Well this is the last chapter of my first ever FF and I hope you liked it. Your comments have been very encouraging. Please continue to read my stories as I post them.
Once and for all - Chapter 6
"Phuppi..may I go to his room before I leave?" Zoya asked Dilshad.
Dilshad shook her head and saw Zoya disappear in her son's bedroom.
The room had his smell. It was very masculine, very clean, very Asad. To Zoya's surprise his daybed, chairs and even his bed was strewn with unwashed shirts and other clothes. His bed was not even made. Zoya didn't know why she wanted to see Asad's room. Then she remembered the first time they met in the house was in this room…on his bed. One of their very first fights was in this room. She saw his six packs for the first time in this room….no…actually it was the bathroom. She unconsciously started moving around the room and cleaning up. She made the bed and then went to his bathroom to leave the worn clothes in the laundry basket.
She stood there and remembered the time she made the plan for Holi and he tricked her instead. Zoya was smiling and shedding tears at the same time. Bittesweet memories are all she can take with her now.
Asad opened the front door and stormed into his room. Dilshad and Najma didn't even get a chance to stop him.
He walked into the room and sat on the day bed, his hands clasped and supporting his forehead.
"Asad, are you okay?" asked Dilshad while furiously looking around to find Zoya, whom she knew was now trapped inside this room.
Zoya too heard Dilshad's voice and came running from the bathroom only to notice Asad sitting on the day. She quickly hid behind the semi-wall that divided the room from the bathroom area.
Dilshad saw Zoya but decided not to give her away. "Asad beta….speak to me bachcha…I know you are upset."
"Ammi…Ammi," whimpered Asad. He suddenly grabbed his mother by the waist and held her tight like a little kid. "Ammi she is leaving. Zoya is leaving me. The travel agency called me thinking she is still staying with us. Zoya is leaving tomorrow and I won't see her. Does she hate me so much? Did I really mess up so badly that she doesn't even want to see me anymore? Ammi, I don't know where to find her. I called all the hotels in Bhopal, I drove around all the places she liked to visit and I couldn't find her. I tried so hard to locate her so that I could apologize but I couldn't find her. I want her Ammi. I need Zoya" Asad said breathlessly without a pause. His eyes were blood read and two steady streams of tears were flowing through his eyes.
He let go of his Ammi and dried his eyes. He was now staring at the floor helplessly.
"I wish I had told her how much….how much….." Asad stammered.
"How much what, Beta?" pushed Dilshad.
Asad looked up at her and said, "I wish I had told her how much I loved her."
Zoya saw the whole ordeal through tears of her own from behind the divider wall but couldn't hold herself back any longer. She came out of hiding and blurted out, "Then why didn't you?"
Asad was startled. The question seemed to come out of thin air but the voice sounded a lot like Zoya's. Asad turned his head towards the voice and saw Zoya standing in front of this closet.
He looked bewildered. He kept glancing back and forth between his Ammi and Zoya.
"I will leave you two to work it out," said a smiling Dilshad. Najma was reluctant to move but a glare from her Ammi made her leave the room. The closed the door behind them.
"Well? Why didn't you say before what you just said now?" said Zoya, fuming.
"Woh…actually…"
"Ufff…Allah Miyan…what's wrong with you? Even now….woh actually?"
"Zoya…"
"I was in your house for 7 months, Phuppi has been planning and prepping our wedding for over a month.."
"Zoya…."
"You arranged a date for us…..you cornered me several times….for God's sake we almost KISSED one day and you couldn't tell me these three simple words….what's wrong with you?"
"Zoya!"
"Whaaat?
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you…..for all the times I tried to say these words but couldn't. I love you. More than anything in this world. I love you." Asad took a step closer to her every time he uttered this ultimate truth.
"I love you Zoya Farooqui. I cannot live without you. I have been looking for you like crazy for the last two days. I haven't slept well, eaten or even cleaned my room."
He looked around to show her the room but was surprised to see it clean.
"I cleaned it. It looked like my room and I know how much you hate my room" Zoya mumbled.
Asad walked another step and took Zoya in his arms. He held her tight, breathed in her fragrance and whispered in her ears, "Well, if you can keep the room this clean, then I don't think I will mind sharing it with you."
Zoya pulled back and frowned at him.
"Share the room? Are you proposing to me Mr. Khan?"
"Yes Ms. Farooqui would you like to be my roommate…I mean soulmate? Ouch," uttered Asad, smiling, when Zoya mock punched him in his gut.
"You are sooo un-romantic Mr.Khan. It is probably the worst proposal in the world….no scratch that….the worst proposal in the planet. I mean, yes, I do accept your proposal because I DO LOVE YOU TOO and I will marry you but really Mr. Khan…no, no Asad…you know you really should have been more romantic. For example……."
It was wonderful to hear her say his name and confess that she loved him. Asad held Zoya by her waist and kept looking at her loving while she kept on talking. Zoya the chatterbox! Asad couldn't believe this was the girl he saw at the Durgah and fell in love at first sight, this was the girl he learned to dislike when she moved into his house and this was the same girl who became his lifeline and this is the same girl who will soon be his wife.
Finally, once and for all, Zoya will be his.
Anupamaa
Current Affairs
Sports
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
46