AsYa SS: Winner Takes All ; Ch 7, Pg 66, 23/04/14 - Page 37

• The comments on AsYa being in love were fun. Even those suggesting them being in on the plan together. I thoroughly enjoyed them.
• AsYa scenes have been in flashback. Those wanting more, there will be only 2-3 scenes where the two face each other. Everything else will be in flashbacks.

Chapter 6:

---Siddique Mansion---

Ghaffur was shocked when he was informed that Rashid Khan had come to meet him. He was not in the mood for more sneering looks or supposedly "well-meaning" jabs. And since his relation with Rashid had never been good, he was not interested to meet the man right now. However, he was in for a rude shock when Rashid marched into his study five minutes later. His steps matched the determined look on his face, enraging Ghaffur further.

"Why are you here? I thought I made it clear that I do not wish to be bothered. ANWAR..." Ghaffur called out for his man Friday.

"Ghaffur Siddique sahib, aap mujhe yahan se bahar nikalein usse pehle ek baar meri baat sun le. Phir aapki jo marzi ho kariye. Mein yahan kisi napak mansoobe se nahi aaya.[Mr. Ghaffur Siddique, before you throw me out of here, hear me out. You can then decide what you wish to do. I have not come here with any evil intent.]" Rashid spoke up seeing a seething Ghaffur stand up.

"Hmmph" Ghaffur could not believe the audacity of the man standing in front of him. The man he had never bothered to acknowledge was standing in front of him claiming to be a friend. He was of the mind to push him out himself, before he could start with his "friendly" taunts.

"Let me come straight to the point, I have a solution for your problems. Don't look at me like that. The whole world knows about what has happened, so there is absolutely no need to appear shocked. I have a proposal for you wherein you can save your daughter from disgrace and even get her married in a good family. Ah I see I have your attention now." Rashid smiled referring to the spark he saw momentarily in Ghaffur's eye. He had a smug smile on, knowing that the intended insult had been delivered. He now waited for a few seconds before continuing to see if Ghaffur would like to say something. He interpreted Ghaffur's silence as permission to continue.

"You can marry your daughter to a guy who is not from Bhopal. Someone who will marry her and take her away so that the gossips can die down. Someone your family is only slightly acquainted to."

"What are you getting at? Stop talking in riddles." Ghaffur spoke annoyed.

"Mere kehne ka yeh matlab hai Siddique sahib ke aap apni beti ka Nikah mere bete, Asad, se karva le. Daulat aur shauhrat mein to mera khandaan aaphi ki takar ka hai. Haan rutba aur khandaani naam nahi, magar woh bhi ho jayega jab hamare dono khandaan ek rishte mein bandh jaayenge. [What I am trying to say Mr. Siddique is that you marry you your daughter to my son, Asad. We are on par with your family when it comes to money and fame. We may not have that societal standing or family name, but that can be easily remedied when our families join together in a relation.]" Rashid sat down in a nearby chair, awaiting the reaction of his adversary. The calculating look on Ghaffur's face gave him a deep satisfaction.

"Kyon? Main asia kyon karoonga? Tum aisa kyon karoge? Isme tumhara aur humara kya faida hai? Aur Zoya aur Asad aisa kyon karenge? [Why? Why should I? Why would you? How do you benefit from this? And why would Zoya and Asad agree to this.]" Ghaffur stared hard at Rashid trying to

"Like I said, this is the best solution for you and your daughter. So that in itself is your reason for agreeing. Why am I doing this, let's just say I am a very helpful man in that way. My sole benefit in all of this is to align myself with a family that has been around since the Nawabi days. As far as Asad goes, I have managed to convince him. He has too good a heart and the thought of your daughter being ostracized in society made him agree. I cannot tell you about Zoya, since I don't know. But I am guessing being her father, it would be upto you to get her to agree, wouldn't it?" Rashid raised a brow in questions as he stared hard at Ghaffur.

"You don't need to lace your words with sugar, Rashid. I know what your real intent is. So this present situation is a God given gift to you. No wonder you did not waste the opportunity to come and rub salt to my wounds. But let me make one thing clear to you. Your idea of marrying Zoya off to someone outside Bhopal is good, I will consider that. But I will never get her married to your son." He spat out in anger.

"Good luck with that and don't say no so fast. You do realize that time is of essence here, right? So I am not sure how you will be able to convince someone to get in with your plans so soon. Anyways, I have the whole thing planned out to the point of getting the kids married within the next 10 days. If you are interested, make sure you come seek me out at the ifatri party tonight. Khuda Hafiz." Rashid left right away, knowing well that his parting words will have the desired effect on his target.

As suspected, the lucrative offer from Rashid had caught Siddique's attention. Ghaffur considered Rashid's proposition long and hard. He knew that what he had to offer was a solution served on a silver platter. Any other solution would take time, and like Rashid said, if he wants to hush the matter, he needs to act fast. With his decision made, he spent the rest of the day putting his own plans in action. First things first, he had to convince Zoya but not just yet.

-August 5^th -

---Siddique Mansion---

Ghaffur had attended the Iftari party as was suggested by Rashid. When he had approached Rashid, there were hushed whispers and raised eyebrows as the people witnessed their first amicable public meeting. A number of people wondered what had changed between the two men overnight for them to suddenly develop this affinity towards each other.

When Asad had made a delayed appearance and only conversed with the two men before making a hasty retreat, many speculations had been fabricated. The two fathers were revealed that all was going as per plan and decided on meeting the next day to finalize the plans.

They had just met and decided that Rashid would host the Chaand Raat party where the two families will be seen partying together. Before then, the word of an impending engagement and the suggestion that the kids of the discordant families had always been in love with each other resulting into the infamous elopement would be spread about. The engagement was to be announced and formalized at the Eid party that Ghaffur would host in the honor of his new relations. The wedding was to take place within the next week, after which Asad and Zoya were to move to Mumbai.

With all things set in place, the only thing he needed to do now was convince Zoya. This was easily the biggest road block in the plan. When he first made the suggestion to her, all he got in response was a harsh no followed by silence. He tried to talk to her, but then decided to approach her a little later instead of talking to the door in front of him.

A couple hours later, he had Zoya moved to the comforts of her own room in order to pacify her some before approaching her again.

"Zoya, beti..." he had started

"Beti mat bulaiye mujhe. Meri tamam umr aapne yeh labz se nahi pukara mujhe aur aaj jab aap meri aur meri khushiyon ki qurbani dene jaa rahe hai, woh bhi apni joothi shaan ke liye, toh khuda ke liye mujhe is naam se na nawaziye. [Don't call me that. You have never called me that in my lifetime, and now when you want to sacrifice me and my happiness for your own false pride, please do not call me that.]" Zoya retorted as she let out a cry. Her pent up frustrations and hurt had taken the form of tears that had now refused to stop.

"Zoya, humari baat suno. [Listen to me.] I am not hear to listen to your arguments. I have let you have a free hand for way too long. I thought that now that you are older, I should trust my upbringing and not restrict you too much. But this is how you chose to repay me. Whether you willingly agree or not, you will be marrying Asad within the next 10 days and that is a decision that has been already made, so it's best you make peace with it. The sooner the better. Also, today, you feel that I am sacrificing you, but do not forget that I have seen more of the world than you. When you are older and wiser, you will realize why a life with a man who can barely make ends meet every month is not the right person for you. You have lived your entire life in the lap of luxury and if you think that you can survive with Ayaan, you are mistaken. I know that the decision I am making today is correct for both of us." Ghaffur spoke to his daughter with a no non-sense attitude and it was clear from his stance that he would bear no opposition.

Despite this, Zoya continued to argue with him and cry. Ghaffur spent the next 15 minutes making her see reason and then finally gave her the ultimatum that he had not wished to use. When he left, a bawling yet angry Zoya was left behind who had to make a very important decision that night.