Chapter 6b
After Dinner:
"Umm...Phoophi, Appi, Jeeju, Najma...I have something to tell you guys."
"What is it Zoya?"
Everyone saw how tensed and nervous she appeared. Asad went and silently stood beside her. Jeeju asked her gently:
"Zoya relax."
"Well...aap sabko pata hai ki the grave that was supposed to be my Abbu's wasn't actually his. Somebody manipulated us. Now we know who did it...and we know who my Abbu is."
"Zoya..."
Appi hugged her.
"Let me complete Appi...Phuphi I am very very sorry...my Abbu...my Abbu is..."
"Zoya calm down. Please beta don't cry and..."
"Phuphi my Abbu..."
Asad clenched his hands so tight that his knuckles looked white. It took him a great deal of self-control to stop himself from crushing her in his arms and taking away all her pain.
"Zoya it's okay..."
Zoya cried hard in her Appi's embrace and Jeeju patted her hair with love and worry. Everyone was worried. Zoya's sobs grew louder and Asad couldn't take it anymore.
"Ammi Zoya's abbu is Gafoor Siddiqui."
He said it in one breathe. The realization of the truth was yet to sink in for him, but he didn't want it to happen just yet. Not now...not when Zoya needed him.
"Miss Farooqui...go and take rest. I will handle the rest."
"Mr Khan I need to tell them everything."
"You are tired."
"I can do it."
"You don't have to do it now."
"I should do it now."
"Can't you just listen to me for once?"
"Not this time."
"Rubbish. You never listen to anything I say. And what exactly is wrong in this?"
"Nothing...except that this is my fight. I am a strong girl and...I don't need your pity."
"I pity you? You think that's what I think of you?"
"Well I don't know. Why don't you--"
"If you don't know then just don't assume anything stupid that comes to your mind."
"Enough! Asad Zoya just stop it. Bahut ho gaya. Asad let her finish. Zoya tell me how you are so sure that...Gafoor Siddiqui is your Abbu."
"...so he basically admitted it himself. I saw it. Mr Khan saw it. Jeeju my Abbu is alive and he loves me. I...Phuphi I know he has caused you so much pain and I am really sorry but..."
"I understand Zoya...I am happy for you. You are like my daughter, so please beta let me tell you that don't go by the face value. Gafoor Siddiqui is a dangerous man."
Dilshad sat down with a sigh. Appi continued:
"...and more than him, it's his wife. Zoya you can't think of going to him now. I won't let you do it."
"Zoya your Appi is right. You are my little girl and I am not gonna let you get into any trouble like that."
"Jeeju I know. Trust me I do. I know I am very...impulsive and kind of a...musibat magnet *Asad looked away from her*, but I have learnt from my mistakes. I am not going to him...not directly. I have waited so long to meet my Abbu, I can wait for a few more months. First of all, I am gonna observe him from afar. I am gonna find out what happened to my Ammi and why she is not with him, why he has never been with me--"
"Miss Farooqui have you gone mad? You are not doing any investigation. I promised you I will get you all your answers. You stay out of it."
"Mr Khan this is my Abbu we are talking about. I--"
"Stop it Zoya! I get it how you feel...but no! This is too dangerous and Asad...you don't need to do anything either. I have a detective friend here. I will--"
"Actually Jeeju my friend is a very efficient detective and he is already involved, so you don't need to ask your friend. I--Zoya not now! I will tell you later."
Zoya knelt down before Dilshad.
"Phoophi...you know you have always been like my Ammi, from the first day. You can guess how painful it is for me...and how guilty I feel for this! Phoophi--"
"Zoya don't even get there."
"Phoophi please...I can't stay here anymore. I can't..."
"Zoya if you see me as your Phuphi, you won't do that."
"Phoophi you know my feelings. But the guilt would eat me up every day I see you guys Phoophi...please! Please let me...let me...go! Please don't stop me...please..."
Dilshad gathered her up in her arms, sobbing with her.
"Shh...stop crying meri bachhi! Please don't cry!"
Asad stormed away to his room. Sitting down on the couch, he broke down like a child. The last two days had been a roller coaster ride...and he was exhausted beyond measure. First she got back, he was so happy...only to have his heart broken by the harsh reality...and even when he was ready to fight for her, for them...she was leaving him, again. Yes he had vowed that he would never let her go again, but he was helpless. Even though he wanted her to stay by him, even though he needed her the most then...still he didn't have the heart to make her stay back and suffer. May be it was a good thing that her father turned out to be Gaffur Siddiqui. She could have a fresh start in her life...a fresh start without him anywhere around. Was it only yesterday that she had slept in his arms and he had had such a peaceful night?
His head hurt like anything and he collapsed on the couch, clutching his head in his hands tightly. The bones in his legs started aching all of a sudden, and it was terrible. It was so painful, he wanted to cut them off. Helpless tears rolled down his eyes as he felt the taste of blood in his mouth. He swallowed the blood along with the tears. Writhing in pain, he half stumbled, half crawled to his bed and took his medicines kept in the drawer. Some water splashed down, but he simply didn't have the strength or energy to let his OCD traits take over. The medicines acted in a minute and he slumped down on the bed, a thin trail of blood rolling down his mouth into the sleek white bed sheet.
.o.O.o.
On the other side, Jeeju and Appi were sleeping with Zoya in her room and they told her that Jeeju was getting transferred to India, in fact Bhopal, so they were gonna stay together and look into the matter. Zoya hugged them tight and felt her eyes closing in response to Appi's soft patting on her head. She got a flashback of Asad looking at her with so much hurt and accusation when she announced that she was leaving and she felt a pang in her chest. She needed to talk to him. She had so much to tell him...she wanted to tell him so much. Tears rolled down her eyes as she realized that she had no place in his life anymore. She was never gonna have a life with him. She was never gonna wake up to his sleeping face, or fight with him, annoy him. She was never gonna get to experience his OCD, his possessiveness, his protectiveness, his childishness, the smile he kept reserved for her, the way his eyes spoke volumes to her...she was never gonna get the feeling of safety she felt in his arms only! His love and strength was her strength...and she was gonna lose him at the moment she needed him the most. She knew he was in pain. If she had learnt anything for sure in the last few days, it was that he loved her as much as she loved him, or probably more so. She remembered the kiss he had placed on her hair and how cutely he had wanted her to say his name. He was such a kid. He wanted her to stay. But he won't admit it. She knew he was angry that she was leaving him. But she also knew that he wasn't thinking straight at that moment. The wounds his Abbu and...her Abbu had inflicted in his life ran deep, and she didn't want them to open then...or ever. There was simply no other way than to go away from him.
o.O.o
Next Morning:
His alarm went off at exactly 5 am and then went into snooze. With great effort, he finally got up at 5:30 am and his eyes immediately fell on the red stain on his bed sheet. He sat upright and stifled a groan. His joints ached and his head hurt, but he had to get up and clean the mess. He couldn't risk anyone finding out about it. Holding onto the wall for support, he gathered the sheet and pillow cover and took them to the washroom to clean them. Then he changed the sheets and cleaned the blood stains in the floor. His vision was clouded because of the tears he couldn't keep from flowing and he wiped them away furiously. He was a tough boy and he had his responsibilities. He couldn't afford to break down or lose hope. He had to be strong for the people he loved. After rearranging everything back to normal, he took another medicine and again lied down, exhausted. He didn't know what to do. His condition was getting too serious now, and he couldn't just stay there without his Ammi or Najma coming to know about it. Ammi was already suspicious. It wouldn't take much for her to guess the truth. And he couldn't just go off anywhere leaving his family alone out there. That reminded him, Zoya was leaving...the same day. It was definitely good for her...and him too, because it would be very easy for her to find out the truth and he didn't want her to. So he should be happy and relieved, but still she was gonna leave behind a huge lonely space behind in his heart and he was gonna miss her terribly. Only if"
A soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he got up and checked to see if there were anymore spots or anything left. Once sure that there was none, he went and opened the door to find Appi standing before him.
"Appi?"
"I saw that your room's lights were on. So I thought I would come in and have some chat, if that's fine with you."
"Of course Appi, come in."
He motioned her to sit on the couch. After she sat, he sat down beside her. Zeenat looked at him carefully.
"Did you sleep well?"
There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked tired. Unconsciously he messaged his forehead.
"Jee. Aap?"
"I was thinking. I am worried about her Asad. I don't know anything about the man Zainab Phoophi married, except that he abandoned them and Phoophi came to India in search of him and never came back. All we got back was my Zoya. My little girl was only three years old and she had burns all over her body. She was under shock and wouldn't utter a word except for shouting for help for her Ammi in her nightmares she got every night."
"I know about her nightmares. So it actually happened? The fire she sees and..."
"Her psychologist thinks so. We have always doubted her Abbu had something to do with that, but she is such an innocent angel, we never had the heart to tell her that. That's why we were so hesitant to let her come to India at first but you know the girl, she is so stubborn. Anwar somehow convinced me to let her come, but now this is serious. We have a brief idea of how dangerous that man and his wife are, even Anwar doesn't want Zoya to do anything here now."
"Doesn't she know that the nightmares are true?"
"She had her doubts...but we didn't know how the truth would affect her. So our psychologist persuaded her that they are just nightmares."
"Appi I think you should tell her the truth now. She deserves to know about it."
"I know Asad...but I don't know how she would handle it."
"Appi trust me she is a strong girl, she can handle it."
"Asad...you love her a lot, don't you?"
"Jee?I..."
"She loves you too you know."
"Appi..."
"I have seen it in her eyes. You know when your Ammi first told me about you two, I couldn't believe it. But after seeing you two, it's so clear. Asad in spite of everything, I am very happy that she has someone like you...like your family. I know you hate Gaffur Siddiqui, I can guess how it feels, but please don't let that cloud your judgment. You probably have no idea, but Anwar's family and my family were big enemies too. Our family had wronged his family. It was difficult but we ultimately got over it and chose to be together, and never once in our lives have we regretted it. You"Asad what's wrong?"
"No...thing Appi...I..."
"Asad take your hands off your mouth!"
"Appi..."
"Just take it off!...Allah miyaan, so much blood, your gums are bleeding"stay still!--"
"Appi please don't tell anyone...please!"
"Calm down Asad!"
"You have to promise""
"I won't tell anyone. Just lie down and let me handle this, okay?"
She wiped the blood off his face and mouth. He showed her the medicine he took and she made him take it and swallow with water. After fifteen long minutes, the bleeding stopped and Appi sat down beside him. Giving him a serious look, she asked slowly:
"What is this Asad? And for how long has this been going on exactly? And did you have it really checked or not?"
"Appi...I..."
"Just tell me..."
"I have...acute leukemia...blood cancer. I found out yesterday."
He looked away. Appi held his face & with tears in her eyes, she said:
"And you have told no one?"
"I can't. Ammi, Najma and...Zoya can't know about it. I can't let them. They would be devastated. I..."
"Oh Asad...have you seen your condition? You don't need to do this alone. They are your family Asad and you need them the most at this moment. And for how long do you think can you hide this from them?"
"Appi--"
"You are going to New York. They have the best treatment facilities out there. Zoya would go with you. No don't say anything, and you needn't worry. Your family is quite strong too and you all would stay with us there, okay?"
"Appi they don't need to know. I--"
"You know you are so behaving like Zoya right now! I know how your mind operates Asad but trust me, we are your elders and we always find out the truth somehow. So why not tell everyone now and spare them the extra worry and hurt? And let me tell you, you can't hide anything from Zoya. She knows you too well like you know her and your Ammi is already suspicious that something is wrong. I heard her talking to your doctor before dinner yesterday...*softly* Asad you don't have to do what you have been doing. It's okay to be vulnerable for once and let your family take care of you, okay? Every person comes across this phase of life once at least. Alright, let me go talk to Jeeju. He would arrange everything. And you do the talking, okay?"
"O...kay."
Appi kissed his forehead lightly and turned to go.
"Appi?"
"Hmm?"
"You know what cancer means...I don't want Zoya to suffer because of--"
"Asad you know her so well yet you don't know her. Nothing that she does with you...for you is suffering for her. She loves you Asad...and in love, you would do anything for the other person. Would you like to abandon her if she was in your place? No, right? So it's the same."
"Appi she has her whole life ahead of--"
"Asad just place yourself in her place and do what you think you should do. And yes...Zoya would get to know the truth one day or other and then she would come to you. You know it."
With that, Appi walked out of the room, leaving him to make the difficult decision of his life.
o.O.o
So finally you know why Asad's been behaving so weird lately! Hope things make sense now. If they still don't, wait for the next chapter 😛
Note :
Some of you have been wondering about whether this is a sad story and everything! So here's the note. Please read it.
This story is named The Boundaries That Separate Us. As we have seen, there are many boundaries separating Asad & Zoya. They have crossed some & there are many to come! But this isn't about just Asad and Zoya. It is about their families too. Asad may have accepted Zoya as Gafoor's daughter, and ma be he thinks it is fine with him! But is it really? And no matter how much Dilshad loves Zoya, she ain't that forgiving-and-forgetting kind! In fact nobody is! After all Zoya's abbu happens to be the man who destroyed her life, and it is gonna take her some time to accept it.
And we all know how protective Appi is of Zoya! No doubt she knows Asad and Zoya love each other and that Zoya should be with Asad in his condition, she persuades Asad to tell Zoya about his condition too, but she also knows how deadly cancer is. Do you think she is happy to let Zoya know about Asad's condition? She is scared like hell...yet she does her best to stay positive.
And...the list goes on! There are so many things, so many problems. By now, you can all see that their journey is not smooth at all. But in all the chaos, they still manage to have those moments, you know the moments when they feel lucky to have someone special, and nothing else matters! And one day when they cross all the boundaries, they would look back & be proud of the journey.
Preeti 🤗
Edited by FaultInMyStars - 10 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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