CHAPTER-7
ASAD'S POV
I slumped down on one of the chairs in the waiting room of St. Joseph hospital after pacing the room relentlessly for half an hour to calm down my restless heart which was anything but even remote to getting calm. My head bent backwards to rest on the wall as the emotional dishevel of the evening finally started to effect my body. My whole body was feeling exhausted but even the mention of sleep was nowhere near my mind. How could it even be when the love of my laid in one of the emergency room, still fighting for returning to consciousness? A sigh of absolute pain and anguish escaped my lips as I rubbed my palms on my face to cope up with the revelations which were starting to grip my heart with more and more intensity with each passing moment. My mind was constantly flashing the images of her tear-stricken face, killing my soul a little more every time. Her cries were still resonating in my ears which felt like nothing less than a thousand swords piercing my heart again and again. I could still fell her trembling body against my chest and this is only known to me what inhuman strength it took me to gather myself and rush her here when I found her lifelessly lying in my arms. The place where we were was a little away from the main party hall. So it was useless to shout for help due to the distance and music. I just picked her up and placing her in my car dashed towards the hospital which I had seen in my way to the party and couldn't be happier for that. The moment we reached here half an hour ago, the staff wheeled her to the emergency room after telling me to wait in the waiting room, sensing my reluctance to leave her side. This was the second time that I have driven so rash, without caring about the signals or traffic rules. The first time was when she was getting deported and I put the ring in her finger to stop her for forever, after driving like a madman. A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips at that fond memory. My hands automatically went to my pocket to bring out the ring which fell down from her broken bracelet at the party. As I continued to gaze the ring, my vision blurred again with tears and a water droplet landed on the ring from my eyes. I had never felt so much helpless as much as I was feeling at that moment. I was angry at myself for being so bitter about my past at that time that it made Zoya insecure about my reaction upon knowing her paternal identity. I was feeling guilty for all those time I hurt her and more for not being able to stand by her when she needed me the most.
At that moment the waves of blind rage drowned my mind in such a strong sensation that it surprised even me. I was livid, thinking about those two nasty women, one of whom I once considered a friend, a really good one at that. Now even the thought of Tanveer left a bitter taste in my mouth, making me want to puke in disgust. I was ashamed beyond one's belief after knowing her true face two years ago. It had been a week since Zoya had disappeared and I was going out of mind searching for her day and night, in all places possible and Ammi and Najma were becoming crazy with worry but still there was no news of her. People say that over-confidence always destroys people and may be this failure of us to find her boosted their over-confidence which in turn caused the carelessness which resulted in their destruction. I was passing her room when I heard her talking to someone on phone. I was about to carry on walking when I heard the mention of Zoya's name which compelled me to eavesdrop, something which I could never think of doing. And what I heard next made my blood boil with rage. I heard her confess how she tried to kill Zoya several times without a single ounce of guilt. It just took me the moment till she ended the call that I confronted her about her deceives and crimes. I was so overwhelmed with anger at that I could have strangled her to death at that very moment but I had to control myself for the sake of whole truth. I understood that she was just a player and someone else was behind this whole plan. To know about the mastermind behind this whole plan, the person with whom she was talking, I needed to make her speak. So after a lot of threats me and Inspector Sharma, my old friend, she finally spoke. We made a plan and she had no other choice but to go with it. We called Raziya at a deserted area near badi masjid through Tanveer and she made her confess all the crimes which she committed 17 years ago and at present. I, along with police was hiding a little away from them, listening and recording their whole conversation. As soon as they finished, the awaiting cops arrested them, much to their protest and also arrested Mr. Gaffur Siddiqui soon after. I was devastated after knowing everything. There was no describing how miserable I was feeling at that time. Knowing everything which took place 17 years ago, the earth beneath my feet seemed to slip. The world in which I lived felt like a dense fog of lies, a mirage that I mistook to be true.
Yes, I felt immense anger and hatred after knowing everything but not even for a slightest part of a second, it was directed towards Zoya. All my contempt was directed towards those people who destroyed her life years ago and was again at the verge of destroying it, this time killing her instead. All I felt for her was concern, love and respect for bearing everything all the time so bravely. I felt my throat burn in pain as I took another agonizing long breath and my eyes stung with tears as her tears and painful screams after those nightmares again appeared in front of me. All my life, even in the hardest of times, I never lost my faith on Allah, never questioned him thinking everything to be his test for us but today I wanted to ask why? Why did he do all that with an angel like her? What was her fault in everything that she had to go through everything that happened? She was the one who always spread happiness wherever she goes hiding her own pain. She always goes out of her way to bring a smile on everyone's face, ignoring her own crying heart. She had just wished for her father's love all her life. Was it too much to ask for? Something inside me died again when defeated questions of anguish from an hour ago ringed in my ears again. I myself was shattered when I came to know everything, so I couldn't even begin to imagine what she went through when she learnt everything. Her most anticipated answers turned out to be darkest truth of our pasts and she came to know about all these in a way which even the biggest of criminals don't deserve, let alone a pure soul like her.
After the revelations our lives seemed to change in such a drastically quick tempo that it became difficult to cope up with it. Tanveer, Raziya and Mr. Siddiqui were interrogated really hard and were sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. Even after many threats from the police, they refused to know anything about her whereabouts or the reasons behind her disappearance. May be those disgusting people had this strange satisfaction that even thought they had been caught, they still had managed to kill our souls by separating her from us. My jaws tightened as I remembered seeing those burnt papers in Tanveer's room after the day Zoya went missing. But they were not at all in a readable condition and 99% burnt with just a tiny clear spot. So I thought that I was seeing things but now I understand that they were indeed Zoya's hand-writing. She left that note for us, telling us the truth which Tanveer burnt to ashes.
Once the truth was out, we also came to know about Tanveer's pregnancy and Imraan being the father of the child. Though Nikhat was devastated at first after knowing the truth but stayed strong and broke her engagement with him and this time I myself made sure that she wasn't pressurized to not do it. However Imraan saved the last bits of his image in our eyes and took the full responsibility of the child once he was born. Everyone shifted from Siddiqui Mansion to Khan Villa. They weren't willing live in a house whose foundation was made of blood and we were more than glad to have our whole family under one roof. Shireen ammi went to UK with Nikhat who got admission in a world famous dance academy there to pursue her passion for dance with everyone's true willing. She left everything in Ammi's care as she realized along with everyone that Abbu stayed with her because of her brother and sister-in-law's blackmailing but the person whom he loved was always Ammi. Humehra broke all her relations with her parents upon knowing everything and she and Ayaan got married soon after that. Najma is doing M.Sc now and Nuzhat is in college. Mr. Siddiqui died with a massive heart attack after one year. My heart heavy as I remembered how the jail super told me that he was really guilty after knowing all about Zoya. Whatever the crimes he had committed, the man did have a big soft spot for his elder daughter and may be the guilt of doing so wrong with her led him to his end. Raziya also followed his path after 6 months of his death.
Though our family now seemed complete but it still was as incomplete as before, if not more, because the most special part of our family was missing. Our house lacked its life as the sunshine who turned those four walls with roof into a home disappeared from our lives. Ayaan and Najma missed their best friend and partner in crime like crazy. Abbu always longed to again have hearty chat with his Dost' like before. Despite our numerous tries, Humehra still held herself responsible for everything and desperately wished to have her elder sister back in her life. Ammi cried herself to sleep almost every day missing her daughter. And I? Well I was just living like a living corpse, dying a thousand deaths every day but still breathing to find her one day. My days started with prayers to keep her safe and after a day-long search, ended with the questions about her whereabouts and a wish to find her again. I wanted to say sorry for all the times I hurt her but she wasn't there to hear my cries. I wanted to tell her that I loved her with all my heart and soul but she wasn't there to hear me. Though she wasn't there but her memories made me fall for her more and more with each passing day. Every search was proving to be a failure and it was then when destiny opened this new door for me in the most unexpected way, amidst the dark alley of closed paths and this time I won't let her go. I really feel very small in front this selfless angel and her selflessness is the thing which I adore the most in her. My respect for her grew even more, if that was possible, after knowing everything. This girl never fails to amaze me. Even at a time like this when she herself was broken, she thought about our safety. I was worried about how I would protect her when the truth came in front of her, when in reality she was the one protecting me. I knew that I wasn't worthy of her and she deserved someone better. And her love was the thing which always pushed me to be that better person for her. I wanted to tell her that I would make everything alright, I wanted to come in way of every pain which dared to reach way and shield her from them, I wanted to replace all those pains and tears with nothing but happiness and pure bliss. I wanted to tell her,'I love you' and for that I needed her to wake up.
My revere was broken when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to find the doctor standing there in front of me.
- Doctor h..how is she? Is she ok? Please tell me that there isn't anything serious about her health.' I bombarded him with questions as I stood up, I could hear the anxious thumping of my heart in my ears.
- She is fine now, sleeping. She fainted due to extreme stress. She..' Before he could say anything more, he was stopped by the voice of a middle -aged lady who reached there running.
- Sorry Dr. Mark. Got stuck in traffic. How is Zoya now? Is she fine?' The lady asked in little breathless voice, due to all the running, with a genuinely concerned face making me wonder about how she was connected with Zoya.
- She is fine Dr. Meera, just the result of excessive stress. She is sleeping now. I have just checked on her. Mr. Khan, you can ask all your questions to Dr. Meera here. She is the one who is working on Zoya's case.' Saying so Dr. Mark left the place, leaving me in a more confused than ever state with a strange fear which made my heart sink.
-" Zoya's case? What were you talking about doctor? And where is her and where is api and jeeju?" Being unable to hold myself anymore, I finally asked her the questions which were running wild in my mind. I had a feeling that she knew her on a personal level and only she could answer my questions.
I saw the change of emotions on her face as the eyes which were till now looking at me with utmost affection, now clouded with pain. She sighed softly before speaking.
- I guess you need to know a lot of things my child. Let's go to my cabin. It will take long.' Saying this she left, leaving me with no other option but to follow her.
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PRECAP: - I promise you Zoya, from this moment I won't let anything to bring tears to your eyes, not even myself.'
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Hey guys. So I am back with a brand new update on the very first day of 2016. I know I was supposed to clear all the truths in this one but this was getting way too long. So had to break in two. Now Asad's part is clear and the remaining of Zoya's will be cleared in the next one. Please don't forget to hit the like button😃
Ps. I know I am being pathetic now but sorry again for not replying to all your lovely comments, though I have read and loved each one. These exams and tuitions are really killing me 😭
And at the last HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE🤗
Cricket
Pati Patni Aur Panga
Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile
Tum Se Tum Tak
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