Title Credit : Saima Syed
Chapter 4
Almost two months after their supposed nakli nikah, both Asad and Zoya were sure that the other considered the nikah asli. Zoya had proved time and again that she was the best thing that had happened to the khans and Asad too had been doing whatever he could to make her realize the truth of this nikah. Unlike before the nikah, Asad now didn't jump onto Zoya for every little mistake she made. He would even agree to have what Najma and Zoya called a "Pizza Party" every weekend. The smile that his yes brought to her lips was something he would love to see every day. Zoya had not been ignorant to all this too. She had also noticed the changes in her Mr.Khan and she couldn't deny the fact that she liked them.
At the dinner table one night Dilshaad told them that she would be going to live with her friend for a while as she wasn't keeping too well and had called for Dilshaad to live with her. Asad agreed that she should go. Dilshaad looked at Zoya who now looked more horrified than nervous.
"Zoya, kya hua beta?"
"Kuch nahi Ammi"
"Phir itni pareshaan kyoun lag rahi ho? Sab theek hai naa, matlab tumhari tabiyat theek hai naa?"
"Ji Ammi, sab theek hai. Bus vo aap... aap chali jayengi toh ghar kaise sambhlega?" she asked nervously. She looked at Asad from the corner of her eyes and saw him smile a little and shaking his head at her question.
Dilshaad chuckled at her cuteness. "Tumhe sab kis din ke liye sikhaya hai? Hmmm? Tum sambhalogi sab kuch...aur mujhe yakeen hain ki bahut khobsoorti se nibhaogi apni har duty"
Zoya looked at her wide eyed shaking her head from side to side when she heard Dilshaad "Hai naa Asad? Sambhaal legi naa Zoya sab achi tarah?" as soon as Zoya herd that she looked at Asad who was looking at her intently and with a slight nod of his head and a small smile playing on his lips he said "Ji Ammi. Sambhaal lengi" The twinkle in his eyes told Zoya he was saying the truth. He believed in her capability to look after everything in Dilshaad's absence. Seeing the pride in his eyes Zoya felt happy within. She looked into his eyes and saw a shade of another emotion she couldn't recognize. Sharing a faint smile the two kept looking into each other's eyes looking for answers that their hearts craved for.
The very next morning Zoya helped Dilshaad pack her bag for the month long trip. As Zoya set the bag next to the door Dilshaad walked upto her and held her hand. Zoya looked at Dilshaad as she was led to the bed. Dilshaad sat her down and took the space next to her. Holding her hand Dilshaad said "Zoya, mein jaanti hoon ki tum chahe kitna bhi muskuraa lo, tumhare andar joy eh darr hai naa, mujhey tumhari aankhon mein saaf dikhai de raha hai. Mere bache, khud pe yakeen karna seekho. Itne waqt mein tum sab seekh gai ho aur sab bakhoobi sambhaal logi. Mujhe pura yakeen hai." After a pause she added "Aur Asad ko bhi." A small smile spread on her lips and she nodded her head.
By afternoon Dilshaad was already on her way to Aisha Bi's house and the three occupants of the Khan Villa sat together in the living room. With Dilshaad gone it did feel empty and Najma and Zoya felt lost without their Ammi. Asad looked at them sitting side by side staring blankly at the tv screen. He cleared his throat and both looked at him at the same time. Where Najma thought he was going to start with one of his lectures for her to concentrate on her studies, Zoya thought he wanted something and so was trying to get her attention and both stood up at the same time. As soon as Asad saw them both jerk up he looked at them confused and then both spoke at the same time "Mein jaa hi rahi thi padhne Bhaijaan" "Aapko kuch chahiye Mr. Khan?"
Najma
and Zoya looked at each other and then at Asad with wide eyes and saw him
looking absolutely confused. "Aap dono kahan jaa rahi hain? Aur dono ek saath
kyoun bol rahin hain?" Zoya and Najma looked at each other and then smiled
nervously. They looked at him and Najma said "Mujhe laga aap indirectly parhaii
ke liye keh rahey hain..." she trailed off. He then looked at Zoya for her
explanation "Mujhey laga aapko kuch chahiye hai, isliye vo gala..."
Asad looked away trying to hide his smile and then looked back at them. "Mere gala saaf karne ke itne matlab ho sakte hain yeh meine kabhi socha hi nahi... Mein bus aap dono se yeh kehne vala tha ki aap dono iss tarah gumsum ache nahi lag rahey hain, toh please smile. Ammi kuch hi dinon mein vapas aa jayengi, vo humesha ke liye shift nahi ho gai hain." He smiled at the two and saw them reciprocate it.
Asad felt happy to see a smile on her face. He knew it was now very rare that she smiled or laughed in his presence so this time since he was the one to bring it on her lips he felt extremely proud of himself. Zoya excused herself to get their evening coffee ready. While Najma engrossed herself in tv Asad kept his eyes on Zoya all the while she was in the kitchen. He felt happiness course through his body seeing her move about the kitchen with so much ease. Her every move so fluid, proving to him again and again that she belonged here, belonged with them all, belonged to Him. Asad got up and moved towards the kitchen. He looked over his shoulder and saw Najma still sitting watching tv.
He went and pretended to be taking water from the refrigerator. Discretely looking at her he saw her stealing glances at him. She suddenly looked flustered around him. He turned around and looked directly at her "Aap theek hain?" Zoya looked up at him and nodded her head. "Phir aap pareshaan kyoun lag rahi hain?" "Kuch nahi" She whispered. He took a step closer to her "Ammi kuch hi dino ke liye gai hain. Aap kar lengi. Aur phir Najma aur mein hain naa. Sab milke sambhaal lenge" He smiled reassuringly at her and she smiled back. Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he took small steps backwards and then exited the kitchen.
As
the days passed in Dilshaad's absence, Zoya started to feel the pressure of all
the responsibilities on herself. Looking after the kitchen was already a task
for her. She had only just learnt how to cook and then getting everything right
was a challenge. With Dilshaad around Zoya was able to ask her to help. She was
especially struggling with the quantity of the ingredients in every dish. She
had gotten into the habit of keeping the house spick and span too. This was
another thing that tired her completely. She could feel her body giving up and
she would be extremely tired all day. To top it all, spending the nights in the
same room as Asad was also taking its toll on her emotionally. Her days would
pass taking care of her responsibilities towards Najma and Mr. Khan and her
nights were spent just laying there thinking about what situation she was in.
Zoya
felt all the physical and emotional pressure taking its toll on her. On more
than one occasion she had felt her knees give way or her head just spin. She
would immediately take a breather for a few minutes and then get back to
fulfilling her duties. She didn't want her Ammi to feel that she was not able
to fulfill her duties and most importantly she didn't want to give her Mr. Khan
any opportunity to feel she was still the same. Her ignorance towards her
health didn't take too long to show.
One morning when Asad's alarm rang and he opened his eyes he saw Zoya still sleeping on the couch. He looked at his watch and realized it was way past her wake up time. He looked around the room and realized she hadn't cleaned it the way she always did after waking up. Their used clothes from the previous day still lay in a heap outside the bathroom and the room didn't smell of her perfume like every morning. By the look of it he knew that she hadn't even gotton up to offer her morning prayers which she never missed.
Immediately
getting off the bed Asad went to her and called her name. There was no movement
so he called her name again. He didn't see her move even a muscle and got
really worried. He raised his hand to shake her but hesitated realizing that as
husband and wife, they had never even touched each other. Reluctantly he pulled
his hand back and thought of calling Najma. As soon as he reached for his door
he stopped again thinking what Najma would think if he told her to wake Zoya
up.
Moreover what impression would she get to see Zoya sleeping on the couch? He realized that though his Ammi was aware of the fact that he had still not told Zoya about his true feelings, she was till unaware of the sleeping arrangements in their room. He looked back and fear gripping his heart he bent down and tapped her cheek calling her name.
As
soon as his fingers touched her cheek Asad's eyes widened with shock. Her
cheeks it seemed were on fire. He quickly got up and switched off the air
conditioning in the room. He looked back at her sleeping form and in one swift
move scooped her off the couch and laid her on his bed. He opened the door to
his room and shouted for Najma. As Najma heard her brothers roaring voice she
came running down the steps. She entered their room and saw Asad panicking over
a sleeping Zoya. She looked at the clock on their side table and realized it
was much later than the time Zoya woke up.
"Bhaijaan?"
Asad turned around and saw a confused Najma standing at the door. He looked at Zoya and then back at Najma "She's running a fever... High fever"
Najma
immediately went and sat next to Zoya touching her forehead and cheeks. Her
eyes widened at the amount of heat her body was radiating. She saw Asad walking
out the room his phone stuck to his ear talking to the doctor. Najma went to
the kitchen and brought back a big bowl of ice water. She quickly took out a
few of his handkerchiefs and dipped them in the bowl applying these cold strips
to Zoya's forehead. Not long after, the doctor arrived and was immediately
taken to Asad's room. As the doctor examined her, Asad stood right behind
feeling extremely nervous. Never in the past so many months that Zoya had been
living with them had she fallen sick so badly.
After a thorough checkup the doctor informed them that he suspected it to be fever due to stress. But to be a 100% sure he needed to conduct a few blood tests. The doctor gave her one shot to bring down the temperature quickly. As soon as Asad heard that he panicked and took a step closer to the doctor.
"Blood tests? But abhi toh aapne kaha ki sirf stress ki wajah se bukhaar hai. Phir blood tests ki zaroorat kyoun? Kahin koi aur baat toh nahi hai doctor jo aap nahi bata rahey?"
The doctor smiled at Asad and shook his head in a no. "Nahi Mr. Khan. Aisi koi baat nahi hai. Blood test sirf isliye karvana chahta hoon kyounki monsoon season hai, so only to rule out anything else" He handed Asad a prescription for the medicines to give Zoya until the tests were done and the reports arrived. Just as the doctor was about to leave he turned around "Mr. Khan mera lab assistant ayega apki wife ka blood sample lene, aur haan, zyaada chinta mat kariye, mujhe yakeen hai ki yeh bukhaar stress ki vajah se hai, aur kuch nahi"
As
soon as the doctor left Asad turned around and looked at her. Even in her sleep
she looked extremely tired. His heart ached to see his Zoya looking so
lifeless. Though he knew the reason for her illness was stress, somewhere deep
within he couldn't deny that the strained relationship that they had was
another reason adding onto her emotional stress. Asad walked upto her and sat
on the floor near her head. He lovingly caressed her hair and bent forward
keeping his head on her pillow. Asad could hear her soft snores.
He smiled sadly looking at her pale complexion and said "Please aap jaldi se theek ho jaaeye... Mujhe aapse kuch kehna hai... ab mein aur wait nahi kar sakta... Naa hi aapko karvana chahta hoon...mein jaanta hoon ki jitna beichain mein hoon aapko batane ke liye, utni beichain aap bhi hain... Bas aap theek ho jaaeye uske baad mein ek bhi pal intezaar nahi karoonga. I... I promise"
P.S. Please hit the LIKE BUTTON guys and do leave your comments. I look forward to all of them.
Heya Choco,
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