said Asmara.

"Phir to tumhe ye faisla soch samajhke karna chahiye!", replied Zaroon.

Asmara and Sara looked at him in shock.

He continued, "Balki sirf tumhe kyun, hum dono ko ye faisla soch samajhke karna chahiye!", he concluded.

"Har waqt tum fizool baatein kyun karte rehte ho?", Asmara asked.

Before Zaroon could reply, she continued, "Waise ek baat batao! Tum mujhse shaadi nahi karoge to kisse karoge?"

"Aur class fellows hain! Pretty girls in the class!", he replied with a smile.

"Right!!!!", said Asmara with a sigh.

Zaroon grinned and Asmara continued, "Tum ek kaam karna.. Wo Kashaf hai na.. Uske saath shaadi karlena!"

"Not a Bad Idea! NOT A BAD IDEA!", replied Zaroon with a grin.

Flashback ends.

"I can't believe ke Asmara ne khud suggest kiya tha ke main Kashaf se shaadi kar loon! As a matter of fact, Kashaf is the ideal wife for me!", he told himself.

He smiled in satisfaction when suddenly his phone rang.

It flashed 'Chudail Murtaza'

Zaroon gave a wide smile and picked up the call.

"Reached home?", he asked.

"Haan!', came her reply.

"Good!", he replied.

"Waise 10 bajne waale hain.. Chef ko kehkar dinner ready karwa lo!", she said.

"Hmmm.. I will now! You should have been here yaar! I would have dropped you home!", complained Zaroon.

Kashaf laughed.

"Take care of yourself! Bye!", she said.

"I'll call you after dinner!", he replied.

"Kyun?", she asked.

"Bas aise hi! Baat karne ka mann kar raha hai! Relive our college days!", he said.

"Relive our college days? Is there anything worth reliving in that?", she asked stating facts.

"Nahi.. But alot that I would like to change! Aisi bohot cheezein hain jo main badalna chahta hoon! And a lot pf apologies that I owe you!", he replied.

"Jaise ki?", she asked.

"Wo to main tumhe raat ko phone par bataunga! So have dinner.. I'll call you by 11.", said Zaroon.

"Fine! Bye!", she said with a slight giggle.

"Bye!", he sid and cut the call.

Zaroon made his head fall back and he closed his eyes.

"I'm falling for you Kashaf Murtaza.. I never thought that this day would come but it has! It's high time I clear all the problems between us!", he told to himself and got up to go to the kitchen to tell the chefs to get the dinner ready.

Soon after dinner, he made his way to his room and changed into his night suit and lay down on his bed.

Kashaf's House.

She finished writing her diary and made her way to the bed. She sat upright and removed her watch and kept it aside on the side table.

Suddenly her phone rang.

"Leechar kahin ka!", she giggled to herself and picked up the call.