Chapter 27

"Oh no you don't!" Humaira said grasping Tanveer's arm and holding her still. Tanveer had slowly started to move towards her room and this had caught Humaira's gaze who stalked up to Tanveer and blocked her path. She knew the truth and they waited impatiently for Dilshad to say the name.

There was only one question that was running through Asad's head ever since it had been revealed that Zoya was innocent.

"If it wasn't Zoya, then who was it?" Asad voiced his thoughts, aggravated.

"It was Tanveer."

Asad froze for a few seconds before he turned around to look at his mother as if she'd gone mad.

"What?" He asked.

"This belongs to Tanveer. She's the one who wears these types of clothes," Dilshad said.

"No, that's not possible," Asad said shaking his head. There was no way his best friend would do this to him. No way at all.

"It's true, Mr. Khan," Zoya spoke up. Asad turned to look at her and in the process noted how Humaira was standing in front of Tanveer, blocking her pathway.

"No way," Asad said shaking his head. Zoya turned to look at Tanveer, who had gone ghostly pale and was watching everyone with fearful eyes.

"Game over," Zoya said before turning around and walking to Tanveer's room. Everyone followed her, well almost everyone since Humaira was dragging Tanveer.

Zoya entered the room and went to the cupboard and started rummaging through it all. She needed to find that suit that she had matched the piece with.

Clink!

Zoya looked down and her eyes went wide as she stared at what had fallen to the ground. She bent down slowly to retrieve it before turning around.

Najma gasped when she saw the golden "New York City" bracelet in Zoya's hands. It was exactly the same as Zoya's but without the rhinestones. Asad just stared at it with no expression and Zoya handed it to Ayaan before turning back around. At last, hitting the jackpot, she pulled out the suit and showed it to everyone. There, in the dupatta, was the long tear. Zoya picked up the piece and held it in place.

"Perfect fit," Asad whispered. Three weeks ago he had said the same thing but it was Zoya's honour that was at stake, but today. Asad whirled around to face the woman who was cowering in the back.

"You," he whispered menacingly.

"Asad," Dilshad started. But he wouldn't hear any of it, Asad stomped forward and grabbed Tanveer's arm.

"This was all your doing," Asad growled low in his throat as he dragged her down to the hall again.

"Jammy," Tanveer started, hoping to find an excuse.

"Don't you dare call me that! How could you do this to me? I considered you a friend," Asad said to her turning her around roughly to face him.

"Aha, so the vamp of the show is revealed," Ayaan said coolly, "and what did you tell me? You were a woman who had a sense of dignity?"

"There's no such thing as dignity in her dictionary, Ayaan Bhaijaan," Najma said, glaring at Tanveer with hatred.

"I considered you a daughter and this is what I get in return?" Dilshad said shaking her head.

"Why did you do it, Tanveer? Why?" Asad hissed.

Tanveer had had enough; she pulled her arm away from Asad's grip and turned to all of them.

"FINE! I did it! I planned this whole thing!" She screamed.

"Why, you ask. Because I hate her!" Tanveer yelled pointing at Zoya. Having confronted her so many times, Zoya was unfazed by this fact.

"I hate her for stealing you away from me! I hate her because she stole my dream from me!" Tanveer continued.

"Hold on a minute, are you trying to say that you loved Bhaijaan?" Ayaan asked, he looked like he was about to throw up and he looked sympathetically at his brother.

"I warned you not to work out so much, see what type of people you attract," Ayaan said, his face turning slightly green. Humaira scoffed and covered it up with a cough while Dilshad and Najma hid their smiles behind their hands. Although the comment made several people smile, the man in question seemed unaffected as did his lover. In fact, it looked like they hadn't heard anything at all.

"You never loved me, you loved my wealth," Asad said to her darkly. Tanveer turned to him and smirked.

"Bingo! How could anyone ever love you? What's so special abou-."

SMACK!

That was the second time in the same day that Tanveer had gotten slapped by none other than Zoya herself.

"Say another word about him and I will skin you to the bones," Zoya hissed threateningly.

"Zoya 1, Tanveer 0," Ayaan whispered to Humaira.

"Not 1, 2! She slapped her earlier too," Dilshad supplied. The young couple looked at her horrified at her input and Dilshad just smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"You say all these things, Zoya, bu-."

SMACK!

Getting slapped once, is considered okay, twice, meh, but three times? It seems a bit brutal. But when it came to Tanveer and her deeds, just slapping her didn't suffice. But what else could Asad do? His anger was only heightening and he could hardly care less for his ex-best friend as he raised his hand on her.

"Don't you ever take Zoya's name with that godforsaken tongue of yours," Asad hissed at her. Any person who had any sense of self-respect would've realised that after getting slapped three times, it was better to accept defeat. But this was Tanveer, how could she accept defeat when Zoya stood next to her unarmed and unaware?

"This is all your fault!" Tanveer screeched before pulling out a pocketknife that she always kept with her and holding it against Zoya's neck.

"No!" Najma, Humaira and Dilshad yelled.

"Not another step or otherwise I will cut her throat," Tanveer hissed looking at all of them in turn.

"You wouldn't dare," Zoya hissed at Tanveer, but let out a startled gasp when she felt the steel blade press into the skin of her neck.

"Everything was going fine! I would've been your wife by now had she not interfered! I would've been the sole owner of this property!" Tanveer yelled at them. Zoya struggled to release herself but Tanveer's grip on her tightened further.

"If it weren't for you, I would've been Mrs. Asad Ahmed Khan and this entire business empire would've been mine, mine!" Tanveer hissed at Zoya. Zoya let out a yelp when the steel of the blade pierced her skin.

"Let her go, Tanveer! She's ten times the woman you could ever be," Asad growled, his handsome face was dark and though he was far way from him, Ayaan couldn't help but recoil at the sudden anger that he saw on his brother's face. It was an expression that he had never seen on Asad's face.

"Asad, you don't understand do you? I would've been the queen of Dilshad Constructions! All the money I would've had!" Tanveer cackled. Asad took a step towards her and Tanveer dragged Zoya back.

"I'm warning you Asad, stay back or I'll slit her throat," Tanveer said, pressing the blade harder against Zoya's neck to prove her point. But Asad didn't stop.

Even in her helpless state, Zoya couldn't help but feel secure. She knew that he would save her, she was his after all, and whatever belonged to him was rightfully returned to him untouched. He always made sure of that.

Zoya mentally smacked herself when she felt a rush of desire at seeing him look positively sinful and infuriated. This is not the time! Zoya scolded herself. But her train of thought was broken when she felt the blade slice her skin just a bit more. No later than a yelp had escaped her lips, Zoya found herself being tugged and pushed into Ayaan's arms.

"BHAIJAAN!" Ayaan, Najma, and Humaira yelled simultaneously while Dilshad's face drained of all colour. Zoya whipped around and she felt her heart stop beating.