FF Nights of confrontations Completed-Epilogue p70 - Page 15

Recap: Ayaan is on the phone with Zoya. ("Ji, Mona may I come visit you tomorrow?" He needed to tell her the truth, he just asked her help for Humeira, but her answer made him realize that he had to tell both of them. Rather he had to confirm his story with their stories.)

"Rabarrt, yeh bhi koi poochne ki baat hai kya? Of course tum aa sakthe ho!"

"Thank you Mona"

As he kept the phone he knew Humeira was waiting for their date, but he had something important to do before he could go out with her.

x-x-x

Here was Ayaan at the PCO.

*tring tring*

"Hello"

"Walekum Asalam" he said with a voice unlike his. He easily fooled the person on the other end for she didn't recognize him. He sounded like one of the hooligans who sit on the streets late at night wanting to mess with somebody.

"Kaun chahiye?"

"Aap hi se baat karni thi"

"Aap kaun"

"Main jo hoon so hoon, usse aapko matlab nahi hona chahiye. Mujhe paata hai ki siddique saab ki ek aur beti hai. Jo is waqt Bhopal mein hi hai. Main soch raha tha, ki unko bata hi doon" Ayaan couldn't believe that he was blackmailing her. After all she had done to him and his family… it was his turn to get even.

"Kaun ho tum, aur kya chahiye tumhe" Razia was sweating profusely. Who could have told him about Zoya? It was only her that knew Zoya was Siddiqui's daughter. But there was no way she could get to them, so it didn't matter. Now, there was someone else who knew too.

"Mujhe kuch sawaalon ka jawab chahiye, aur phir main aap ko kabhi tang nahi karunga"

"Kya sawaal hain? Aur kya guarantee hai ki jab tum jaan jaogay toh tum mujhe pareshaan nahi karoge?"

"Main Zoya ki khariat chahata hoon, agar mujhe laaga ke usse tumse ya uske abu se koi bhi katra hai, main use aap tak nahi paauchne doonga"

"theek hai" Razia thought this was it, this way she could get rid of Zoya without even trying. But she wouldn't tell him anything that would get her in trouble. She didn't know that he already had the story, he just needed to match the stories. He was recording this conversation. All he wanted to know whether she put Zoya in the orphanage. And who was Zoya's mom. That would solve half the mystery. He didn't need anything else from her. These questions would also seem harmless enough for her to answer.

"Did you drop Zoya to the orphanage?"

"Yes, I did"

"And Zoya's ammi was Siddiqui saab's first wife, right"

"Ab tumhe paata hai, toh aapna mu band hi rakna, aur le jayo zoya ko yahan se"

"Haan haan, aap jaiso ke saath uska naata hona theek nahi hai" Ayaan was amazed how easily he got the information from her, without making her feel that she would be in trouble.

Razia's POV:

Whoever that was, was really really stupid. Sawaal bhi aise pooche ki saap bhi margaya aur laahti bhi nahi tooti. Zoya bhi chali jayagi aur meri kartooton par kisi ko shaq bhi nahi hai.

x-x-x

Ayaan was heading home to pick Humeira up for their date. On his way he was again organizing his thoughts.

Ayaan's POV:

So that means mamumi was there during the fire, just on time to save Zoya and take her to the orphanage. And she did have an enimity with Zoya's ammi, because mamumi was the other woman of the relationship. Does this mean, she actually killed Zoya's mom, or at least made her unconscious enough to be quiet during that fire. So when the fire was set by abu, she couldn't move or find her way out? I don't want to mess with mamumi yet, it's not the right time. But I do have to tell Zoya, I don't want her married life to have any problems. She needs to know this before her marriage… so whatever it is, she knows it and moves on. Mamumi will make her life miserable if she finds out and tries to get closer to mamu. So, it's better to tell her the truth and keep her away from it. Once she starts her new life, there should be no problems.

Ayaan arrived home and saw Humeira ready just in time for him

x-x-x

In the Khan mansion, Zoya's didn't realize how the hours flew by. After her mehendi dried off, she had her meal – anybody who wants to lose weight should try getting married. It's so stressful and rushed that you forget to eat. But finally she had found the time to eat. After that she had to get ready, welcome the quests etc. If this was not all, Ayaan also decided to call – which took away so much of her precious time. She liked it though, if she wasn't busy she would be anxious about how time would move, move fast enough for her to meet her jahapanna again.

Asad on the other hand felt like his day had been extended to a hundred years. He had nothing to do on a day like Mehendi. Trying to get some work done was his best option, unfortunately that too didn't make the time fly. He was counting minutes till their nikaah. That was the only thing that kept him well occupied. He actually despised himself for being so much in love… But finally it was time for the ceremony and now he could keep himself busy by secretly watching the ceremony and of course admiring his bride to-be.

x-x-x

Ayaan took Humeira for a long drive and throughout the drive Humeira asked numerous questions. Initially they were silly and funny but as time went by the questions got serious.

"Ayaan, why did you agree to marry me?" Humeira knew Ayaan didn't love her as much as she did. He always shunned her off, but today was different because he needed her help. She didn't acknowledge this but somewhere deep down she knew something was wrong.

"Can we not talk about it?" After learning the truth, he felt bad for her. He pitied her. Her mom was shrewd and if she could kill someone, and keep her stepdaughter away from her husband, she could definitely use her own daughter. Her father may love her but he too was selfish enough to not care about the other daughter. Would she be able to accept this truth? His heart reached out to her, almost as if he felt the pain for her… and yet he named it pity.

"aap ne promise kia tha, ke aap mera sawaalon ka jawab denge" He couldn't lie to her anymore. Every person she had loved had lied to her, betrayed her – not that she knew it yet. But how could he lie to her? And if he wanted to tell her the truth, he had to say it all. He had already decided to be honest with her, why the hesitation now?

"I was forced by mamumi, Humeira. When dad was in jail, she gave the money to get him released on the condition that I would marry you" Her heart broke. A lone tear was about to fall, but she had to be strong. How could her mom have bought his commitment to her? If she was forced that way, any love that would have bloomed would have also been destroyed. She now knew Ayaan would never love her. Where there is force, there is no love. She looked out the window because she didn't want to face him… yet. She had to be strong before she could tell him how she felt.

Ayaan thought it was best to leave her to organize her thoughts. Yes the truth hurts but it's much better than to be lied to, he kept telling himself. He needed the strength to see his best friend go through it.

"Ayaan stop the car"

"Why? Are you ok" he was dead worried. After all, he "pitied" her.

"I need to talk to you properly, hence stop the car"

"Ok, they stopped on the side of the road. It happened to be the riverside. However it was the isolated area of the riverside. This was good, because there would be no interruptions for them

"After all that you have told me, it's not hard to know that you do not wish to get married to me. I free you from this bond, here is the ring" she was removing the ring that adorned her finger so beautifully. It was stuck there as if it didn't want to come out, but she forced it out. She didn't want to nurture relationships that were imposed on other. Ayaan would always be her love, but she would never impose this on her.

"Humeira, wait" looking at her remove that ring made him feel sick in the gut. He wondered why though. This couldn't be how people felt when they were freed from something they don't want.

"No, Ayaan. Hear me out please. Ayaan, no relationship can be formed when one is pushed into it. I never want you to be forced to be with me, that'll make us both unhappy. I will talk to ammi about it, I will do all that it takes to get this burden off you. I want you to know that if I was forced into marrying someone I liked as a human being, those feelings would also be destroyed due to the feelings of helplessness and pressure." She was careful to not use the word love; he had rejected her without knowing that she loved him. She knew that if he knew she loved him, he'd be so guilty for making her feel this way even though it isn't his fault.

"Ayaan whenever you need me, your best friend will always be there for you, I promise. Don't ever feel guilty about what happened" she managed to say this with a weak smile. It wasn't about how her mom had forced him to agree to the marriage; it was that he didn't want to be with her. If he didn't want it, both of them would not be happy.

Ayaan felt hurt, perhaps just as much as Humeira, but then he wasn't the one being rejected. He didn't even love her, so why was this affecting him negatively? At this point he should have been jumping with joy on the inside – but it was nothing like that. He wondered why.

After they took time to process what had happened, Humeira said "Ayaan, we should go home now. It's getting late" and they drove off in silence

x-x-x

That night Ayaan was so restless. He just needed to figure out why he felt that way. He walked towards Humeira's room. She was awake too when she heard a knock on the door. Nikhat and Noozat were peacefully sleeping. Humeira answered the door.

"Ayaan, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk Humeira"

"Wait, let me come out… the rest are sleeping" And they headed towards Ayaan's room for some privacy. He found it easier to talk to her now – without that burden but he was still saddened by what had happened.

"Humeira, there is something going on" This startled Humeira. She wondered what happened now.

"I need to go see Zoya tomorrow and I want you to come with me. It's important and I need you to be there with me"

"Ok Ayaan, I'll come. I promised I'll be there when you need me, so I will fulfil it."

"Thank you Humeira. I'm really sorry for everything"

"Don't be" and she walked off. She didn't have the strength to revise what happened between them… all she knew was that he was her best friend and nothing else.

Next morning was the day where things would go hay wire, for Zoya, for Humeira, for Ayaan and for Asad. How would they face the storm.

Hope you guys liked it. Keep reading for what happens next :)