AsYa SS: Written in the Stars (Ch 3 POSTED!) - Page 4

Chapter 3

Najma led them to the double French doors that opened to the balcony. With a playful wink and a giggle she left the couple to their own devices.

Asad suppressed a half amused, half irritated sigh at his baby sister's antics. A cough brought him back to the situation at hand and he saw Zoya fidgeting nervously from foot to foot. He decided to put the poor girl out of her misery and went ahead to open the door for her. She looked at him from under her lashes as she walked past him and Asad felt his breath catch. Beautiful'.

His eyes widened when he realized what had crossed his mind. Come on Asad! Control yourself. You can't let her effect you like this. But she is gorgeous, a voice in his mind screamed. It was true.

When he had entered the room earlier he had no idea what to expect. And it was certainly not the mesmerizing girl he encountered or his strange reaction to her. He had always prided himself on his self-control and his ability to remain indifferent no matter the situation. In fact he had spent years perfecting it. But all that evaporated like water as soon as he looked into those hazel eyes. He felt something he didn't know he was capable of feeling. He felt trapped as she gazed at him in surprise. Her hair were pitch-black and framed her face perfectly, going down to her curvy waist. As she looked at him her cheeks had filled with an endearing blush and her pink lips parted in a way that made him want to cross the room, take her in his arms and kiss her until neither of them could breath. He didn't know what would have happened if someone hadn't cleared their throat and brought him back to earth.

His eyes had drifted towards her again and again of their own accord while he sat talking to Anwar and Zeenat. He examined her from head to toe and had come to one conclusion; her body was pure sin. It was made in every way to entice him. And when Dilshaad had told Najma to lead them to the balcony to talk privately the one thought that crossed his mind was, the universe had a perverse sense of humour.

He brought himself back to the present, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He was one of the leading architects of his country, had dealt with numerous troublesome clients, surely he could handle one meager little girl.

He walked to where she was leaning against the railing, looking at the garden beneath them. She turned to look at him when he came to stand beside her. He didn't allow himself to glance at her, just looked at the setting sun knowing his couldn't test his control again. Not one minute had passed when he heard her talk.

"Ok. That's it.I can't stay quite anymore otherwise I will burst. This is all so strange to me you know. I have never done this before. I mean never. I don't know if this is your first time or what but its definitely the first for me. I didn't even believe in these kinds of things. I would have preferred to find my own life partner '"

"Miss Farouqui."

"'..You know get married in a mixture of love and arranged but that is futile now. But I guess I shouldn't be saying that to you. I mean don't think there is anything wrong with you-"

"Miss Farouqi."

"'Oh shit what am I saying! It's just that I babble when I am nervous. I am babbling right now but-"

"Miss Farouqi!" Asad finally yelled. Zoya had started walking back and forth during her million words a minute prattle. When his several tries at stopping her at ended in failure he had eventually stepped in her path and yelled her name to garner her attention. Currently, she was staring at him with wide eyes and breathing heavily after his shout. His eyes moved to her rapidly moving chest before he hurriedly brought them back to her face. Remember the irritation you felt when she was talking nonstop. Hold onto it.

"If you are done with your nonsensical rant I would like to discuss something of importance." He replied in an irritated tone looking at her with an annoyed expression. He watched as her eyes narrowed in anger and she opened her mouth to say something. But he continued before she could talk.

"Please let's not waste time unless that is something you have come here to do. We are both meeting here for an important purpose; our future. And I for think it is not something to be taken lightly. If you would allow me to continue then I would like to tell you why I agreed to meet you and your family."

Zoya could not believe the gal of this guy. First he insulted her by rudely interrupting her and calling her nonsensical. Then he had the right to suggest that she was just here to waste his time. God he was so arrogant! She wanted to give the guy a piece of her mind but what she wanted even more was this day to end. So she defiantly crossed her arms, pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows at him to continue.

He had the urge to smirk at her annoyed expression but he quelled it and dived ahead into his explanation,

"Believe it or not this is my first time as well. My mother had been after me to get married like any other mother but I had always refused." Irritation coursed through him when Zoya interrupted.

"So what made you agree this time?" She watched in satisfaction as he scowled in irritation at her interruption. If you can be rude so can I, she thought. Asad took a deep breath to reign in his annoyance and continued.

"I am getting to that. Something happened in the past few months that changed my mind. My sister Najma, whom you have met, is in love with someone. I know the guy very well as he is a good friend of mine. In fact my entire family knows the guy and approve of him. They have been together for 3 years now. The only hindrance is me."

Zoya looked at him with a confused expression. He heaved a sigh and continued before she could say anything.

"I know I said I have no problem with their relationship and its true. But its more complicated than that. You see my mom became a widow at a very young age. Her elder brother, my mamu, took her in and supported us. He is a successful business man and currently resides in the States. My mamu'he '-

Asad deliberated on how to best describe his uncle to her. How about a conniving, manipulative and a hypocritical bas***d.

"He is a very traditional guy." He opted to say instead of all the colorful words floating around in his mind.

"He believes that the elder sibling should get married before the younger one. So he has placed a restriction on Najma getting married before I do. That was 2 years ago. Amir, he is the one Najma loves, is content in waiting as long as it takes. But his family is another story. They have been continuously pressuring him and now have declared that if he doesn't commit within a month they will engage him to someone else. His only choices are to either leave Najma or to go against his family. I don't, can't let any these things happen. So I gave my approval to Ammi when she said to meet you."

He heaved a deep breath once he was finished. He turned to look out at the sky which was steadily growing darker as time went by. He didn't want to see her expression. He didn't care if she refused him or what her opinion was. It was all there. He had told her his real reason so that if she went further she would be doing so with her eyes open.

"But that is so unfair. To all three of you." He heard her say softly as she came to stand beside him.

"So let me get this straight. Even though you are here of your own choice you don't really want to get married to me." He replied without looking at her.

"Don't get me wrong. It's nothing to do with you. I was just not ready to get married yet. But all that is besides the point now." He didn't know why he felt the need to clarify this to her but he did. Of course it didn't really matter to him if she thought if he wanted her or not.

Zoya felt oddly relieved at his explanation. Now she didn't feel like she was being unfair to the him by not being full inclined to get married. If this alliance goes any further, she knew she wouldn't be able to give her heart, body and soul to this marriage. And that was plain unjust to the guy she would end of marrying because it was not his fault her circumstances had forced her to take this step. The guilt of it had been eating her alive but not anymore. She greatly appreciated Asad's honesty and frankness. She was mature enough to know that only a good person would have been this upfront with her from the beginning.

She looked at him standing beside her, looking into the oblivion. She found it easier to confess her part of the explanation if he was not looking at her directly.

"I admire your honesty and sincerity Mr. Khan. I am grateful to you for telling me this from the start." She began softly. He turned to look at her but she looking straight ahead. Her face was partially illuminated by the moon light and he couldn't stop himself from becoming entranced as she continued in her gentle voice.

"I don't know if you are aware of this fact or not but my Aapi is sick. She has '.. she has stage 3 leukemia." Her voice came out shakier than she expected. She still hadn't come to terms of graveness of her sister's illness and she didn't know if she ever would. Asad's sharp intake of breath at her confession let her know that he had no idea about anything. She didn't glance at him gauge his reaction instead continued lest she lose control of her emotions.

"We just found out a month ago. It is funny really how we came to know about it. Aapi had been feeling out of sorts for some time now but she refused to go the doctor. She hates doctors and hospitals. But her friend's daughter had just had a serious accident and she went to the hospital to visit her. Once she got there she found out that the girl had lost a lot of blood. Aapi is such a kind soul that she cant see anyone upset so she immediately offered to help out since her blood type is O negative. They do a routine testing of the blood sample of the donor before going ahead. Guess what anomalies the doctors found when they test her blood."

Her voice had progressively turned sad and bitter towards the end. Asad's felt his heart constrict at the sheer pain he heard in her voice. He had the overwhelming urge to take her in his arms and protect her from everything and everyone. He shook his head to rid himself of the ridiculous thoughts.

"Anyways, onto the part about why I am here. Aapi came to me yesterday to tell me that the doctor has given her 6 months to live. She pleaded with to allow her to see her younger sister get married. To see her happy and safe before she ' she'"

Zoya couldn't continue. Her voice broke at the last word and she had to swallow around the lump that had formed in her throat. Asad opened his to say something. But she held up her hand to stop him.

"Please Mr. Khan. Let me continue otherwise I wont be able to. My sister is my world. She has brought me up single handedly. Don't think for one second that there anything I wouldn't do for her. If all she wants is to see her younger sister married and happy before she '. Then I will fulfill her wish in a heartbeat."

She couldn't stop the tears from falling anymore. He watched as she looked out into the oblivion with a constant flow of tears on her heartbroken face. He felt awkward and there was an uncomfortable ache in his chest. Must be from the spicy food I ate today. He tentatively raised his hand in the air and then let it fall back to his side. He was never good at comforting someone although seeing that he had lived with two women all his life crying women shouldn't make him so uncomfortable but they did. He cleared his throat.

The noise caused Zoya to realize that she was crying in front of someone she didn't even know after telling him her biggest problems. She hastily wiped away her tears. Just as she was about to turn away and walk out the door, a hand came on her shoulder. She was so shocked she stopped breathing for a second. With a shocked expression she first looked at his hand on her and then at his face. His eyes were filled with sympathy as he gazed at her. He momentarily squeezed his hand on her shoulder before dropping it to his side.

"I am truly sorry to hear about your sister. I can understand your pain because I know what losing a parent feels like."

He didn't know what possessed him to say that. He meant to say the sorry part because social etiquette dictated that's what you said after hearing someone's sister was terminally ill. He wasn't that much of a bas***d and he was truly sorry that anybody had to go through that. But he hadn't meant to say the part about losing his father. He had never told anyone about his feelings for his father or anything else personal. Except one person and she had betrayed him in the most vicious manner.

Something about this girl made him loose control and he was not going to allow that. However, as the wheels in Asad's mind turned, he came to a startling realization which spread a satisfied smirk on his face.

Just then the balcony doors opened, interrupting them.

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That's It for today. Hope u guys liked it and dont forget to like/comment. Hope you liked my Valentine gift to you guys!.

Next Chapter: We find out what realization Asad came to.

Haahaha... Your reviews brighten up my day hun!! Thanks for being the first. Yup I know how could someone betray the hot, six packs handsome Mr. Khan!!! Really Heartless people! As for finding out his sordid past you are just gonna have to be patient.

Good Luck wid ur presentation Annie!! I am always sweating bullets before presenting so if you r anything like me in this aspect u r gonna need the luck! 😕

-Hooriya

Happy Valentines Day!