Chapter 5
Asad fisted his hands, Zoya saw him clench his jaw as his eyes darkened, she had never seen him look so angry 'Asad' Afreen said tapping his arm. Asad extended his hand for Zoya to shake Zoya looked down at his hand then up to meet his eyes that screamed out so much, she hesitantly took his hand in to his. As he felt her soft skin come into contact with his he felt his heart dip, he sucked in a breath and closed his eyes for a second 'nice to meet you' she said and quickly withdrew her hand 'Afreen, I really have to go...I will come to discuss the designs with you next week...bye'. Zoya looked at Asad once more before she managed to bring herself to move.
Zoya had never run so fast, she felt as if everything was closing in on her she ran towards her car where Akash was waiting for her 'Ma'am are you ok' he said seeing her in the state that she was in 'no...Akash, please take me home, fast.'
Suhana came back to join Afreen 'there you are, I was looking for you...guess what Afreen is going to get Zoe to design my wedding outfit, how cool is that...' Asad looked at her 'I am sure you can get a better designer to design for you Suhana' Afreen started to laugh 'Asad, she is better than better, she is amazing, trust me you will never have come across someone who has achieved so much in such a short span of time and she did this all on her own...with her own hard work and dedication'. 'Asad please can I not have her...please' Asad fisted his hand again, he didn't want Suhana to know Zoe was Zoya maybe I can arrange to meet with her, Afreen do you have her number?' 'I have better than that, here is her card' Asad took her card and looked at it, his eyes expressed renewed anger 'Miss Zoya Farooqui, it's about time you came clean...you have a lot of explaining to do' he said to himself as he held the card tightly in his fist.
Zoya ran into her room and fell to the floor crying, she felt as if she was hyperventilating as she couldn't control her sobs 'Zoe...ya Allah...Zoe what happened' Seema came running towards her. Seem hugged Zoya and held her firmly in her arms 'Zoe...please you are scaring me...calm down, what happened' 'Seema...it was him...after all these years I saw him...the anger, the hate he had...his eyes...Seema' Zoya continued to cry in her arms.
Seema pulled her back 'you saw who Zoya...you saw who?' 'Asad' she screamed. Seema sat still and looked at her in shock 'Asad...here in Mumbai...Zoe, where I mean how' 'he...he was at the charity event with Suhana...Seema, when I first saw him I can't tell you how happy I was, I just wanted to run into his arms...but...he...Seema, I know him, he thinks what I did to him was wrong...he will never understand that I was right no matter how wrong it seemed...' Seema held on to her, she had never seen her breakdown before, Zoya was always so strong so to see this side of her was proving difficult for her to deal with 'its ok Zoe, please don't cry...come on...let's get you cleaned up...I don't want Ayaan seeing you like this'.
Seema passed a hot cup of coffee to Zoya who sat cuddle up on the sofa 'Zoe, look at the state of you, your eyes are all swollen...please don't do this to yourself' 'I'm sorry Seema, it's just that...after all these years, I never thought I would come face to face with him...and...and what about Ayaan, he doesn't even know he has a son...and I have never told Ayaan about him either' 'Zoya, you keep saying he doesn't know, are you sure, I mean what if his mum did tell him' 'no Seema, if Phoopi had told him that she asked me to leave because I was pregnant then Asad would have been here with me, he would have known that the child I was carrying was his and only his...I don't know what Phoopi told him but I know for a fact that she never revealed to him that I was pregnant'.
Zoya kept tossing and turning trying to sleep but couldn't. A few miles away in his own apartment Asad stood by the window remembering the time that had passed. He felt all the pain, the hurt, the feeling of betrayal come back as he thought about every time he tried to contact her, tried to find her. 'Why Zoya...why? all I ever did was love you...and what did you do...you just got up and left...you didn't even think once about how much this would break me' Asad slammed his hand hard against the window before he walked off.
By the time Monday came Zoya had managed to calm down, she woke up and got Ayaan ready for school 'Ammi did I upset you?' Zoya looked at her son 'no Ayaan, never...why do you think that?' 'You look sad...your eyes look sad' Zoya gave him an exaggerated smile 'I am not sad at all Ayaan...see...now you go off to school I will see u when you get back.
'Seema, I am fine, I don't need another day off...look I am about to leave I will see you soon'. Zoya got ready and went to work as she entered her cabin her receptionist came in after her 'Zoe, there is a gentleman waiting to see you, he doesn't have an appointment but said he was willing to wait' 'cant Seema meet with him?' 'She has gone out...she was sampling some fabrics today...and he did ask for you specifically' 'ok, send him in, let's see what he wants'.
Zoya heard a knock at her door 'come in' she shouted out still looking at her screen. As she heard footsteps approach her desk she stood up and looked at the man who stood before her. Zoya quickly placed her hands on the table to support her. Her insides shook as he legs started to go weak 'As...Asad' Asad let out a scoff 'well at least you still remember my name' Zoya sucked in a breath she closed her eyes for a split second 'Zoya be strong, you can do this' she said to herself. 'Please...take a seat' she said trying to control her breaking voice. Asad sat down and looked around the room 'nice office' Zoya smiled nervously 'thanks'.
What followed was silence, Asad sat there looking at her directly making her feel uncomfortable 'w...would you like something to drink?' 'No' was his short answer. Not being able to stop fidgeting Zoya stood up 'I hear congratulations are in order...you...you are getting married, I mean that's great news' 'yes it is' still smiling she tried to keep her insides from exploding 'Suhana is a lovely girl...I mean I still remember...I am sure you guys will be very happy together...' Asad stood up and took a step forward. Zoya held her breath as she saw him approach her 'happy...yes Zoya very happy' he said in a mocking tone of voice 'so how can I help you...did you want...' 'cut the crap Zoya' Asad shot out making her stop.
'As...' Asad took one long stride towards her and held her by the arms, he pushed her against the wall behind her 'why Zoya...why?' 'As...Asad...you are hurting me let me go' 'hurting you?' he said tightening his grip further 'you don't know what it feels like to be hurt Zoya...what did I do so wrong, what did I do to deserve what you did to me...all I ever did was love you Zoya and you...you just got up and left. And if that wasn't bad enough you then made me suffer, you tortured me...how many times Zoya...how many times did I try and contact you, do you know how crazy I went...so don't tell me I am hurting you...because what you did was a lot worse' Zoya's eyes started to water and it didn't take long for the tears to finally escape 'Asad ...please let me go' she said in a low pain filled voice.
Asad jerked her back and turned around, he raked his fingers through his hair 'you asked me if you could help me...you can by telling me what happened...why you turned around and left me...for someone else...who Zoya...who came into your life that all of a sudden meant more to you than me...after everything we had been through...after that night...after I told you that I loved you...how could you?'
Zoya fell to the floor breaking out in heart wrenching sobs, Asad turned around and immediately knelt down next to her 'why Zoya...' Zoya started to shake her head 'I'm sorry...' 'you're sorry...is that all...' Zoya looked up at him 'I left because I needed to, I had to...and that's all I can say' Asad fisted his hand and then stood up 'because you had to...forget me, I may have not been anyone to you but did you not think of your Baba, do you know what he went through...what happened to you Zoya, when did you become so selfish...and all that for another man' Zoya slowly stood up and wiped her tears 'I did what I had to do Asad, you may hate me, Baba may hate me...but I don't regret what I did' Asad let out a sarcastic laugh 'No regrets...you know Zoya, I don't hate you...I pity you...I'm glad I came here, at first I thought there must have been a real reason for you to have just dumped us all and left but no...' Asad couldn't bear seeing he any longer without saying anything further he turned around and walked out her office leaving Zoya standing there totally shattered.
Zoya packed her bag and left the office 'Kajol, can you let Seema know that I have gone home, I won't be coming back to the office, can you please clear my diary for the next two days, I will be working from home...and also can you call Afreen's PA and let her know I won't be able to see her until Friday' 'sure...um Zoe are you ok' Kajol asked hesitantly Zoya smiled 'yeah...I'm ok...you take care'.
Zoya stood under the cold shower, as Asad's words replayed in her head she felt an excruciating pang in the pit of her stomach 'how could I have told you that the person I left you for was none other than your own son Asad...how could I tell you that it was your Ammi that asked me to leave, she didn't even let me explain, she made me promise that I would never look back...and now...you are getting married how can I tell you anything...Ya Allah...please don't test me like this' Zoya sat on the cold floor holding her legs close to her chest as the spray of the shower kept washing her tears away.
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Hope you liked it. This one has to go out to my little Api Aroo
Ab khush...no more scary faces ok lol
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