Hello!!!!! Since most of them chose the title to be Chained hearts, Im considering it and thank you all for the suggestion. Im changing it right away without having second thoughts. 😉
Chapter 15
Zoya was in a deep sleep... She was exhausted because of the the activities of the day, she kept thinking about Asad and involuntarily went into deep sleep...
She only woke up when the morning sun hit her face... She jerked and turned away getting into sleep again... She dreamt of him..she was not willing to wake up and break her sweet little dream.. her lips formed a curve.. 'Asad' she whispered and slowly opened her eyes.. to face the ceiling...
She sighed sadly 'it was just a dream'
She looked into the mirror and rubber her thumb on her lips and smiled ' I shouldn't have stopped him yesterday' she thought
'Mr khan is not going to let me live in peace, not even in my dreams... Why does he effect me so much... Stop thinking too much Zoya and focus'
'Mr Khan looked hurt last night.. i should make it up to him... ill make breakfast today'
She happily got up and quickly showered...Najma was fast asleep... It was only 7 in the morning.. Zoya went up towards the window and covered it with the curtains and walked upto the kitchen started preparing Breakfast
She made the usual Sandwiches, some fresh juice and some freshly baked muffins and started preparing his usual black coffee, by now she was aware how he preferred his coffee and she made sure the table was neatly set...
'Wow Zoya, You made breakfast... smells delicious.. cant wait to pounce on the food' Najma said giggling as she entered the dining area
'I thought i should make breakfast today, aunty is also not at home and you were asleep so i thought of preparing'
'Aww, how sweet' She said giving her a hug,
'waise Zoya, ammi is coming by afternoon and i though me, you and Ayan will go out for a brunch, anyways looks like you made really yummy food' she said looking at what Zoya had prepared while Zoya gave her a confusing look
'Me, you and Ayan?? and what about Mr Khan' she asked nervously
'Bhaijaan left for Delhi this morning, he came up to the room and woke me up at 5 in the morning before he left' She said, Zoya's eyes were brimming with tears, she put up a smiling face in front of Najma and excused herself and rushed to her room...
Najma knew there was something wrong, she had a doubt since yesterday, she was unsure of what to do... She thought her bhaijaan had some work in Delhi but looking at Zoya's reaction she could guess that, Zoya was somehow related to Asad leaving to Delhi, especially when her ammi was about to return and he had a meeting all of a sudden out of the blue...
She walked up to Asad's room and tried waking Ayan...
'Ayan.. utho.. Ayan'
He pushed her hands away and covered his face with the sheets
'Ayan.. Get up.. its important' She screamed pushing him
'Najma later... im sleepy now. Go away'
'If you don't get up, ill throw water on your face... Shoot up NOW' She yelled
He sighed and woke up still closing his eyes, she rolled her eyes and slapped his face softly while he jerked and looked at her...
'Ayan, Bhaijaan went to Delhi..' He cut off of saying ' I know Najma, he informed me before he left, did you wake me up to give this news' he said resting his head back on the pillow, she pulled him immediately
'i know that bhaijaan informed you.. what im telling is, i think he went away because of Zoya... there is something serious and im getting scared... '
'Najma relax... ill talk to Abbu, he'll find out the actual reason why bhaijaan went, im sure it must be some important work' he said holding her shoulders
'No Ayan, Zoya's face fell as soon as i told her about bhaijaan.. and you know what, she prepared breakfast and she even made black coffee, who drinks black coffee other than bhaijaan'
'Oh, this is the matter, she's unaware that he left, so may be she reacted like that and about the breakfast, she must have just made coffee for him, since she knows our preferences right...'
'i think your reading too much into this'
'No Ayan, then what about yesterday.. dint we see, how they avoided each other'
'Hmm.. wait till abbu comes back, he will find out, if there was really an important work there or if Asad just went there giving us excuses, we'll decided the next step later. Now can i sleep for some more time' He said lying down..
Najma got up and went to the dining area.
Zoya was hurt..She specially prepared breakfast for him
'How could he just go away... here, i thought ill make him feel better, was he hurt to this extent... Ya Allah... Still, He shouldn't have gone away just like that'
She somehow composed herself and walked out not letting Najma get a doubt about her behavior...
Hey Najma come, lets have breakfast she said faking a smile, while Najma obliged and they had breakfast in silence.
Asad had already informed Dilshad about him going to Delhi... he informed them that he would return after a week. he made sure Zoya was safe in his house, he appointed 2 more watchmen to have a watch on his house and informed Prasad to timely check on them.
Dilshad, Imam and Shireen reached Bhapal, it was lunch time, so they all freshened up and sat for lunch at the Khan house... Najma and Zoya managed to prepare the lunch
Najma signaled Ayan to ask his dad about Asad, but he shook his head... he would speak to his dad privately...
Imam and Shireen went back to their house while Dilshad was resting in her room after a tiresome journey..
Imam informed Shireen about the phone number being nonexistent, Shireen was hopelessly crying, Imam consoled her ' Shireen, next week tak dekhenge, kya pata, phir se advertisement publish hoga shayad. aur aaj ke news paper main bhi nahi aaya, lets wait, ho sakta hai next sunday ko phir se publish karenge' she agreed to calm down and wait until next week...
Imam was in his study working on his laptop, Ayan went to him
'Abbu... Asad ko kya kaam hua hoga Delhi main, wo aise achanak chala gaya' he asked nervously...
'Mujhe kaise pata hoga Ayan, tum jaante ho, we don't talk business. We have different businesses.. I prefer not to interfere, he's an independent man, i don't like to question him'
'I know abbu.. lekin, you can definitely find out right, because all of a sudden he left'
'Ayan.. is there something else, i can sense something weird' he asked glaring at Ayan
'Nothing Abbu, i asked because Najma was worried, he went all of a sudden, and we had a fight yesterday.. that's why'
'Don't worry Ayan, Asad is not as immature as you to take such stupid decisions of running away just because of a fight... he must be genuinely having some work'
'Theek hai Abbu.. ill take your leave..'
-------
'Najma, abbu was of no help... i think you should call prasad and find out'
'No...' she yelled, while he closed his eyes dramatically
' stop yelling women!!' He shouted
'Now your shouting'
'will you call prasad'
'Ayan, bhaijaan will find out'
'listen, just call him and ask casually... if Asad asks, tell him that his phone was out of reach'
'Okay.. that should work' She said and called prasad asking about Asad and she managed to get information from him... Prasad informed that there was no important meeting in Delhi as such... Asad had the meeting after a week... Asad had informed Prasad that he has some personal work in Delhi and would work from there until the meeting...
Najma and Ayan were shocked... so, they were right. He indeed left because of some issues.
'I think bhaijaan will only comeback after his meeting'
'Lets just wait until next week.. he'll come back, ill directly ask him' Ayan said
Both were worried about Asad... they spoke to him though skype after a few hours to make sure he's fine. They could sense his uneasiness...
'bhaijaan.. you missed out on the breakfast Zoya had prepared. you know, she even prepared your famous coffee.. all by herself'
Asad heard all of this and just hung his head in silence remembering the first time she had prepared breakfast... a smile found its way on his face and it soon disappeared when he came back out of his trance...
Najma and Ayan sensed the changes in his face and concluded that, Zoya was the reason behind Asad's decision, but they were not aware of what went wrong between them... People say, time heals everything.. may be they needed some time.. After their conversation with Asad, Ayan and Najma decided not to interfere into their matters until Asad is back.
----
Zoya was sitting in her room staring at her phone...
'Mr khan' it read... she had his number saved...
'Did he leave because of me' she thought, She was guilty
She desperately wanted to talk to him... But she had no idea what she would ask or may be a message, she pushed away her thoughts...
Now she wanted to divert her mind, she was missing him and every passing minute made it difficult for her...
Minutes became hours and hours became days, yet they had not spoken to each other... He only called Dilshad every day in the night and made sure everything was fine and Najma would talk to him at the same time. Najma got busy with college, and Ayan would go on his usual adventure in the city with his friends...
Zoya would sit in the garden every single day after dinner staring above. She was not even close to finding her phupi and Asad went away leaving her empty.. She felt her life empty without him.. she herself never realized when and how Asad had taken up the position in her heart and filled her empty life...She felt like running away from his house...Yet she waited for him to return, she would complain to him and fight with him for leaving her all alone. Though Najma, Ayan and Dilshad were there to cheer her, though she bonded well with them, she felt incomplete without Asad... She started realizing her feelings slowly, though she neglected them, deep down she knew what she felt for him
It was friday... Zoya and Najma went to the newspaper agency and requested them to re post the same add with the new number... After they were done, they went on their way back home...
'Allah Miyan,what's wrong with the traffic... Mr Khan humpe chillayenge' she said unconsciously, While Najma had a sad smile...
'Zoya, bhaijaan is in Delhi'
'Oh.. yeah.. i forgot' she trembled
As they reached home, they had dinner and called it a night.. Najma slept in her room from the past few days.. She wanted Zoya to have her space
Zoya took her phone and stared at it.. She was confused.
'Should i just call him' After a minute, with lot of courage she dialed his number..
He heart beat was erratic and she was sweating..
she sat on her bed waiting for him to pick the call, after a few rings.. she heard his voice
'hello' he said not knowing it was Zoya, she was numb.. she was more than happy to listen to his voice
'Hello...' he said again... she was breathing heavily..
'Zoya...' He said while she closed her eyes and a tear escaped
while she was about to answer he just cut her call...
She tried calling him again, but he never picked
He tried hard to not pick up her call... he was dying to talk to her... he was scared, he might let out his feelings... He thought it was best not to talk to her...
'But why did she even call... was this not what she wanted' he thought... he was confused and he needed time, He had a meeting to attend the next morning, he composed himself and started working on his presentation sitting in his hotel room... Work was one thing which disconnected him from all sort of thoughts... He busied himself into his laptop.
----
It was Sunday morning.. Zoya woke up at 6 in the morning and quickly showered. She was impatiently waiting for the newspaper... once the newspaper was delivered she looked at her add... she sat in her room looking at her phone for calls...
Just like Zoya, Shireen and Imam were impatiently waiting for the newspaper and as soon as she saw the add she was happy and immediately dialed on the given number... Soon her smile vanished... Imam gave her a confusing look.. She pulled back the paper from him and matched the numbers and dialed again,.. there was a frown on her face
'Kya hua Shireen' Imam asked, he was worried with her reactions
'Number not available' She said tearing... Imam hugged her and calmed her down.. He made her sit on the couch and gave her a glass of water...
Imam was angry... He well knew how Gaffur was... Was he playing with their feelings.. was it a prank, he thought Gaffur had made their life a living hell... Now that Imam was a big business men, may be he's trying to play such cheap games he thought.. Imam was more than convinced that it was a prank...
----
Zoya kept waiting for calls,
'Zoya, Not a call yet' Najma asked while Zoya shook her head with tears in her eyes, Najma hugged her and comforted her...
'let me check the add' she told and looked at it..., Zoya's eyes fell on the number.. her number was printed wrong...
She fumed with anger and snatched the paper from Najma and looked at it again...
She dialed the agency and vented out her frustration on them... They promised to print the add every single day starting from tomorrow on Bhopal times until she gets a response.
She cried her heart out...
'You know what Najma, im really jinxed... Will i ever find my phupi... may be its my fate that Akram and ammi will take me away and ruin my life.. i have to like like their slave Najma' She said sobbing...
'Shh.. Zoya please relax... They agreed to print it on Bhopal times, and that's a big thing Zoya... you will definitely find your phupi.. and Zoya... can i ask you one thing' Zoya nodded
'Don't you think we are your family...' Zoya looked at her with overwhelming emotions...She nodded
'Then, why do you feel so lonely... We are your family Zoya. Remember that. okay'
'But Najma, for how long can i stay here, tell me, i came in as a paying guest, but aunty has never taken her payment, with what rights do you want me to stay here'
'As my bhabhi' She thought but never voiced it, She rubbed off her tears
'Look Zoya, this is your house okay. End of discussion, its a Saturday.. come lets go out for a movie.. okay.. quickly get dressed' She said leaving Zoya in the room and walked out...
'I wish you were here Mr Khan' she whispered and got ready for the movie
Zoya was not her usual self, she neither spoke nor concentrated on the movie... Najma tried cheering her, all she got was a fake smile.
This was how she was, silent, putting up a charade from the time Asad left for Delhi... He took away her happiness.
Najma and Ayan knew she missed Asad... they were on the way back home
'By the way Najma, from tomorrow onwards we cannot go out like this'
'Why'
'because Asad is coming back' Zoya immediately looked up... she looked out of the window and smiled
'Let him come, ill teach him a lesson, he should never run away from me' She thought
----
next morning Zoya woke up with a smile on her face...
She never bothered about the add, all she did was wait for Asad.
The add was published in bhopal times. Imam saw that and hid it from Shireen, he just tore the paper away... he thought there was no use of even trying on the number. he dint want to hurt Shireen anymore, she was already weak and ill because of this news, he could not see her vulnerable state. He decided to throw away any such paper which carried the news henceforth before Shireen reads it.
She waited for him all day without looking at her add.. Najma had shown her the add after she came back from her university, While Zoya never showed interest nor waited for calls, Najma smiled knowing the reason behind.
As Zoya and Najma made way into the house after their evening walk.
They saw Dilshad was talking to Asad...
Zoya had a smile on her face...
Dilshad hung up the call as soon as she saw Najma and Zoya
'Aa gaye tum log, go freshen up and ill heat up dinner okay'
'Ammi, Bhaijaan rahe hai na' Najma asked
'Nahi Najma, pata nahi aur kitne din lagenge, He has another meeting in a few days, he told me he'll be back after 5-6 days or even more'
Zoya heard this while she was about to close her room door...
She locked her room and sat down... She hugged her knee's and buried her face
'Why your doing this to me Mr Khan... Being away from you is causing me more pain than anything else... Please come back.. please' She whispered chocking...
'May be he's waiting for me to leave, may be he'll return only after i leave... Ya Allah.. he completely detached Himself from me... May be he doesn't care anymore... or may be he found a hot girlfriend in Delhi' she said wiping her tears...
'If this is what he wants, ill leave this house, may be he'll come back for his family.. i don't want to be the reason for his pain'
'I haven't got any calls from my phupi either.. where would i go.. Allah..'
----
Najma had enough, She called Asad...
'hello, Najma... Kaisi ho'
'Theek nahi hoon main...'
'what happen, my little sister is angry on me'
'Ofcourse yes, i want you here... catch a plane now and come back'
'Najma, i have work here'
'you know what bhaijaan, i would never tell this to you, but no body is happy here, not even your guest' She said sobbing, Asad was shocked...
'Najma' he whispered
'Yes bhaijaan... i hope you got my point... now its upto you.. Allah hafiz' she said and cut his call
'Hello... Hello, Najma' He said.. He banged his hands on the chair. What was Najma saying.. Was Zoya not happy, was she missing him... He remembered the time she called him...he could feel the other person's uneven breathing on the other end, everything was clear now, she indeed called him because she missed him.. How could he ignore such an important clue..
He missed her, he opened Najma's file on his laptop and glanced at the farmhouse pictures, he remembered the moment they shared, he remembered their first kiss, He suddenly remembered Zoya and Najma's conversation... and the Add...
He pressed his forehead resting his elbow on the bench... She was looking for someone... how could he forget all of this, he was so carried away with his emotions that he forgot about this... She came to India in search of someone.
Najma's words rang in his ears... 'Nobody is happy, not even your guest'
---
It was 10pm, Everyone retired to their rooms after dinner...
Zoya packed her bags and walked out of the house.. she turned back and whispered 'Sorry aunty... sorry Najma, i have to go away, only then Mr Khan will come back... i will keep in touch with you all. Sorry'
She turned back and sneaked out of the house... She saw the guards, she decided to sneak out from the backside... It was raining heavily.
As she was walking into the garden area Suddenly she saw a well built figure approaching her, She was completely drenched and she was not able to see the person clearly, she was rooted on her spot when she looked at the person's face as the person approached towards her.
the bag's slipped from her hands. She was shocked.
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