SS - Worlds Apart #2: Ch 19 Pg 121

Karan lay next to her talking to her until she fell asleep as the night sky started to lighten he gently removed his hand from her, kissing her on the forehead he left her to return back. By the time Zoya woke up it was past eight in the morning, she jumped up to find him gone, but the memories he left her with left her with a sweet blush. She gently stroked her lips with the tips of her fingers as if she could still feel his soft lips against her own.

Before she got out of bed she picked up her phone to text him

Within a few seconds she received a reply

Stepping outside she greeted Aisha Bibi and Iram who were busy in the kitchen 'good morning' she greeted them 'morning beta, how are you?' 'Very well...what's for breakfast?' 'What would you like?' 'How about an Aisha Bibi special' Aisha Bibi started smiling 'coming up...have you got everything ready for tomorrow?' 'Yes, almost. I just need to get a few books, I thought I would buy them instead of loaning them out from the library' 'ok, once you finished your breakfast I will come with you'.

Zoya quickly text Karan to let him know where they were headed to

At this point Zoya contemplated telling Aisha Bibi about Karan, she didn't like the fact she was hiding something so important from her, she had never lied to her nor hidden anything before now, she made up her mind to talk to Karan and then to tell Aisha Bibi as soon as she could.

Finally purchasing the books she required Zoya started to walk around the shopping mall with Aisha Bibi. Even though she hated shopping she made an effort, it had been a long time since they had ventured out shopping together. 'Can we go up there...to that shop?' Zoya said pointing to a designer boutique 'of course, let's go' as the two of them approached the escalators a group of young boys creating a lot of noise and commotion ran past them, one of them hit into Aisha Bibi making her stumble forwards and hit her head against a pillar. Zoya screamed out as she ran to Aisha Bibi 'you morons, can't you see where you are going' she shouted out in anger. Aisha Bibi placed her hand over hers 'I am ok beta...don't...' Aisha Bibi stopped as she looked up to see four boys standing over them.

Zoya stood up and glared at them 'what did you call us?' One of them said stepping forwards 'are you deaf as well as blind?' she retorted back 'beta...leave them' Aisha Bibi said trying to pull Zoya back 'Aisha Bibi...one minute' Zoya looked back at the four boys 'I am sure Mumbai has a lot of parks and zoo's to keep animals like you entertained...what the hell do you think you were doing, you could have hurt her' the boy that had stepped forward narrowed his eyes as he started to fill with anger 'how dare you...do you even know who I am?' 'I thought I had already established that...a moron' the boy leapt forward to grab Zoya, as he pulled her arm with force Zoya closed her eyes waiting for his attack but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes she saw Karan standing in front of her, he had the boys neck in his hand.

Letting out a gasp she quickly grabbed his arm 'Karan...let him go...Karan stop' she said as she saw the boy struggle to breathe 'I would suck out the eyes of anyone who dare look at her and you had the audacity to touch her' the boy squirmed as he tried to get Karan off of him 'Karan please let him go' Karan pushed the boy making him fall back hitting his head hard against the tiled floor, as he looked up to the other three they scattered running before he could get a hold of them.

Karan turned around to see Aisha Bibi holding the side if her head, she was bleeding. He quickly took out a handkerchief and placed it on her head 'Aisha Bibi, we need to get you to a doctor' picking her up in his arms Karan started to walk out with Zoya following close behind.

As the doctor examined Aisha Bibi Zoya tried to calm him down 'Karan please calm down' 'I swear to god Zoya I would have killed him' he said fisting his hands 'I know...Karan look at me' Karan turned to face her and as he did she cupped his face gently stroking his cheek with the tip of her thumb, Karan started to calm down instantly 'it's ok' she whispered.

Karan pulled her towards him and hugged her 'no it's not Zoya, if I hadn't come...if he had hurt you...I...' 'Karan...' Zoya was interrupted by the doctor who had stepped back outside, quickly pulling away she looked at him 'is she ok?' 'Yes she is fine, luckily it was just a small cut, it will heal...although there may be some bruising. I have bandaged her head...if you wish you can see her' 'thank you doctor'.

Zoya and Karan went inside, as soon as Zoya saw Aisha Bibi she ran to her with moist eyes 'Aisha Bibi are you ok...I'm so sorry this is all my fault' Aisha Bibi placed her hand over her head 'don't be silly Zoya, it wasn't your fault at all' looking up at Karan she started smiling 'at least I now know why you wanted to come to Mumbai...how are you Karan?' She said holding her hand out. Karan walked up to her and let her embrace him 'I am well, how are you?' 'How about you take us home and I can tell you over a cup of coffee' Karan started smiling 'sounds good'.

Iram served them coffee and then went to her room giving them privacy 'you knew Karan was here, didn't you?' Aisha Bibi asked Zoya 'yes, when we came back I called uncle Roy, who told me Karan had transferred to Mumbai, I wanted to see him...just once...I'm sorry I didn't tell you'.

Aisha Bibi looked towards Karan 'I thought I was doing the right thing, and maybe I was when I stopped you three years ago...but I know that no matter how hard I try, no matter what I say or do, there is no stopping you. It will not be easy Karan' Karan took Aisha Bibi's hand in his and kissed the back of it 'I know, it's not like I haven't gone through this in my head, I have. But I promise you Aisha Bibi I will go up against anyone and anything, I will fight the world until my very last breath to be with her, I love her' Aisha Bibi placed her hand against his face 'I know you do beta, I never doubted your love for one another, not even for a second. I just...well it doesn't matter. What matters now is that you two are together and always will be...Zoya is here until next June, that gives you 9 months to figure this out' Karan looked at Zoya who smiled through her moist eyes 'we will'.

Making sure Aisha Bibi was comfortable Zoya came back out of her room letting her sleep. Karan stood up seeing her come out 'is she ok?' 'Yes, she has fallen asleep' 'you should rest too, you have a long day tomorrow' Zoya quickly held his hand 'no...please don't go...stay...I mean we have a spare room' Karan stepped closer 'it's not appropriate for me to Zoya, I will stay with you for a while but then I will have to go...if it's ok with you I can come with you...I meaning the morning to uni' 'I would like that'.

It was just after midnight, Zoya had started to fall asleep against his shoulder. Karan lifted her up and took her to her bedroom, lying her down he kissed the side of her head before he left. In his way out she heard a noise come from Aisha Bibi's room, he quickly ran in thinking something had happened. As he opened the door he saw her trying to behold of a glass 'Aisha Bibi wait' he called out, striding up to her he picked up the jug of water and poured her a glass of water 'thank you beta...Zoya?' 'She is sleeping, I was just about to leave when I heard noise'

'You are more than welcome to stay Karan' 'I know, and it's very kind of you to offer, but it wouldn't feel right, I am not officially...I mean' 'it's ok, I know what you mean..,it's different now...and I respect you for respecting her in such a way' 'thank you Aisha Bibi, your support means a lot to me' 'it is all I have to give Karan, Zoya is not my biological daughter but she means a lot more than that to me, I would do anything for her happiness. I saw what she endured over the last three years, I have never seen someone of her age with such patience, such contentment, she hadn't seen you or spoken to you but her love for you...it's as if it's Allah's gift to her' 'I don't know what will happen...and to be honest until the time comes I don't really want to think about it, I don't want my time with her to be constantly over shadowed by this unknown fear' 'for now I agree with you...be happy'. Karan stood up 'I will see you soon' 'insha'Allah'.

After a long hour of fussing over Aisha Bibi Zoya finally left for uni, her first day as a new student. Stepping out of the car she told her driver to pick her up at half four, making her way towards the main entrance Zoya stopped, he heart skipped a beat seeing him standing there, he looked like a Greek God, she could never get over how perfect he was. As she approached him Karan held out his hand which she instantly took 'hey' 'you ready?' 'Like any good student would be...Karan you don't have to stay here...I mean wait for me the whole day' 'Zoya I...' 'I know how you feel...but I will feel a lot worse knowing you are hanging around waiting for me...you go...I have a lunch break at half twelve and then I finish at half four, you come and meet me for lunch...and then when I finish I can meet you back at the apartment' Karan wasn't happy but knew she was being practical 'ok...I will see you at half twelve here' Zoya leaned up to kiss him on the cheek 'see you soon'.

Zoya walked up the stair only to bump into Inaya who was gawping at her 'is that your boyfriend?' She asked looking straight through her towards Karan, Zoya started giggling 'yes, he is' Inaya turned towards her and launched at her arm 'please, please tell me he has a brother that looks just like him' Zoya started laughing out loud 'sorry...it's just him...one unique piece' Inaya pulled a sad face 'one unique piece of yumminess and he is all yours...when did life become so unfair' 'yes he is all mine...now if you have stopped sulking we should get a move on' being on totally different courses their timetables were the complete opposite, the only time they both had free was lunch time and and on Friday afternoons when they both had the afternoon off. Zoya invited Inaya to join her for lunch 'I will introduce you to my yumminess' Inaya started smiling 'I'll see you at lunch time' she said walking off.

Zoya's class was very big, it had a total of 17 students. As the lecturer got everyone to introduce themselves she sat down next to a boy called Dan and a girl called Sneha.

As their long morning session came to an end Aditya and Sneha invited Zoya to join them for lunch 'I would love to but I have already made plans...how about tomorrow?' 'Sure...see you after lunch' Sneha said as she picked up her bag and walked if with Aditya.

Zoya came out to find Karan waiting for her, radiating a smile full of love she hurried towards him and hugged him shamelessly 'you been waiting long?' 'No, a few minutes , shall we go?' 'Just a moment, I would like to introduce you to a friend, someone I met on my registration day...I hope you don't mind I invited her to lunch with us' Karan tapped the tip of her noes 'of course not'.

Inaya saw Zoya and Karan standing near the parking lot talking as she walked towards them she saw Zoya wave at her 'hi, sorry I'm late' 'you're not late...Inaya, this is Karan, and Karan this is Inaya' Inaya held out her hand which Karan politely took to shake 'nice meeting you Inaya' 'same here' 'so where do you girls want to go?' 'We only have an hour, how about that cafe we went to last time' Zoya said looking towards Inaya 'sounds good'.

Zoya had a hard time trying to keep a straight face, Inaya was in total awe of Karan and was doing a really bad job of hiding her blush every time he spoke to her 'you seriously don't have a brother...a long lost twin...a cousin maybe' Karan started to feel a little embarrassed 'no...none of the above' he said trying to smile at her. As they finished Karan got up and stood behind Zoya 'what is with her?' Zoya suppressed her laugh 'you are...the girl has a crush on you' Karan looked at her oddly 'she does...why?' Zoya stooped at looked at him she didn't know whether to laugh out loud or just kiss him senseless for his cute naiveness.

As they reached back Inaya thanked Karan for lunch 'you're welcome...bye' 'Zoya you coming?' 'Yeah, I will be there in two minutes' Zoya turned around to face him 'will you come by the apartment?' 'Try and keep me away' 'never...I will see you later...I love you' 'I love you too' Karan kissed her forehead before he turned around and walked off leaving her desiring a lot more.

It had been over a month since Zoya started college, Karan had managed to keep himself off work but there was only so much time he could take off.

'I have a new assignment' 'that's great...isn't it?' Zoya said looking at his expression 'I guess...but that means being away from you' 'will you have to go out of Mumbai?' 'Not that I know of but there is no telling' 'Karan...don't think so much, it's your work, it's what you do...take the assignment and go...I will be ok' 'I won't...I will worry too much' 'then stop worrying...You know my daily routine, you know my friends, I won't hang out or go places where you don't approve of' 'I start tomorrow' 'that's good...I have two more weeks and then am off for one week and then another 5 weeks until I break for the Christmas holidays' 'are you going to to back to Delhi?' 'I am not sure...not if I can help it but it depends on what Mamoon wants me to do'.

'I should go, I still have my packing to do' 'you want me to come and help?' 'No, let me take you home, I will come over once I have finished'.

After dinner Aisha Bibi left Karan and Zoya, giving them some time alone before he left. 'You know I won't be able to contact you for a few days' 'yes, I know...Karan I will be ok...and so will you...now stop thinking about it' Karan put his arms around her shoulder and let her rest herself against his chest, letting sleep consume them they both.

Karan woke up in a jerk as her felt a tap on his shoulder, he looked up to see Aisha Bibi standing over him. 'Wakey wakey, it's morning' Karan looked down to see Zoya fast asleep in his lap 'I'm so sorry Aisha Bibi, I didn't realise' 'it's ok beta, it's just after six' carefully lifting Zoya up he lay her on the sofa placing a cushion under her head 'I should get going, I have a lot to do before I leave' Aisha Bibi smiled at him 'will you have a coffee before you leave?' 'No thank you...tell Zoya I will call her...please look after her, I am not sure how long I will be gone for' 'I will...you also take care, may Allah always protect you' Aisha Bibi cupped his face and placed a kiss on his forehead 'Allah hafiz beta'.

Taking one last look at his sleeping beauty Karan picked up his phone and keys and left. Aisha Bibi let Zoya sleep for another hour before she woke her up 'Zoya, get up beta you will be late for uni' Zoya sat up and looked around her, she was just about to ask what she was doing on the sofa and then remembered that Karan was with her 'when did he leave?' 'An hour ago...' 'Why didn't you wake me up?' 'I think it was easier for him to say goodbye whilst you were sleeping'. Zoya got up and ran to her room, she picked up her phone to call him when she saw his message.

I am sorry I left without telling you, you looked so peaceful, I didn't have the heart you wake you up. I hope I am not away for too long, I will be changing my SIM, will try and contact you as soon as I can. I love you Zoya, please stay safe.

Zoya sat on her bed, her insides churned as realisation dawned on her, she wasn't going to see him, or be able to contact him in any shape or form, and there was no way of knowing for how long. She carried on and maintained that she was ok with it but it was more for his benefit, she knew he would have turned away from his work and duty without thinking if she had truly said that she wasn't going to cope without him.

Zoya did her best to throw herself into her studies, it was the only thing she could do to keep her mind off of him but it wasn't proving to be so successful. It had almost been a week and and still hadn't heard from him, it hurt Aisha Bibi to see her like this 'Zoya, you do realise that this is what it will always be like...' 'I know Aisha Bibi, and it accept it...I just want to be with him, I can't imagine my life without him...' Aisha Bibi let out a painful sigh 'I just pray to Allah that he makes things easy for you both beta...hang in there, am sure he will call soon'

Zoya went to lie down, her lack of sleep over the last week had started to catch up with her. As her eyes started to close and heard her phone ring, jumping up she looked at it, it was a private number 'hello' 'hey' 'Karan...Ya Allah...Karan are you ok?' Karan didn't need to see her to know that her eyes had started to moisten 'I am ok...I am sorry it's taken me so long to call you' 'no...please don't say sorry...I miss you' 'I know, I miss you too' 'are you still in Mumbai...how long are you away for?' 'I am but only until tomorrow, I am having to go away with them...Zoya, I am not sure how long I will be' Zoya's tears started to trickle down her cheeks 'don't cry Zoya, please don't make this hard for me' Zoya wiped her tears 'I'm sorry, look after yourself...and please come back soon...I love you' 'I love you too'.

Zoya put her phone down and curled up in her bed, she didn't want to cry but her eyes refused to stop as her heart continued to pain her.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months, it was nearly Christmas and Zoya had been asked to come back to Delhi for her holidays.

Zoya lay with her head in Aisha Bibi lap silently crying 'shh, Zoya beta please...stop doing this to yourself' 'Aisha Bibi do you know how long it's been...I don't think I can take it anymore' 'beta I am sure he will come back soon...' 'But we are leaving for Delhi in two days' time...what if he comes back after we have gone...' 'We can leave him a note, a message, you have already spoken to Mr Roy, he will speak to him and let him know'.

Zoya finished packing her bags and went outside to meet Aisha Bibi and Iram 'the driver is here, we need to go' Zoya just nodded and followed Aisha Bibi out to the car. From the moment they left the apartment to the moment they entered Hamid's house Zoya didn't say a single word, all she did was try and console her aching heart.

Zoya had been in her room for hours' refusing to come down. Hamid who sensed something was wrong went up to her 'Zoya, beta it's Mamoon, can I come in?' Cleaning her face she quickly got up and opened the door, he is saw her swollen eyes 'Zoya what's wrong...what happened?' He asked with concern 'oh nothing Mamoon, I was tired...I must have fallen asleep' she said trying to feign a yawn.

Hamid patted her face 'Zoya, I have someone coming to see me in an hour...someone I think you would like to meet, please get ready and come downstairs' 'Mamoon, do I have to?' 'Yes you do...now come on hurry up'.

Zoya came downstairs dressed in a light blue shalwar kameez, she knew that her Mamoon preferred her in traditional clothes so she always tried to make an extra effort around him.

Zoya went to sit with Hamid who was watching the news 'Mamoon who is coming?' Zoya asked just as Hamid was about to reply the door bell rang 'you'll find out in just a second' Zoya stood up with Hamid, as the person walked in Zoya saw who it was and started smiling 'uncle Roy' she whispered as she ran towards him 'Zoya, how are you...it's been such a long time' 'I am ok...it's so good to see you uncle Roy' keeping his arms around her they all walked back inside and sat down.

'Mr Siddiqui, I have made the necessary arrangement, I can assure you that only the best will be there to protect Zoya' Zoya looked at the two men exchange words, she didn't understand what was going on 'protect me from what?' Hamid looked at Zoya and leaned forwards 'you remember Akram?' Zoya nodded 'yes, uncle Fawad's son...what about him?' 'Well, him and his friends got into a bit of bother with a small gang of boys from the opposition party at our last rally...because him and his father have a strong affiliation with me, the death threats they were receiving seemed to have found their way here'. Zoya gulped as she looked at both of them wide eyed 'does that mean I have to come back?'

'No, quite the contrary, as long as you are in Mumbai you are safe but you know I can't take any chances Zoya, especially not with you...so I have asked Roy to assign a bodyguard' Zoya stood up, she felt as if her head was going to explode 'no...please Mamoon...I don't need a bodyguard...you said yourself I am safe there...I have a driver who drops me off and picks me up, I hardly step outside the university grounds when I am there...and the rest of the time I am home...I don't need anyone'

Mr Roy stood up as did Hamid seeing Zoya get so upset 'Zoya at least meet him' Hamid said. Zoya looked at Mr Roy, trying hard not to cry she shook her head slowly. Mr Roy walked up to her 'Zoya, what's wrong beta?' 'Uncle please...you know...I can't' 'Zoya, at least let me...' Zoya moved out of his hold and was about to turn around and walk off when Mr Roy called out to her 'Zoya wait...Karan, can you come in please' Zoya froze upon hearing his name, she fisted her hands as her heart beat started to fade away. She slowly turned around and almost fell as she saw him stand before her. Her eyes watered as she tried to breathe, Karan looked at her and felt the same pain she did, he turned to Mr Roy who understood what he was trying to say. Mr Roy placed his hand on Zoya's back to support her.

'Karan, please come in...I was so glad when Roy told me you were finally free to join us again' Karan smile at Hamid as he stepped forward to shake his hand 'thank you Sir, it's good to be back in your company' 'Karan, as you may know Zoya has moved to Mumbai, to finish her studies, you will be required to move there with her and Aisha Bibi, just until the end of June' 'yes Sir' 'good...now that we have that sorted...Roy how about some refreshments' Mr Roy nodded and followed Hamid out leaving Karan and Zoya looking at each other in total silence.