Chapter 21
Zoya went into the kitchen and warmed up dinner for Asad. She arranged his tray just as she had observed Dilshad do from the past 2 days and took it up to their room. She knocked and when she received no response, she opened the door and walked in. Placing the tray of food on the table, she searched for him but he was nowhere to be seen. She checked the bathroom and the closet but he wasn't there either. At that moment, she saw a note on the bed. She picked it up, "meet me by the back balcony," it read. Zoya was surprised on why Asad had called her to the balcony. She opened the balcony door and walked out. Just then, she felt small, droplets of water tingle against her skin. "Bubbles!" she squealed. A big grin was on her face as she started to play with them. Asad was standing behind her looking at the childish smile she had on her face. Deep in his heart, he felt a sense of peace seeing her beam. The whole day her tear stricken face had haunted him. As she was playing, she turned to see Asad. She immediately stopped and looked at him. She was shocked that he was the one who blowing the bubbles. "Mr. Khan...aap?" she said. "Surprise kaisa laaga?" he asked with a smirk. "I can't believe keh yeh aap ne kiya hai. Thank you Mr. Khan!" she said happily. "Aur Zoya mere paas tumare liye kuch aur bhi hai," he said as he handed her a bag. Zoya took the bag and quickly began to look through it. Asad chuckled at her behavior. The first thing she found was chocolates. She observed them and then looked up at him. "Woh kal raat kehliye, and thank you for this," he said apologizing for last night's behavior and thanking her for bandaging his hand. "You are welcome Mr. Khan!" Zoya said with a smile. Then she went back into bag and found a small plastic box. "Allah Miyan! Pani Puri!" Zoya said thrilled. She took one and placed it in her mouth, "hmmm!" she moaned in pleasure. "Mr. Khan, aap ne yeh laaya hai? lekin aap koh toh aise cheeze acchi nahi lagthi na?" she asked remembering the fact that he thought it was unhygienic. "yeh maine Bhopal royal se liya hai," Asad informed. Zoya's mouth went in "o" as she knew that it was one of the best restaurants in Bhopal. Zoya giggled and Asad looked at her questioningly. "aap phele insaan hai Mr. Khan jisne pani puri ek baadi hotel se liya hai," she told him. "but thank you," she added as she put one more puri in her mouth. Seeing Zoya moan in pleasure, Asad felt aroused in his senses again. He balled his hands in a fist cursing himself for his thoughts. Zoya unaware of his feelings offered him a pani puri. He refused, excused himself and left leaving a stunned Zoya behind.
Minutes later, Zoya walked into the room to see him changed in a white kurta pajama. She didn't really know what to say. His sudden disappearance from the balcony had confused her again. One minute he was blowing bubbles and giving her gifts and the next, he was upset without any reason and walked out leaving her alone. Asad felt torn! He couldn't understand what he wanted. His heart couldn't see her in pain. It killed him to see tears in her beautiful eyes. But, when his heart fluttered at the unknown feeling seeing her happy, he hated it. He hated being in this unknown sensation. Clearing his thoughts, he walked out of the closet to see her enter the room. "Khana thanda hogaya hoga, main phir se garam kardeti hoon," Zoya said. "Nahi its ok, aise hi theek hai," Asad said stopping her. He seemed aloof. As he ate his food, Zoya observed the feelings on his face. He was weird, she thought. How could he just have these completely contradictory feelings in a matter of minutes? She couldn't understand the reason for his behavior. "Ya Allah...kahi Mr. Khan bipolar toh nahi? Ya phir split personality ho?" she wondered. She hopped up on bed and took a seat. Zoya muched on the pani puri letting its crumbs fall all over the bed. Asad's OCD was becoming exacerbated. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Zoya, aap yeh kya karahi hai?" he almost yelled. She looked at him confused and he motioned the mess on the bed with his eyes. Zoya felt scared. He was so particular about things being in their right place. "Meri nahi, puri ki galati hai. Aap jis bhi hotel se laaye hai usne puriya thodi badi bana di," she complained licking the liquid off her fingers. Asad's anger seem to disappear. Instead, her child like pout and the way she was savoring her fingers was dazzling him. Seeing Asad look at her, Zoya thought that Asad was mad. She quickly jumped off the bed and started to dust the crumbs off to the floor. Now, Asad was even more shocked. First, she ruined his comforter and now his carpet. His anger resurfaced! "Seriously Zoya, aise kohi clean karta hai kya?" he scolded. "You know what Mr. Khan, aap ko mere liye yeh laana hi nahi chahiye tha," she huffed placing the box in his hands and walked out of the room. Asad was enraged. How dare she? No one had dared spoken to Asad like that in his life. She had guts! He thought. "Wait a minute, woh mujhpe chila keh chali gayi aur main usski tareef karaha hoon," he mentally yelled at himself. He called for usman to have someone clean up the crumbs. Zoya sat under the night sky staring at the stars. "Theek naam raka hai maine, akdu! Agar inki room itni pyaari hai toh mujhe khane kyun diya waha. Mujhe nahi rehna hai unke saath, main kal hi," she stopped. Where would she go? She wasn't going home. Of course not after telling Razia that she would never return back. Tears filled her eyes and she looked up, "shayad agar aap yaha hote Ammi toh mujhe theek se sabh karna seeka the. Bachpan se har cheez khud seekni padina issliye shayad main cheeze kahi rak dehti hoon. Mujhe toh lagtha hai keh zindagi bahut choti hai iss sabh kehliye. Jitne pal tumare paas rahe uss mein apne parivaar keh saath bitana chahiye na ki yeh sabh ki fikar karte huwe," she thought out loud. She closed her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. She missed her mother. She wished she was here so she could place her head on her lap and cry her heart out. She wishes she was here to caress her cheek and tell her that she would be alright. That life would be alright. That everything would be fixed. "I miss you Ammi!" she whipered looking into the night sky.
Dilshad was going down to the kitchen to get some water when she saw Zoya sitting in the balcony swing. She was walking up to her to see what she was doing outside at this time of the night when she heard what she was saying. Hearing Zoya cry for her mom, broke Dilshad's heart. "Allah kissi bhi bacche koh aisi takleef na dehna," Dilshad prayed lovingly looking at Zoya. As she heard Zoya's last sentence, she walked closer. Zoya sensed somewhere coming close to her and quickly wiped her tears. She stood up and turned to see Dilshad looking at her. "Ammi...aap abhi sohi nahi?" Zoya asked trying to cover up her puffy eyes and feeble voice. "Tum bhi toh abhi sohi nahi, kya hua Zoya?" Dilshad said caressing her cheek. Zoya could see the sincere love and worry in her eyes. She wrapped her hands around Dilshad and started to sob. "Zoya, sabh theek toh haina? Asad ne kuch kaha? Kya hua beta?" Dilshad started to ask more questions. "I miss Ammi!" she whispered a few minutes later. Dilshad pulled Zoya closer consoling her with her actions. They pulled apart a few moments later and Dilshad made Zoya sit on the swing and sat next to her. "Zoya, main jaanti hoon keh Ammi Abu ki jaaga kohi nahi ley saktha. Lekin main tume apni beti maanti hoon, agar tum mujhe ijazat doh toh," Dilshad stated. Zoya looked at her shocked, "Ammi please, aisa mat kahiye. Maine meri Ammi koh sirf tasveer mein dekha hai. Hamesha Allah se dua ki hai keh unne at least ek baar dekhlo unse baat karlo lekin mujhe toh yeh bhi nahi paata keh unki khabar (grave) kaha hai. Main toh itni badnaseeb ho Ammi keh Allah ne meri Ammi aur Abu koh bachpan hi mujhe cheen liya. Main aapke pyaar keh laayak nahi hoon, infact main toh kisike bhi pyaar keh laayak nahi hoon," Zoya cried. Zoya has been flaunted these words since she could understand the language. The words that Razia repeated for 22 years seemed to have been engrained in her brain. How could she forget all the times Razia had said that she had killed her Ammi? Or the times she said that Zoya was responsible for her father leaving her mother? Zoya didn't know the truth but it was something she couldn't forget even if she wanted to. Dilshad looked at Zoya shocked. "Stop it Zoya! Phir khabh aisa nahi kehna. Beta, main jaanti hoon keh tumara bachpan mushkil tha lekin Zoya, tumare liye ek nayi zindagi tumara intezaar karahi hai. Tume jab pheli baar dekha tabh hi maine tume apni beti maana tha. Main tak nahi, iss ghar keh saare logo ka tumare saath ek rishta hai, unn rishto keh saath aage badh jaana hi sahi hai beta," she explained. "Lekin Ammi, bina yeh jaana keh mera ateet kya hai, main aage kaise badh sakthi hoon?" Zoya asked. "Tumara ateet toh bheet gaya hai Zoya aur tum usse badal nahi sakthi lekin tumara aane wala kal woh tumare haath mein hai Zoya. Tume paata hai, tum aur Asad jitne alag ho utne hi ek jaise bhi. Asad ne bhi beete huwi baatoin mein apni zindagi keh teen saal bekhar kiye aur tumne tumari saari zindagi. Main chathi hoon keh tum aur Asad ek dusre ka haath thaam kar, aage badh jao!" Dilshad said as she held Zoya's hands in her and slightly stroked them. "Main kosish karongi," Zoya told her. Both the ladies hugged each other. Later, they talked some more and both headed to their rooms as it was getting late. Zoya returned to her room to see Asad on the bed. His back was towards her and she assumed he must have been tired and hit the bed. She too grabbed her blanket from the bed and decided to sleep.
He opened his eyes to feel the sun streaming through the window. He felt his head throb and winced in pain. He sat and opened his eyes to find his wife in front of his eyes again. She was about to finish her morning prayer. As she stood up, she folded the prayer mat and placed it in its place. She didn't wish him as she had the previous mornings. She left before he could say anything. Zoya had noticed him in pain when she had finished her prayer. She walked downstairs to the kitchen to find naseem khala. She wished her and asked how to make his coffee. As she stirred his strong black coffee, she made strange faces to the aroma. "Allah jaane yeh kaise peete hai Mr. Khan, ewww!" she thought. Asad had freshened up and changed into his work clothes. She walked in and offered him the coffee. He looked at her surprised. "Maine dekha keh aap koh seer mein dard hai toh coffee laayi thi," she told him. "Thanks!" he said taking the cup from her. She turned to leave when he stopped her by holding her wrist. He placed the coffee mug on the night table and she turned to look at him. "Mujhe tumse baat karni hai," he told her. Zoya nodded and they both took a seat on the bed. "Zoya, I am sorry for yelling at you last night," Asad told her still holding her hand. Zoya sat still recalling the moments of last night. His yelling, her crying for her mother, and Dilshad's words ran in her mind. Seeing her quiet, "Zoya, mujhe cheeze unki jaaga mein acchi lagthi hai aur paak bhi, mujhe sirf aadat nahi hai kissi keh saath aise rehna ki, I am used to my space," he explained. "Mr. Khan aap ne khabhi yeh soocha hai keh maine mera ghar meri family aur mera sabh kuch chodkar yaha phir se rehne ki kosish karahi hoon," Zoya said sadly. Realization dawned on Asad. She was right! He thought. He felt a string of guilt tug at his heart. "I am sorry again Zoya, main sirf apne baare mein sooch raha hoon. Yeh kamra jitna mera hai, utna hi tumara hai. Tume yaha joh chahe karsakthi ho," he said. "Saach?" Zoya exclaimed. "But thoda saaf rakna please aur room mein khaana hai toh aap bed par nahi please table pe khayiye," he told her and she pouted. "Kosish karongi," Zoya said. "And Mr. Khan I am also sorry!" she said. "Tum kyun maafi maang rahi ho?" Asad asked confused. "Mujhe aap par chilana nahi chahiye the, woh main gussa thi issliye," she pouted. Asad smirked, "By the way, mujh par pheli baar kissi ne chilaya hai," he said. Zoya felt more embarrassed now and hid her face in her palms as Asad chuckled at her reaction.
She fixed her pendant on her kurti checking herself in the mirror, getting ready for the big day. She was going to meet some investors for donations for the girls today and she was hopeful that they would agree. Though the khans had money, Nikhat had always wanted to be independent. Dilshad and her wanted to run the NGO based on their efforts. She came back to her reality when she felt her husband slid his hands around her waist. "Good morning," she said with a smile. "Nervous?" he asked. "Ha Farhan, thoda toh nervous hoon. I just hope keh woh sabh maan jaye, it would be really good for the girls," she told him. "Don't worry, tumne itni mehanat ki hai, they will have to agree," he said. "inshAllah," she said. "Good luck!" he said placing a kiss on her cheek. Nikhat smiled. He always made her feel better. She felt a little less nervous now that he had believed in her. She turned around and wrapped her hands around her neck. "Paata nahi hamesha tume aise kaise karle the ho," she said. "Kya karleta hoon?" he asked. "Kohi bhi tension ho, you make me feel better," she told him. "Kya karaho bachpan ki aadat hai," Farhan said and they both giggled. "I remember jab tumne pheli baar mujhe shant kiya tha...tenth ke exams the and I think tabhi maine kahi na kahi toh faisla karliya tha keh zindagi baar tum ho mujhe shant karo," Nikhat said. "Accha...toh starting se shazish kiya mujhe phasa ne ki," Farhan teased. "Maine tume phasa hai?" Nikhat said getting angry. He tightened his grip on her waist and pulled her closer. "Ha phasa toh diya mujhe yeh khoobsurat rishte mein. Tum ne joh meri zindagi mein itna pyaar bhar diya hai aur khushiya lekar aayi hoon, usne mujhe tumse aise jhod diya hai jaise asmaan keh saath taare," he told her. Nikhat smiled. He had given her so much. A family that she could call her hers and so much love and respect. Even when the incident with tanveer had happened, he had supported her and always stood by her. She moved forward and pecked his lips. "Wow meri biwi bahut romantic horahi hai," Farhan teased and Nikhat started to blush. He was about to move forward and pull her into a deep kiss when their son ran into the room. "Ammi...Ammi!" he said and they broke apart. Nikhat giggled at Farhan's pout. Imran complained that his shirt button has broken. "Awww mera baccho, doh minute mein theek hojayega, chalo," Nikhat said as she picked her son into her arms. "I love you Ammi!" Imran said as he hugged Nikhat. Nikhat smiled at her son, "I love you too!" she said. Before walking out the door, she turned and mouthed the same words to her husband leaving him with a smile.
A while later as they still sat on the bed, "Mr. Khan mujhe aapse ek baat karni thi," Zoya told her. "Kya hua Zoya?" he asked. "Woh Mr. Khan, kal Ammi aur Abu kehrahe the keh agar main chaho toh job karsakthi hoon," Zoya said and Asad nodded. "Maine unse kaha keh main aap se pochongi. Kya main job karsakthi hoon?" Zoya asked him. Asad could see a glint of hope in her eyes. "Zoya, kya tum kaam karna chathi ho?" he asked. Of course she did! She thought but she was never allowed to. She had been told that her working outside would defame the family. "Agar aap nahi chathe keh main kaam karo toh main nahi karongi," she told him. "That wasn't my question Zoya," he stated. "Answer me! Tum kaam karna chathi ho?" he asked again. "Main hamesha se job karna chathi thi Mr. Khan, lekin main nahi chathi keh meri wajse kohi bhi humare family ko kuch kahe," Zoya explained. Asad liked how she had said "humare family." Asad understood where she was coming from. He knew that her family was very conservative and he had even seen her being mistreated at times. He took her hands in his, "Zoya, agar tum job karna chathi ho toh you are welcome to. Isse na mujhe problem hai na hi family mein kissi koh kohi takleef hogi. Main jaanta hoon keh tumare Abu tume job nahi karna dehna chathe hai lekin mujhe kohi problem nahi. Aur Zoya, tum joh chaye woh karsakthi ho, main khabhi tume kissi bhi cheez kehliye force nahi karunga. Agar kohi bhi baat tumare dil koh sahi lage toh tum woh karsakthi ho," Asad honestly told her. Zoya felt a sense of pride fill her heart. She had always complained to Allah about taking her parents away and for not helping her find them but today, she felt like Allah was paying her back. He had given her a loving family and an understanding husband. Yeah, he was a bit short tempered and a clean freak but he had a good heart, and isn't that what mattered. Zoya grinned! She moved forward and hugged Asad, "thank you Mr. Khan! Thank you so much," she said. Asad felt a new emotion creep into his heart. His heart flickered! First time after so many years, a girl other than his own family was so close to him. He wrapped his hand around her waist, "you are welcome Zoya!" Asad said with a smile. They broke apart and Zoya was about to go tell the family the great news but she stopped at the door. "Mr. Khan saare mehmaan chale gaye hai. aap ko apna vaada yaad haina?" Zoya said. Asad sighed. He was hoping that she would have forgotten the whole scenario in the excitement. "Mr. Khan...aap aisa nahi karsakthe, you promised!" Zoya warned. "theek hai, main aata hoon," Asad said and Zoya smiled happily and left the room.
Haider was driving to college. It was still early and the traffic was light. He had to submit his project and he needed to check some notes from the library. As he was blasting music through his car speakers and zoomed through the streets, he saw something in his rearview mirror that caught his eye. He slammed on his brakes, coming to a sudden halt. He got out of the car to see three guys misbehaving with a girl. He ran towards him, "hey...you! Kya karahe ho?" he yelled. Two of the guys were holding on the girl and her back was towards him. "Kya re shane? Teri koh kya karna hai? Chal jaa yaha se," the third guy told Haider. "Maine kaha chodo usse," Haider sternly stated. "Aur tere koh kya? Kya lagthi hai yeh teri?" the guy yelled as he pushed Haider. Haider jerked up and slapped the guy. The guy fell on the floor and one of his partners let the girl go and attacked Haider. As Haider tried to save himself, the girl tried to break off the thug's hold on her hand. She bit his hand and started to run freeing herself. The guy ran behind her. Haider beat the guy and ran behind them to save the girl. He increased his speed to catch up with them. As the guy gripped on the girl's dupatta, Haider pulled his collar and the guy fell on the floor. The girl didn't see where she was going and tripped on a rock and fell to the ground, uncounscious. Haider fought with the thud and punched his face, the guy fell to the ground. Haider winced in pain as he felt a sting of pain in his left arm, he guessed he must have hurt himself in the fight. Ignoring his injury, he ran up to the girl. He took her in his arms and turned her to face him. He was shocked. "Humaira!" he said. He patted her cheek trying to wake her up. He picked her in his arms and to his car. Placing her on the seat, he took the bottle of water and sprinkled water on her face. She opened his eyes and was surprised to see Haider. "Tum? Yaha?" she asked. "Are you ok? Aur yeh sawal toh mujhe karna chahiye. tum unn gunda se saath kaise phas gayi?" Haider asked concerned. Humaira told him that she was going to college with the driver. But the car broke down and the driver had went to fetch someone. She was alone in the car when the goons had started circulating the car. She tried to lock the car but the goons had broken the window, opened the car, and pulled her out. She had ran and reached this street where he had saved her. "Agar tum nahi aate toh...thank you!" she said as she started to cry. His instant reaction was to pull her into a hug and console her. She broke apart and was worried to see his hand. "I am sorry meri wajase," she said. "Humaira, calm down! Its ok," he told her. She quickly tore off her dupatta and tied it around his arm, "please bandage karanela," she told him. Haider offered to drop her home. Humaira was scared to go home. She told Haider that if her father found out she will be stopped from going to college. Gaffur has already been against her studying MBA. If it hadn't been for Zoya, then she would have never been allowed to study what she desired. He promised her he wouldn't tell anyone not even Zoya. Humaira was worried that Zoya would freak out if she found out and she didn't want to worry her as Zoya was still settling into her own life. Haider took a friend's house where she cleaned up and changed before he safely dropped her home.
So, things are progressing towards a positive side. What do you guys think? Can't wait to see your comments 😊 Thanks for all the comments, your support and feedback mean a lot 🤗
Edited by asyasahil928 - 10 years ago
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