It hurt everywhere...
He felt as if he had been stabbed...once...twice...no...He felt as if he had lost the count!
It was too much...too much to bear...
And here he had believed that the horrible experiences of his past had made him stronger... made him capable of taking any kind of pain now.
He had known the heartache of betrayal...and loss... It had been very difficult for him to upraise himself... It was really hard for him to emerge out of the tempest that his wife's betrayal and then her death had caused...
He had finally started seeing the light at the end of his long, dark tunnel in the form of that one woman with whom he had the strangest relationship in the world. She was the ex.wife of that same man with whom his own wife had cheated on him! And yet, he found the inner beauty in that innocent angel and fell hopelessly in love with her... She had become his best friend and confidante... They had so much in common that he felt that they both were the two sides of a single coin. He finally found his solace in her... He had started hoping of burying the past and beginning the future with Zoya now...
He didn't know that he had been hoping too much... His trials were still not over!
Just a little while ago, Zoya had come to the Hooda Mansion...and without ever meeting his eyes or saying much, just handed him the invitation card of her Nikkah with a certain man that her father had chosen for her...
Aditya was shocked... And when he tried to ask whether she was happy with the decision of her parents, she had simply said,
"Hum ne apne dil ki ker ke dekh li hai aur buht buri terha se dhoka khaaya hai. Tabb hum ne apne Abbu ki baat nahi maani thy. Abh humien apni ghalti ka azaala (compensation) ada kerna hoga... "
And she had left... without ever looking at his face or hearing the shattering sound of his heart that had broken into millions of pieces...
He could not believe that she had surrendered so easily in front of her dad when she had told him that she was not ready for any kind of relationship. He just could not believe that His Zoya was leaving him forever... the same woman who had taken desperate promises from him to stay with her...that woman was now going... and it was her own decision! Or so it seemed...
Aditya was devastated... No... he felt as if he was burning in the fire of hell!
------------
She looked at the delicate mehendi design that the expert henna designer had just put o her hands. It was a very intricate pattern...and the henna designer was proudly blabbering about how difficult it was going to be for her husband to find the first letter of his name...
Zoya was listening to her chatter absent mindedly... she was not interested in her design...or even in looking for that one small letter on her hands herself.
It didn't matter anyway... nothing mattered now... Her fate had been sealed... and she herself allowed it to happen.
Few days ago, while looking for a document in one of her drawers, she had come across a sweet love letter... She had known how hard it was for Aditya to pen down his feelings...and yet, he had written a beautiful letter for her. He had confessed his love for her in that letter...And Zoya believed every word of it without any doubt.
And that was when she took the decision to surrender in front of her father's pressure to remarry. She had avoided Aditya's calls afterwards... and just met him to give the invitation to her wedding. She could not dare to look into his eyes...because she knew she would never be able to see the raw pain in them...
She was lost in her thoughts when Noor barged in the room. The henna designer was done with her work, and as soon as she left the room, Noor's angry tirade began.
"Appi humien yaqeen nahi aarha ke aap yeh sab ker rahy hain! Khuda ke liye appi, matt kerien yeh zulm. Kia aap ko uss admi ki itni sib hi parwah nahi hai jo aap uski muhabbat ko thukra ker, usay kuch kehne ka moqa diye beghair yun Arshad se shadi ker rahy hain?"
When Zoya remained quiet, Noor, who apparently had had enough of this nonsense, literally shook her shoulders and shrieked angrily,
"Appi, kia aap ke dil mien Aditya ke liye kabhi koi feelings thy hi nahi? Aap aisa kaise ker sakty hain appi? Unka letter padhne ke baad bhi aap aisa kaise ker sakty hain unke sath...aur kyun appi? Woh aap ke best friend haina... kia unki itni bhi value nahi hai ke aap un se baat kerien... unki baat sunien?"
Zoya closed her eyes tiredly... she still didn't say anything... and Noor lost it completely. She dropped her hands from her shoulders with a jerk, as if she was disgusted with the touch... and spat angrily,
"Appi... aankhien bannd ker ke aap ager yeh samajhty hain ke sacchai badal jayegy, tou yeh aap ki bhool hai. Humne aap ki aankhon mien sirf aik insan ki muhabbat dekhy hai...aur woh sirf aur sirf Aditya hain...Hum nahi jaante ke aap unke aur apne sath itna ghalat kyun ker rahy hain...mager hum bass itna jaante hain ke aisa ker ke aap apne sath sath dou zindagiyan tabah ker rahy hain... Aik Aditya ki...aur doosri Arshad ki."
She was about to storm out of the room in a huff, when she heard her voice... her extremely tired, resigned voice...that made Noor forget about her own frustration and spin towards her sister.
"Loag tou apni jaan de ker azaalay ada kerte hain... Mien tou apne dil per khel gayee hun... Yeh sach hai ke mujhe Aditya se muhabbat hai... aaj se nahi...kal se nahi...mujhe yaad hi nahi ke mujhe Aditya se kab muhabbat hui... Unke beghair jeene ka soch ker hi meri jaan nikalne lagty thy..."
Then she slowly opened her eyes and looked at Noor, and continued,
"Aap jaanaa chahty haina ke hum Arshad se shadi kyun ker rahay hain?"
Noor saw the pain in her eyes...she could only manage to nod her head...
Zoya sighed and said, "Hum ne aik baar pehle bhi pyar kia tha... Uss waqt hum ne sirf apne dil ki suni thy... aur dekhien, uss pyar ne humara kia anjam kia!" She shook her head slightly as if to shrug off the painful memories and said,
"Hum uss waqt abbu ke faislon ke khilaaf gae thay... Dekhien...humien kitni badi saza mili unke khilaaf Janay ki. Humara yaqeen, bharosa, muhabbat per se aitebaar...sab uth gaya tha. Abh humien Aditya se muhabbat hai... aur hum jantay hain ke Aditya Yash jaise nahi hain. Mager hum mien dobara abbu ke khilaaf Janay ki himmat nahi hai. Jo ghalti hum apne maazi mien ker bethe hain, abh Abbu hum se uska azaala chahte hain... aur humare pas unko manaa kerne ki abh koi wajeh nahi rahy...kyunki hum jantay hain ke Aditya se shadi kerna sirf humare khaandan ke liye hi nahi, balke unke khaandan ke liye bhi na-manzoor (un-acceptable) hoga. Yash aur Pooja hamesha humare darmiyaan rahien ge... aur yeh samaaj humien kabhi khush nahi rehne dega... "
She paused for a bit and heaved a resigned breath. She looked at her hands where the lines of her fate were now marred with the henna in Arshad's name... A tear slipped from her eye as she said quietly,
" Hum ne Arshad se shadi ka faisla is liye kia kyun ke jab tak hum samnay rahien ge, Aditya humare peeche aatay rahien ge... humien mananay ki koshish kerte rahien ge. Unko lagta hai ke hum kuch nahi jaantay unki feelings ke baaray mien... aur hum aise hi rehne dena chahte hain... kyunki ager woh hum se direct baat ker dete tou hum unke samnay na koi jhoot bol sakte thay aur naa hi unko manaa ker sakte thay. Isi liye bass hum ne yeh jaldi Nikkah ka faisla ker lia... Jitni jaldi yeh qissa khatam ho, utni hi Aditya ko sambhalne mien mushkil kamm hogy."
Noor could see how much it was hurting Zoya too... Her own eyes welled with tears as she went to sit beside her appi, and said brokenly,
"Aur appi aap? Aap kaise sambhalien gy khud ko? Aur apne rishtay ko jo Arshad ke sath juddnay jaa raha hai?"
Zoya shook her head and whispered,
"Pata nahi Noor... hum sirf Allah se yeh dua ker rahay hain ke Woh Aditya ka khayal rakhien... Unko toot ker bikharne na dein... Aur bass... Aditya sahi Salamat rahien ge tou humien bhi iss zindagy se phir aur kuch nahi chahiye hoga."
Noor engulfed her appi in a bear hug and broke down into bitter sobs. Both the sisters were mourning the death of a love that died before it even got the chance to blossom... and there was no one to be blamed for it too!
Through Arjun, they both got to know that Aditya was leaving for Paris on the day of her Nikkah. Zoya understood what he was doing. He could not remain in the same place to see her going away...but this time, he was not running away without telling anyone. He had told Arjun and Arjun, understanding his bother's plight, had agreed to let him go too.
-----------------
All the guests and groom's family had come. The Qazi (magistrate) also joined them and soon the Nikkah proceedings began. The Qazi started giving the Khutbah of Nikkah (Sermon of Nikkah) and the crowd silenced in respect. Zoya's gaze fell on her watch... as she thought about Aditya's flight that must have departed an hour ago. She was mentally calculating the time of its arrival in Paris when the Qazi finished the Khutbah and requested everyone to raise their hands in prayer, for the marriage to be blissful and full of love. Zoya also raised her hands in prayer...but instead of listening to the Qazi, all she could pray was for Aditya's flight to land safely... for Aditya's wellbeing... and his happiness... She was busy in her own prayers when Noor poked her. Zoya opened her eyes and saw a completely stricken Noor, with panic written all over her face, as she whispered in her ears,
"Appi, Paris Janay wali flight ko koi haadsa (accident) hogya hai. Humien abhi Arjun ka message aaya tha.. Woh loag airport jaa rahay hain..."
Arshad, Wasim and everyone else heard an anguished cry from the other side of the partition, where Zoya was made to sit. The Qazi stopped the prayer as Wasim and Arshad rushed towards the other side.
What they saw made them stop in their tracks...
Noor and Roshana were trying to control Zoya... who seemed to have lost all control on her sanity... and was going wild while sobbing one name,
"Aditya... Aditya..."
Feeling a surge of rage at this spectacle, Wasim stormed towards her when Roshana looked up at him and shook her head. Her own face was streaked with tears as she whispered,
" Abhi nahi Wasim...Aditya's plane crashed!"
And that was the last thing that Zoya heard. Sudden blackness engulfed her and before losing her consciousness, the last word she said was,
"Aditya..."
---------------------
"Zoya... beta aankhien kholo..." For some time, she had been dwindling between consciousness and oblivion. This time when her mind surfaced out of the darkness, she heard faint voices near her. One of those voices she recognized. It was Roshana's...and she was urging her to open her eyes and respond to her. There were other voices in the room too... but Zoya didn't feel like even try to recognize any of those voices.
She felt a dead weight on herself... she was unable to move...and her eye lids felt really heavy too. It was very difficult for her to respond to her mother... Besides she felt...completely numb.
"Uff...itna shor kyun hai..." she thought...
Unconscious state was better for her, anyway. At least in that condition, she didn't have to even think about listening to her mother and trying to comply to her wishes! She willed herself to dwindle back into the oblivion... and she had just started feeling like floating in total darkness, when she heard a voice...
"Zoya yar...please aankhien kholo..."
"Aditya!" she thought to herself. "Nahi... yeh humara koi khwab hai shayad..." she tried to justify... but his voice felt so real...and so near her...
An ache started to settle in her heart, as her mind made her realize that the voice was just a figment of her imagination...because the owner of that voice was not alive anymore.
The memory wrenched a sob from her... and her heart started bleeding again as it chanted and mourned one name... Aditya...Aditya...
"Jaan...please aankhien kholo... Mien yahin hun..."
This time, the voice felt more real... and more desperate. She felt like frowning... "How could it be...? Aisa kaise ho sakta hai?" She thought...
"Oh kahin hum marr tou nahi gaye?" another crazy idea occurred... "Haan aisa hi hai shayad... tabhi humien Aditya ki awaz aarhy hai..." she decided to settle on the fact that she had probably died... She was about to feel some what elated on that fact when she felt as if someone was squeezing her hand and saying something. She decided to give that person one chance and tried to pay attention towards that person.
"Zoya yar...mien yahin hun.. tumko chhod ker kahin nahi gaya. Tum kyun jaa rahy ho? Please aankhien kholo...meri khaatir..."
This time she was sure that it was all real.
And she could feel how broken that person had sounded.
And she was damn sure that it was Aditya Hooda's voice...
She could never mistake his touch...and he was tugging at her hand at that very instance!
"Hmmm... Interesting... Tou ager yeh sach hai tou jo hum soch rahay hain, woh jhoot hai shayad...." She thought...
Deciding to test herself, she tried to open her eyes.
This time it didn't feel like a very tedious job. After a little effort, she was finally able to pull apart her eyelids...
And the face that was hovering over her was real...
And it was Aditya's for sure!
She squinted her eyes due to the sudden exposure to the bright light, as she tried to look at his face clearly. He had left her hand and was now cupping the sides of her temple to block away the light a bit. As Zoya's eyes adjusted, she tried to touch his face... just to make sure!
But she was only able to lift one finger. Apparently, her body was still under a dead weight. And that's when a tear dropped on her face... and as she looked for the source, she found that it was Aditya's.
"Hmm... hum chhoo nahi sakay lekin yeh aansoo tou Aditya ka hi hai... Iska matlab yeh hua ke hum bhi zinda hain...aur Aditya bhi!" She finally came to an obvious conclusion.
The conclusion brought so much joy to her heart that she instantly fell at peace. A small smile crept up her parched lips as her eye lids started drooping shut.
She had slipped back into the oblivion.
"Adityaa.." She woke up with a start. A sudden panic washed over her as she recalled seeing Aditya's beloved face and hearing his voice... She was not sure if she had dreamt it all...and feeling frantic, she looked around.
The bright sunlight was spilling inside the room through the window. By the looks of it, she concluded that she was in a hospital room, with white walls, some abstract wall hangings and a distinctive chemical smell in the environment. She moved her head towards her left, and there he was... on the chair right beside her bed. He had laid his head beside her left hand and had fallen asleep.
Having him right next to her brought profound relief, and with a smile on her lips, she brought her hand to settle on his head...and buried her fingers in his beautiful, thick hair.
The action woke him up and as he lifted his head, his eyes met hers...
She could see relief in his eyes... and then she saw a sudden flash of irritation in those glorious eyes as he frowned and said,
"Tum ehmaq ho kia? Gadhi ho? Pata bhi hai mien kitna darr gaya tha. Jaan nikaal dy thy tumne meri."
Zoya suddenly felt like giggling... "Ehmeq, yeh tou humari line haina?" She rasped.
Hearing the quality of her voice, Aditya asked,
"Pani chahiye,Zoya? Gala tou nahi sookh raha?"
Zoya shook her head in negative and gestured him to come near her. As he leaned, she rose her fingers to his face...caressed his cheek and said,
"Kia hua? Beard rakhne ka iraada hai kia aapka?"
Aditya smiled this time as he caught her hand...and then brought his face to her face, rubbed his rough, unkempt stubble on her delicate cheek and whispered,
"Sab tumhara qasur hai...abh bhugto. Shave kerne ka time hi nahi mila...mien ghar hi nahi gaya... "
Zoya brought her other hand around his neck, keeping his face buried in the crook of her neck, and replied,
"Humien farq nahi padta... aap humien har terha acchay lagte hain Aditya... Mager aap ghar kyun nahi gaye?"
He lifted his head a bit and replied,
" Zoya tumko chhod ker jana mere bass mien hi nahi tha... "
And then , dipping his head back in the crook of her neck, he begged,
"Yar please Zoya aise na daraana kabhi dobara."
Unable to recall everything that had happened, she asked,
"Kia hua tha Aditya? Hum yahan kaise pohanche?"
"Tumko last kia baat yaad hai Zoya?" He asked her cautiously
She thought for a while and then said slowly,
"Koi function ho raha tha shayad... Hum aapke liye dua ker rahay thay..." And then she remembered something as she gasped,
"Aditya...hum aapki salamti ke liye dua ker rahay thay jab humien pata chala tha ke aapki flight ke sath kuch hogya tha... aur phir humien yaad nahi..."
Aditya sighed, raised his head again, held her hand and brought it to his lips. Placing a soft kiss on her palm, he said,
"Zoya, mien woh flight board ker hi nahi paaya tha. Mera dil buht udaas tha...aur airport ke raastay mien aik dargah dikhy tou mien ruk gaya. Mien uss Dargah mien aik baar pehle bhi gaya tha...aur tabb kisi ka mannat ka dhaaga mere pas uddta hua aaya tha aur miene usko bandha tha aur dua ki thy ke jiski yeh mannat hai, who zarur poori hojaye. Ab ki baar mien bass especially tumare liye dua kerne k liye gaya tha... aur mannat maangne ke tum hamesha khush raho... aur jis ko tum chaaho, who tumhien zarur milay."
He stopped for a bit as he saw tears rolling down her cheeks. He wiped them softly with his fingers, and continued,
"Mien tumhien sochte sochte wahin zameen per beth gaya tha aur pata nahi kaise meri aankh lag gayee. Jab kafi deir baad mera phone bajna shuru hua tou meri aankh khuli. Arjun, Pa aur Noor ki calls per calls aarhy thyn... Phir mujhe pata chala ke jis flight per mien Janay walay tha, who crash ker gayee... Jab Arjun aur Pa airport pohanche tou inko pata chala ke boarded passengers mien tou mien tha hi nahi. Aur naa hi mien check in hua tha. Lekin tabb tak tum ko crash ki khabar pohanch gayee thy aur tumara nervous breakdown ho chuka tha."
Zoya heaved a sigh of relief as she ruffled his hair from his temple and touched his face lovingly. She now remembered that it was her Nikkah function that was going on when, instead of praying for her own life and happiness, she had been praying for Aditya's life and his happiness. She thought for a bit and then exclaimed,
"Aditya, jis waqt aap humari khushion ke liye mannat maang rahay thay na...uss waqt hum aapki zindagy ki salamati aur aapki khushion ki dua maang rahay thay. Humien abh yaad aagya hai. Humare Nikkah ka function tha woh jis mien hum sirf aur sirf aapko hi yaad ker rahay thay."
Aditya scrunched his nose and retorted in his typical-Aditya-sarcastic-style,
"Ager mujh se hi Nikkah ker rahy hoty tou yeh sab hota hi nahi! Sari ghalti tumari hai!"
On hearing this, she felt sad. Indeed... it was all her fault... and then she recalled why she had taken that decision. She dropped her hand from his face and looked away...and then Aditya heard her whisper,
"Abbu..." she sighed and then said in a clearer voice,
"Abbu kahan hai Aditya? Aur Arshad... unse tou humara Nikkah hone wala hai... Humien unse maafi maangni chahiye. Aur abbu se bhi. Humari wajeh se aik baar phir unki naak neechi hogai."
Aditya could not believe his ears! This woman had loved him madly... and the proof of her love was the way she had collapsed on hearing the news of his supposed death! It was clear that she was unable to live without him...and yet,here she was...talking and thinking about her Nikkah with ARSHAD!
Before he could say anything, the door opened and Wasim and Roshana entered.
Seeing her awake and conscious, they both hurriedly came towards her.
"Zoya bete...aap uth gayeen? Kaisa mehsoos ker rahy hain abh aap?" Wasim exclaimed.
"Hum theek hain abbu... hum..."she faltered. Tears had started welling in her eyes again as she found her voice back and said,
"Humien maaf ker dijiye abbu... Humari wajeh se aapko itni taklif uthani padi... aur badnaami bhi..."
Wasim and Roshana hugged her as Wasim said,
"Beta, maafi humien maangni chahiye aap se... aur Aditya se bhi. Sari ghalti humari thy. Hum ne Aditya ko pehchana nahi...unko ghalat samjha...aur unse aapko duur kerne k liye aap per Arshad se shadi ke liye dabaao daala. Humien maaf ker dein bete... Hum ne aapki bepannah muhabbat ko nahi samjha... Aur samajh humien tabb aayi jab hum ne aapko behoshi mien bhi deewano ki terha Aditya ka hi naam lete hue suna."
Roshana's face was drenched with tears as she bent down to console her daughter...who was crying now.
Wasim said, "Zoya, jab Yash ki death hui thy, hum ne aap ko tabb bhi aise haal mien nahi dekha jaisa hum ne aap ko Aditya ke liye beqarar hote dekha hai. Yash se aap ne pyar kia tha... Aditya se aapko Muhabbat hai...aur Pyar aur Muhabbat mien utna hi farq hai jitna ke Yash aur Aditya mien hai!"
Wasim paused for that to sink in, and then continued,
"Humien Noor ne sab bataya ke kis terha aap ne apni muhabbat ki qurbani dene ki koshish keri... apni maazi (past) ki ghalti ka azaala ada kerne ke liye...sirf humara maan rakhne k liye. Beta humien maaf ker dou... Hum se waqai buht bhool hogai."
----------------------
The Siddiqui House is beautifully decorated and full of guests. The groom and his family have also arrived and there is a lot of hustle bustle with the ZoSh events Team running from one place to the other, taking care of everything.
"Akanksha, zara malum kero Qazi sahib kahan reh gaye?" Shawn asked Akankasha.
After making the call, Akanksha said,
"Shawn, Qazi sahib bass aanay hi walay hain. Tum zara yahan Nikkah ki tayyarian dekho, mien Mona aur Vinod se wahan Phairon ki tayyari ke baray mien pooch lety hun.I hope sab kuch acchay se hojaye..."
Shawn nodded in agreement. Mithilesh ji watched this exchange between the two crew members and smiled at their excitement. Everyone at ZoSh was extremely happy...because their beloved boss, Zoya Ma'am was getting married to their beloved ex.boss, Adi sir... FINALLY!
After nearly losing both their children, Siddiquis and Hoodas understood how deeply in love Adi and Zoya were with each other. They decided to put aside their differences and mend their relationship for the sake of their children. So it was decided that as soon as Zoya recovered, there would be no more wastage of time... instead, they would be married immediately.
And today is their wedding... Finally, two broken souls are going to become one... They are to take vows to cherish each other, love each other and protect each other always in front of the world... but the world doesnt know that they have been doing all this and more since the time they have met! What they mean for each other is something that can not be explained in many words...
So, only two words are enough to describe it all...
What they have between each other, for each other is nothing but "Bepannaah Pyar..."
Their story was written in the skies...and their match was made in heaven.
Today is the day where they are to be finally united in this world for all eternity!
The heavens are smiling at them and all the galaxies are witnessing the marriage of Aditya Hooda with Zoya Siddiqui... ❤️
Kumkum Bhagya
Anupamaa
