Thirty
Zoya loaded the last of her bags into Asad's car; he had already dropped Humera and Priya to Humera's place. College was officially out for the summer and the engagement less than 40 hours away. Zoya came in to be welcomed by Dilshad, Rashid and Najma. Dilshad had asked Ramu to set up Zoya's room, until now every time Zoya stayed she shared Najma's room but now Zoya was going to have her own room. The room was in similar size to Asad's she had an en suite and a walk in cupboard too; the only thing she didn't have was a balcony.
Zoya went upstairs to set out all her things, something she wanted to do to really feel like she was finally home. Ramu and Najma helped her put her belongings away, she didn't have much so everything was half empty 'Api, this is for you' Najma said as she passed her a gift wrapped box 'what is it?' Zoya said smiling in excitement as she took it from her 'open and see'. Zoya opened the box and when she saw what was inside she filled up with an emotion that brought tears to her eyes 'Tamatar, where did you get this from?' 'You like it Api?' 'Are you kidding me, Tamatar this is beautiful, thank you so much' Zoya hugged Najma and kissed her cheeks. Najma had given Zoya a photo frame with a picture of the three of them that was taken when they were in the orphanage, Zoya couldn't even remember when it was taken and was surprised that she had a copy. Zoya took the frame and put it by her bedside table.
That evening Zoya joined her family for dinner, which was fun filled. Dilshad and Rashid were going over the final details for the engagement whilst Asad, Ayaan, Zoya and Najma sat talking about things in general. Once everyone had retired to their rooms Zoya went to see Dilshad 'Aunty, can I give you this to safe keep for me' Zoya said as she handed her a large envelope 'of course beta, what is it?' 'it's all my documents that I have since I was at the orphanage, a record of my past...actually one minute' Zoya remembered that she had a picture of her Ammi in the envelope 'Aunty look, this is my Ammi' Dilshad took the picture and looked at it 'Zoya, your Ammi is beautiful and you look just like her beta...but why have you got this locked up in this envelope, let me have it framed for you, you can put it up in your room' Zoya smiled with tear filled eyes 'thank you Aunty, I really appreciate it'.
Zoya and Asad woke up in the morning with the biggest smiles that could adorn their beautiful faces, it was finally the day that they would take one step closer to truly becoming one another's, they were going to be engaged to be married.
Dilshad came into Zoya's room 'this is for you' she said holding out a beautiful frame with her Ammi's picture Zoya hugged Dilshad 'thank you, this is beautiful' Zoya placed the picture next to the frame that Najma gave her the day before, now Zoya had her whole life her whole childhood right there before her, the best memories, ones she was going to hold onto and let overtake any painful ones.
Asad and Zoya were asked to keep away from one another just until the ceremony, which for Asad was proving to be a little difficult as he would try and come up with any excuse to go and see her. What was more annoying was that Dilshad had given Ayaan the responsibility of making sure he kept away 'Ayaan get out of my way' 'uh huh no can do my friend...I am under strict orders and I have you know I take my responsibilities very seriously' Asad growled at him as he walked off pushing past him.
Humera and Priya came early to help Zoya get ready. After high pitched screeches and excessive hugging the girls managed to calm down and started talking, as they indulged in girly talk Asad was getting ready with Ayaan still in tow.
Slowly the whole house filled with guests a beautiful ivory marque was erected in the garden, which was decorated with lilac, darker shades of purple and silver chiffon curtains, lights and fresh flowers; everything was colour coordinated. Asad came down to meet his parents, he greeted Razia and Ghaffur and some of the other guests, he may have been walking around but his eyes were fixated on the stair case waiting to get a glimpse of Zoya.
'Asad, beta lets go outside, Zoya should be coming down soon' Asad nodded and followed his family outside. Humera, Najma and Priya brought Zoya down; she looked beyond anything that could be described as beautiful. Words like stunning, elegant even angelic didn't seem to come close to describing what she looked like. Zoya looked down in nervousness, thankfully Humera and Priya had a god hold of her from either side, Zoya could feel her heart accelerate she tried to take in a few deep breaths but nothing seemed to help her fluttering heart.
As Zoya walked in everyone stood up, the whole marque erupted in sweet whispers complimenting how beautiful she looked. Zoya raised her head a little and as she did her eyes came into contact with exactly those she had hoped to see. Asad held his breath as he saw her; he kept hold of her gaze as his lips curved into a smile, every time she took another step towards him his heart skipped another beat. Zoya was finally by his side, Dilshad and Rashid stepped up on the make shift stage and hugged her 'finally, your wait is over, years of patience has been rewarded with the most beautiful gift, Allah has made this day possible' Dilshad said as she hugged Zoya again.
Asad took Zoya's hand in his and placed the ring on her finger, and then Zoya did the same. There were loud cheers and whistling that followed their exchange, keeping hold of Zoya's hand Asad looked out to everyone with an appreciative smile.
What followed was a lot of food, fun and dance. Priya, Humera and Najma danced to a few songs they had prepared in advance, when the dance floor opened up to everyone Asad and Zoya held each other close and swayed to the most melodious music, even Rashid and Dilshad joined in.
'So...Mrs Zoya Asad Ahmed Khan...we finally did it' Zoya smiled at him 'still one more step before I get that official title...but yes we finally did it...and we have a lot to be thankful for. This is one Ramadan I plan to devote to thanking Allah more than ever, I finally found you I finally found home' Asad kissed her forehead, not really caring who was looking and held her even closer.
Zoya hugged Priya again as she was going to go back to her parents for the whole summer and wasn't going to see her until the new academic year 'thank you so much Priya, for everything...I am so blessed to have such good friends like you all...hope you have a good summer'. Zoya turned towards Humera and her parents and bid them farewell too 'Beta, please make time and come round to us too, maybe we can do iftari together' Razia said as she placed her hand lovingly on her head 'sure Aunty, I would love to' Zoya replied politely.
As Ramu and Dilshad started to clear up with the help of a few extra maids Zoya went upstairs to change out of her outfit. It wasn't long before Asad sneaked out and followed her up too 'can I help you with that?' Zoya turned around to see Asad standing in the doorway 'I think I can manage' she said with a smile as she lowered her hands. Asad stepped in and closed the door behind him he walked up to her he turned her around so she was facing the mirror once more and started helping her take her dupatta off. Zoya kept hold of his intense gaze through the mirror as he continued to create havoc within her every time his fingers brushed against her bare skin.
Asad grazed his fingers across her back but before he could reach any further down to her zip Zoya turned around and buried herself in his chest. Asad held her for as long as she could before he pulled her back 'it's ok Zoya, I was only teasing, I know my limits and respect the boundaries of this relationship...I would never do anything that puts us in an awkward position or goes against our own beliefs and values' Zoya looked up at him and gave him a nervous smile 'I'll be back in a minute she said as she quickly pecked his lips and headed off to the bathroom to get changed.
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