Chapter 20
Ayan 's back from the states, completing his higher education from there, almost after two years. He decides to hijack his brother again.
'What's this? Bhai jaan ke ghar me koi function chal raha hai….co cool! He didn't even bother to inform me.' He thinks to himself while sneaking into Asad's room.
He is surprised to see his ever tidy room a little messy as if he had been getting ready in some kind of a haste. He jumps on the bed and takes out his cell phone to type him a message. He sighs pressing the send button.
'waise what could be the event?' he shrugs as different thoughts start bouncing in his mind.
Asad and Zoya finally were left alone after seeing off Zeenat and Akhtar. They slip into a silent corner, but the few people who were left there keep stealing glances at the two. Zoya's face suddenly lacks energy. Asad worriedly asks, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah! Just a little dizzy, everything was so perfect yet so tiring." She manages with a sigh.
"and you probably and purposefully dint remember to take your medicines?" Asad asks seriously.
Zoya looks away. "I was just going to….."
"Grrreat!" his cell phone beeps, he reads Ayan's message with sparkling eyes. He nears Zoya to whisper something in her ears. He jumps in excitement, squealing "Really?"
He nods, both make for his room.
Asad enters his room to find Ayan leaning on his bed casually, whistling some tacky item song's tune. He jumps off the bed seeing Asad enter into his room.
"Bahai jaan!" he howls happily closing in for a hug.
"Kab aye? You could have at least informed!" he asks pulling back.
"hah! Yesterday only……….. forget the rest what's the big event hun?"
"would you really like to know?" Asad asks beaming at him.
"Of course" Ayan frowns and smiles simultaneously.
"Fine then……..Zoya!" he calls out behind him. Zoya slowly enters, Ayan's eyes pop out seeing her there. He immediately recalls all his previous encounters with her but chooses to ignore them for now. It was obviously more then 2 years back, may be she didn't even remember.
The thing which was really confusing him was that what was she, of all the people, doing here in his brother's house. That too dressed, like this function was for her only.
Zoya who was smiling when she entered suddenly frowned seeing Ayan there.
'So he is his brother?' she thought to herself. Eventhough it was quite a long time back but she perfectly remembered where, how or when she had first met Ayan and then later, but at the moment she was too surprised and shocked to say anything sane, s she kept quite.
Ayan finally looked at asad in confusion, who immediately tuned up with the intro,
"Zoya…..Ayan my brother……Ayan…….Zoya……your…….. Bhabhi to be."
Zoya farced a sile, where Ayan's mouth hung like a fool. He gaped at the two in astonishment, widening his eyes the size of a golf ball.
"Bha…Bhabhi?" he stammered incredulously.
Asad blinked confirming the breaking news. Ayan was left speechless, he shook his head in utter disbelief, his curly hair floating with the air in perfect synchronization. (Purana wala Ayan=P)
"I cant believe it………that's so impossible." He was nowhere near calming down, he stared at Zoya now smiling to himself, trying to absorb the great news.
"You should have told me Bhai Jaan!"…………….. he wanted to add… I could have saved you from this mischief queen….but he holds back. Instead he ears Zoya and forwards his hand for a shake.
"I am so out of words….what should I say? Congratulation you two……but HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"
Before anyone could answer there is a knock at the door. Najma stood there at the doorway a little tensed. She glances at Ayan and then fixes her eyes on Asad.
"Bhai jaan……can you come here for a while?"
"Sure tamater…..everything fine?"
She shrugs awkwardly, Asad senses the alarm and so he rushes out. Zoya and Ayan exchange a befuddled look before Zoya also excused herself to rush behind Asad.
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"Aap khariat se aye hain Siddique sahib?" Dilshad asked in puzzlement.
It was obviously very odd for him to visit them that late at night. Dilshad was left utterly perplexed at his sudden appearance that too on Asad's engagement, of course he was already very famous for spoiling everything blissful. She just hoped that everything dint turn out any ugly- at least not today.
Asad and Zoya enter the hall, all the guests had now gone- all except him(sid). Asad stopped dead seeing him peacefully settled on a couch in the lounge, his muscles tense for the slightest minute before his entire attention shifts towards Zoya, who was clenching his arm tightly as if for support. He gaped at her in in complete bewilderment. She only stared at siddique, he noticed her eyes had suddenly welled up with tears. Her lips vibrate slowly, producing a light muffled word, he didn't get it the first time but when he did it was as if the sky had suddenly fallen in him,
"Abbu!" she whispered, leaving him all the more distorted.
He stood there trying to put the pieces together. He suddenly felt her grip loosening and then completely as he saw her running towards Sid and then hugging him. He stared at her in shock, frozen to the spot. His mind just couldn't absorb the sudden shift of the scenario. Standing there alone, he felt unreal, still trying hard to understand everything, but he didn't want to understand all that he was understanding then.
Dilshad and Najma were also completely at sea, Ayan who was peeping through Asad's room suddenly found his head spinning, everything zooming in front of his eyes.
'Mamu????? What on earth is he doing here? And Zoya…….' He left his thoughts incomplete.
Zoya pulled back from the embrace after like an eternity, clearing away the fresh stream of tears from her face she smiled and sobbed at almost the same time. "Abu?"
Surprisingly Sid also had his eyes welled up, he kissed her forehead, gazing at her lovingly.
"Kaisi ho beta?" His voice reverberated not only in Zoya's ears but in the entire atmosphere too. The tree flabbergasted faces in the room stared at them different emotions playing on their visages.
Zoya was at a loss of words, she didn't reply, she just couldn't. she was literally overtaken by emotions and speaking seemed impossible at the moment. Sid took her hand in his slowly caressing its back.
"I am so sorry……so sorry Zoya….So so sorry!" he repeated in one go.
Zoya just cried more, nothing ever slipped her mouth.
Asad let out a heavy sighs shaking his head in utter incredulity and disbelief. Many memories zoom in front if his eyes.
He unknowingly walks towards Zoya and silently slides his hand in her free one. She instinctively turns towards him, that's when he realizes what he was doing. He blankly stares at their entwined hands. His body and mind concede a different reaction, inside he wanted to let go of his grip on her and flee from there but he knew he couldn't- not now at least. Zoya smiles between her tears.
Sid's eyes were nearly expressionless, he forces a genuine smile as Zoya eyes him yet again. He sighs,
"I am sorry I am late……..but………."
Zoya's smile fades as Sid takes a long pause- longer than required. He flashes his wild set of teeth yet again completing his sentence, which left every human soul in the room in shock. Zoya pulls back her hand from both Asad and Sid impulsively, her eyes widen in………………
Fill that for your self!
Cricket
Kumkum Bhagya
47