Chapter 11

Zoya ran down to the burnt storeroom and stopped as she stared at it. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat she pushed open whatever was left of the door and stepped inside.

Zoya gasped and shut her eyes tightly as horrible memories flashed through her mind. Flames licking up the walls and a voice calling out. A child's voice desperately searching for its Mother. Zoya willed herself to relax and opened her eyes only to sprint out the storeroom.

Zoya turned and looked at the burnt entrance to the storeroom, her breathing shallow.

"Come on Zoya! You can do this! It's not actually burning. It's already been burnt. There's no fire, come on!" Zoya said, her face set with determination as she stomped forward into the storeroom. Zoya gulped, her bravery disappearing and fear taking over once more.

"No Zoya. You aren't afraid! Think of what Mr. Khan would say if he found out that you were afraid of fire. As if he needs another excuse to boast about his stupid, ugly, idiot, fat, shameless, foolish, bit-,"

"Zoya?" Dilshad's voice rang out through the storeroom causing a sudden halt in Zoya's abusive marathon.

"Phuppi!" Zoya said turning around surprised. Dilshad looked at her with confusion written all over her face.

"Zoya, what are you doing here?" Dilshad asked.

Holy poo on toast! Think fast!

"I was here to eat something," Zoya blurted.

Nice.

Horror flew through Zoya's face as she realised what she had said. Dilshad looked at her with bewilderment.

"Yes of course, because a burnt storeroom is the equivalent of a kitchen," Dilshad said uncertainly. Zoya suppressed the groan that was building up within her and clasped her hands behind her back.

So much for being a spy when you can't even come up for a good reason for snooping around.

"Phuppi, I was just going to the kitchen but then I saw this room and I just remembered how I found Mr. Khan an-," Zoya froze as once again a vivid image of an injured Mr. Khan conjured into her mind's eye. What would've happened if she hadn't gotten there on time? Would he have

"Zoya," Dilshad said as she walked into the room and placed her hand on her shoulder. Zoya's gaze was unfocussed and Dilshad saw the wetness of tears glisten in her eyes.

"Zoya?" Dilshad said shaking her slightly. The younger woman shook out of her trance and looked up at her Phuppi. Dilshad reached forward and wiped a stray tear off her cheek, startling Zoya. When had she started to cry?

"Phuppi, I-."

"No need. Love changes us in ways we never thought possible. It consumes your mind and heart with care for and thoughts of the person you love," Dilshad told her. Zoya didn't know what to tell her. So she did the one thing she could. She told the truth.

"Phuppi, it's Tanveer's fault. I know I shouldn't just blame anyone without proper evidence but she if she had nothing to hide, she wouldn't lie," Zoya blurted, without thinking. Dilshad was stunned as she heard the honesty behind Zoya's words. But something else surfaced within her mind. Zoya was right. There had been a few conversations she'd had with her son's best friend and ninety per cent of the time, Dilshad felt that the younger girl hadn't been honest with her.

"I know, I know! It's stupid to think so but Phuppi; I'm sick and tired of having Mr. Khan take her side! It's frustrating because he has no trust in me! He doesn't even know that I'm damn scared of fire and yet I risked my life to save him because all that mattered to me when I saw him amidst the flames was how would I survive without him?" Zoya was breathing heavily as she paced and pulled at her hair. Dilshad had to suppress a grin at her frustration of his acceptance.

"And you know what?" Zoya asked, rounding on Dilshad, who sobered immediately.

"I find his relationship with his "best friend" creepy. Aapi's best friend is a guy too, but they don't cuddle each other at every opportunity, as Mr. Khan and Tanu seem to! Countless times I've found them in embraces that surpass the border of friendship and I" Zoya trailed off, struck with the thought that maybe she had gone too far. But Dilshad seemed unnerved.

"That's something that worries me too, Zoya," Dilshad said after a few minutes of silence.

"Pardon?" Zoya asked, convinced she had heard wrong.

"I said, I have noticed the over-friendly embraces too," Dilshad answered. Zoya could've kissed the older woman but instead she settled on throwing her arms around her and breathing a sigh of relief.

"So will you help me uncover Tanveer's truth to Mr. Khan?" Zoya asked, pulling away. Dilshad saw the hope in her eyes but she had to shake her head.

"No. This is your fight. Do this alone and you will find yourself in the arms of my son. Take my help and he will think you have succeeded in blinding me to the truth," Dilshad said. Now that she had explained, Zoya understood Dilshad quite well. The Khan matriarch was right. Mr. Khan would end up blaming her for using his beloved Ammi against him.

"Now, I have to go and make preparations for dinner so make sure whatever you're doing is finished in half an hour, but, if you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask," Dilshad said patting her cheek and departing. Zoya whirled around and was about to walk away when she spotted something attached to the door hinge. Something that she, along with everyone else, had missed entirely. Zoya moved forward and pulled the piece of cloth off of the hinge and stared at it. There was no mistaking the Zardosi work on the fabric and Zoya didn't need to guess to whom it belonged to.

"I KNEW IT!" She screamed jumping five feet into the air and sprinting off to her room.

*****

In her room, Zoya did her own modified version of a victory dance, which included jumping on the bed playing an air guitar and screaming on the top of her lungs.

"Ms. Farooqui, wha-."

"ARGHHH!!!" Zoya flailed her arms as she toppled off of her bed. She shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the impact onto the cold marble stone. But it didn't come. Instead, she found her arms wrapped around a bewildered Mr. Khan's neck as he held onto her tightly. She stared up at him, too stunned to say anything.

"What were you doing?" He asked, after he recovered from his initial shock at seeing her so carefree and content. Asad had to admit it, he had never seen her smile so much and when he had caught her sight, he was struck with how innocent she actually was. She was clueless to everything that happened around her. Almost as if she had lost herself in her own little world, neither stopping nor caring about what was going on in her surroundings.

Zoya, meanwhile, was thinking of a logical excuse. It was too early for her to shove the piece in his face and say "Aha! I told you so!" mainly because she knew he would end up reprimanding her for her foolishness, and not to mention she hadn't entirely forgiven him from his earlier stunt.

"I was just cele-WHY ARE YOU HOLDING ME?" She demanded shrilly. Asad stumbled and his hands went limp by his side resulting in Zoya falling to the floor in a heap. Asad's eyes went wide as he stared down at her.

"What?" He asked. Zoya scrambled to her feet and glared at him, her hands on her hips. Asad was struck with the stunning resemblance to his Ammi as Zoya stood in that stance, the same one his mother used to scold him.

"You, Mr. Khan, are still recovering from an injury and you should in no condition whatsoever be holding me like that," she said to him. Asad crossed his arms in front of his chest. Zoya saw both amusement and curiosity flicker in his eyes.

"Oh no you don't! You get back to bed and if I see you out of bed again then I will personally make sure that you never get out of it," Zoya said sternly, mimicking his stance.

"If I am correct to believe Ms. Farooqui, you were the one that was making such a commotion that I had to leave my room and make you shut up," he said, his voice laced with amusement, "which reminds me to my question, what were you doing?"

Zoya spluttered and turned her back on him, flipper her raven hair ostentatiously over her shoulder.

"You have lost the right to ask, Mr. Khan. If I am correct to believe, you were the one that asked me to leave," Zoya said, her nose high in the air. Is she hadn't turned her back on him, she would've seen the colour drain from his face.

"Just keep it down," he said and Zoya heard the bang of the door being shut. She spun around to face the spot that he had just occupied. Anger tore through her; he didn't care what she thought. He was still adamant that she left New York. Huffing, she fingered the fabric in her hands; the intricate design on the cloth had Zoya's mind reeling. She slipped out of the room and headed towards her prey.

*****

Zoya pushed Najma out of the way, earning a glare from her, and sat firmly in the seat next to Tanveer. Dilshad looked at her quizzically but made no comment as dinner was served. Zoya ate less and focussed and Tanveer. Her eyes roaming down her clothes but she couldn't find any tear or anything.

"Zoya, why are you looking at me like that?" Tanveer asked uncomfortably. Zoya snapped her attention back to her dinner.

"Nothing," she said. They wrapped up dinner and stood up to leave.

Zoya was about to go to her room when she saw it. There was a nice long tear on Tanveer's dupatta. Giddy with excitement, Zoya produced the fabric she had collected from her pocket and looked between the two. She snuck up behind Tanveer as she washed the plates and almost did another victory dance as she realised that the piece fit perfectly.

"Zoya?" Tanveer asked, turning around to find the other woman standing way too close for comfort. Zoya smiled sweetly at her as a thought struck her mind.

"You are a wonderful person, do you know that?" Zoya asked. Tanveer raised an eyebrow at her.

"Er, thank you?"

"And so so beautiful," Zoya added. It took everything in her to not burst out laughing at the horrified look on Tanveer's face.

"So beautiful," Zoya whispered leaning forward. Tanveer dashed away from her and Zoya couldn't hold back her laughter anymore, laughing for a straight ten minutes before she pranced away to her room, rejoicing and basking in the glory of her success.

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