Once and for all - A short FF. Chapter 6 UPDATED. - Page 3

Asad went to his office, turned on his computer and sat blankly. He had no clue what to do next. Ms. Farooqui was the 'Jasoos,' not him. Where to start? Should he call her? He knew she won't pick up and even if she did she will not reveal to him where she is staying. Asad knew he had to apologize in person and had to meet her face to face.

"Think, think, think Asad," Asad mumbled under his breath. She couldn't have found a flight so fast and leave Bhopal. So she must have stayed somewhere. Knowing Zoya, he wouldn't be surprised if she spent the night at a rail station or dhaba. His Zoya was crazy!

Still, he decided it would be a good start to look at hotels. She may have had the brains to check into one last night. So he made a list of hotels and started calling each of them. He was half way through the list when his secretary walked in and told him his friend Tanveer was here to see him.

"Tannu here'in my office? What does she want?" Asad thought in irritation. He felt annoyed. Why? Why did he feel this sudden nagging annoyance towards her best buddy from childhood? "Am I blaming Tannu for Zoya's departure."

Before he could complete his thoughts, Tanveer entered his office.

"Assalamwalaikum, Jammy. You were in such a hurry that I couldn't get to talk to you this morning," Tanveer said. "I wanted to ask you to drop me off at the doctor's office. I needed to follow up about my burn."

"Oh..I am sorry. I didn't realize. I was in a hurry to catch a meeting," replied Asad.

"Did it get cancelled? Your secretary told me you have been working on your computer all morning." Tanveer asked.

Asad was losing his temper. How dare Tanveer interrogate him? But he tried to keep his cool and replied, "Yes it did get cancelled and I have been working all morning trying to track Zoya."

"Track Zoya? Why? Have you forgotten she insulted you last night and left on her own terms. She won't be coming back. Besides you always say she is a 'Musibat' so let her go. All she brought in your life is unnecessary pain and tension. She does not belong in India'she does not belong in your family. She is nor right for you. You need a girl who can fit into the mould you have in your mind. A proper Muslimah with Tehzeeb and Tameez. She is not the right fit."

"Fit or misfit'.it is for me to decide'not you Tannu." Asad replied through gritted teeth. "Please let me do what I am doing. If you need a car to go home, my office car can drop you. Tell Ammi I might be late tonight."

"Jammy..I didn't mean to upset you" said a baffled Tanveer. She wasn't expecting this reaction. It was worse than she thought. Asad was deeply in love with Zoya.

"It's okay. I understand. You want what is best for me." Asad uttered these words but in his mind he wondered if Tannu really meant so.

Zoya didn't know where to start either. Every avenue that she ever took till now lead to a dead end'.or at least a false end.

"Let's call her doctor. If I can convince her (or bribe her) to speak to Phuppi then she can explain that Tanveer is not scared of doctors." Zoya thought. She picked up her iPad, searched the doctor's name and number and called the hospital.

"Hello Dr. Mehta's office," said the receptionist.

"May I speak to Dr. Mehta. It's about Tanveer'" Zoya was speaking when she was interrupted.

"Oh Ms. Tanveer, thank god you called. We already have your UltraSound results. You forgot to pick up your reports and scans before you left the doctor's office this morning. Everything looks normal, the baby looks just fine. You need to take these scans to your gynecologist so she can monitor you from now on. Dr. Mehta cannot handle your case any longer. You are in your second trimester and you really have to go under the supervision on a gynecologist. Do you want to pick up the scans today?"

Zoya was tongue tied. She didn't know what to say.

"Ms. Tanveer. Do you want us to mail it to you?" asked the receptionist and then recited the address of the Khan residence.

This left no doubt in Zoya's mind that the receptionist was referring about the same Tanveer she was inquiring about.

"No..please no need to mail it. I will have my sister pick it up. Her name is Najma" Zoya interjected quickly. "Thank you."

She knew how cunning Tanveer was. "If the reports reached Tanveer's hand then Phuppi will never know the truth" thought Zoya.

"Wow, Tanveer is pregnant...TANVEER IS PREGNANT." Zoya was still trying to digest the news.

A little later she picked up her phone and called Najma.

"Zoyaaa!" screamed Najma. "Where are you? Ammi and I are so worried about you. Please tell me where you are we want to see you."

"Calm down Tamatar," Zoya interrupted, "I cannot tell you where I am but I need you to do me a favor."

She explained to Najma what she needed her to do. She insisted that Najma makes sure ONLY Phuppi is given the packet'.no one else. Not her brother and especially not Tanveer.

Najma was intrigued but knew Zoya was onto something. She personally did not have a grudge against Tanveer but could not shake the nagging feeling that things started to go south for her brother and Zoya with the appearance of Tanveer. This was a favor her best friend was asking of her and she decided to honor it. Thus, despite several threats and offers of bribes from her mother, she did not divulge to her the conversation she had with Zoya.

Having given this mammoth task to Najma (and being 100% sure her beloved Tamatar would take care of it) Zoya decided to plan for her next mission of exposing Tanveer's lies to Phuppi.

Today was a good day for Zoya. Things were working for her and apparently it took her only minutes to come up with an idea. It was risky, but if it pays off then she will have all the proof she needs to unearth Tanveer's deceit regarding her Kurti factory.

Zoya had a good memory so it wasn't hard to recall the address of the place she intended to go now. She got up, said a quick prayer, grabbed her iPad and ran out to rent a taxi.