AsYa FF: Destiny Comes Calling *CH 20* 11/11/13 Pg 134 - Page 8

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Chapter 4: A Rude Awakening

Zoya, who was exhausted from her trip and seriously jet lagged, had a quick meal and went to bed in her borrowed clothes.

Asad made an appearance only at Dinner time and was surprised to see that his house was once again back to its original, clean and pristine state. He played with the earring in his pocket as he settled down at the table.

"Aami, the house looks normal now. I am guessing your guest has left?" Asad hesitatingly asked the question, noticing the absence of the girl.

"Asad. Galti meri hai. Mein tumhe italaah karna bhool gayi thi ki USA se Zoya aane wali hain aur kuch roz hamare ghar rahegi. Tum kaam mein uljhe the aur ghar par bhi nahi the do hafto se to mere zahen se hi nikal gaya. Darasal, car meine Prasad ke saath Zoya ke liye bheji thi. Agar hum bhoolein nahi hote to tum use apne saath hi le aate." [Asad. It was my mistake. I forgot to inform you that Zoya is coming from the USA and is planning to stay here for a while. You were so busy with work and work trips that it completely escaped me. I had sent the car for her. But had I not forgotten, you could have brought her home with you.] Dilshaad explain apologetically.

"Fat chance." Asad mumbled under his breath. "But why here? Put this Miss up in some hotel. Some other relative, maybe. You know how I feel about having strangers living with us." He explained to his mother. Najma who just joined them, took the seat next to her mother.

"Miss Farooqui. Zoya Farooqui. And Asad, YOU are asking me to put this girl up in a hotel? Akeli ladki, anjaan shehar, anjaan desh. [A girl all alone in a strange city in an unknown country] I am in shock. You don't even let US step out alone after sunset and you want me to put her in a hotel? As it is, I am her closest relative, she is my cousin's daugther so to speak, so she will stay with us. There is no one else with whom she can stay." Dilshaad was not able to understand why her son was behaving just so difficult. Yes he did not like having people come and stay in their house, disrupting his day-to-day life, but this was very strange indeed. Something must be really wrong at work for him to be so adamant.

"But Aami. I just don't think it is a good idea. Woh ek alag desh mein pali badi hain. Woh hamare tehzeeb aur tameez nahi jaanti. [She was raised in a different country. She does not know anything about our culture and mannerisms.] One look at her and I am sure she will not be able to adjust to our lifestyle and the rules we follow in this house." Asad argued, upset that his mother was actually arguing with him in favor of a virtual stranger.

"What do you mean Bhaijaan?" Najma intervened.

"Did you see how she was dressed? I don't want her to influence you or introduce you to the AMERICAN thinking." Asad stated.

"But she was fully covered from head to toe, just like you expect us to dress. I did not see anything wrong with her clothes." Dilshaad countered.

"And the mess she created in the house."

"Are you really trying to blame her for the rain too? She had to walk the street, lugging her bags in this heavy downpour, trying to find our house. How can you expect her to come home all clean and dry after that?" Dilshaad explained.

"And the way she talked to me?"

"What about the way she was left stranded at the airport, because it was beneath you to find out why Prasad was at the airport. What did you expect from someone who has travelled for more than 24 hours, arrived in a new place only to find that she is on her own because her hosts did not pick her up? She was frustrated as you would be too if you found yourself in her situation. And let me remind you, you were extremely rude too." Dilshaad fumed at her son.

"But Aami, why are you so insistent on having her HERE?" Asad was exasperated.

"Because I like her. Mere apne bacche to apni apni zindagi mein mashoor hai. Mera dil behel jaayega agar who bacchi kuch roz hamare saath rahegi. [My kids are busy in their own lives. I would like to have her company even if for a short time]"

"Dil behlane ke liye aap aur kuch bhi kar sakti hain.[You can do something else in order to pass your time.]"

"But I want to have company in the house."

"Hire a companion."

"Usmein who apna pan kahan? Haan agar tum nikah kar lete to mujhe yeh mushkil nahi hoti. Ek baar aapki begum aa jayegi to apne aap meri problems solve ho jaayengi. [Where is the familiarity in a hired companion? Yeah, if you are to marry then I would not have a problem. Once your wife is in the house all my problems will get solved on their own.] "

"Aapki har baat mere Nikah par hi kyon pahonch jaati hain? [Why does our every conversation end on my marriage?] I have told you before that I am not yet ready to settle down. Once I am, I will let you know and you can find me a wife of your choice."

"Asad, I think I have had enough of this stupid argument. Unless you have a very solid reason to have her sent from here, I am done with this conversation. She is my guest and I have decided that she will stay with me. End of discussion" Dilshaad said with a finality in her tone. Dilshaad knew that they were now arguing just for the sake of it.

Najma and Asad were both shocked at the way their mother argued through this conversation and even actually manage to shut up Asad for once.

Asad just took a deep breath and turned away from his Aami to concentrate on his food. However his eyes met with the shocked, tear brimmed eyes of Miss Musibat nee Farooqui. Allah, looks like she heard us. Good she heard the conversation. Now she knows that she is not welcome here. Yet, somewhere deep down he could not shake off the hurt look he had seen on her face, those eyes were meant to smile not cry.

Zoya who had come to the kitchen for a drink of water, had stopped at the entrance hearing the loud voices of Phoopi and her son, arguing about something. When she waited for a couple of minutes she realized they were discussing her. She was just turning around not wanting to hear more of this conversation when her eyes met those of Mr. Asad Ahmed Khan. She left from there her thirst forgotten. She did not want him to know how affected she was by their conversation.

Maine apni poori zindagi mein aise rude insaan nahi dekhe. Akdu kahin ke. Sakhmjhte kya hain apne aap ko, jaise kahin ke jahanpanah hai? Mr.Akdu Jahanpanah Ahmed Khan. [I have never in my life met such a rude man. What does he think of himself, as if he is the lord of some place?]Atleast Phoopi and Najma were with her. She resolved to complete her work in India and leave as soon as possible. Living under the same roof as that hot headed, rude, man was impossible. It was all Jeeju's fault, had he not put the condition on her to stay with Phoopi, she would never have to set her eyes on that man. Aami meri madad karna, mujhe aapki bahot jaroorat hai.[Mom, please help me. I need you a lot.]

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Much much later that same night, MyJaan nudged Zoya awake when he needed to attend to nature's call. Since it was well past midnight, Zoya took the chance of taking him outside so that he could run around a little too, keeping the door ajar making sure not to lock herself out of the house.

Zoya's stomach rumbled reminding her that it had been hours since her last meal. She craved for a pizza and took her I-Pad to find a place that would still deliver. Wow what luck! A 24 hours Pizza place! She placed order for a pizza and a diet coke. MyJaan and her strolled around the garden, enjoying the cool night air while they waited for the Pizza delivery.

With her meal balanced in one hand, she locked the main door to make her way towards her room. Jaan who was now refreshed and ready to explore his new home, started darting around the place. Zoya settled on the sofa to enjoy her meal and watched MyJaan heading towards the corridor where her room was, still exploring and enjoying his freedom.

Next thing she knew was that instead of turning left to her room, he went to the door on the opposite side HIS room. NOT THERE JAAN!!!

The door was slightly ajar and MyJaan squeezed in. Najma had emphasized that her brother will not be happy to see Jaan so they were not to cross paths atleast until Aami had a chance to talk to him. She immediately made up her mind to sneak into the room. However, she was frozen in place when she saw that Jaan was already on the bed and licking Mr. Khan's stubbled cheek.

This was really the first time Zoya actually saw his face. His face, in the moonlight, looked like it was chiseled from a marble block. His features were sharp, and even in his sleep he had a certain aura around him. He was truly handsome and the day old stubble added to his looks. Only, if he would smile a little he would look no less than Adonis himself.

"Jaan...shhh…come here quick. You are not supposed to be in here. Come out now." She pleaded. Seeing that Mr. Khan was starting to stir, she tiptoed towards the bed, calling out to Jaan and trying to get his attention.

However, in her hurry to get Jaan out of the room, she failed to notice the soft carpet near the foot of the bed, and before she could see it she felt it. Her leg caught under it, sending her, arms flailing, on the bed.

If the dog had not woken up Asad, Zoya landing on him, on his bed, definitely did wake him up. In a reflex to being attacked in his sleep, he tackled his attacker and in a swift movement pinned her down on the bed under him.

{Maula mere…maula mere…}

Both of them were surprised at the turn of events and had a staring contest to see who buckled down first. Zoya eventually closed her eyes, let out the breath she was holding and whispered "You are hurting me Mr.Khan." referring to the pressure of his hands on her shoulders.

"You? What are you doing in my room at this time? What kind of a sick joke is this?" Asad fumed.

"I am sorry. I was just..." Zoya was just beginning to explain herself and her situation when Asad cut her off.

"You think I don't have you all figured out Miss Farooqui. You heard the conversation and figured out that you had to somehow make me agreeable to your staying here. Why am I not surprised that you chose this way of convincing me? How typical of you badtameez and besharam American girls?" Asad hissed in a low voice but making sure that his meaning was abundantly clear in both his words and tone.

Shocked at his words, Zoya pushed him off with as much strength as she could muster. She got off the bed and started making her way towards the door, Jaan was now forgotten in the heat of the moment.

"Not so fast Miss Farooqui?" Asad grabbed her hand to stop her and one eyebrow raised challenging her.

"Please let go. I am sorry you found me here in your room, but you misunderstand." Zoya whispered again, hoping that he would let go and accept her apology, taking small steps towards the door but still facing him.

"Oh no…I am sure I am not misunderstanding." Asad followed her still holding on to her hand. "Let's finish what you started" he breathed, only a few centimeters away from her face now.

"No!!!" she screamed, tugged her hand free, slapped him tight and ran out the room across the corridor to the sanctity of her own room. How dare he? How cheap of him to jump to such conclusions just because I am American? What does he know about me, nothing and still… she fumed behind her closed doors.

Asad's cheek stung where her hand had met his face. An angry twitch replaced the hurt as he stormed to his own bathroom for a cold shower. He could not understand his reaction to her or his body's betrayal back on the bed and this only made him angrier.

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I am sorry if my update hurts anyone'e feelings. I am not trying to stereotype anyone or any culture. If you did not like where I went with this chapter, please tell me so I can avoid the problem next time. Just understand, we are dealing with a very complicated man here who has major control issues. And the only way he can get things under HIS control is by lashing out. Again, sorry if I hurt ur feelings unintentionally.

Jhootas and Chappals welcome for maligning the AAK a little here. Looking forward to comments too and suggestions if you have any.

Luv Rivs

PS: PMs will be sent in a bit. Need to go break my fast first.