Chapter 35
Zoya stood there with a determination. There were no sounds coming out from the room. She tried to concentrate on it but nothing. She sat against the door frame, she was hoping he would open the door and she could talk with him but nothing happened. She was trying to connect the dots about the happenings of last four days. All were okay and going smoothly in her perfect life then what went wrong suddenly? Her life became jeopadized again. She was again afraid, this time not for her but for her Mr. Khan.When sleep consumed her with her thoughts she did not know.
Asad could not sleep; he was sitting on the floor, trying to get a hold on him. He tolerated that man each and every time because not only for Dilshad but also deep in his heart he loves him. He longed for him for last 18 years. But now it is beyond to forgive him. That man did not even ashamed of his activity. He wanted to record his conversation with Rashid but could not do it as he forgot his cell phone in Zoya's cabin. He was going to crazy thinking of that man. At the same time he was afraid of loosing Zoya. He now understood how far Rashid could go to harm Zoya. Rashid had said him to keep distance from Zoya. So he decided to avoid her only for her safety. With lots of thoughts, he was exhausted. Sleep overtook him within few minutes.
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Zoya woke up with a jerk on her shoulder; she tried to adjust her vision with light of the day. Dilshad looked up at her worriedly. Zoya turned her head to look around for Asad.
"Asad went to office; he left a note on the living room. Why you are here beta?" Dilshad asked furrowing her eyebrows to Zoya.
"Oh!..Umm..Ammi I will explain you everything, first I need to reach office early. We have a meeting today." Zoya left a baffled Dilshad hastily.
Zoya went to office without taking the breakfast. She had no meetings now. She lied to Dilshad. Actually she got hurt when she realized Asad had seen her on that position but did not try to wake her up. He had no concern for her. What happened to him all of a sudden? Her resolve from last night broke. She needed an explanation. Why he was doing all to her? Without thinking she barged into his cabin and shouted
"Mr. Asad Ahmed Khan, what are you think of yourself? Why are you avoiding me?" with all her hustle-bustle she did not realize that Asad was in a meeting with his clients. They all were looked up at her with shocked and wide eyes. She put her hand over her mouth and ran from there after earning a glare from Asad.
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Asad was angry would be understatement when Zoya barged into his cabin without permission. He was trying to avoid her from last four days with all his might but this girl never gave up a chance to to irritate him. She was determined to be with him all the time. His frustration turn into anger and when his meeting ended he marched into her cabin. He wanted to teach her a lesson about her limits. She was his wife that's okay but he did not say to control his life according to her. He found her in canteen and could not hold his anger. She was laughing on something and she placed the ketch-up bottle with a force with which a portion of ketch-up flung around and landed on Asad who just reach there. Asad was furious and grabbed her by her forearms. Zoya yelped loudly. She tried to grab a tissue to remove the sauce from his jacket but Asad roared,
"Enough!" Zoya was startled seeing his angry face. She could not register why Asad was so angry.
"Woh, Mr. Khan I did not know that you were behind me." Zoya could understand he was shaking with rage.
Asad saw white-hot rage and his gaze snapped up to meet hers. Zoya looked at him pleadingly and moved towards him, but he took a step back.
"Don't touch me!" He snapped at her.
"Mr. Khan! Believe me! I didn't do it intentionally!" Zoya said.
"Zoya! Enough is enough!" Asad roared. Zoya silenced immediately but she looked at him, pleading him to believe her. But the damage was done.
"I will endure the presence of a nuisance in the house, but not in my office anymore" Asad said coldly.
"What do you mean by that?" Zoya was trying to contol her tears.
"I want you to go out from my office now.What you did in the meeting, you even know it?"
"Please, Mr. Khan, I...I...am sorry." Zoya cried.
"You want me to give you another chance to destroy my business?" Asad screamed. "Are you trying to ruin me?"
"Of course not, Mr. Khan." Zoya shakes like a leaf caught in a windstorm. Her sobs are so heavy that she began to hiccup. "I can fix this."
"You can't fix this. All you do is cause problems, not fix them!" Asad is so angry his words tumble over each other. "Why do I let you do this? You always end up ruining what you're trying to fix.
Zoya could not believe her ears, those words were coming from. He did not care for her anymore else how he could behave like this infront of his staffs. She felt humiliated. Zoya sniffed and blinked back fresh tears but it was a losing battle.
"I didn't do anything wrong. If you want to leave me from your office then I will go but not before completing my works which were pending."Angry tears were flushing on her cheeks. She could not take it anymore and left the place running from there.
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Zoya sat down at her desk and frowned at her blank computer screen. She went through her files but she could not concentrate. Finally she took a deep breath and opened the top file folder from her stack. She needed to clear her work by this evening. Her head and heart ensued in a battle.
"You can not leave him Zoya, he needs you" her heart intervene.
"You didn't do anything wrong. He did but still he blamed you."Her head said.
"But you said you would be with him forever and beyond." Her heart protested.
"He didn't give you a chance. It wasn't even your fault but you tried to fix it. He didn't listen.
He just screamed at you and made you look like an idiot in front of his whole staff. Now you can never face them again." her head chided.
"Of course you can. You did nothing wrong. They all saw, Zoya. They know he was at fault and even more, they know he wasn't man enough to accept blame for his own mistake. He's the one who looks like an idiot. If anybody's lost face, it's him." Her heart tried to pacify her.
"You wanted to do something nice for him but he doesn't appreciate it. He doesn't appreciate you. You are nothing but musibat to him." her head concluded. She sighed loudly. Yes she was a musibat. Now she will go away from him. She had no option. He had given her no choice.
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Asad did not realize what he did in his anger. When Zoya went from canteen, he also locked him up in his cabin and engrossed into works. He was very busy with the design of the orphanage. He did not observe the time. Prasad came into his office and inform him that he was leaving. Asad looked up from his work and was surprised that there was already 7 pm. He nodded to Prasad and Prasad left his cabin. Asad took his jacket when he remembered about the incident with Zoya and then realization dawned upon him.
"Ya Allah! What have I said to her?" He checked her cabin, she was obviously not there.
"Maybe she is in home" He muttered and banged with Prasad. He was leaving after locking his cabin.
"Prasad, when did Zoya left office?" He asked with a whisper, ashamed of his behavior.
"Ummm...sir, she left sometimes ago. She handed all her pending works and..and..." Prasad stammered.
Asad felt his blood run cold as he stared at Prasad urging silently to complete his sentences."
"She asked the driver to bring her luggage from home and left from here" Prasad completed with a whisper.
"What? She left? Why did not you tell me before?" Asad shouted on him, catching up by his collars.
"Madam said not to disturb you" Prasad choked out.
"She does not pay you. I am paying you. You get it. Now tell me where she has gone" Asad roared again.
"I...I don't know...When she asked for a taxi, I listened to ask her about bus stand." Prasad said to him. Asad ran from his office and started his SUV for the nearest bus stand. He clasped the steering wheel tightly as if his life dependent on it. How could she leave him He had to stop her, His world was crushing.
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Zoya was sitting on the bench of the park. She followed her head till now but now she was considering her heart as well. She tried to get logic from Asad's behavior. It was not easy for her to leave him just like that. She thought for sometimes. Just because of he yelled at her did not mean that he did not love her, did not care for her. She knew very well he was disturbed for some reason. Maybe that's why he brought out his frustrations over her. How can she leave him in this vulnerable position? Her resolution was again back to her; she wiped her tears and stood up. She was not going to leave him. If he wanted that, that time also she was not going to do this.
She dragged her luggage and came out of the park. She was waiting for a taxi. When three people came near her and uttered some bad vibes.she tried to ignore them. But they were encouraged by her silence. They came near her and tried to touch her, hold her hand but someone held his hand. Zoya was surprised to see Asad there but her surprise turned into fear when she saw the raw rage in his eyes.
"No one I mean no one could touch her till I am alive. Do you get that?" Asad said in a cold composed voice.
"Who are you? We are first here. Go try for another one" They said in unison.
"I am her husband and I swear you will not going to home tonight. I will send you each and everyone to the upper for using those bad vibes against her." Asad said with gritted tone. He took a step toward them. They were frightened to see his enraged version. They mumbled "sorry" to Zoya and backing off. But Asad was in no mood to listen their pleading. He was taking slow steps.
"Stop, Mr. Khan" Zoya intervened this time. She watched his beating skill before and knew how he would smash them one by one. But this time she is no mood to get him onto fight and placed himself in danger because of her. But Asad did not listen to her either. The goons were pleading by that time.
She looked to Asad who stopped a foot away from them, assessed them. Asad's glittering eyes betrayed his rage and loathing as he looked at them. Asad curled his hand into a fist, disgusted wiping away his normal affability, his feet planted wide and his frame locking in the age-old fighter's stance. The goons were too shocked to run away from there. They stood there rooted.
"Back off!" Zoya's hair swang wildly as she looked repeatedly between them. Asad even took a step closer.
"Who do you think you are?" Asad demanded of that man who wanted to touch Zoya, his face darkening. "How dare you come to intimidate my wife?" Asad grabbed him and gave a punch on his face. The other two had already left.
"When I beat someone down, I crush them so there aren't any pieces left, you tried to touch her." Asad was uncontrollable.
"No!" Zoya grabbed Asad and placed her hand on Asad's chest, using her slight body weight to try to hold him back. "Stop it! This isn't necessary."
"Don't worry about me, Zoya," Asad said. "Today I will teach him a lesson that he will forget to irritate any lonely woman in the street."
Zoya's mouth dropped open as she recalled Asad beating up those men to protect her at the bus station, in Indore. Her eyes are wild with desperation as she looked at that poor man who was almost faint, blood was gushing out from his mouth. Biting her lower lip, she did the only thing she could do to stop Asad. She wrapped her arms around his torso and slumped into him. For an instant, Asad was frozen still. Then he looked down at her, their gazes tangling together. It took Zoya a few seconds to find her voice.
"I'm not letting you go," she said, her tone low and fierce. "Don't even try to push me away."
Asad continued to stare at her, the glittering fury fading as his eyes darken and soften. He blinked as though dazed.
"No, Zoya. I'm not leaving him today." Asad was adamant. Asad blinked rapidly, as though coming out of a stupor.
He wrenched his attention away from Zoya to glare at that man who almost ran fron there, limping.
Asad sucked in his breath on a harsh gasp and went rigid. Zoya still clung to him like a limpet, keeping him from moving. Her eyes are wide and desperate as she looked at his face
For a moment, there were only the sound of Zoya's ragged gasps and Asad's harsh breaths as they stood locked together under the street lamp. Then, in slow motion, his hands came to hover at her back, almost but not quite touching her.
Finally Zoya relaxed and released him. She had to push his arms away to step back. He shuddered and his body sags, as though it was only her holding him upright.
"Where were you?" His voice was low and harsh, with only the slightest quiver to betray the depth of his emotions. "I practically tore all the bus stands.Where are you going? Why are you leaving me?"
Zoya looked away. "I came here."
"I figured that out," Asad growled. "I called you every five minutes. Why did you shut off your phone?"
Zoya crossed her arms and faced him. "I had enough of you yelling at me and accusing me when I did nothing!"
Her voice broke at the end and she turned away so he didn't see she was close to tears again. There was another moment of silence before Asad stepped so close to her that she could feel his body heat.
"I was wrong and I'm sorry for that." Asad's voice was rough and hoarse. "But what you did to punish me...I...you...I can't..." Asad stopped as his voice also broke.
"Punish you?" Zoya whirled to look at him.
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him. The enraged, defensive predator is gone. In his place is a man who looks exhausted, strained and deeply vulnerable. Asad's shoulders are slumped, his eyes unfocused and hazy, his jaw slack, and his body swayed as though only sheer willpower kept him standing.
"How could you do that?" His voice was hoarse. "How could you leave knowing what it does to me to not know where you are or if you're safe?" His voice cracked again and he looked down.
She blinked hard to push back her tears. "You didn't want me in your life anymore."
Another shudder passes through him. "I was angry and I didn't think. That was wrong of me but you did the same thing. In fact, you did worse. You left even though you knew I'd go insane when I couldn't find you." He looked up, his eyes dark and haunted. "How could you do that to me?"
"I didn't do anything to punish you." She shook her head. "I left because you made me look bad and feel horrible. You humiliated me in front of your staff when I didn't do anything wrong."
He nods. "I did worse to myself. None of them think any less of you. They were there. They saw what I did. They saw how I reacted when I couldn't find you. You would have stayed in the office or you would have gone home, where you were safe. You wouldn't have turned off your cell phone and taken a decade off of my life!" He said in a lower tone.
"Well, I'm here now. I apologized for the way I behaved. Let's go back to the home and put this behind us." He continued again.
"Why?" She asked to him.
"Why?" He looked confused. "Because my life would be in a mess, if you are not here to hold me up. I am nothing without you. You know that"
"That's your fault, not mine!" She retorted.
"I didn't say it is your fault. It is my fault. But that doesn't change the fact that I need you to live my life." He paused. "I need you. Please, Zoya, come back to me."
Zoya stared at him for a long, long time before she finally nodded. She walked past him, towards his car. Asad reached for her then stopped himself from touching her. He crossed his arms behind his back, hands tightly clenched. Still, he took large steps to catch up with her; dragging her luggage with him, walking so close that their shadows merged into one.
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A/N - That's all for today.😊 I want to thank all of you who encouraged me through their likes and comments. That really means a lot.😃
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