#WeSupportKSG |AsYa FF| Destinies Intertwined, Thread # 5 - Page 26

😆he s not poor..

he s bandar jumping here and there🤣

very nice

hope she wont ran away seeing this😆

I gave him the name 'monkey'🤣 I don't understand ,when does he study ??😲😆

nice name..😆

he said that he s now on holidays..

See fari di !! A gift for you !!🤣

It's not that long. I'm too annoyed to write more 🤢

is this for update??

Chapter 27

Zoya watched as Zaroon's face settled for a thoughtful expression after displaying a myriad of emotions, ranging from disbelief to anger as she recounted the events following her wedding with Asad. Concluding her narration in a painful whisper, "This was all a drama, Zaroon. Unfortunately, the characters were real... This wedding was based on an agreement that it won't last more than a month."

Zaroon ground his teeth, making his sharp jawbone jump into view and ran a hand through his hair. It was a while before he looked up.

"Yaar, this is much more complicated than I thought." He finally let out, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I know," Zoya agreed softly.

"And you're an even bigger of an idiot than I had mistaken you for." He looked at her with frank annoyance on his face.

"Zaroon!"

"What? You know I'm right. Wedding and divorce is not some sort of a childish game, yaar. You don't just go ahead and make deals out of them." He admonished seriously and Zoya's face fell. She hated when Zaroon got angry at her and the worst part was that his anger was always justified.

"Zaroon, just take me back to US. I don't want to stay here any longer. The more I stay, the harder it will be for me to leave Mr. Khan." She said in a small, broken voice. "Please Zaroon."

"Zoe, you know I'm not going to do that. If you hadn't fallen in love with Mr. Khan, then it would've been different. But now..." He paused and continued with a wave of his hand, "We have to give this relationship a chance. As far as I know, Mr. Khan does have feelings for you. He's just not willing to admit them."

"And he's not going to. He can be very stubborn when he wants to be, Zaroon. I know him." Zoya let out shrilly. "He's an emotionally challenged man! Even I don't know how I fell for him."

Zaroon looked at her and then started chuckling, amusement visible on his face. He got up and went to his suitcase, pulling out a box of Pringles and started munching on it; his eyes sparkling as he mulled over Zoya's words. "Emotionally challenged?"

"I'm serious. You know what he did in Mangalpur? He burnt 50 lac Rupees to keep me warm for a night after I got wet in the rain and later he didn't even want to acknowledge what he did for me."

"Right." He nodded absentmindedly as he cramped more chips in his mouth and then his eyes widened as the words sunk in. He whipped his head in her direction. "What?"

She nodded glumly as she snatched the box of Pringles from his hand and helped herself to a generous amount.

"50 lac Rupees?" His eyebrows rose. "Dude, if he's so willing to throw away his money, why not give them to me? I'm sure I'll be able to find a better use for them."

"Argh Zaroon! What is wrong with you?" She huffed. "That was such a romantic thing to do." A small smile lit her face making her eyes shine with liquid happiness.

"Your sense of romance sure is twisted." He grinned and teased her. "I thought being romantic meant dates, flowers, chocolates etc. Never heard of burning money to show your love."

"Just leave it. I don't expect you to understand." Zoya told him, annoyed.

"Actually I do understand Zoe." His eyes gleamed with childish mischief and a crooked smile graced his lips. Zoya mentally prepared herself for an illogical explanation. "You see, what Mr. Khan did, displayed his brilliant business skills. In the given situation, he quickly weighed profit against loss. He guessed that if he left you shivering with cold for a night, you would probably develop Hypothermia. He would have to get you admitted to a hospital and a good one at that because you are, after all, Mrs. Asad Ahmed Khan. These posh hospitals focus more on the patient's bank account then on the patient itself. As a result, Mr. Khan would've to pay the sky-high bills they piled up in front of him for your treatment and go bankrupt as it is. He just chose the easier way. The one that didn't cost him so much time and made him seem like a gentleman... Ahh no wonder he is so successful at such a young age. Come to think of it, I've a pretty good business mind too, no?" He concluded, grinning widely.

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows and frowned when Zaroon grabbed the box of chips from her hand. "You think you have a business mind and here I am still trying to locate evidence for its existence." She giggled slightly. "Now before you gave this idiotic detailed explanation, what were we talking about?"

"About your return to US and the trouble created by your Mr. Problematic Ahmed Khan." Zaroon reminded, turning serious again. "Now listen up. I already got you tickets for the 31^st. Today is what, 22^nd? We have 8 days. Why not make the most of them?"

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" She inquired morosely.

"Mr. Khan has never seen you with any other guy, has he? Believe me; if there is one thing a man can't bear, it is seeing his wife ignoring him for another guy. You're going to spend these 8 days with me. You're going to distance yourself from him..." He overlooked Zoya's surprised face and continued, "Mr. Khan probably believes he'll easily fall back into the routine he had before he got married to you, after you leave. When you will detach yourself from him, he will realize how much you have actually influenced his life... And then there will be jealousy to speed up the process."

"I don't know Zaroon." Zoya let out uncertainly. "Will it work?"

"There's no harm in trying, is there?"

Zoya was quiet was a long time, biting her lips. "If it doesn't, how will I bring myself to say goodbye to Mr. Khan when I want to spend every minute of my life with him? How will I bear the pain of going away from him when I know he's the only one I want in my life." A tear dripped down her eyes and rolled down her silken cheek.

"Ah yaar, everything will turn out just fine." Zaroon spoke softly as he wound an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a friendly hug. Precisely at that moment, the guest room door swung open and Asad walked in, his eyes widening when he saw them hugging, making him stop dead in his tracks. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his hands into painful fists and averted his anger-filled eyes to the floor. Zoya tried to quickly pull apart but Zaroon didn't seem quite so eager. He let his arm stay casually over her shoulders and looked at Asad with questioning eyes.

Asad closed his eyes slowly, took a deep breath to gain some control over his mounting anger and then snapped his head up to tersely invite them for dinner when his gaze fell on Zoya's face and the anger was replaced by worry in a flash. "Zoya? What happened? You're crying?" He asked softly as he took a couple of steps in her direction and then stopped, looking at Zaroon venomously who had his arm around Zoya's shoulder.

"I-I'm fine, Mr. Khan." Her voice was thick as she hurriedly wiped her cheek.

"Did he say something to you?" Asad jerked his chin in Zaroon's direction who looked amused and suggested coolly. "Mr. Khan, how about directing that question to yourself?"

Asad's face displayed frank confusion, which was dismissed quickly. His cold eyes darted between them for a while before he announced, "Ammi's calling you two for dinner."

"Okay." Zoya mumbled as Asad made his way back.

He had just reached the door when Zaroon's calm voice reached his ears. "Mr. Khan, I would prefer if you knock at my door before barging in next time."

Asad's face hardened on hearing his words. Stiffly, he turned and almost spat, "And I would prefer if you keep your displays of affection and your hands to yourself. Zoya is not only your best friend anymore, she happens to be my wife too." Although Zoya knew he was hurt and angry, the way he said this possessively made her heart flutter. "And as for knocking at the door, this is my house! Just because Ammi invited you to stay here doesn't mean you forget that you are only an unwanted guest here, nothing more."

Zaroon's lips curled up in a mocking smile. "That is something I can't forget even if I try to. I'm here only because of Zoe... Don't worry, you only have to bear with us for 8 days and then we will leave."

"We? I think you meant 'you'?" Asad pointed out coldly.

"No, I meant what you heard. Zoe and I will be leaving together on the 31^st of this month." Zaroon dropped the bomb coolly as he got to his feet.

"What?" Asad's eyes widened as they flitted to Zoya. "What is he saying?" He directed his question towards her, his eyes betraying him as disbelief and hurt flooded them. Zoya found herself unable to look at his face.

"I told you a few days ago. I asked Zaroon to get me tickets." She told him in a low voice, keeping her gaze at her fidgeting hands cradled in her lap.

"You... what?!" Asad spat, his eyes spitting fire as anger quickly replaced disbelief in them.

"I did tell you. I'm leaving with him at the end of this month. Isn't this what we decided? That we will part ways at the end of this month?" She asked, hoping with all her heart that by some miracle, he will ask her to stay; tell her that she didn't need to go.

"We did. But it didn't involve going back with him." He spat, jerking his neck in Zaroon's direction.

Zoya felt sudden tears brimming in her eyes as her hopes shattered. Trying to mask them under anger, she snapped, "Mr. Khan, we simply made a one-month deal! It shouldn't matter to you whom I go back with, all right?"

"You're right. As long as you're going back, I shouldn't be bothered about anything else." He retorted without thinking. He didn't know why her going back stung him so much. On top of it, she was in such a hurry that she had already booked tickets with Zaroon and hadn't even bothered to tell him. He felt hurt and disappointed and that confused him. Why was he feeling like this?

A tear dripped down Zoya's face as Asad's harsh words registered. Zaroon's anger flared on hearing Asad talking to her like that and his lips pressed in a thin line. "Mr. Khan, there is no need to talk to Zoe in that manner. If her presence is bothering you so much, just say it. We'll move to a hotel. It's not like your house is the only place to stay in India."

Asad's eyes tightened with loosely reigned anger as he snapped roughly. "Go to any hotel you want but Zoya's not going anywhere. This is her house. And as long as she's in India, she will stay here." His hurt filled eyes flashed towards Zoya and then he turned abruptly to leave. Zoya's heart melted on hearing this. The man who always asked her to keep in mind that she was only a guest here for a month was declaring that this house was her's.

As soon as he banged the door shut behind him, Zoya groaned. "Zaroon! What in the world are you doing? You're going to get me divorced in a day if you continue on like this."

"I know what I'm doing, yaar." He sat back on the bed, completely at ease as if nothing had happened and resumed eating his chips. "By the way, is he always so rude?" He asked with interest.

"You're pushing his buttons and then complaining that he's rude?" Zoya retorted, looking annoyed.

"Aww look, someone's taking her hubby's side and justifying his rudeness. How sweet."

"Shut up, Zaroon!"

He grinned unabashed, "You know I can't. By the way, dude has got quite a bit of a temper on him. His eyes were just like... drilling holes in my head."

Zoya rolled her eyes in answer, yanked the Pringles box from his hand and began stuffing herself in her worry.

"Is he pissed off enough not to talk to you?" Zaroon inquired.

Zoya threw her hands in the air, exasperatedly. "Of course, he's not going to talk to me. I've to go now and clear this out with him."

"No, you're not." Zaroon contradicted calmly as he reached for the box of chips but Zoya slapped his hand away.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"You've gone completely insane, Zaroon!"

"According to you, I wasn't sane in the first place." He pointed out.

"You've lost it. I'm going to talk to him." Zoya told him as she strode to the door but Zaroon stopped her midway.

"You called me all the way from US and this is the trust you're putting in my expert advice?"

"Your expert advice is going to get me kicked out of this house in a day!"

"Fine, go ahead. Do what you want. I can see you have no trust in me whatsoever." He said in an unexpectedly low voice, changing tactics. His shoulders slumped as he moved to sit on the bed.

Zoya sighed. "You know how much I trust you, Zaroon."

"Then you're not going to talk to him."

"And what good will that do?" She asked tiredly, going back to sit on the bed again.

"When you will not go to clear this out with him, he will come after you to find out." A slow smile crept on Zoya's face that was wiped out by Zaroon's next words. "And when he does, you'll be ignoring him."

"No!" Zoya let out, aghast.

"Yes!" He grinned and then explained in an excited, strategic voice. "He's probably too angry to talk to you today. By tomorrow, his anger level will go down a bit and he will want to, but then you will be too busy with me to give him time."

"Argh no! I'm SO not liking this."

"Who cares what you think."

"I hate you." She punched him on the arm, looking frustrated.

"I think I do too. You finished off my box of Pringles." He snatched the empty box from her hand, peeked inside and then glared at her childishly.

Zoya imitated strangling him, "Zaroon, exactly how old are you?"

"About a decade younger than you. Come; let's go down for dinner now." He tugged at her hand. "And wipe that gloomy look off your face. It looks like someone has died."

"You're going to die very soon if this little expert plan of yours doesn't work."

"You're a pleasant one to be around these days." Zaroon mumbled, frowning lightly. "Being with Mr. Grumpy Ahmed Khan has really rubbed off on you."

"He's not grumpy."

"Yes, he is."

"No, he's not."

"He has been all day today." Zaroon pointed out to tease her.

"Okay, he can be sometimes but not without reason." She admitted grudgingly.

"And you still love him."

"I don't want to." She huffed, still angry at Asad for saying what he did about her leaving.

"But you do."

"I do." She sighed and smiled softly as they exited the room together.

***

Asad Ahmed Khan woke up the next morning to the aroma of freshly brewing coffee. He smiled as he stretched and got out of bed. It must be Zoya. He had gotten her addicted to his favorite beverage too and now every morning, she made it for both of them, though they tasted poles apart. His was dark and bitter and hers was sweet and milky.

He made his way to the bathroom, grimacing when he checked the time. He had slept in, of course. He had stayed awake quite late last night. He had been hoping that Zoya would come and have a conversation with him regarding what Zaroon had said but was so busy with her 'best friend' that she hadn't even bothered doing that. She had turned up late for bed and gone straight to sleep. And now this morning she was already out of the room. Was she ignoring him?

A strange sadness enveloped his heart as he realized that soon every morning, he would wake up in his room alone. Frustrated, his thoughts turned back to Zaroon and his anger simmered on how he had snatched his Zoya from him already. His Zoya? She wasn't his, was she? Well technically, she was since she was his wife... but for how long? His thoughts turned bitter and he shook his head to disperse them as he stepped in the shower and let the hot water relax his suddenly tensed body.

After he was immaculately dressed like every other day, he headed downstairs. His annoyance returned on seeing Zaroon sitting on the breakfast table next to Zoya. His family was there too, all laughing at something Zaroon had just said. It was frustrating beyond anything to see how that guy had his whole family wrapped around his little finger.

"As salaam-o-Alaikum," Asad greeted everyone as he sat and they all answered in unison. Anger seeped through his veins as he watched Zoya serving Zaroon breakfast, coaxing him to eat more. He waited for a while, hoping that she would serve him but when she seemed too busy fussing over her so-called best friend, he gave up and served himself with a stiffness that didn't go unnoticed by Zaroon who smirked, clearly happy to see the desired effect on Asad.

As he ate, he tried to catch Zoya's eyes but she was too busy looking at Zaroon and others while they talked. Either she was ignoring him or she was genuinely more interested in the conversation taking place around the table, to which he wasn't paying attention.

"So Najma, your wedding is at the end of this month, right?" Zaroon asked Najma with a smile.

"Yes, Zaroon Bhai. I'm leaving on the 30^th." Najma told him happily and then frowned. "Wedding's on the 28^th and Walima is on the 29^th. There is so much to do. I don't know how everything is going to get done."

"Ah don't worry! Everything will work out fine... And you're the bride. Your job is to relax and enjoy your last few days here, not take stress okay? Leave that for your family." He gave her a friendly wink and Najma giggled.

"Dilshad Aunty, you make absolutely delicious food. I don't know how I'm supposed to stop." Asad heard him address his mother next and he almost crumbled the newspaper he was holding in his annoyance.

"No one's asking you to stop. Eat all you want." Dilshad replied fondly. She had already begun treating him like a son, being the loving personality that she was.

"No Aunty, if I don't stop myself, I'll turn into a huge football by the time I leave India." He remarked and everyone laughed. "I've got diabetes so I've to keep myself in check." He further added with an easy smile. Ayaan turned to look at him surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, I've got it ever since I was in my teens. I have a special kind of diabetes where the body produces no insulin at all. So I've to take care of my diet otherwise like I said, my body will blow out of control." He shrugged simply and Ayaan looked impressed by his well-maintained figure.

"Anyway, Aunty any work you want done, you can ask me without hesitation." Zaroon turned back to Dilshad with his charming smile in place.

"No beta. Asad and Ayaan are here to get the work done." Dilshad rejected his offer politely with a kind smile.

"You're calling me beta and treating me as a guest. That's not fair Aunty." He frowned playfully and Dilshad laughed. "Okay fine."

"Speaking of which, have you all got the shopping done?" He asked, keeping the conversation flowing.

"Yes we have... but I don't think Zoya has." Dilshad turned to look at her. "Have you, Zoya?"

"No," Zoya affirmed with a pout.

"If you want Zoe, I can take you." Zaroon began slowly. "Since Mr. Khan is a busy man."

His dialogue had the desired effect on Asad who spoke briskly. "I'm not that busy that I can't take out time for my wife. I'm taking her for shopping soon"

"You are?" Zoya questioned, trying to hide her surprised smile.

"I-I am." Asad stuttered, a little taken aback by his own outburst.

"But you never mentioned it." Zoya spoke up to fluster him.

"Woh actually... I forgot. I would've taken you today or tomorrow but I've a tight schedule. I've taken the entire next week off so you can get all the shopping done you want. We'll go on the day after tomorrow." Asad informed.

Zaroon raised his eyebrows with an impressed look on his face and Zoya bestowed a grateful and ecstatic smile back at him.

***

Asad returned home early from office to find Zoya missing, along with Zaroon. On inquiring from Dilshad, he found out that the duo had gone out for outing since Zoya wanted to show Zaroon around. Too frustrated to reply, Asad stomped to his bed and banged the door behind him.

He jerked his coat off and threw it on the bed. A minute later, his waistcoat followed the same fate. He roughly loosened his tie and started pacing his room, too agitated to sit down. Why was Zoya spending so much time with that Zaroon? She should spend this time with me. I mean, if she's going back to US with him, she would have... all the time in the world to spend with him.

A strong wave of jealousy hit him with a force he had not anticipated, almost knocking the breath out of him and making him stop in his tracks. Did he want that for himself? Did he want to spend all his life with Zoya? Argh what was he thinking? Hadn't he himself decided that staying away from Zoya was the best thing since he didn't want to get closer to her, then why was he getting upset? Because of that Zaroon! He didn't know trying to stay away from her would result in her getting closer to Zaroon.

He got his cell out of his pocket and dialed Zoya's number to ask her where she was. He hadn't talked to her all day today and it was building his frustration.

***

Zoya was eating her ice cream in the park when her cell rang and she smiled on seeing the caller ID.

"Who is it? Mr. Khan?" Zaroon questioned and she nodded happily. The next thing she know, Zaroon had snatched the phone from her hand and answered the call.

"Hello Mr. Khan, Zaroon here..." Zoya attempted to grab the cell but he swatted her hand away.

"Zoya? She has gone to the washroom..." He said and Zoya's eyes widened. She was about to speak when Zaroon frantically gestured her to keep quiet and continued speaking. "Mr. Khan, we're at a restaurant actually."

Suddenly he frowned, "Hello? Mr. Khan, are you there?"

He stared at the screen with some amusement in his eyes and then started laughing, "He hung up. Boy, he sure is jealous!"

"Zaroon, will you care to explain what you just did? And does this look like a restaurant to you?" Zoya stood up in front of him and demanded with her hands on her hips.

"My dear brainless friend, I just got you a date with Mr. Khan."

"What?" Zoya asked in surprise.

"Yes, I can guarantee you that whenever he takes you shopping; he'll take you to some restaurant to eat afterwards. It's not going to be like a formal date but still something is better than nothing."

Zoya looked awed and said slowly. "Is that why you said we're at a restaurant-"

"To make your Mr. Dumbo Ahmed Khan realize that he has never taken you to one." Zaroon completed her sentence with a crooked smile.

"Oh my God, Zaroon. I love you!" Zoya gasped with happiness as she gave him a huge bear hug.

"Please don't repeat this in front of your Mr. Khan. He'll chop me in teeny tiny pieces and feed me to the street dogs." He chuckled.

"Seriously, I love you for being here for me." Zoya thanked him with real gratitude in her eyes.

"Ahh I know yaar. It sure feels great to be back with you and feel like a genius next to your miniature always-sleeping brain."

"Uff! I hate you, Zaroon!" Zoya was about to hit him when he ran away and she followed.

"I thought you loved me a while ago." He laughed as he dodged her blows.

"That was a while ago. Now I don't."

"Really? Maybe I should stop trying to bring you and Mr. Khan closer. Who knows, you'll start hating him in a while too." He teased and Zoya managed to land a punch on his arm.

"I will never hate him. He's not annoying like you."

Zaroon threw his hands up, laughing. "Okay peace, peace! No more fighting."

Zoya narrowed her eyes at him and he came forward to throw an arm around her and squeeze her in a friendly hug. He looked down at her and said sincerely, "Yaar, it's so awesome to be back with you. To have you raining blows at me that don't even hurt because you're such a wimp. Ahh I missed you."

She glared at him for making fun of her punches and then gave in, "I missed you too, Zaroon. It's always lovely to have you around when I'm feeling down because you somehow... make everything seem right." She smiled back at him.

"Same feelings, Zoe. When I'm feeling low, one look at your face makes me laugh so hard that I forget what was bothering me in the first place." He quickly jumped back knowing what was about to follow.

"And for that Mr. Zaroon Hussain, I'm going to kill you." Zoya yelled and ran after him, determined to land a few powerful punches as revenge.

***

The family was sitting in the TV room the next evening, sipping tea and listening to Zaroon's review of Bhopal from his and Zoya's outing the day before. Asad, who had returned from his office a while ago, was sitting rigidly, trying to contain his anger at Zaroon's excessive talking and the amount of happiness in his voice. He still hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Zoya because she refused to leave Zaroon's side during the day and came to bed late at night.

The bell rang and Najma breezed off to get it. She returned in a while with two girls and a boy, grinning happily.

"Zaroon Bhai, Zoya, this is my best friend, Humaira. Everyone else knows her." Najma introduced with a smile and Zoya noticed Ayaan nodding his head with a bit too much enthusiasm.

"And this is Zayaan and Fatima. They are choreographers and they are here to teach you all dancing!" Najma announced happily gesturing towards the young boy and girl, who smiled widely at their audience.

The air buzzed with sudden excitement on this announcement. The choreographers asked them to make groups of two and Ayaan quickly volunteered to be partners with Humaira who looked a bit surprised at this.

"Okay, we have one group and the other is?" Fatima asked cheerfully. Asad saw Zaroon getting up deliberately and he acted on instinct.

"Me and my wife, Zoya." He spoke up, coming to Zoya's side and holding her hand confidently. Zoya gulped and turned to look at him but he was looking straight ahead. Her heart pounded fiercely in her ribcage. She was going to dance with Mr. Khan?

***

I know I know I'm cruel 😆 I was supposed to cramp the dance in this update but I'm too bored of writing right now to continue... so stopping right here 😉

Leave your thoughts on the update. I hope you all like my Zaroon, though the ZGH one is loads better of course 😆 I can't even come close to him And if someone is going to point out that Zaroon doesn't have diabetes, I already know that. Fawad does 😒 And bus mood mein aya tau daal dia in the update 😃

A serious recommendation, all those who haven't watched Zindagi Gulzar Hai, give it a try. I'm sure you won't regret it 😃

Here's the promo, watch and then tell me you aren't tempted 😉 I'm giving you all something to do while waiting for the next update 😆

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKuPcwtDY6M[/YOUTUBE]

Love,

Cruel Fari 😆