Good morning!!! This part has actually come to 16 pages in my word document. Didn't want to dump all that on you in one shot. So I have split it into two. Posting the first half now.
Chapter Three
Four days later:
Anam barged in Sahir's cabin after a cursory knock. "Sahir, how can you do something like this?"
Sahir didn't look up from the laptop. Nor did he stop typing the email. "What happened Anam?"
"That wedding collection project? Why wasn't I told about it? You know I would've given out some lovely designs and I excel in wedding collections. Instead you.."
He was yet to look at Anam and that was making her mad. "I needed a fresh perspective Anam, not repeats or copies."
With a sarcastic smile, she placed the sketches that Arzoo had drawn on that first day in front of him. "Fresh perspectives like these? I must say they indeed look very unique Sahir. So which one did you choose out of these three?"
After a casual glance at the pictures strewn over his table, he leaned back in his chair and looked at Anam. "You know what your problem is Anam? Your memory keeps playing tricks on you. You keep forgetting the fact that you have no say in the decision making process of Saiyyara. And I don't tolerate insolence in my office."
His eyes remained locked on her face until she turned pale. She tried her best to control her shaking legs and to appear haughty as walked out of the cabin. Ice flows through his veins. Not blood, she muttered under her breath. Sahir waited until he was alone once again before carefully gathering the sketches and filing them along with a bunch of others. All from the same designer. Arzoo. He went through each of them again from the beginning. Her progress and recovery with each passing day tracked through those sketches. The colors turned brighter with each passing day. Gold and silver mingling with greens and reds. The postures changing from crouched, dejected female to a woman looking up, another one sitting and another one with a small smile. The tight band around his chest eased a little and he started breathing again.
"Sir, can I come in?" Sahir saw Zara holding the door slightly ajar and waiting. He nodded.
"Assalamualaikum."
"Walaikum salam. Sab khairiyat?" He gestured her to have a seat.
"Ji sir. I just came to tell you that appi is doing much better. Last night she slept through the night without having any nightmares." Zara couldn't hide her relief as she perched herself on the edge of the chair. "All because of you sir. I want to thank you."
Sahir slid his gaze away. "I didn't do anything."
"You know that's not true. If you hadn't responded that night.. I don't want to think that scenario. And whatever you did, doing now..sir.."
Sahir swirled his chair away from Zara and got up. "I didn't do anything. Arzoo is a strong girl."
"May I come in sir?" It was Linda. Sahir saw the excitement that she wasn't even bothering to suppress bubbling out of her. Or maybe she was suppressing as much as she could because the way she was hopping from one foot to another, she was mentally doing a hoopla dance. He nodded. She came in quickly and with a bright face, extended the file to him. "Final designs sir."
He took the file and went back to his seat. Even though his face remained as impassive as ever, a strange sense of eagerness gripped him. There were ten designs in total. Again, he could tell who sketched which one. Impressive. Very impressive. Saiyyara was once again going to prove that it hires the best and it gives the best. All nine sketches got his unconditional approval. He knew the next one would be Arzoo's. He didn't know how he knew. He just knew. He took a deep breath, firmly controlled the tremor of his fingers and turned the page. His breath whooshed out of him. Creamy off-white lehenga with red, green and gold that gently fell from the waist and slowly flared towards the ankles before landing in a twirl on the ground. The border reached almost mid-calf and was strewn with stones amidst an artistic embroidery of maroon and dark green. The rest of the lehenga had a similar intricate design but in gold that complimented the border. The border design extended to the red blouse. The dark green dupatta had gold and ivory almost covering the green, making it look regal. And royal. A dress that any bride would die to have.
"Fantastic. Fabulous." He couldn't take his eyes away from it even as he said those words.
"Yes sir." Linda's grin was both relieved and excited. "The dress maker is already here with a few cloth samples. So if you can.." She gestured towards the conference room as if asking if he could come.
Sahir nodded and got up. But his walk to the door came to a jerky halt as if someone had pulled him back with a swift tug.
Yeh aapka naya khel haina. Aapse achcha toh woh taxi wala tha.
Arzoo. She would be there. How would she react if she saw him? He had been keeping himself and Zaki away from her all these days. It had been day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute of excruciating hell. Because the more he stayed away, the more he felt like being with her. But he knew she needed time and space. So he gave it to her. If he went in front of her now, how would she react? Would she get scared and back away? Would she remember what had happened before all this and start hating him? He swallowed. He could take hatred. He was not knew to that particular emotion. But fear? He didn't think he could bear to see his Arzoo fearing him.
"Sir?"
Sahir blinked and turned to Zara. "Do you need to go for any assignment now?"
Zara shook her head. "I'm free till five in the evening sir. Why?"
"Will you be the model for Saiyyara's latest collection?" Zara's mouth dropped open. "Is that a yes or no Zara?"
She snapped it shut and stumbled in her haste to get up. "Y-yes sir. Of course yes."
"Then come on." With that he walked away.
****
Arzoo ran her fingers over the green and gold cloth. "Can we get that kind of intricate beadwork on this cloth?"
The dress maker, a robust woman of indeterminate age grinned. "Of course yes. That's the best thing about this cloth. It's not heavy..well not too heavy and we can do whatever we want with it."
"APPI! APPI! Appi!" Zara barged into the conference room squealing like a five year old. "Guess what, guess what, guess WHAT!" Arzoo paled at the first squeal from her sister and it took her a few seconds to regroup and realize that Zara was excited not terrified. Zara noticed the faint pale parlor contritely. "Appi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.."
"It's OK." Arzoo tried to get her smile back. "Tell me what happened."
"Your designs have been approved and I'm going to model them now here and also later to the client."
Before Arzoo could close her stunned mouth, the door of the conference room swished open and in walked Sahir Azim Chaudhary quickly followed by Linda. But Arzoo didn't see the man who looked smashing in his dark grey three piece suit. She saw the man who had looked wild in his fury, beating the hell out of the guy. She saw the man who picked up her dupatta and tried to cover her with it. She backed up a couple of steps, her hands instinctively trying to cover the torn dress of that night. Her fingers grazed the fading scratch marks. Locked in the past, she failed to notice the way his eyes followed her movements. The way they darkened as they understood what she was going through. The way his fingers fisted in an effort to stop himself from going to her, pulling her hands away and hugging her tight. To tell her that none of that mattered. That he would never ever let anyone or anything hurt her ever again. But he couldn't tell and do all that, could he? Inadvertent though it was, he had been the reason she was in danger in the first place. So he turned away.
"Good work everyone. Now I want to see you all bring these sketches to life."
Chaos erupted in the room at his order. The dress maker got the material and accessories out and started on the first make shift dress. He gestured the lady to Zara and for the next few hours, Zara was pinned with various materials and jewelry, turned around like a mannequin as each tried out different styles and color combinations. Finally all was set and Zara cat-walked with one after one outfit. Although the actual stitching had to be done, the dress maker pinned them up in such a way that they gave the needed impact. Other than nodding and gesturing for the next one to be brought out, Sahir remained silent. And after the first tense moments, Arzoo slowly began to breathe again. Relax once again and by the end of the fourth display, she started voicing her opinion and actively participating in the suggestions and remarks. She suggested the accessories that would go with each dress and at one point even smiled at Sahir as both of them suggested the same thing at the same time. It was a small gesture but it hit him with the force of a sucker punch. He forced his eyes..and heart to look away.
"Stop Zara," he said. Zara, about to walk with the dress Arzoo had designed, stopped in her tracks. "I think the dupatta should be red. Same design but in red. Not green."
"But the blouse is red too sir," Arzoo inserted a small frown marring her forehead.
He shrugged. "Change that to green. Contrast will remain. But the red should dominate." He picked up the red and she picked up the green. With Zara standing still as a statue, they interchanged the colors and stood back. He got a sudden vision of Arzoo in that outfit. With a shy smile playing on her lips, a slight blush tinting her cheeks, raising her downcast eyes to look up at him.. He reached out to pick up one of the kangan from the accessories tray. Arzoo reached for the same thing at the same thing. Their hands glanced each other. Hastily they tried to pull back but her bracelet snagged at his cuff, halting both their movement. For Arzoo it was like being hit by a speeding truck.
Arzoo Nausheen Khan, mein tumse pyaar karta hoon. Tum meri humsafar ho.
Mein shadishuda hoon.
Finally tumhe samajh mein aaya ki mein kya chahta hoon. Go. Go away!
And her world came crashing down on her once again. With a hasty jerk, she freed the bracelet, turned and ran outside like the hounds of hell were chasing her. Zara, who was talking to Linda didn't see it. None saw. Except the man whose eyes looked..dead.
****
Arzoo was trembling by the time she reached her room and collapsed on her bed. How? How did she forget all that? What had gotten into her that she could forget something like that? Ya Allah! He thought her to be a gold digger. He had been playing with her. He neither loved her nor believed that she loved him. He was married! Married! And no one told her. Not one single person. Everyone stood and watched her making a fool of herself. What were they thinking? Were they laughing behind her back now? And she was still here. Staying in his house. Eating his food. Working for him. Ya Allah! She needed to leave this house. She needed to take her family and leave. But where? Where would she go? What would she do? She had no money, no job, nothing to fall back on. Allah! Please help. Show me the way.
Zara came in. "You OK Appi?"
"Yes. Yes I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm fine." Arzoo tried her best to give a reassuring smile to her sister.
"Appi, I have an assignment so I'm leaving now. I'll be back around seven in the evening, OK?"
"Now? But..where are you going? Are you going alone? No. Don't go alone. I'll come.."
Zara stopped her. "Appi relax. I'm not going alone. Zaki is taking me. He will stay there and bring me back. He did that the other day too."
"Zaki?" Why is Zaki taking Zara? One brother played me. Is Zaki doing the same thing to Zara? NO. She won't let that happen. She will protect her sister. Allah knows she would kill anyone who had any intention of hurting her sister. "Zara, you stay here in the room. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Appi.."
"Please. Just listen to me for once. Don't go anywhere until I come back. OK?" Arzoo was shaking with anger and fear. She cupped her sister's cheeks. "You'll do that, won't you? Please? I..I just..please stay. Promise Zara. Zara promise me."
Zara looked worried and scared. "I promise appi but what happened? Tell me na. Do you need me to call a doctor?" Arzoo didn't listen. She turned and ran. Zara bit her lip, not knowing what to do. She couldn't leave her sister like that, could she? Her ammi had gone to the market. Sighing, she took out her phone to cancel her assignment and get herself a cup of tea.
Arzoo searched and found Zaki near his car. He straightened as soon as he saw her. His entire face lit up. "Jahaara. How are you?"
Arzoo didn't even hear Zaki's question. "Why are you after Zara?"
"Ji?"
"You are taking her to her assignments, staying there and bringing her back. Why? What are you planning? Why are you after my sister?" She was almost screaming but she didn't care.
"Jahaara..what are you saying? I was just..Zara had been scared to go alone so I told her I would take her." The bewildered hurt in his eyes gave her a momentary pause. Until she heard his next words. "I can never do something like that Jahaara. Zara is your sister and I love..I love you."
Arzoo stared at Zaki as if unable to decide whether she has taken leave of her senses or had Zaki. "Wh-what?"
Zaki smiled ruefully. Almost sadly. "I know. You think I've gone crazy, don't you? But Allah gawah hain Jahaara, I love you. You have begun to mean the world to me."
"You love me?" Arzoo felt the downward spiral of life just got more twisted. Was anyone genuine in this house?
"Yes. And I know that you don't love me. That..yo-you are in love with my brother. But before all this happened, I thought you felt the same about me." He got a faraway look on his face. "When none believed my words about Samaira, you supported me." He hastened to add before she opened her mouth. "I know you did it because you thought of me as your friend and wanted to help me. But I thought..thought.."
"That I loved you too." Arzoo looked surprised that she could still string a sentence together and make sense of it.
"Yes. And it doubled my motivation to prove that Samaira was lying. I wanted to show you that your love and trust was not in the wrong place. I even told.." He smothered the rest of his sentence and hastily averted his eyes.
Too late. "You even told? Told who?" Uneasy suspicion formed in her mind. "Told who Zaki?"
"My brother." His tone was low with self-loathing. "I told him that we loved each other. That I would..could never marry Samaira because I wanted to marry..you."
"Y-you t-told Sa-Sahir sir t-that I loved you? That I wanted..But I never..I only ever.."
"You only ever loved bhai. I know that now. But stupid me, I thought your caring meant that you loved me."
"What did he say then?" She asked the question but in her heart she knew the answer. She knew how important that deal was to Sahir. She had been stupid. But she was not that dumb. She had lost her senses in the last few days but she was getting them back now.
"H-he said..he didn't believe me. S-said you were after money and t-this house. It wouldn't matter which brother gives you that."
"And what did you say to that?"
He cringed in shame at the look in her eyes. "I said he was wrong. That you loved me and only me. That he can never prove such an allegation. But I do love you Jahaara. I want to be with you. I know too much has happened and you are all hurt. I know.."
The slap on his cheek whipped his head to the side in the next second. In the next moment, his cheek turned as red as Arzoo's face. "You. It was because of YOU that all this happened. Without knowing the truth, you went and told that to your brother. And then what Zaki? You had a challenge between you. Who will make a fool out of Arzoo first. Who will make her look like an idiot and who will get the last laugh. Right? RIGHT?"
"Jahaara it was not like that." His heartfelt desperate plea fell on deaf ears.
"You knew. You knew how important that deal was to Sahir sir. Instead of going and asking him to give you time to prove your innocence, you dragged me into the equation." She gave a wild laugh and backed away until she hit a pillar. "No wonder. No wonder he did all that. No wonder h-he said all that. I w-was probably proving his words true in his eyes. Going to extremes by helping you one day a-and running after him the next. He must have thought..thought.." Her mind went back to the night of her birthday..the time he jumped into the pool, the way he forced himself to eat those stupid paratas.. "Allah knows, he did it all for that deal. What was the bet Zaki? I'm curious. What was the winner going to get? A chance to boot me and my family out of this house and out of your lives?"
"Jahaara no. Please listen to me. It was not like that."
"Well I won't give either of you that chance." Tears replaced the hate filled fury. "Goes to show how stupid I am. He did win and he did collect his winnings. He did boot me out his house. Why did I come back? Why am I still here?" Because you called out to him when you were scared and in trouble. You couldn't even think of anyone else. At the first hint of unease at the way that cab driver was behaving, you called him. And he came. He rescued you. He couldn't leave you there, could he? He had no damn choice.
Thank you all for reading.
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