"Arrey Wah!!! Aaj to ghar mein bahot hi badhiya khushboo hai. I wonder what's cooking." Ayaan talked to no one in particular as he entered the house.
"Arrey Ayaan, kahan se chale aa raahe hain aap. Aap ko to doctor saab ne araam farmane ki naseehat di hain na?" Shireen got up from the sofa and walked towards her son, all worried.
"I got bored of lying down on the bed Ammi. Socha thoda gym wym ho jaaye. I am just coming back from the gym." Ayaan picked up an apple from the dining table and started munching it.
His mom and Badi Bi had been sitting down in the living room when he came in. He pulled his Ammi into a side hug just as she was about to start reprimanding him for the gym and went towards his dadi.
"Ammi, don't worry. I did not do anything strenuous, just some running to get the lethargy off. I am fit and fine now. See." He twirled around to show how good he felt now.
"Phir bhi Ayaan. Aap ko apni sehat ka khayaal rakhna chahiye." Badi Bi spoke up.
"Ji Badi Bi. Aaj kya koi khaas din hain? Rasoi se badi hi lazeez khoosbu aa rahi hain. Let me go and check what is being made." Ayaan ran off to the kitchen as soon as he was done talking.
"Oh Ho Ayaan. Bhool gaye tum..." Shireen made to go behind him to remind him that today was Zoya's first day in the kitchen but was pulled back by Badi Bi.
"Jaane do use Shireen. Abhi abhi to Nikah hua hai dono ka. Issi bahane dono ko kuch waqt mil jaayega saath bitane." Badi di said, giving Shireen a knowing smile.
XXX
As Ayaan entered the kitchen he was in for a shock. Never in his life had he seen the kitchen in such a mess. Even when Humeira and Nikhat had decided to surprise the family by cooking a meal, their first ever, they had managed to do so without turning the kitchen upside down. It looked worse than the damage done by a hurricane or a tsunami.
And in the middle of it all was a frantically running Zoya. Her hair was done up in a bun with strands of hair that were now falling out giving her hair a completely messed up appearance. Her face was strewn with various colors as if she had just played holi, but instead of bright and vivid holi colors, she had used flour and spices. The apron she had used to protect her beautiful yellow salwar was also spotty and untidy. In fact, it did not even serve its purpose anymore since even her salwar soiled.
Ayaan stood there, observing her diligently stirring the pots and making the dough at the same time. Suddenly she ran to the oven to check on whatever it was that she was baking. The entire scene in front of him made him chuckle. No wonder Bhaijaan called her Musibat!!!
At first he was surprised to see her in the kitchen and cooking but then he remembered that his mother and Badi Bi had asked her to do the pehli rasoi rasm today. They had both initially declined since they knew that this marriage was a sham. So why is Zoya here? Why is she still fulfilling these rasms like a dutiful bahu? He wanted to go there and ask her to stop, but then something stopped him.
He looked at her again, she was smiling away as she worked. It did not look like she was forced into the situation or that she was doing it under duress. In fact, it looked like she was enjoying it. There was something about this girl and her resilience that made him smile too. She coped with every situation thrown at her, even when she did not wish to.
He remembered how she fulfilled every rasm for Nikhat wedding, even though reluctantly. She did not complain even when Haseena was taunting them all in a public setting. For a fraction of a second, an emotion close to pride swelled in his heart for this girl who was now his wife. Even though in name only, and only for dikhawa, she was still his wife.
The very next second he turned around and fled out of the kitchen, furious at himself for the thought that had just crossed his mind, even though it was momentary. He knew that they both loved another. She was his bhaijaan's amanat, he was only her protector while she lived in his house. He saw Humeira in her room, lost in her thoughts as he hurried by her room towards his. His guilt stopped him from approaching her.
XXX
An hour later, Ayaan made his way back to the kitchen, his guilt had subsided a bit. He figured Zoya might be in need of some help and hence decided to help her since she was willing to go to such great lengths for the happiness of his family.
Zoya had just finished icing the cake and was preparing to put a pizza into the oven for baking.
"Main kuch aapki madad kardu Mona?" He asked as he advanced towards her. He pretended to lick the icing off the cake and was immediately rewarded with a quick tap on his hands.
"Nope but thanks for offering Rabert. I am almost done. I will make the other pizza's fresh when everyone is ready to sit down for the meal." She beamed at him.
"So how about cleaning up, then?" he offered.
"Sure. It is quite messy in here, isn't it?" she frowned as she took in the mess in front of her.
He nodded and went to grab the cleaning supplies. Zoya chose to finally taste the smaller pizza she had baked earlier and make sure everything turned out okay. With her eyes closed, she was enjoying the rewards of her hard work, Ayaan came from behind and took a bite off of the slice she was holding.
"It's very good Mona. Kahan se sikha?" Ayaan's voice, so close to her, brought her back from her lalaland.
"What did you say?" she asked him, turning around to face him.
"The pizza is very good." He said as he pulled Zoya's hand to grab another bite off of the slice she was holding.
"Rabert...nahi yeh mera jutha hai." She pulled it away from him saying so.
"So what, I already had a bite." He just shrugged his shoulders and grabbed the pizza off of her hands and ate it up.
Zoya was surprised by Ayaan's sudden movement, but what shocked her was the eerie similarity of what had just happened to the time Mr. Khan had made pizza for her. Both the scenes were set in a kitchen that was in a state of chaos due to someone's cooking experiments. Both the times, someone took a bite off of her half eaten pizza without her realizing. Only the circumstances and faces were different.
It was Khan Villa then, it is Siddique Mansion now. It was Mr. Khan who had cooked to please her at that time and it was her doing the cooking this time to please Shireen aunty and Badi Bi. She has shared her pizza with Mr. Khan then, her fianc, and it is Ayaan now, her shauhar. Yeh kaisa khel khel raha hai Muqaddar mere saath? Aakhir kya chahta hai Muqaddar mujhse? She wondered as tears sprang to her eyes.
"Hello Zoya" Ayaan words and the dish cloth he had flung towards her brought her out of her reverie. Halfheartedly, she started cleaning the countertops, lost in her thoughts.
Ayaan who was busy cleaning the floors did not see Zoya when he turned around the corner of the island and inadvertently bumped into her causing her to fall. He put both his hands in front in order to save her from falling down and hurting herself.
Zoya was standing upright one second and the next she felt the ground move from beneath her. She tried to grab onto something, anything to break her fall but was too late. The aftermath of the confusion that ensued after the accidental bump, was that Ayaan lay on the floor with Zoya on top of him, their eyes arrested in an eye lock, while two pairs of happy eyes observed the entire scene unfold.
{Background song for ZoYaan eyelocks - Kaisa yeh Isq hai ai ai, Ajab sa risk hai}
They both looked at each other and quietly turned around to leave. "Maine kaha tha na" the older woman whispered to the other one, as they both tried to suppress a giggle.
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