Sahir Arzoo FF | Love, law, inter alia | Chapter 20: Pg 91 [COMPLETE] - Page 21

It is such a pleasant surprise to have new readers join in at this stage! I am awed by the fact that you took the time to read through all the nine chapters! It is also incredibly helpful for me as a writer to receive comments on the entire kahaani ab tak because it becomes hard to keep things consistent after some time and it is something that I constantly worry about.

Fun fact - Sahir's character is actually based on two people that I know. Some grumpy guy, my mentor of sorts, who is four days elder to me but behaves like we are at least 40 years apart and whom I (used to??) have a crush on. I started writing this story to vent out.. stuff 😛 At some point Sahir's character somehow absorbed qualities of another person that I know in real life, who happens to be my best friend. And there's a little bit of me too in the later parts.. Hehe. So yes, it's all a big muddle, and I often wonder if the change in Sahir does not appear overly drastic to readers. That being said, aforementioned grumpy guy has also exhibited a few 180 degree character changes from time to time, albeit momentarily, so maybe it is realistic (or maybe he is just a psychobaaz).

Point of this long winding aside being, I am relieved at learning that you found the pace to be okay and didn't seem to find consistency issues 😳

And I absolutely LOVE the fact that you picked on the two-day bruises part. I think it may be my favourite part of my own writing (haha.. humility much! 😛 ) and given that I intentionally did not make it conspicuous, because I wanted it to seem like a subconscious observation of Arzoo's, the fact that you noticed and brought it out made me extremely happy!

Thanks for the comment!

Originally posted by: ikhlass

Suite

To be honest, he was not quite convinced by his own explanation himself. [...] Oh, Arzoo was quite possibly his "type," but of course, he was most certainly not the type to chain himself down in the suffocating shackles of relationships, nor was he the kind who would be able to be a good partner to somebody, for he was far too broken to bring the required reassuring stability to somebody else's life.

I like his honesty with himself, he recognizes that Arzoo is his type but he is afraid of doesn't being able to fill her expectations because of his childhood... If he knows that Zeenat's expectations are superficial, he knows too that those of Arzoo are deep

That's a lovely parallel that you drew between his feelings for Arzoo and those that he has for Zeenat. Honestly it was not something I had intended, so the story has definitely been enriched by your insight!

She could read his silences, and he felt that he could read hers too. For some reason, they just connected in a way that defied all rational explanation.

The tormented souls recognize each other... That is the explanation...

Of course!😉 We should start a helpline or something for clueless Sahir and Arzoo.

Yet he could not deny that she was a breath of fresh air in his stifling life, she was sunshine, she was happiness and hope, so much so, that the very idea that they were perhaps friends brought solace to him.

Oh la la he feels just happy to be her friend... Why he is so cute !

Why indeed! 😳

He could not deny that he had grown so fond of her that her absence rendered him uneasy and restless. [...] his thoughts jumping back to Arzoo ever so often.

That is what i said, his mind is only with Arzoo...

Once the dinner was over, and he had brought himself to part with Zeenat as politely as he could, given that they were after both in the same field, and also because he would not have wanted her to feel pained on his account,

Sahir you are a real gentleman! 😳

his steps led him to Arzoo's room, before his brain could butt in with some sensible remark. It was surprising, evidently, that someone as stubbornly reticent as him should have grown so naturally comfortable around her in so little time, but he did not give it much thought. It was exhausting to think through everything and he was glad for the break.

Even his brain is tired😆... Stop questioning yourself and enjoy every moment with Arzoo

I know right! Finally! 😛

"Seriously, can you imagine me in a relationship? Buying flowers and teddy bears and singing around trees?"

"Oh my God, that's what I thought!" she laughed.

"You actually pictured me like that? What is wrong with you woman?"

"There were heart-shaped balloons too... oh, and colourful frilly shirts," she elaborated, her eyes misting up with another impending fit of laughter.

I burst out laughing 🤣... He read in her mind... Super dialogue !! (merci pour le clin d'oeil avec la chemise a froufrou 😉)

Haha, I'm so glad you picked on that! I added that bit towards the end just for you. Just couldn't get rid of the mental image of that picture that you had inserted in your comment 😆 There is a bit of every reader in the story, in some way or the other, but this is the most apparent inclusion of a reader's input in the story 😃 I'm so glad that the story is evolving as something that is created by us as a community of sorts.

He knew instantly that he should not have said that. A vacant expression came over her face as the light in her eyes retreated to that painfully haunted space to which she allowed nobody access. And then, before his very eyes, within seconds her expression had morphed into a forced air of neutrality.

Oh my little darling Arzoo 😭... Soon you will be able to liberate all this suffocating sorrow

Soon? Well, I do hope so too.

"Advocate Arzoo Nawsheen Khan, all you need in order to succeed, is to picture yourself as having already succeeded. [...] You have tremendous potential and I believe in you."

Why he is so sweet !! I want to eat him 😆

Haha, please don't. The forum will never forgive you 😆

This chapter in my view, despite the discovery of the painful past of Sahir, was the lightest of the chapters... It was as moving as the previous ones but with a Sahir more "optimistic", he seemed to have the clearer ideas on the relation that he wants to have with Arzoo... Despite his distrust of others, i feel that he has lowered his guard with Arzoo... And this interaction between Sahir and Arzoo was awesome, I loved every word exchanged between both... The first part of their dialogue was light and full of good humor... The second part was so moving and sincere... A beautiful relationship is beginning between both...

I like your way to push forward the story, fog dissipates little by little and that is pleasant to read... You depict very well the characters psychology and the fact that they share with us their point of view helps us to understand them better and feel empathy for them

please continue to share your very talented writing

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Much appreciated as always. It is always of great help to understand how the story is being received and interpreted by different readers.

J'aimerais commenter chaque ligne de ton histoire mais cela serait trop long, ce serait trop fatigant a lire pour toi 😆

j'ai lu que tu allais tarder a mettre la suite... Prends ton temps mais s'il te plait ne nous oublie pas

Bisou 🤗

Originally posted by: raaz19

As promised review of chapter 8 below;😊⭐️

Okay before I post the chapter review let me say I know that it is long overdue but what can I say...well all I can say is hope you enjoy reading it... before I make any comments about the chapter itself, once again fabulous update and thanks for maintaining the continuity in the story and the track itself... let's just say that with each passing chapter we see a layer opening of the characters and the journey that they may have ahead...
Truly lovely writing Serendity (Hema) and a big round of 👏

Thanks Raz for your encouraging words! You make me so very happy!
...
Let me just start by saying that the subtitle of this chapter was a lovely choice after the last... The word " Caveat "for me defines the journey that Saaz will lead based upon their observations of their behaviour may that be through the signals they may give each other or through there mannerism or words itself... well what I am trying to say is that this chapter has focused on the detail that arzoo has gaged over the exchange between Sahir and Zeenat during the conference and the way that she has decided to interoperate that event in her life... like the title suggest itself " a detail to be considered when evaluating, interpreting, or doing something" as we all do this every day when accessing a scenario or event may that be through our heart or matter of fact based upon what society deems appropriate. And after all in the last chapter we got to see and read all about sahir power to deem what he seems is appropriate in terms of his relationship with arzoo. Like you said before he is a man that bases his decisions through facts and logic and with that he defines his path...😛

I just love the way you enrich the story with your layered interpretations and insights! And you are very right of course, they both are relying on - as you say - "signals," to decide what to do. I think it has to do with the fact that they are both, for different reasons, very cautious and to some extent, hesitant to embark upon a relationship that they feel they will not be able to handle. So while they do recognise that they long for companionship and feel that they connect in some strange but very real way, they are constantly inhibited by these warnings, or caveats. Arzoo is not exactly stubbornly logical - as you say, that is more a characteristic of Sahir - but she has hardened herself and does not allow herself to just go with the flow. She finds the need to constantly look out evaluate every step of hers and to overthink through everything.

I loved the way that you showed us that arzoo is the polar opposite in this chapter. The opening line in the FF is a perfect example of that itself "Arzoo had continued to smile surreptitiously to herself long after Sahir's wisecrack about her looking fat had ended. Her intuitive belief in the inherent goodness of all - until proven otherwise - had always led her to sense that there was more to Sahir Azeem Chaudhary than he was letting on, and that there was another, less robotic, side to him that he may have suppressed in his insane race for power and excellence. " The line itself shows that she letting down her barriers and with that is letting herself relax in his company. His actions have again had shown us that arzoo believe in others goodness is not wrong and that not all life decisions have to be based on facts and figures...😆

Haha, true that! Then again, Arzoo keeps swinging between trust and caution, uff! 😛

What I am trying to say is that since sahir has made the first move towards building that everlasting friendship he has not realised that his act has not only restored arzoo faith in mankind but it may help her in the future to see that not all men are the same... so far I have understood that her marriage was one of abuse and that she was the one that took it all in silence. For me I would love to see how the power of their friendship and his acts of kindness are interpret ate by our arzoo in the future.

It sure would be interesting. Without realising it, she has begun to drop her guard somewhat, and she is getting there, slowly but surely.

One thing we are sure of is that they are humsafars but what we still don't know is how they will realise this as mentioned below "Every time he dismissively brushed away some act of kindness of his, almost in embarrassment, her cynicism melted away momentarily, and in that moment, try as she might, she could not bring herself to believe that trusting him could be a mistake. And thankfully, the moment passed .Granted, he was perhaps not as ruthless as he had once appeared, but if life had taught her anything, it was that people changed when they were given enough power to affect others." It's nice to see that there is still hope for arzoo recovery and her broken heart. After reading about their inner conflict to break barriers that they had built around them due to the injustice suffered it a breath of fresh air to see that they are will to move forward and see the bigger picture together. I think the biggest step for them both so far has been letting someone in which they both have done. May that is sahir through is concern for arzoo heath and by arzoo through her concern for his...

Very well said. For all their caution and cynicism, they both have somehow let each other in, which is a pretty big step indeed!

Although we can still see that the defensive nature is still there in arzoo as he you have mentioned
"But it had cost her everything to bring herself to a stage where she knew she could rely on nobody but herself to be happy. And to even smile at the warmth of another being, seemed like an act of betrayal towards herself and the struggle that she had been through. Sahir Azeem Chaudhary was a junior associate at the law firm, both a colleague and a mentor, and she would be as courteous and cordial as their professional relationship required of her. It was pleasing to see that he was dropping his high-handed ways and going out of his way to be nice to her, and she would most certainly reciprocate to the offer of friendship that could be inferred from his actions. Yet, even in their friendship, there would always be a line, that would never be crossed, the line that separated graciousness from subservience." This not only shows her protectiveness for herself and her feeling... As you read this one get the indication that she won't be able to take another failure. I think that arzoo blames herself for the failure in her marriage and that she believes that she let herself get to close and let her judgement fail... I believe that here again she is trying to look for faults for not building a familiar relationship and hence is letting her logical thinking cloud her judgement once again...

I love that you picked up on the fact that she is attributing the fault to herself! It was something that I chose to suggest in a very subtle way. Women don't realise how just deeply their tendency to blame themselves has been ingrained in their psyche. Her husband was a jerk because he was a jerk. The failure of the marriage and subsequent divorce, was not her failure, but his. Sadly, society always holds the women to blame, and women, even the most liberal-seeming, have been conditioned it to themselves as well, shrouding their pain with shame and guilt. (Sorry for seemingly going a bit too feministy there - it's just something that upsets me).

I see that you have tried to show us that she doesn't want to risk her professional gain just for the pleasure of a friendship even though she knows that he meant well. Poor sahir it seems like that it going to take a lot more for him to truly win arzoo trust completely.

Hehe.. you reminded me of Asharfi.. bechara Sahir 😃

As I read further it made me smile. I totally loved the way that you added the concept of jealousy. I must say it's a clever way of focusing on the title of the chapter itself. After all jealously only exist when one is uncertain of their attraction to someone which is the case for our lovely arzoo. She doesn't realise that her fondness of sahir and his exceptance is just not based upon a professional level but it's also personal and what a great way to make her realise this by introducing us to Zeenat... I wonder when she was going to make her present felt... Once gain brilliant writing... You keep managing to keep us on each to read what happens next...😉

Aw, thank you! And by the way, Razia, you, of all people, have no option but to read the FF up to its very end (even if it becomes boring midway) 😛 #justsaying.

Not only did I feel that arzoo was jealous but I also detected that she was being defensive and somewhat protective of sahir... as you have written "Logic dictated that it should not have bothered Arzoo in the slightest, that Zeenat was leaning a little too close to Sahir as they talked of matters that she could not overhear from where she was sitting. Women have a strange, inexplicable insight into the workings of other women's minds and they are able to pick on the subtlest of visual cues to understand pretty much exactly what is transpiring therein. Arzoo had little difficulty in surmising that Zeenat exhibited the unmistakable signs of somebody who had developed something of a crush, and the lucky man in question was none other than a completely oblivious Sahir."

Brilliantly put! Jealousy is often seen as a negative thing (and well, it kinda is), but on the other side of the same coin, you do have, like you said, protectiveness, which is definitely a sign of caring and love. And yes, defensiveness is there as well, esp at this stage, where she has not fallen in love with Sahir per se.. hehe.

I enjoyed seeing this envious side to arzoo but it also made me chuckle because for a man that was so proud of his logical thinking he had no clue that both woman were trying to gain his attention. Poor sahir if he could have only seen what arzoo was feeling... It's like seeing a man that has no soul and has lost all sense of feeling... It is quite sad really because it makes you wonder what he has missed out on...

Well, men are generally clueless about these things, but yes it is true that Sahir is especially limited in these matters.

Besides this it was also very comical because I know we woman do this all the time. We either get really protective or defensive when it comes to linking someone... it's like we are trying to fight with our inner demons that being our heart and brain if you get what I mean... and nonetheless arzoo is no different after all she can try to become a robot but after all she is still human and being a human god has reminded us that the one that gets hurt has to both feel breath and feel in order to move on and find their true calling their true happiness or destiny whatever they truly wish to seek... From what I can see is that both seek happiness and that I am afraid they will only get when they come together as soul mates.

That is such a beautiful way of putting it. And definitely, all that muddle of different clashing emotions makes for good comedy 😆

Yet I loved the twist that you bring toward the end of the chapter as we believe arzoo and sahir should be getting together our lady arzoo it focusing on getting Zeenat and sahir together...
"Arzoo had felt oddly uneasy at the thought, especially when Sahir had smiled at something Zeenat had said. But it was laughably silly of course. It could only be a good thing if Sahir opened up a bit more, and more importantly, it would be hilarious for her to watch him in love, wearing colourful clothes, buying red roses and heart-shaped balloons, and humming a tune or two! Her lips curved into a faint smile, and she took a deep breath and tore her eyes away from the two. The presentation was about to start." It's nice to see that she cares about sahir wellbeing but at the same time you get the feeling that she want to repay him for his act of kindness and as we read further we get to see that this is exactly her intention... But not before she googled, I see that our arzoo has also turned into somewhat of a detective... but I loved the way you included ikhlass is picture in the description... Must say I really enjoyed reading this part it even made me laugh for a while...

Haha, glad you enjoyed it!! I enjoyed writing that part too! By the way, I did not include Ikhlass's picture in Chapter 8. The picture was a comment on Chapter 8 after I had posted it. But I definitely did make reference to it in Chapter 9 when I mentioned "frilly shirts".. hehe. Couldn't resist! 😉

I somehow get the impression that she wished that someone had done this for her and that she had enjoyed the pleasure of all this when she had fallen in love, it's sad to see that her journey into this emotion was not filed with light but rather it only bought her grey clouds of pain and suffering...

Oh wow, I didn't think of that, but it is definitely highly probable. That is something that we do feel when we have gone through a hard time. Thanks for that tidbit!

As I read further I could see that sahir had not lost that concern for arzoo as during the whole conference his attention have been on Zeenat but is focus was on arzoo from his gesture towards signalling to the table of food or even showing his concern when she had said that she was ill... why did I get the feeling that he was not the slightest interested in to spending any more time with Zeenat then arzoo had thought. Well for that I will have to read the next chapter...

Which you have done, by now 😉 And your hunch was on-point. He cannot stop thinking of Arzoo.

however it was nice to see that arzoo still believes in the emotion of love...I know that they both are scared of declaring what they feel when they are together but for that they will have to first get over the fact that they are just friends... After all this is shown well by you below;

"After all, she reasoned, as she sat in her room alone that evening, wondering what Sahir and Zeenat must be up to, Sahir was at perfect liberty to be with whomsoever he liked, and since she considered him as something of a friend now, she needed to be happy for him. Also, since he was so clueless about what Zeenat's fondness for him, it was up to her to ensure that the two at least got some alone time together. She had been most unlucky in love, but love still was, at its core, the happiest of feelings that everyone deserved to feel, most especially that Gabbar Chaudhary of hers.

They had never been a part of her.

Yes, he had definitely made her feel a lot less miserable, and it was time she did something for him too. Project Zeenat it would be."

I loved the way that arzoo was worried about his insecurity and it was nice to see that her curiosity had not ended after her meeting with Zeenat... I loved the way that the whole chapter focused on the interaction between arzoo and sahir and there gestures towards each other... Each part of this journey focused on the recovery of their professional journey which they believed that they may have lost... not only did they gain the pleasure of being each other's friends but somehow they had learnt to trust each other... However I know that in the past logical thinking has been used by both to learn from their mistakes but I feel the way that you have mentioned that one's gestures or actions can be interoperated in several way and the way that one determines these is the road to recovery... and untimely helps us build the faith that we have or seek to heal or redeem or self... This chapter for me signifies the journey that arzoo feels that sahir should have and I feel that her gesture to unite Zeenat and sahir is a way for her to prove that love can overcome all obstacles and even heal people that have been wronged...

Wow, Razia! Honestly. I am awed by the depth of your insights on the symbolism of Arzoo's matchmaking attempts, which I myself did not intend. It's just beautiful.

Hehe.. you readers are just out to make the story more awesome than it probably is - and I love you for it!

She believes that her reward for his friendship should be repaid through her act of making him feel the pleasure of being in love...if only she knew that love can exist between polar opposites and not just between people that are perfectly matched as she had deemed or even judged that Zeenat was his perfect match... After all she did call him Gabbar Chaudhary meaning that he could just be the right match for her after all... Hopefully these uncertainties will only increase their attraction towards each other...

Hopefully 😉

Each time I feel that with each passing chapter I will get to close these mysteries but it seems that you only add a more mysterious element for us to carry on reading... and thanks for making this chapter not only funny but also a reflection of what they see when they are observing each other...
😳