Chapter 10

"Bhaijaan, are you out of your mind?" Ayaan roared. Zoya was still frozen in shock, the words finding it difficult to sink in.

"It's for her own good," Asad said, turning his back on his younger brother.

"Her own good? That is the lamest excuse I've ever heard from you," Ayaan said. He hated the fact that his brother was being so insensitive. No one needed to have a special talent to see that the two were mad for each other. It was evident in the way they looked at each other.

"It's not an excuse. It's the truth. Ms. Farooqui should go back to New York," Asad said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He hated himself for saying those words. But if she stayed near him, she would only succeed in hurting herself more than she already had, and it wouldn't be physical pain that she would be suffering.

"You're being irrational. Bhaijaan, please," Ayaan turned him around so that he was facing him and took hold of his shoulder.

"Take a few minutes to cool down and think about your decision," Ayaan pleaded. If Zoya left, his brother would close himself off from any, if not all, indulgences of life; Ayaan was willing to bet anything that breathing would be the first.

"Ayaan," Zoya whispered. Asad couldn't bring himself to look at her. He couldn't bear to see the pain in those captivating eyes.

"Even if your brother says so, I will not go," Zoya hissed. Asad looked at her sharply. Her face held no emotion. It was completely blank.

"Ms. Farooqui, I-,"

"To hell with you, Mr.Khan. Mubarak ho aapko apni Tanu," Zoya spat.

Ayaan turned to look at his brother, who resembled a person who had just been slapped in the face.

"Admit it, you need her," Ayaan said, a ghost of a smile playing around the corners of his lips. Asad looked at him and swallowed.

"I do not need her," Asad said dryly. Ayaan chuckled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Pardon my mistake. You love her," Ayaan said. His chuckles turned to full fledged laughter as Asad's face drained of all colour. His thoughts were confirmed. Only a fool would say that Asad and Zoya were not attracted to each other.

"Ayaan," Asad said hoarsely.

It couldn't be possible. Asad Ahmed Khan could never fall in love with such an outspoken girl. He just couldn't. The laws of attraction in his book wouldn't allow it. But the more he thought about it, the more difficult it became to concentrate without images of her laughing procured in his mind. The sweet laughter that was contagious to anyone that was near her, the bubbly nature that would make anyone smile even if they were having their bad days. Everything about her was, there was no other word for it, breath-taking. The worst part was that Asad had found what weakened him considerably. Her eyes. Those almond shaped eyes that captured his gaze whenever he dared a look at them. The deep chocolate pools that one look, and he knew he was a goner.

An odd sensation crept up his spine and Asad let out a shaky breath. Was it true? Did he really lo-feel for her? Asad shook himself out of it and turned to Ayaan, who was smiling at him with a million dollar smile that screamed "JACKPOT".

"Go away," he mumbled. Ayaan laughed and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Asad asked, sharply.

"Oh nowhere special. Just going to see what's up with my Bhabhi," Ayaan said, winking at Asad before he slipped out. Asad fell back in bed and lay there staring up at the ceiling. His mind plagued with thoughts of a raven-haired woman with one of the most stunning smiles ever.

* * * * *

"Stupid, idiot, full, A-sad A-mad Khan he is! Now he's asking me to leave?" Zoya was fuming. She wasn't going to go anywhere. Enough with all the obeying orders and crap. Now, things will be different. Everything will be done her way. Whether he liked it or not.

"Bhabhi?" Ayaan said as he slipped into her room, narrowly missing Dilshad as she made her way to her son's room.

"What?" She snapped at him, her tone softening immediately when she saw Ayaan.

"What?" She asked, more gently this time.

"You're not going to leave are you?" Ayaan asked, his eyes darting around her room.

"Of course not!" She said indignantly. "I'm going to stay here and I want to see what he'll try and do about it."

Ayaan chuckled and plopped down on the bed.

"Mona, er-sorry, Bhabhi, what got you so irked about Tanveer?" He asked.

"She's been lying a lot lately. When Mr. Khan had been trapped in the fire, she claimed that she was in the kitchen. I had run to the kitchen for the extinguisher and I swear on my iPad that she was not there," Zoya replied sitting down next to him.

"Then, she apparently said a few things to Mr. Khan for which he could care less about but enough to get him roped up into thinking that she saved him from the fire," Zoya broke off here, giving him a glare that said "As if."

"So now what?" He asked.

"Now? Now we find evidence and bring that" (Zoya said something that caused Ayaan to say "Bhabhi!" in a warning tone) "and make that idiot Bhaijaan of yours see some common sense."

Ayaan watched as Zoya jumped onto her feet gleefully and stormed out of the room. He had a feeling she was heading down to the burnt storeroom. Ayaan shook his head and chuckled when he realised that he had been calling Zoya "Bhabhi" all along and she hadn't even bothered to correct him. He knew Zoya took the right decisions. It's high time that she stands up for herself, for her own sake and benefit. His thoughts went back to his brother and his smile faltered. In his theory, you respect and value the person you love; something that his brother did not exactly do full frontally but Ayaan knew better. His brother respected and valued Zoya beyond anything in the world otherwise he wouldn't have had that look that said, "Stay away from her" when Zoya had hugged Ayaan. He chuckled again and slipped out the window in Zoya's room.

* * * * *

"Asad?" Dilshad stepped into her son's room only to find him fast asleep on his back. She cocked her head to the side and walked over to him. She smiled softly and sat down and stroked his hair gently.

"Zoya," he muttered. Dilshad's hand froze as she heard him loud and clear. Then a small smile crept onto her face.

"Zoya," Asad muttered again before rolling over onto his side and facing Dilshad. She smiled even wider and bet down to kiss his forehead. He had heard him earlier telling Zoya that Tanveer had saved him. Dilshad wanted to interfere but it seemed Zoya handled it pretty well herself. Her son loved Zoya and she knew that those feelings were mutual. There was only one problem; he loves her, yet he has no trust in her. Dilshad frowned and took a deep breath. But why was Tanveer lying? Something had been nagging Dilshad since the arrival of Tanveer, but she couldn't place a finger on it. Her thoughts had been confirmed when Tanveer had lied to Asad, something that she knew the old Tanveer would never do. She didn't know what made her think so, but Dilshad had a feeling that she had to keep Tanveer away from Asad and Zoya. Why? She still wasn't able to understand. She just had to.

"I will do everything to bring you two together. If that means taking your best friend out of your life, then I will do it. For your happiness," Dilshad promised the sleeping form. They were the words of a mother.

~ End of Ch. 10 ~

What do you think?? Did I manage to leave you guys with a happy feeling or will I still be receiving eggs and shoes thrown at me? Sound off the comments down below and make me a happy writer.

So, as is tradition, special shoutouts!!!

"It's high time that she stands up for herself, for her own sake and benefit." --> NocturnalBeing: It actually is my dear, it actually is. 😊

"Stupid, idiot, full, A-sad A-mad Khan he is! Now he's asking me to leave?" --> Enchantress: Thanks Dee, this was actually pretty inspirational if you ask me. I hope Zoya put some sense into him in this chapter. If not a lot, at least a teeny bit. ❤️

"To hell with you, Mr.Khan. Mubarak ho aapko apni Tanu." --> Jassieg: I LOVED THIS SOOO MUCH! I had to put it in. I had a really strong urge to stick it into every single quote said by Zoya in this chapter. 😆 ❤️

"In his theory, you respect and value the person you love" --> Jassieg: As Ayaan said, to some extent he does. But our emotionally challenged Asad has trouble showing it.

"he loves her, yet he has no trust in her." --> irock321: I hate to admit it, but tis true. That is why I had Mummy Dilshad say it, hopefully she will knock some sense into her son. 😊

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(No seriously guys, I put a lot of effort into my writing. To see it published under someone else's name just ticks me off. So pretty please with a cherry on top, DON'T STEAL MY WORK!!! Have a nice day.)

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IMPORTANT AN: Continue to sound off the comments and be a contributor to the story! I will PM you if I will be including your quote, so leave a comment that you want to see as a quote said by one of the QH characters in my story. Do contribute, gives me a chance to connect with my readers and just fall in love with you guys all over again...not in a creepy way.

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