A/N check page 18 for previous parts
PART 5FLASHBACK
Few minutes passed, as they both sat in silence, zoya sat cupping her cheeks smiling slyly while he had the most dangerous expressions on his face that moment... zoya was smiling at her fate,how it always make her face such silly situations, both were cursing their fate at the turn of events but both had their own ways, while he kept on muttering something or nothing under his breath, blaming Mr.Rashid Ahmed Khan for everything, zoya took it in a humorous way and giggled every time asad made a grumpy face, and although years back when they came across each other it wasn't some worst kind of a meeting yet they didn't expect to face each other ever again and here, at this moment they both are sitting in front of each other for their soon to be happening wedding
Life can be really very unpredictable some time 'so?' She started after a while and he starting looking around, avoiding her completely 'Allah Miyan what's wrong with you? I am talking to you Mr.Khan...why are you looking around?' She asked getting a bit upset.. he starred at her and mentally face palmed himself for behaving like a silly teenager 'umm nothing Miss.Faroqui, I thought I saw someone I knew' 'who?' 'Forget it Miss Faroqui...not at all important' he said shrugging his shoulders
She rolled her eyes 'umm do you realize why are we here?' She asked getting excited 'unfortunately I do Miss.Faroqui' he replied as another sigh escaped his lips 'Good for you, so as you said u do realize then let's start...' 'start what?' 'start with a proper introduction aur kya ' she said beaming at him, her smile widened as she thought of this 'wow this is going to be so cool na, so I will start with mine' she started not giving him a chance to say anything 'I am Zoya Faroqui' she said forwarding her hand
For a moment asad wanted to tell her that this is too childish to introduce each other like this again when they already knew each other but that smile on her lips, that excitement in her eyes stopped him, unknowingly he smiled a little slipping his hand in her's 'Asad Ahmed Khan' 'Nice to meet you Asad' she said softly and something unusual happened within him, the way she took his name, it felt...PERFECT 'feelings are mutual Miss Faroqui' he said clearing his throat and she gave him a non approval look
'Allah Miya what's wrong with you Asad, we are getting married, MARRIED'she said or rather explained him emphasizing on MARRIED 'that i know Miss Faroqui ' 'ohh i am so glad you do but tell me how will it sound if you will call me Miss.Faroqui even after our wedding, you should start calling me Zoya from today only, shaadi tak practice hojaege' saying so she winked at him with a wide smile playing on her lips
'is it really important?' He asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable in calling her by her name 'of course important hai Asad, meri shaadi hai, or mjhe apne fiance ke sath yeh first name basis par nahe rehna..I know we don't have enough time before the wedding take place, neither you look like that person who will take me out for dates like other couples do and Yes I am also aware that all this isn't like other normal weddings but still I would want to fulfill few of my wishes which are in my hands.. one of them is this... call me Zoya...' she told with truthfully, and although she started very cheerfully but by the end of it, that smile was lost, she was looking past him with some longing in her eyes
Asad starred at her, her words were justified, the little hint of disappointment in her voice was justified, she was compromising a lot, she agreed for something there was no need for her to, his father wished for him to marry zoya and he agreed for his own reasons, and the fact that he never gave any importance to his marriage and his life after that, he had no wishes, no dreams, no expectations but this girl, she was just 20 and she might have a lot of dreams related to her wedding...she may have a lot of dreams of her life after that, may be like those girls in movies which his tamatar watch, may be zoya was one of them
He sighed, he is getting into a very important phase of his life and the person who is going to be an important part of this might hold a lot of hopes from him, zoya might expect a lot of things from him, she might kill her wishes too if he will not fulfill them, she might stop listening to her heart, she might loose her smile, she might not be this cheerful girl anymore
This thought made him think about it all, will he really be able to keep her happy? And the answer he got from his heart was a yes, he would never hurt his wife, he might be marrying her on his father's wish but whatever the situation is, he is marrying Her and her happiness will be his responsibility
He will never hurt her, he will keep her happy, he will always keep her happy, he may never fall in love with her but they will be friends, he will make sure that they will have a beautiful future, yes he will keep her happy, he won't be like his father
That day in that moment, something changed all over even without demanding, without realizing, without wishing, and without hoping. Zoya might have already lost hopes from her future after seeing his uncomfortable behavior but he will make sure that she keep her believe in him, that she believe in the sacred bond they both are going to share, he will make sure that they lead a happy life
He took in a breath, this needs to go on forever, successfully, he raised his hand and without any second thought placed it on hers holding it firmly, zoya who was lost in her own world for a moment couldn't actually realize that her soon to be husband has just hold her hand, she turned her gaze on him, confusion and questions evident in them and he in that moment could just give her hope from one thing, that was by fulfilling her wish 'I understood Zoya' he said and a smiled formed on her lips, she was surprised but more than that his response calmed her down, her heart which wasn't beating normally gave itself a rest, the sudden calmness in her expression made him smile wholeheartedly
'I know we have a long way to go, but let's take one step at a time, I know the way it's all happening shouldn't be happening this way but now that it's happening, it's my responsibility to keep you happy and if your happiness lies in all these little hearty wishes of yours then you just have to voice them out zoya, I am going to be your husband zoya and being your better half it will be my duty to keep you happy and I promise to fulfill this duty wholeheartedly'
'Thank u for understanding something I couldn't even voice out Asad , I feel I won't ever regret my decision now...' she said gratefully and he just gave her a satisfactory smile
What they didn't realize was that they didn't just hold each other's hand but had just held on to each other's life forever, and deep down they were satisfied with their decision, for now
'So now if you are satisfied with your dad's choice then can we please order something, I am starving' she said joining her hands together as if begging for something very dear with such expression as if she hadn't eaten anything for days, asad studied her expressions for few seconds and then something quite unexpected happen, his lips broke into a beautiful smile, zoya's eyes widened in surprise as it was the first time that he smiled properly after she met him half an hour back, she herself started smiling wide
'What?' He asked and she shook her head shrugging it away 'nothing' 'okay then let's order something' he said and she nodded and after that the rest of the lunch went quite smooth and good which none of them expected
While leaving the restaurant when asad was responding to manager's kind words zoya heard one of the waiter who served them their order earlier and now was talking about them only 'they look like a perfect couple...' he said and she didn't even realize when she blushed hearing that comment, her eyes automatically landed on her would be husband who coincidentally was looking at her only while talking to the manager, He raised his eyebrow while she shook her head.
Around 20 minutes later, they were at her place, she was kind enough to ask him to join her and meet her family and he surprised her by accepting her invitation. She rang the bell and was welcomed inside by her api who was equally surprised like her, zoya glared at zeenat when she didn't move even after a minute and was starring at Asad as if he was some alien who has come at her doorsteps to take her on his planet, 'Api this is Asad and Asad it's my zeenat Api' introduced zoya, asad smiled politely at zeenat but she was lost in her own thoughts
zoya thanked her stars when Anwar too came to them, 'Ahh Jeeju, finally you are here' she said aloud and almost pushed zeenat aside to let Asad in, 'Asad he my Anwar jeeju, but he is more like an elder brother to me, my guardian' she said and Asad could feel how much proud she was on the relationship she share with Anwar, may be he was too much precious to her to explain it in just two words, 'Assalm-o-alikun Sir I am Asad' Walaikum-as-salam Asad, please come in' he invited him in and he nodded following the trio to the drawing room
'Api jeeju I will go and get you some tea, umm asad what would you like to have?' 'Black coffee' She asked and he smiled while replying, she nodded and was out of the scene to prepare the drinks
For next fifteen minutes Zoya was inside the kitchen but her concentration was towards the hall, she was peeping from the window to see what's happening there...once the drinks were prepared she put them on the tray and came back in hall...after serving them their drinks she sat beside her jeeju, opposite asad
She passed him a smile as she took first sip of her coffee, actually black coffee, her expression were priceless as it tasted really bad, totally tasteless, her smile turned into a frown that how can asad drink this tasteless drink but then she eyed him and saw him drinking his black coffee with so much ease as if he loved it the most, she mentally shrugged "of course he loved it that's why only he asked for it"
Asad was talking to anwar and zeenat while Zoya was just starting at asad that too in such a way that no one could catch her, or she thought so that no one can..
Asad took another sip from his black coffee as Anwar was telling him about the meeting today which asad couldn't attend as he had to meet Zoya, he just wanted to listen to what anwar was saying but still his whole concentration was on zoya and her antics, he didn't know what and why she was making such bad faces while having her drink but he was finding it cute, as she had another sip she was almost on the verge of spitting it out but she didn't and her expressions were priceless, asad wanted to laugh out aloud but he controlled himself and tried to divert his attention on zeenat who was talking now and Anwar's focus was on her and where asad too was trying to focus there, zoya was busy in her own world sometime crying silently and sometime almost spitting out her drink but still she drank and made sure that she had finished it before asad
A few minutes later She grinned widely as she kept her cup at the table while asad's cup was still in his hands, she mentally danced calling herself a winner unaware that asad's entire focus was on her who found her silly antics more intriguing then Anwar and zeenat's talk
'Sir, as I am here I need to talk about something else too' asad started after a few minutes gaining everyone's attention on him 'yes asad, go on' Anwar said giving him the approval to continue, asad clasped his hands and bent a bit forward before clearing his throat to share his thoughts 'Sir you all know that it's my father last wish to see me getting married and that too zoya...
What I want to say is I agreed for it because of him only but why did zoya agree is something beyond me and I will forever be grateful to her for this but now that we will be getting married, I also feel responsible towards her happiness and after spending some time with her I have realized that zoya might have some dreams for her wedding and thus I don't want things to rush, I really want her to take all the time she needs, zoya should meet my family, spend some time with us, and then she can decide if she really want this wedding or no, I don't want to put any burden on her, I want her to say yes for herself, for her happiness and about abu, I will talk to him, I know it's his wish but I want zoya to take a fair decision, she should think about her happiness, and then take a final decision'
Asad said, he could see Anwar and zeenat giving it a thought while zoya had some unnamed emotions playing on her face, he noticed how she sighed lightly and turned to Anwar who too looked back at her, and they both did their talking that way, this surprised asad, how well these two understand each other, even though they don't even share any blood relation 'asad we have never forced any of our decisions on zoya, even when I got married to zeenat, we gave zoya all the rights to decide what she wanted to do, it was her decision to move to India with us and just like when your father came to meet me, I told him I will tell it to zoya and it would be totally her decision of what she wants to do...and honestly I too don't know why did zoya say yes to this proposal but if she has taken that decision I want her to decide about what you just said too...come on zoya tell us what you want' Anwar explained and urged zoya to speak up on which she nodded
'I know it's not a small decision jeeju, and that it's about my whole life asad but trust me everyone Maine jo kiya hai soch samajh kar hi kiya hai,may be one day I would be able to tell you people why I said yes on first place but for now faisla to Maina leliya hai and about the other thing as you said my happiness is now your responsibility and I should meet your family so its now your responsibility only asad to introduce me to your family, i would like to meet your family and about wedding talks, I'm sure I would be fine with whatever and however my jeeju will decide' zoya said with a genuine smile and not even for a second that smile left her face
And it was that moment when something happened within asad, he looked at zoya with pure admiration and deep down felt that she would be the perfect life partner for him, he did not know why and how he felt it that too just after one single meeting, of course he didn't count that last meeting in it but still was able to see how she was childish yet mature altogether, how she understand the seriousness of life yet didn't let her innocence leave her
He smiled a little at her while her smile widened, unknowingly they both kept starring at each other without acknowledging other's presence around them and asad was feeling so much overwhelmed that moment to even look away, he wanted to appreciate her for the type of a person she is, but somehow his smile did it for him
'Ehem, I am sure you don't have anymore issues asad' Anwar asked, he was happy that asad and zoya were starting to understand each other, that too so soon, he was sure that this young man in front of him will keep his princess happy, that zoya is in safe hands, and as he saw both of them lost in their own thoughts he cleared his thoughts to grab their attention
Asad was quick to look away 'umm not at all sir, I am okay with what you elders decide from now on ' asad replied diverting his attention at Anwar 'But I do have one problem asad' Anwar said with no expression on his face making asad frown 'what is it sir?' 'It is sir...' 'sorry...?' 'Asad, you are going to marry my princess, my best friend, and from now on you will be sharing the same relation with me as zoya, so please no sir, call me jeeju' Anwar said as his lips broke into a soft smile, asad nodded feeling satisfied on giving his approval for this alliance 'alright Jeeju' Anwar nodded 'umm I will take my leave now, it was so nice to meet you both' asad said getting up while the trio stood up along with him
'Feelings are mutual asad' zeenat said, she was silent all the time seeing how Anwar and zoya managed everything themselves and because she trust Anwar way to much to even raise a question at his decision and then her baby sister, her zoya, she will never take any decision in a hast, she must have given it a thought and so she was quiet knowing it was no harm in being silent and letting these two handle things on their own
'Zoya why don't you accompany asad to his car' zeenat suggested on which zoya just nodded and looked at asad who was already looking at her, and quietly they started walking outside, just as they were just a few steps away from his car he started 'thank you so much for being so understanding zoya' this made zoya smile 'don't say thank you asad, I am just doing what I think is right...waisa when will you come to pick me up?' She asked and he stopped in his way, turning to her he asked 'for what?' 'Allah Miyan what's wrong with you Mr.Khan' She exclaimed loudly, asad closed his eyes helplessly, and Ms.Faroqui is back he cursed himself for inviting her other version back
'Did you forget you said you will take me at your place...do you want me to just go and introduce myself to my in-laws' she added and asad realized she was right 'no no I don't want any such thing and I think I will let you decide whenever you want to meet them' he added, she smiled sweetly 'I am okay with any day Asad' She replied 'great then, I will pick you up tomorrow then, 4pm' 'Cool with me' 'great then I will take your leave now' he said and was about to get inside driving seat when zoya remembered something 'Mr.Khan wait' Zoya shouted from back and ran towards him while asad closed his eyes, this version of zoya is hard to tolerate, and he realized he like it when she calls him asad only, because with Mr.Khan,it seems she has some enmity, she can't help but shout, but he shook his head chiding himself for having these childish discussion
'Yes Ms.Faorqui' he answered patiently 'Mr.Khan I wanted to ask that now we are like together right?' 'I don't get you, together like what?' 'Together like together Mr.Khan' 'What Together like together Ms.Faroqui...I don't understand' 'Ohhoo Mr.Khan, you are such a kid...Together like in a relationship na...' She said getting a little annoyed while asad eyes widened 'relation...? Relationship as in? We will directly get married, I don't like all this' he said while she glared at him 'MR.Khan how can you be like this...relationship matlab Baat Pakki...baat to pakki hogaye na, ab shaadi hogi na' she explained as if asad is incapable to understand while he nodded 'that I know but...' 'sush keep your if's and but's to yourself and do as I say' She ordered and he raised his brow on her tune on which she just shrugged making him sigh
'What do you want zoya?' 'Selfie' 'Sorry..?' 'Its so simple Asad, we don't have any ring or other thing to remember this meeting so why not make it memorable by clicking a picture?' She asked rather told him but asad shook his head disagreeing to it 'no way I don't like all this' 'Come on Mr.Khan, don't act like a child...If I said we will capture a picture now then we will take it...no more arguments'
Asad was dumbfounded on the way she kept on ordering him and this time she didn't even give him time to protest and went to camera icon in her mobile
Soon she was standing beside him with one of the widest smile plastered on her face while asad wanted to hit his head on something 'Mr.Khan smile' She shouted and he came up with a forced smile cursing no one in particular under his breath 'say cheese'
*click *click
Zoya starred at the photo frame in her hands, this is one of her favorite picture of them, it was one of their pictures together which of course she forced him to take, that time she thought it would be one memorable picture of them and it would always remind them of their first proper meeting, but what she didn't know was it will also remind her of many painful memories which followed after few months of their wedding
She sighed, it's been so many years and she still cant take him out of her head, she don't understand why he is still stuck inside her head, why can't she just flush him out of her memories and let it go, why can't she smile for real, why can't she forgive him and then forget him for all the wrong he did... a few tears rolled down her cheeks and she let them fall
'How I wish things were still in my favor, how I wish that I was your first priority asad, how I wish that you would have loved me the same way like how I did...today you gave me my home back, my memories back, today I felt as if there is still some hope even though my heart knows that it won't lead me anywhere,I know at the end there would be another heart break, another painful journey which I have to travel all alone'
She sighed and hugged that frame close to her heart and cried with her eyes on the file asad left for her yesterday night, she had woken up in the middle of night with her occupied with his thoughts and she couldn't get his image out of her mind which she saw today, he was crying and it broke her heart but then who knows if he meant his words or no or it was another empty confession he made, which held no importance for him, just like he did in the past, but then that she believed him and even today she couldn't help but believe him, she wanted to rush back to him after he left but it would lead her nowhere and she can't afford this anymore, she had already lost so much, letting him go was her last key to peace of her heart and freedom of her mind
'Chahai Mai jitni bhe koshish krlun asad, mai tumse kitne bhe nafrat karlun, mere dil mein tumhare liye Mohabbat kabhi nahe khatam hogi, mai tumhe kabhi nahe bhul sakti, mai kabhi dobara Mohabbat nahe kar skti, phir dobara kise par bharosa nahe karsakti, aur na tumhara sath chutne ke bad maine aesa kuch karna chaha lekin mai wo bhe nahe bhul sakti jo tumne mere sath Kya, mai tumhe maaf bhe nahe karsakti, or isliye mai tumse jitne Mohabbat karti hn usse kahin ziada mjhe nafrat hai tumse asad...tumne mjhe is puri dunya mai bilkul Tanha kar Diya asad, I hate you for ruining everything for me, I hate you' and yet again she cried herself to sleep
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