The crashing sound of the big chandelier brought his world to a stop too. It was their sangeet ceremony and Asad and Zoya had been performing their dance that they had prepared. Pretending it to be just a dance, but their hearts knew that all this that they were doing was not a lie was not pretence, this is what they both wanted, They wanted to be together. Just as she was twirling around him, arms spread wide open and her face tilted up, glowing with the happiness that she felt within, Zoya had suddenly stopped and her expression changed from happy to shock. Without anything more she had pushed him away making him fall a few feet away from where she now lay.
Asad looked on helplessly as in a fraction of a second his life came to a halt. The few moments that he had spent with Zoya flashed in front of his eyes, as if telling him that this was it, that this was all that you could have of her. Unable to move even an inch from where he was, Asad saw her laying there in a pool of her own blood. He was brought out of this numbness only when he heard his Ammi scream Zoya's name. Hearing his Ammi's screams his body broke out into a shiver and in no time he was sitting on the floor with Zoya's head in his lap. Patting her face gently he called her name several times but she didn't open her eyes. Helplessly he looked around at everyone around him for help, help to wake his love up, but, all in vain. No one could do anything as they all saw how severely injured she was and the amount of blood that she was losing.
In his state of shock Asad didn't realize who called the ambulance but he found the paramedics lifting her off his lap and taking her out to transfer her into the ambulance. He saw them walking away with his life. Tears flowing down his cheeks he ran after them and like a stubborn child he held onto Zoya's dangling hand demanding that he be allowed to be in the ambulance with her.
"No! I will not take no for an answer. She is my life, she means everything to me. I will go with her in the ambulance" he said when refused by the paramedics. "We're losing precious time. We cannot argue about the same thing standing here and letting her lose her life" one of the paramedics said. Not understanding what to do and how to get them to understand his point, Asad looked on at Zoya who lay there looking pale due to all the blood loss. Just as the door to the ambulance was being shut the paramedics halted in their spots and turned around hearing one word that conveyed a plea that they couldn't ignore. A simple "Please" is all Asad said. The medics turned around and saw him standing there with his eyes blood red, tears streaming down his cheeks and his eyes fixated on Zoya. The medics had no option but to allow him in.
He sat there watching as one cleaned her blood off her face and another person held an oxygen mask against her face to help her breathe. Asad had his eyes darting between Zoya and the road, looking for the hospital sign to appear and as soon as it did he was the first to jump out and run inside shouting for the doctors for help. Soon, he saw them wheel her into the emergency room and he was locked out. All he could do was stand there and pray to his Allah to give him back his love the only girl he had ever loved and the only woman with whom he had dreamed of spending his life. He stood there for what seemed like eternity trying to get a glimpse of Zoya, who was currently surrounded by at least half a dozen people. Feeling absolutely frustrated as there was nothing that he could do, Asad decided to go and bow down in front of his creator. Asking for mercy and for forgiveness from Him for any mistakes that he would have done for which Zoya was being punished.
Just as he was about to walk towards the reception area to ask if there was a prayer room in the hospital, he saw Ayaan walk in along with Dilshaad and Najma who all looked equally worried. Walking towards them he opened his arms wide to let his Ammi and his Tamatar hug him. As much as they needed the comfort of his arms, he needed it too along with drawing strength from them because he knew his Ammi and his sister were very strong women. Wiping his tears he looked down to see two pairs of eyes mirroring his pain. He wiped their tears and trying to put their fears at ease he said "kuch nahi hoga. Mein hoon naa. Mein kuch nahi hone doonga Zoya ko". Hearing him say that Dilshaad closed her eyes letting fresh tears roll out of them. Najma, who was shaken completely could only nod her head as all she wanted was to trust every word her Bhaijaan said. She wanted Zoya, her only friend, to be up and about soon. Standing right behind them was Ayaan, who even without exchanging words with Asad knew what his Bhaijaan felt for Zoya. Closing his eyes, he too prayed for Zoya's recovery.
Stepping away from his Ammi and Najma, Asad told them he would be back in a while. Dilshaad knew that he would be going in to pray for Zoya so only gave him a faint smile telling him she understood. As he stepped away, Ayaan called his name " Bhaijaan, one minute "
"Abhi nahi Ayaan. Abhi nahi" "Par mein jo aapko batana chahta hoon, usse zyaada aur kuch zaroori nahi ho sakta iss waqt". Hearing this Asad looked at him intently and waited for him to
continue. " Bhaijaan aapke yahan aane ke baad... Police aai thi. Meine bulaya tha unhe... Inform karne ke liye... Jo kuch bhi hua, vo sab". "But police? Police kya karegi? Yeh toh accident hai naa?" Asad saw Ayaan shake his head in the negative. "No Bhaijaan, No. It wasn't an accident. It was done on purpose. Jis rassi se vo jboomar bandha hua tha, vo rassi jali hui thi. Jahan se uss jhoomar ko bandha gaya tha, vahan se police ko candle bhi mili hai. Jiski wajah se vo rassi jal gai thi and jhoomar gira".
As Asad heard what Ayaan just said, his eyes widened with shock. Unable to voice what was going on in his head, Asad could only feel his mouth open and close with no appropriate words that could express what he felt at that moment. Unaware to him, there was more news that Ayaan had for him. Taking in a deep breath Ayaan gathered as much courage as he could to break the next part of news to him. As Asad looked on, Ayaan continued "As it is a clear case of attempted murder, vo log sab guests ke finger prints le gaye hain... Humare bhi liye" he said showing Asad his hands with ink on his fingertips "Bhaijaan, police aapke fingerprints bhi lena chahti hai... Kehte hain ki unless Zoya ko hosh nahi aata aur unka bayan nahi milta, jo log bhi venue pe mojood the, shaq sab pe rahega. Vo kuch der mein aake aapke fingerprints bhi le jayenge". Asad looked at his Ammi and his sister and their lowered lashes were proof that they weren't spared either. He noticed how they both were trying to hide their hands in their dupattas.
He closed his eyes and cursed the person who was behind all this. He swore to himself that he will get justice for Zoya and will, if required, kill the person with his bare hands. "Jaise Hi doctors kuch batate hain Zoya ki halat ke bare mein, Mein police station jaaonga apne fingerprints dene. Kuch information bhi lena chahta hoon about the investigation and the kind of proofs that they were able to collect. Ayaan, Zoya ke paas rehna aur haan, Ammi aur Najma ka khayal rakhna. Mein kuch der mein aata hoon". Just as Asad was about to step away he heard his Ammi call his name "Asad. Beta apne haat toh dho lo aur ghar jaake apne kapde change karlo". Only then did Asad realize that his hands had Zoya's blood on them and that his clothes were stained badly too. His eyes brimmed with fresh tears as the thought of something happening to her constricted his heart painfully. " Ammi, doctors se mile bina mein yahan se nahi hilunga". Saying so he sat on the bench right outside the emergency room waiting for news on Zoya.
After the longest half hour of their lives the doors to the emergency room opened and they saw Zoya being wheeled out. They all stood up watching her being taken away towards the ICU. Dilshaad and Najma couldn't hold on and ran after her. Gently caressing her cheeks Dilshaad spoke "Zoya, beta utho. Dekho hum sab yahin hain. Please aankhe kholo beta". But, there was no response from her. Asad who had his eyes fixed on Zoya couldn't help the pain he felt seeing her laying lifelessly on that hospital stretcher. He closed his eyes tight and let the fresh tears fall. He felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes to meet with the doctors. Wiping his tears he waited for the doctor to tell them about Zoya's condition. Gesturing towards Zoya the doctor asked " She's your family member?" Looking at the stretcher that was being wheeled away Asad nodded his head and said "She's my fiance, my would be wife"
The doctor smiled sadly and said "We had to give her 8 stitches on her head" Asad's head shot towards the doctor and his eyes widened realizing the extent of Zoya's injury. He felt his heart constrict with pain and all he wanted at this point in time was to scream and let out all the angst that he felt. "She isn't completely out of danger and we need to watch her for the next 24 hrs...Due to the amount of blood that she has lost these 24 hrs are very critical for her. All I can say is that we have done our job and now you all need to pray for her". Saying so the doctor walked off leaving behind a heart that was filled with pain and every beat it took was making it worse.
Asad slumped onto the bench and held his head in his hands. Ayaan sat beside his Bhaijaan and could see his shoulders shaking as he let his pain out in the form of tears. As the brothers sat there Ayaan heard his Bhaijaan speak after a long time. "Meine Abhi tak unse apne Dil ki baat bhi nahi kahi hai... Aise nahi jaa sakti hain vo... Mein aise jaane nahi doonga" and with that, for the first time in his life, Asad wrapped his arms around Ayaan and cried to his hearts content. Never had Ayaan seen his Bhaijaan, his pillar of strength, so broken. It broke Ayaan's heart to watch one of the strongest men that he knew crying like that, but he knew the circumstances well and all he did was to reassure Asad that all will be OK soon. After a while Asad stood up and walked towards the ICU and saw his Ammi and Najma sitting outside the doors there.
He kneeled in front of his Ammi and taking her hands in his he placed his face in her palms letting out a few sobs. Dilshaad, who knew Asad's feelings for Zoya, let her son express his innermost feelings which she knew was fear, fear of losing the girl he loved so dearly. She removed her hands from his hold and caressed his head running her fingers through his hair to soothe the pain that she knew he felt. She knew that it will be in no time that Asad would get a grip on his pain and will start focusing on finding the culprit, finding the person who was behind hurting their Zoya. Asad looked up at his Ammi and saw her smiling face, encouraging him to smile too. "Kuch nahi hoga Zoya ko, mein jaanti hoon ki tumhara pyaar use kuch hone nahi dega. Allah pe yakeen rakho Asad, vo humari Zoya ko kuch nahi hone denge. But, abhi mein chahti hoon ki tum police station jaao aur inquiry ko speed up karvao, taki jiss kissi ne bhi ye harquat ki hai, use saza ho aur logon ko ye pata chale ki Asad Ahmed Khan ke parivaar pe buri nazar dalne wale ke saath vo kya karta hai".
Asad saw the determination in his Ammi's eyes and that was all it took for him to gather himself up. Dilshaad saw the same stance in Asad as was always there before Zoya came to live with them. Giving his Ammi a nod he turned around and walked out of the hospital to go to the police. As Asad spent time with the police trying to speed up things to find the culprit, Dilshaad Najma and Ayaan spent their time praying for Zoya's recovery. Asad had the recording of the ceremony delivered to the station and watched through it with the other officers. It was then that he noticed Tanveer missing a few minutes before his and Zoya's dance and then she came back as soon as the dance was to start. He did notice her look up once or twice and then a smirk on her face which told him that there was much more to her than met the eye.
He remembered all the times that Zoya pointed a finger at her telling him time and again that Tanveer had been lying about a lot of things. He tried thinking back to the time that Tanveer had entered their lives again and all the things that started going wrong since then. Joining the dots he stood up with a jerk and told the officers to make a thorough check on Tanveer as he had his doubts on her. Just as Asad was about to leave from there he received a call from his Ammi which made his heart stop beating thinking the worst. Loking at the time on his cell phone he realised that it had been all night that he had been at the station. His heart picked up pace as he answered his phone.
"Hello! Ammi!" Asad heard his Ammi sniff and he felt the world around him stop. He waited for his Ammi to say something. "Ammi, sab theek toh hai naa? Zoya..."
"Tum jaldi se vapas aa jao Asad. Use... Use hosh aa gaya hai. Sabse pehla naam tumhara liya hai usne Asad. Please jaldi aa jao" she said in a happy voice but still crying.
As he heard his Ammi say those words, Asad sighed with relief and his lips curled up into a small smile. His eyes brimmed with fresh tears but this time around these were tears of happiness as he knew that now she would be out of danger and the smile, that was the result of Zoya taking his name the first thing that she woke up. He now knew for sure that she too had similar feelings for him as he had been harbouring from the time he had first seen her. He turned around, telling the officers that Zoya was now conscious and that they could meet her to take her statement.
While driving back to the hospital, Asad remembered the look of horror that had crossed her face just before she pushed him. He now realized that se had pushed him to save him from getting hurt or else he too could have been hurt. He closed his eye as her face kept flashing in her mind and no matter how much he tried he couldn't get over it. Soon he parked outside the hospital and ran inside. He ran straight to the ICU but found no one there. He went back out to the reception and asked for Zoya's room number. As soon as the nurse gave him the information he went to the room and without knocking opened the door and stood there watching her sleep again. He looked at Dilshaad who stood up seeing her son and gestured for him to go out. As they stepped out Dilshaad spoke "Abhi thori der pehle phir se so gai. Bahut dard ho raha tha, so nurse ne sedate kiya hai". She said looking at the officers. Asad too looked at them when one of them said "We will come back later to talk to her. As it is, it seems we have our culprit already".
Dilshaad's eyes widened with shock and she looked at Asad for answers. He lowered his head and spoke " We think this was all done by Tanveer. Ammi, vo baar baar upar dekh rahi thi jab Zoya aur mein dance floor pe the. Ammi, kitni baar Zoya ne mujhe batana chaha tha, Tanveer ka asli chehra dikhana chaha, par mein, apni bachpan ki dosti mein aisa andha tha, ki unki koi baat nahi maani...Allah mujhe kabhi maaf nahi karenge, kyunki unki banai sabse paak cheez, Mohabbat pe hi mujhe bharosa nahi hua". Dilshaad shook her head in the negative and spoke "Tumhari galti nahi hai Asad, please iss tarah apne aap ko dosh mat do. Tumne sirf ek acha dost hone ka farz nibhaya hai. Ab tum kissi ke dil ya dimaag mein toh ghus ke baithe nahi ho jo tumhe unke andar kya chal raha hai vo pata ho. Please beta, Tumhari galti nahi hai".
Smiling faintly he looked at his Ammi and then towards Zoya's room and his face fell. Only he knew how desperately he had wanted to see her awake again. Dilshaad saw Asad's face fall and understood how desperately he had wanted to see her eyes open. Placing a hand on his shoulder she said "Tum ghar jaake fresh ho jao. Tab tak Zoya ko hosh aa jayega". Hearing this Asad shook his head in the negative " Nahi Ammi, ek baar miss kar chuka hoon dobara nahi kar sakta. Aap aur Tamatar ghar jayen and driver ke saath mere liye fresh clothes bhej de. Mein yahi fresh ho jaonga". Dilshaad knew to well that Asad was not going to listen to anyone so she agreed and left with Najma. Soon after, his driver came back with a fresh set of clothes for him. Using the ensuiet bathroom, Asad quickly washed up and went back out. He pulled up a stool and sat beside Zoya's bed. He watched intently at the cannula that had been put on her hand. He couldn't imagine the amount of pain that she must be feeling; and all this, to save him. He looked at her bandaged head and he felt a thousand needles pearcing his heart too. With his heart aching for her, he gently lifted her other hand and brought it up to his lips. Kissing it gently he said "I am sorry Zoya. I am sorry... For everything I said to you to defend a friendship that no longer exists, for evey time that I was rude to you, for every time that I hurt you for Tanveer, for every time I didn't hear you and for every time I didn't trust you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm sor.."
While Asad had been pouring his heart out, Zoya had regained consciousness and heard most of what he said. Her eyes shedding her pain in the form of tears, she was barely able to whisper his name "Asad.." As he heard her, Asad's head shot up and he looked right into her eyes. They both smiled a sad smile at each other and immediately Zoya winced in pain. Leaving her hand, Asad immediately sat on her bed caressing her cheek and her head "Kya hua? Dard hai? Mein kuch laaon? Aapko kuch chahiye? Mein doctor ko bulata hoon". Just as he was about to get up and go Zoya held onto his hand stopping him. "Please... kahin nahi jaaye" and with that tears that she had been trying to hold inside, slid out of her eyes. Unable to control his own tears Asad let his tears fall too. He cupped her face and wiped the tears that were flowing down her face. He bent and gently rested his forehead against hers, both crying for the pain the other was going through.
Moving away from her, Asad sniffed hard and wiped his tears with the back of his hands. He could still see the horror in her eyes. He knew that Zoya could see similar emotions in his eyes and he closed his eyes to control them, to look more in control of the entire situation but he knew he had been scared to have almost lost her. Cupping her face again and looking deep in her eyes he said in barely more than a whisper "Mein darr gaya tha". Hearing him say those words Zoya placed her hands over his and said " Mein bhi". They stayed in that position for a little while more before Asad moved forward and kissed her forehead. An unsaid declaration of their love made with these few words.
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