The rain beat down relentlessly on the windows and onto the terrace. Asad lay in bed and turned towards the sound. Unable to sleep, eat or think normally. All he wanted to do was cry and lock himself away from the world and allow his mind to torture him as to the wrong he had done.
"Had it only been two months?" He asked himself, again seeing Zoya's face before him that fateful morning. Try as he might he could not erase the look of pain, disgust and disappointment that was etched on her face. Her world had crumbled and he was the cause. He cursed himself time and time again that he could not recall the details.
All he could remember was that Tanveer was in trouble and he had gone to help her. After the blow to the head, everything else was a haze. Somehow Zoya was there, he swore it was her she faded into nothing and Tanveer was there. Nothing made sense. All he knew was that he had made the biggest mistake of his life and threw away the one thing that was infinite in his life. Zoya.
He replayed the scene time and time again when they had reached home and found Zoya in tears, inconsolable and his mother, whose anger knew no bounds. He had disappointed her, but most of all he had disappointed himself. He deserved that slap. He would have slapped himself too if he was thinking straight.
Asad hauled himself up from the bed and walked over to the window. It seemed that the rain was mocking him too, telling him that he had done wrong. He leant forward and put his forehead against the glass, feeling it smooth and cool, soothing his head and the headaches that were commonplace these days.
The lights came on in the corridor. He turned and beneath the gap a chink of light glowed, then followed by the sounds and shadows of a set of footsteps as they passed by. Zoya! He could tell her footsteps anywhere. You don't annoy the hell out of a person without leaving an imprint on them. It was her, he was sure of it.
Rushing to the door, he threw it open ready to catch her being a nuisance to him that she revelled in. He would drag her in, block her way and keep her there until he had told her how sorry he was.
Tanveer jumped as Asad's bedroom door flew open and he stood before her, a mad man with wide eyes. Pregnancy was not allowing her to sleep and the worry as each day brought her closer to failing in her task of marrying Asad and giving his name to her child.
It wasn't that hadn't tried. She not only convinced him that she was pregnant with his child but had Dilshad fooled too. She knew that Dilshad would never accept her as Asad's wife but the baby had given her the leverage she needed. The nikkah was to be performed as soon as possible. A low key affair but she did not mind. She just wanted to wear the mantle of being Mrs Asad Khan.
But the ghost of Zoya would not lie. As Asad was about to say qubool hai he took Zoya's name instead, thereby melting Dilshad's heart and convincing her of the love he had for Zoya. Unluckily for Tanveer the nikkah did not go ahead. Dilshad did not have the heart to make Asad go through the ceremony. Her son was hurting for Zoya and she could not, would not, condemn him to a life with compromise.
Disappointed and angry she had not given in. Steadfast in her belief that her baby would have his name by hook or by crook, she stayed in the house and used every opportunity to get closer to Asad.
"Jammy you are still awake? I couldn't sleep either. That's good. Why don't we keep each other company? It seems a shame for both of us to be alone at this time." She reached out and touched his arm.
His trance broke and he came face to face with Tanveer standing in front of him and not Zoya as he had imagined. He looked at the hand that was on his arm and recoiled in horror, shrugging her off. Without a word to her he went back to the darkness of his room.
In the dark he heard footsteps again, but this time they were in his room and seemed to lead him to the window and out onto the terrace, the very terrace that held such bittersweet memories for him. Talking to Zoya the night before, seeing her hands through the trellis that separated them but for a few short hours and anticipating their life ahead. He had allowed himself to believe.
Emerging into the rain he saw glimpses of Zoya dressed in white behind the leaves that entwined themselves in the trellis.
"Miss Farooqui won't you show me your hands?" He whispered. "Let me have another chance to find my name." A hand appeared and his heart sang. Stepping forward he reached out to touch it but stopped. That was not Zoya's hand.
"You won't see your name on my hands." The voice said "but your lifeline is entwined with mine. We are meant to be together." That was not Zoya's voice. The haze lifted.
"Tanveer! What are you doing in Zoya's room?" He remonstrated with her, through the barrier between them. "Get out of her room and go back to yours."
There was a rustling then silence. He looked out into the dark night and uttered his dearest wish.
"Zoya. If my words reach you on the wind, come back to me. Come and see how badly your Mr Khan is missing you."
"Asad? What are you doing in the rain? Come in at once. You will catch a cold." Dilshad's voice broke through his thoughts. He entered the room and stared at her blankly. She looked at him and her expression softened. "She will come back." She handed him a towel. "Have faith. Dry yourself off." She collected some dry clothes for him. "Who were you shouting at?"
"Jammy, you are all wet?" The sound grated on Dilshad's nerves. Sickly sweet and dripping with poison. The girl was not just shameless but bad news all round. "Shall I help you dry off?" She purred. It was obvious that she had not seen Dilshad, who was hidden by the wardrobe door.
"He is perfectly capable of sorting himself out Tanveer. Why are you in his room?" She stopped midway and looked at Tanveer and then at her son. Both stood there drenched. Anger began to build up within her but then she noticed something. Something that wasn't quite right.
Tanveer stood before her. Dilshad's eyes narrowed. Tanveer's wet clothes were plastered on her frame and in turn highlighted her stomach showing a baby bump that clearly indicated Tanveer's pregnancy to be further along than she had claimed. Dilshad's eyes narrowed.
"How many months are you pregnant?" She asked.
Part 2 https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/86943610
Part 3. https://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3645752&TPN=10
Hope it is ok.😳😊
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Bindi
