AsYa FF ~ Mere Jazbaat ~ T#1 ~ Link to T#2 Page 1! - Page 47

After Dilshad and Najma left, Zoya went to her room. Her mind rewound all the events from that morning. She had never expected to see her Phoopi and Tamatar of all people. She was elated. But at the same time. Seeing them brought on the realization that Mr.Khan was again near her.

She decided she needed some fresh air, so she went to the balcony. She sat on the bench and looked up at the sky. How she missed the clear, starry nights in Bhopal. In New York there were too many buildings, and pollution to see any stars. Usually when she felt like this she'd look forward to seeing a turquoise coffee mug being offered to her by her one and only confidant. Mr. Khan...

Kyun, Allah Miya? Jab bhi mein unse door jaane ki koshish karti hoon, aap usse wapas mere paas kyun late hain? Woh to mujhe apne karib aane dete nahin. And why do I care? Why does it bother me so much that he hurts me? Why do I care so much about what he thinks about me? "Allah miya, whats wrong with me... mein Mr. Khan ke baarein mein itna kyun soch rahi hoon? Mujhe unki baaton se itna farak kyun parta hai?"

"Kyun ki tum usse pyaar karti ho." Zoya's head turned in shock.

"Jeeju... a-aap... p-p-pyaar... m-mein..." she tripped over her words. Pyaar? Mein? Aur Mr. Khan se? Impossible!

"Haan, Zoya," Anwar assured her, as he made his way towards the bench. "Mein bohot meino se dekhte aa raha hoon. Tum unke baarein jaise baat karti aai ho. Tum jab bhi unka naam leti ho to tumhari aanko mein ek chamak dikhai deti hai."

"Lekin Jeeju, hum kisi bhi bat pe agree nahi karte hain. Woh bohot traditional hain, mein modern. Aur hum har vakht par larte rethe hai. Yeh kaisa pyaar hai. Yeh pyaar kaisa ho sakta hai." How can someone go from hate to love?

"Zoya, jagra aur pyaar ke beech there is a very fine line. Insaan yeh jaanta bhi nahi ki kab woh jagrein aur woh differences, pyaar mein badal jaati hain. Kher, mein sirf itna bata raha hoon, jo mujhe dikhai deh raha hai. Iss baat ki sachai ko sirf tum qubool kar sakti ho." He kissed her forehand, squeezed her hand and left her to her thoughts.

Mein aur Mr. Khan se pyaar? Mohabaat? Kabhi nahi! How can she be in love with someone who's degraded and insulted her. Someone who's made her feel small, insignificant and unimportant. But then why does she melt whenever he looked at her with those chocolate brown eyes? Why did his one, minor touch send her heart into an erratic rhythm and create endless butterflies in her stomach? Why did she want his attention when Tannu all of a sudden showed up in the house. Ugh. She was so confused. She admired him. That was true. Well, not as much now. He had taken care of his family at a time when they were at society's mercy. But that didn't justify his sudden outbursts toward her. He ran hot and cold all the time. And frankly, she was sick of it.

Zoya decided it was just a misunderstanding on her Jeeju's part. She admitted there was a physical attraction for sure, and she had grown to seek his approval. But she couldn't fathom how she could fall in love with someone so completely her opposite. Someone who didn't like laughing, someone who didn't speak their mind, or follow their heart. And especially someone, who made her doubt her own self worth on a regular basis.

She decided to leave it at that and thought a little stroll around her beloved city would do her some good. She did miss it, after all it was the home she had grown up in. Her small family lived in Manhattan, near the Theatre District. She'd always seen beautiful plays and musicals depicting the stories of others' lives. She always thought how exciting it would be to be in love and fight for it. But never in her wildest dreams, did she think that the person she'd dream about would be someone she'd want to run away from. Pushing the thought aside, she grabbed her sling bag and headed out for a mid afternoon stroll.

Zoya took a cab to her favorite place in Manhattan: Serendipity. A small patisserie at the tip of the island, it always had a line a mile long, especially during the holidays. She loved coming here to drown her sorrows, with a giant coffee drink. The kind that should be split with three other people, but that Zoya always enjoyed on her own. Mr. Khan would call me a pig, she thought with a smile. But immediately pushed the thought away. Stop it, Zoya! Stop thinking about him! He's not worth it... he hates you, her mind reminded her sadly.

She reached the cafe and got her usual. She settled there for a few minutes, sitting at a table near the window looking out on to the street. Zoya played with the extra straws, as she drank her cold coffee drink and took in the sight in front of her. She was about to take another sip when something caught her eye. Or rather, someone.

* * * * * * *

He couldn't believe it. Allah really was great. Out of all the places in New York, there she was, his Zoya. Drinking something incredibly unhealthy, all by herself. She's beautiful, he thought. He chuckled at her choice of beverage and felt a pang of nostalgia. Coffee... that's our thing Zoya, so why are you drinking it alone? This was a rhetorical question, of course, since he knew the painful truth. He was the reason she was alone today.

He noticed that she had seen him and immediately their eyes locked. Seeing him after the whole airport debacle was... confusing. His eyes, although several meters away, spoke volumes. In them she could see concern, questions, answers, guilt and... something else? Before when Dilshad and Najma told her that he was here with them, it hadn't felt real. She hadn't seen him in person. But now... her breathing stopped yet again, for what seemed like an eternity. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, despite her anger and pain. He looked at her the same way he always did when they locked eyes: as if blinking would make her disappear, as if looking at her was all he wanted to do. As if looking at her was the single most satisfying feelings in the world. She always got goosebumps and felt weak at the knees when he gave her that look. And today was no different.

She's still looked beautiful to him. He was just as mesmerized by her beauty today as he was that first time he saw her at the Dargah. Her almond-shaped eyes screamed at him. There were so many unanswered questions within them. Why Asad? Why did you drive me away? Why are you here now? What do you want from me? But he could also see her pain. The pain that was there because of him, because of his cruel and heartless words. But the fact that she looked at him in a similar way, as all those other times when he'd caught her in his arms, was a tad comforting.

A taxi's horn brought them both out of their daze, and it dawned on Zoya that he was here. He's in New York. Mr. Tehzeeb and Tameez is in the United States of America. What is he doing here? WHY is he here? He hates me... I thought he'd be happy to see me go. Complicated man!

Asad composed himself and made his way inside the cafe. Once he was through the doors, he slowly made his way to her table.

"Ms. Farooqui...," he paused. What do I say? I hadn't expected to bump into her like this. But Allah miya, am I glad I get to see her alone. Wait a minute. ALLAH MIYA!? Did I just use her famous line, AGAIN!? He smiled inwardly. Ya Allah, what was this girl doing to him.

Zoya noticed his small smile. Is this a joke to him? He humiliated me. And now when I see him he's smiling!? "What Mr. Khan?" she asked coldly, before he could continue. Asad was once again taken aback by her chilly response.

"Woh, actually..."

"Aap kabhi nahi badal lenge, Mr. Khan. Aapka yeh 'woh actually' ek din aapke akhri loves honge. Aap yeh bhi nahi bata payenge ki aap yahan kiya kar rahe hain. Kyun aaye hai aap? Aapko mujhe kuch aur bhi sunana tha? Jo aapke ghar mein hua woh kaafi nahi tha?"

Asad felt like a needle pierced his heart as he heard her refer to the Khan Villa as his home, and not hers. "Ms. Farooqui, dekhiye-"

"Aapko kya laga? Aap yahan aayenge, mujhse ek bar milenge, 'woh actually' ke chakar mein kuch bole bina mein appki baat samaj jaoongi, aur aapke saath wapas India jane ke liye raazi ho jaoongi? Yehi sochata na aapne?" She glared at him. The nerve of this man! Where was the need for him to come all the way here when she had made it perfectly clear at the airport that she didn't want anything to do with him!

"Zoya..." His tone was more defeated now, pleading. He knew this wouldn't be easy, what with her never letting him get a word in edge wise. But he wasn't sure of how much damage his words had done. Now he knew. It was bad. He had crossed his limit, her limit. And it was going to take a lot more than an apology to redeem himself to her.

"Meine aapko kitna aacha moka diya tha. Mujhe aapke zindagi se bahar nikal ne ka. Lekin aap jaise confused admi ko sidhi baat to samaj mein nahin aayegi. Lagta hai aap sirf mere marne ke baad mera pee-" But she couldn't finish her sentence. She felt a set of warm fingers engulf her mouth.

"Dobara aisi baat apni zubaan par kabhi maat lana," said Asad sternly, his voice just above a whisper. His were eyes full of pain at the thought of losing her forever. Again flashes of Mangalpur haunted him. Of her lifeless body, covered in dirt. Of him trying to revive her, with tears in his eyes. Of hearing her heartbeat again and his promise to never let her get into such a situation again...

Zoya was thrown by his sudden proximity. Her butterflies seemed to have butterflies and her goosebumps became that much more noticeable. She could see the pain in his eyes, the concern and the anger at her use of words. Good, she thought. Give him a taste of his own medicine. But... why does he look so pained at the prospect of losing me... Whoa! Losing me? I'm not his! Snap out of it Zoya! Ahh but that look... Why can't I see him in pain?

Their eyes locked again. Several heads in the cafe turned towards them, and stared at them, dazed by how oblivious they were to their surroundings and how lost they were in each others' eyes.

After a minute, Zoya snapped to reality and immediately stepped back from his hand. Asad blinked and put his hand by his side. Both of them stared at their feet, uncomfortably for a minute and Asad was the first to break the silence.

"Ms. Fa- Zoya..." started Asad. But as soon as he looked up, she was gone. All he could see was her retreating figure, once again.

Precap: Asad's apology... will it be enough?

Chappal, eggs, tomatoes all welcome hahaha I know why did I end it there.. but hey! We know they'll meet again :D