FF: Mangalpur Madness #1 - Link to #2 on pg 1 - Page 57

Originally posted by: rutu83

sigh...stalking this thread 😃

Hi guys! A short update for now, I have a very busy weekend this time. Sorry!!

Mangalpur Madness: Part 22

Zoya felt her heart fill up with warmth she had never felt before when the Maulvi Saheb conducted the nikaah and Asad's eyes never switched away from hers. At the point when the Maulvi Saheb asked Mehnaaz if she was agreeable to the marriage and Zoya heard a soft but audible 'Qubool Hai' escape from Mehnaaz's lips from under her veil, her heart immediately made it known to her that she badly wanted to say Qubool Hai as well, to a marriage and lifelong commitment to Asad Ahmed Khan, who was currently looking at her with such fondness, she could literally melt under his gaze.

Asad couldn't help but smile when he saw Zoya blush prettily as Mehnaaz said Qubool Hai, quite sure that he knew exactly where her train of thoughts had led her. The Maulvi Saheb then asked the groom the same question, and he too replied with a confident 'Qubool Hai', leading to a buzz of happiness amongst the guests. And at that point, the smile on Asad's face vanished. His heart was busy imagining Zoya as his bride, when his brain unceremoniously pulled him back to reality. He couldn't marry Zoya, he couldn't marry anyone! He badly wanted to, but he was way too messed as a person to involve another person in his life and ruin her life as well. Zoya deserved all of the happiness in the world, and she would never find it with him. Reluctantly, Asad tore his eyes away from Zoya.

The ceremony finally wrapped up as Zoya watched the changes in Asad's expression, from joy, to confusion, to worry, to sadness, and then finally to the expression she was used to seeing on his face: indifference. The way he turned away from her all of a sudden, Zoya knew for sure that whatever it was had something to do with her. And she would get to the bottom of it right away.

Zoya slowly limped in Asad's direction, finally making it to him. His back was still facing her so she lifted her hand to tap his shoulder, when suddenly someone tapped hers instead. She turned around to find a joyous Mansoor smiling at her. She politely smiled back and managed to congratulate him on his sister's nikaah.

"Thank you Zoya! Anyway, Maryam told me that you twisted your ankle earlier? Come let me take a look," Mansoor said, as he took hold of Zoya's elbow and guided her towards a nearby chair. He bent down on his knee and lifted Zoya's foot in a bid to better inspect it.

"What do you think you're doing Mansoor?" Asad asked, as he placed his hand firmly on Mansoor's shoulder. He had overheard when Zoya congratulated Mansoor behind him, and turned around as soon as he heard Mansoor saying something about Zoya's ankle. But Mansoor was already leading her away by the time he turned. He followed after them, and only finally broke his silence when he simply couldn't take it anymore.

Mansoor recognized the anger in the undertones of Asad's question, and immediately released Zoya's foot. He realized then that he should've checked with Asad if it was okay for him to take a look at Zoya's ankle before approaching Zoya herself. After all, he was Zoya's husband. Mansoor was just about to explain himself when Zoya beat him to it.

"Allah miyan, what's wrong with you Mr Khan? Why exactly can't Mansoor help me? You certainly don't seem to care," Zoya huffed, failing to hide her annoyance. She watched as Asad's anger built up, and winced as she braced herself for a tongue-lashing. But then Asad's eyes quickly flicked towards Mansoor and then back at Zoya, assessing the situation. He couldn't possibly yell at his wife in front of others. He then decided to turn back to Mansoor, and give him his best glare. Mansoor got the message loud and clear, as he quickly got to his feet and scrambled away.

"Let me see," Asad commanded, as he got down on his knees. To his surprise and great exasperation, Zoya simply shifted her feet backwards, hiding them beneath her sari under the chair. She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"Yeh kaisa bachpana hai Miss Farooqui? So you don't mind Mansoor helping you out but you seem to have a problem with me? Fine. Get up, we'll go to an actual doctor instead," Asad decided, as he got back on his feet. Zoya simply didn't respond, and continued staring into blank space, annoyance written all over her face. Asad let out a low growl and grabbed Zoya's shoulders, pulling her up from the chair. Zoya struggled against his hold before managing to push his hands away.

"Mansoor is a doctor," Zoya finally said, shooting daggers at Asad. She turned away and began limping towards Maryam, leaving behind a bewildered Asad, reduced to what he knew best in such situations. Groaning and then deftly massaging his forehead with his index finger and thumb.

XXX

Next update tomorrow hopefully! If I find the time (: