AsYA FF: Only in the darkness THREAD #2 Chapter 19 Updated, MARCH 22 - Page 9

nice update👏

Lovely update. AsYa are together in the real sense and content with life. Aadil has the love of a complete family. But still there is some tension looming. But hopefully that will pass too. Brilliant update :D

Gr8 upd!!
Hope asad nd zoya get aadil's custody.
Waiting fr d nxt part!!
Ty fr d PM!!

Awesome update
asya romance was very hot in early mrng
mrng scene with aadil was cute n his antics
loved his what he asked his father abt not leaving him
hope asad wins ustody of aadil
update soon n thanks for the pm

update soon...! Havent heard from you for a long time...! Miss ur updates...! :)

Update soon Simi or else bhaiseena will land to u ok 😆

A/N: Take a minute to read this.

Anyone who is still sticking around to read this story!

I used to update way quicker than this. The last update was over a month ago. I know you guys probably hate me and curse me. Yeah, I deserve it. I have been MIA without any information. Few things:

1. School has been kicking major butt. Plain and simple. I have had no life as I try to complete things on time.

2. I stopped watching and following QH - completely. No episodes, no spoilers, no twitter/tumblr/FB, no written updates, no promos. Nothing. I have barely logged onto IF or anywhere else.

3. Things happened in my life and I have been trying to hold it together and not fall apart. Writing has always been therapeutic and relaxing for me, but it seems like my muse has left me.

This update has taken me longer to get down than anything I have written and I don't really know how I feel about this update.

Chapter 19: Together We Are

The days after the wedding were full of mixed emotions for the Khan family. There were phases of the newly wedded bliss for the couple and happiness among the members of the family, there was still the sword of the court case hanging over their heads.

The time of their first date of the case was fast approaching and Asad found himself immersed in discussions, and often enraged fits with Haider and Rashid. He knew that whatever he was doing was to help Asad win the case, but the father within him was less than happy with the clinical tone of his voice and how Haider would never even bat a lash when he talked about the possible negative outcomes of the case.

Zoya was God-sent.

Asad had lived all this time without a significant other in his life and he like to believe that he had fared well. However, now he could not understand how he ever managed to survive without Zoya in his life. Never in his almost thirty years of life was his emotions ever tied so strongly to any woman. She had become his guiding light when he was down in the hole of dread; she had become his anchor when he found himself drowning in fear of losing his son.

The day after the wedding, Asad and Zoya had gone to see Haider and discuss the details.

Haider Sheikh was waiting for them in his office when Asad and Zoya arrived. He shook hands with the two of them and asked them to take seats and make themselves comfortable.

Zoya looked around his office as she took a seat. The office was decent in eyes, but what caught her off-guard was the way it was decorated. Sure there were shelves and shelves of files and books, but what was not at all like a lawyer office was the decorations. The walls were adored with warm pictures of various iconic places from around the world and underneath each picture was a plate that said something about the picture above it.

The office had a very welcoming feel to it, unlike what she imagined a lawyer's office to be. It was definitely done by a professional decorator, and most likely a female.

Haider noticed Zoya's wandering eyes and speculative looks. He chuckled at her expression. His chuckle got her attention and she blushed at being caught looking around so blatantly.

"Its, alright, Mrs. Khan! Almost everyone wonders why my office is not drab and why so artistic, and if I may say, why so feminine?" she laughed, "Humeira did this. I love her too much to deny her anything. Well, you can sew what happens when you let her have free reign over decorating your workplace."

Zoya laughed at his martyred expression, "It is a very charming office. And please, call me just Zoya, I am hoping to get formalities out of the way if we need to get this case done" she replied to him.

Haider nodded at them, "Oh! By the way! Congratulations on your wedding. I wish you guys a happy married life. But for now, let's get down to business, shall we?"

Asad and Zoya nodded at him and then he took out some papers and started explaining their approach to them.

"Now, that you have a wife, Asad, it will hopefully invalidate Mr. Qureshi's claims of providing Aadil a better home and the care of a mother." he re-visited the basics of what their wedding would do to the case.

"What I am still worried about is the logistics behind Aadil and Zoya's relation and also with you, Asad. They will try to refute that saying that Zoya has only been in your life for a very short while and also whether the two of you will remain married."

Asad and Zoya looked at him with worried eyes.

"Well, there is one thing that will go our way. The fact that you guys got your marriage license before receiving the official court order. Technically, that is the day when a party is informed about the case that has been filed and the time provided by the court is the time to prepare your case. There is no way he can prove that you got married after his threat to drag Asad to court." Haider informed them in matter-of-factly tone and smiled at them, and then chuckled.

Obviously, his amused expression was ill-suited to what was coming out of his mouth. Instead of explaining his amusement, he continued, "Zoya, it happens. People often do get married to serve purposes and once the deed is one, so is the marriage."

Zoya found this less than funny, "How dare you, or anyone else for that matter?" she exploded, "I will admit that the shotgun wedding was to support our situation and this case but I did not enter this marriage just to have it done with later on! Aadil calls me Ammi, Haider, and that is not a joke to me and my relation with Asad started before any of this even started." Zoya was almost yelling by the end of her rant. Asad tried to calm her down. Haider opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it.

"And weren't you're the one who suggested this? I remember very clearly that you made the point of Asad not being married or the lack of a mother's presence in Aadil's life. Get your facts and ideas straight, Mr. Hot shot lawyer!" she turned to Asad then, "What kind of person is representing us, Asad? He needs to make up his mind as to what is going to suit our case!" she huffed and crossed her arms across her chest and settled in her seat. Haider was looking at Zoya with wide eyes, while Asad scratched his neck.

"Well Asad," Haider said after a few moments of silence, "You've got yourself a fire-cracker of a wife, here. Good luck with her, man!" he cackled at him but stopped as he received a glare from the said firecracker.

"Zoya," he started again, "I am sorry. I didn't mean to say anything to offend you; I only wanted to rile you up." He looked at the confused expressions of Asad and Zoya with a rather satisfied look. "I only wanted to see for myself how involved you really are with this case, with Aadils' custody and also with Asad."

He cleared his throat and then continued, "Asad is also my friend and I thought of killing two birds with one stone. The first being your seriousness towards your marriage, and the second your desire to want to be Aadil's mother. You have made it quite clear that you are not just helping people who gave you shelter when you came to India and that rules out your other intentions towards this case, right there!" he smiled at her.

Zoya glared at him again, "And you find this funny? Playing with my volatile emotions is a game to you?"

Haider merely laughed at her. "It is going to be fine, Zoya. This wedding is going to take them by surprise." His eyes twinkling brightly.

And today, as she flitted around the room, grabbing her things, her presence alone soothed Asad's tense body and nerves.

It was the day.

"I had thought I'd spend the morning wiping your clammy forehead as you'd be down worshipping the porcelain Gods." Zoya teased him, although there was an edge in her voice.

Asad finished tying his tie, he pulled her in his arms, "And why would I be spending the morning puking, Mrs. Khan?"

"You know how you have been these two weeks, Asad, and even before that. You have managed to drive everyone up the wall. Your anxiety was practically rolling off of you in waves for the past few days, but today you are so Zen about everything." Zoya creased her brows and added, "Is there something that you know and you are not telling me?"

Asad shook his head, "I am not hiding anything from you, Zoya. I know that I have been very edgy, but you calm me. When I have you near me, I feel like nothing could hurt our family and that we will get through this."

Zoya smiled at him, her eyes getting misty, "Together?" she whispered.

"Together" Asad echoed and pressed his lips to hers.

***

They had decided that Aadil would not accompany them to any of the proceedings, unless absolutely necessary. Asad, Zoya and Haider made their way to the chambers where they would meet with Imran Qureshi, his lawyer and the judge who was assigned to their case.

When they reached the chambers, Imran and his lawyer were already present and talking quietly. As soon as he saw Asad, Imran's eyes turned icy and then his mouth curved into a sneer as he spotted Zoya next to him.

"Brought your mistress, Khan?"

Asad's face hardened but the pressure of Haider's hand on his shoulder as a reminder kept him quiet. They were not going to be lured into Imran Qureshi's verbal attacks.

Haider and the Imran's lawyer, Mr. Gupta, shook hands. Soon enough, the Judge entered the room. After everyone was seated, the signal to the proceedings was given.

"Qureshi vs. Khan. Child custody."

Imran's lawyer started with his opening statement, "Your Honor, I am here representing my client Mr. Imran Qureshi who is the biological father of the child involved in this case, Aadil Khan. My client and the child's mother, late Ms. Tanveer Malik were in a relationship with each other. He, at that point in his life, was neither financially stable and nor did he have any stable source to support his child and he made the hard decision of giving up his parental rights. Now, however, he had found himself in a very stable position in his life and he wants to reconnect with his son that he lost seven years ago. My client, Mr. Imran Qureshi wants his parental rights to be re-evoked and wants to granted custody of his son."

Asad was on the edge of his seat as he saw the play of fake emotions on Imran's face as his lawyer painted him as a desperate father. Haider patted Asad's shoulders and then kept their side in front of the judge.

"Your Honor, my client, Mr. Asad Ahmed Khan was named the father of the child in question at the time of his birth. The child's mother desired Mr. Khan to be her son's father and my client legally adopted Aadil Asad Khan shortly after his birth. Here are the legal documents of the adoption process, dated seven years ago."

Haider handed over the documents to the bailiff for the Judge's review and then continued.

"My client has provided for the child for the past seven years and has been a father to him in every sense of that word. I would like to bring this to notice that my client was at the same stage in his young life as Mr. Qureshi when he took on the responsibility of Aadil Khan. Aadil Khan has lived in a safe, secure and nourishing environment for the past seven years and it would be harmful for the child to uproot him from the only home he has ever known."

The Judge looked over to Imran and his lawyer and said, "I want to hear more about your case as to why should your rights be re-evoked, while it says here, " Judge lifted the details of the case, "that you never contacted Aadil Khan or Asad Khan over the past seven years, save for a few months before this case."

Handing over certain documents to the bailiff, Mr. Gupta spoke again, "Mr. Qureshi has always regretted letting of his son, your Honor. And my client has a very stable job with good income and has the ability to provide his biological son with everything that he needs. And, your Honor, my client also has something that is vital for any child, something that Mr. Asad Khan has failed to provide. The love of a mother, your Honor. My client is married, and Mrs. Qureshi has expressed nothing but elation over the prospect of bringing a child to their home."

Haider slightly smirked at Zoya.

The Judge looked at Mr. Gupta for a long minute and then looked at the papers in his hand and then to the detailed papers of the case.

"Mr. Gupta," the Judge began, "I believe you have failed to notice the details of the case you are fighting. It says here that Mr. Asad Ahmed Khan is married to a Mrs. Zoya Khan nee Farooqui."

There is obvious confusion on the faces of both Imran and his lawyer. They look into the case details and a then a look of pure hatred crosses Imran Qureshi's face.

After a few moments, Mr. Gupta speaks up, "I apologize for that overlook. However, I would like to bring to notice that the wedding date is mere days after he received the court notice. Your Honor, this seems entirely too convenient."

Haider cleared his throat and said, "If Mr. Gupta is hinting that my client go married to present a better case, then I would like to remind everyone here that there is also a marriage license added to the documents. This wedding was not a spur of the moment event. My client and his wife had applied for the marriage license well before he was served with court notice."

Asad noticed how Imran was having a hard time controlling his anger. Haider had told them that their wedding date will be questioned but he had also informed them that the wedding license date would trump any suspicion. After all, Imran could not give away the fact that he had entered their house and yelled all sorts of profanities and ultimatums to them.

The moment Imran Qureshi had threatened to take Asad to court; he had weakened his case considerably right then by giving Asad extra weeks of preparation time for the case. Asad could tell that Imran came to the same realization sitting across from him.

Mr. Gupta requested a week's time to incorporate the new developments in the case.

"I agree that the details of the wedding were added at the eleventh hour," the Judge passed a look over to Haider, "However, as a lawyer, you have shown less than a hundred percent investment in your preparation, Mr. Gupta. The court gives you two days of time."

Everyone stood up as the Judge left. Haider collected his papers and smirked at Asad and Zoya.

"Cheer up, you two. This was a very good start."

Imran stomped over to where they were standing and sneered at Asad, "You think you can use the oldest trick in the world to swing this your way? Guess what? You are not fooling anyone. Forged marriages to win custody are nothing I am not aware of."

Asad tucked Zoya safely by his side and loomed over Imran, "We are in the court premises, Qureshi and it is making me control myself. If you don't want yourself to look like a beaten pulp, I suggest you take your arrogant self away from me and my wife."

Haider put his hand on Asad's arm and spoke to his contemporary, "Make your client adhere to the court decorum, Mr. Gupta before I get the bailiff involved and get this messy. This is not going to look good on your cases repertoire."

As Imran and his lawyer walked away, Haider pursued his lips and said to himself, "You just opened the lid to a pothole for yourself, Imran Qureshi."

Stronger, stronger
Together we are
Stronger, stronger
Together we are
One

-Together We are by Arty

A/N: Please leave a review if you liked it.

Cheers,

Simi

Loved it Simi! <3

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