WE Were Meant To Be...
~Zoya's POV~
I paced around the room in smaller steps and my steps took a larger dimension with my mother's decreasing tone of voice. My anticipation was growing and I was almost starting to bite my nails.. Mind you, I never bite my nails, because I love them way too much! I looked at my hands for a moment and stared at my painted nails- a blood red nail color with a perfect gel look. My lips curved upwards for a smile and the Adrenaline rush had somewhat reduced while I stared dreamily at my fingers, preparing a mental note on the different colors that I still had to buy. I chuckled at my own fantasy.
It wasn't long when my smile had to disappear and the same anxiety took over me when I heard my mother exchange final good byes with the lady on the other end of the call. I started pacing the length of my room again and almost knocked out my head when it struck hard with that of my sister, Humeira.
"Ouch Aapi...!!", she winced while I flinched in pain at the blow that I just received along with her.
"Can't you see and walk Humeira? What's wrong with you? I was almost going to get knocked out had I not been careful..", I shouted and mentally patted my back for successfully placing the blame on her. However old one may turn, there's a divine happiness that lies in teasing your sibling.
"What?? It was you who was marching around without sparing a glance towards the door. I just walked into the room just to give you this news..."
"What news??"
Suddenly my pain and my teases flew out of the window when my brain concentrated on the news that my dearest sister brought along with her. Another truth about siblings- They might fight and tease, but they would never ditch you, and often bring you the 'News' which you might have been dying to hear all this while.
"Aapiii...", she screamed and her smile was way too broad and I knew that the 'news' was nowhere near to ' good' for me.
"Speak up!!!!", I ordered her.
"You know..."
"Humi..." Came my mother's voice. Zeenat Farooqui, a lovely lady who still looked young enough to compete with her daughters.
Ammi's gleeful face gave me the hint that I could freely curse my fate now.
"I am so happy for you Zoya... I was waiting for this day..so much that I can't even express my happiness."
"Ammi please...", I whined as I knew what she was talking about.
"What Ammi? Do you know how important this conversation was? Why were you trying to eavesdrop on us when I had clearly asked you to stay in your room?" She glared as she scolded me.
Great!!
"But Ammi.. you were talking about me. I guess I have the right to listen to all that.", I tried reasoning.
"You had, only if you didn't interrupt our conversation every time! What must she be thinking? I was so embarrassed."
"She won't be thinking anything. She is probably never going to call you again", I prayed as I said this. But some prayers came with the fate of never getting answered, and this was definitely one of them.
"You are not supposed to talk about her like this. She might just be your would be mother-in-law!!!" She scolded me again. This was not something that I was used to.
"Oh please Ammi... I haven't even met him!! How can I agree to marry him just like that??? And do you realize that I am just a small Baby.. I suppose you and Abbu don't want to do a crime like Child Marriage!!" This time she laughed at what I said. Humeira too giggled at my words and I knew that I was not taken seriously by any of them.
My words were not true either. It was true that I was a baby to my family, but my Birth Certificate told a different story. I was in my final year of MBA and was all set to take up the job that I was offered. I glared at Humeira as I couldn't do that to my mother and she understood that the fact was actually bothering me a lot. The word Lot wasn't going to suffice the 'lot' that I meant.
"We are not asking you to get married to him just like that. We are just asking you to meet him. That's it! There is no harm in doing that, is there?", she asked in her polite tone that I was usually used to hearing.
"What if he isn't good enough? What if he is not the one' for me? What if he turns out to be a pervert? Or a serial killer? Or a murderer or even a rapist? My life will be ruined then!!" All this made no sense, and even I was well aware of that. But I had to say something and this was all I could manage.
"Seriously Zoya?? You really think your parents would choose a murderer or a serial killer for you?", she said in between her giggles. "Now stop bothering yourself so much and have a little faith in us. We are just asking you to meet him. No more expectations!!"
I sighed heavily as I had no more justified or even baseless reasons to not meet him.
"I shouldn't have allowed you and Abbu to go for Nikhat's wedding last month. It all started from there!", I said, almost teary eyed, as I was not liking the sudden changes that my life brought in.
"And we are thankful that we had gone to Nikhat's wedding. Otherwise we would have clearly missed out the jewel that we had seen in Asad."
This time I rolled my eyes at her and immediately had an indescribable dislike towards Asad, whoever he was!
"Here you go..." My mother handed over a piece of paper to me. It had the name Asad written on it along with a ten digit number. It did not need an Einstein's brain to guess what my mother exactly wanted from me.
"This is not happening! Never!", I said as my fingers held the piece of paper. "You had just mentioned a meeting'. Phone calls were never there on the list!" This time my reasons were not irrelevant.
"Zoya...How can we just let our daughter meet an unknown guy just like that? What if he is a serial killer or a murderer? It's better to know him beforehand. Isn't it?", she winked as she said this and then went out of my room. She winked! My mother WINKED! It clearly meant that I was trapped. Revenge was now that my blood was calling for. I turned to Humeira and shot daggers at her.
"You knew this??" You knew about all of this!! I am going to kill you..."
Then she ran, and I ran behind her. We both threw pillows and whatever came our way to each other. In less than a couple of minutes, our room was in a huge mess and we both settled on the bed side by side, with our backs hitting the mattress.
"I am so afraid Humi.. What if he isn't the right person for me?", I voiced my fear to her, because I knew that out of all the people in the world, she was the one who always understood me more than I did myself.
"He will never be a part of your life if he isn't meant to be for you..", she said as she threw her leg and arm around me and crawled up to me like a baby, and I hugged her back. She knew that her hugs always soothed my inner turmoil.
Later that night, as I tried to doze off, I realized that my parents wouldn't go for anyone who wasn't the right one for me. He might not be the one', but he was definitely not going to be the wrong one. I saved his number in my phone and my thoughts diverted to the days, just a month back, when my parents had gone to Nikhat's wedding in Delhi.
Nikhat was Gafoor Ahmed Siddiqui and Razia Siddiqui's only daughter and her parents had been friends of my parents even before my birth. Asad was Nikhat's cousin and the son of Rashid Ahmed Khan and Dilshad Khan. I had never met him, but have always heard about him from Nikhat. It was in one of my visits to Delhi when I had met Dilshad Aunty once. I wasn't going to recall that meeting if my parents hadn't suddenly asked me, "Zoya, do you remember Dilshad?" I had ransacked almost all the memories of last 5 years only to be told by my mother that I was just 7 when I had met her. Like I was even supposed to remember that!!
I knew that something was coming up that was supposedly not going to be anything pleasant for me.
Ammi and Abbu filled me in with all the details of the wedding that I had missed because my exams were on. They told me about the Khan family that had come to India after 10 years, and how they still stayed so much connected to their roots even after spending more than three decades in New York. Ammi's attention slowly moved towards Asad and all his achievements at this very young age of 29. She told me about how nice he was to his parents, his baby sister Najma and to them and to all other guests at the wedding. How beautifully he had taken over the responsibilities of being an elder brother to Nikhat... and bla bla bla... They were on and on and I started paying no heed to what they said. I took it as an after effect of attending a lavish wedding of their best friend's daughter and having met them after ages.
But I was proved so badly wrong when my father all of a sudden mentioned, "Asad is such a nice guy. He is going to be a perfect match for our Zoya..." I spluttered out all the water that my mouth was filled with and choked on my breath at the mere mention of Asad being my perfect match.
And all this continued for a month, they pestering me to meet him once and me coming up with all sorts of excuses to somehow ignore the matter. But it was too late now, as Dilshad Aunty had already made up her mind to visit Bhopal along with her family to meet me, and probably hook me up with her son. Okay. Sorry, bad word. Make me her daughter in law.
I was cringing even at the thought of it. Was I ready for a marriage? Not that I have never dreamt of it, but I had never expected things to be the way it was now. I have always been an ardent fan of romance novels, and had never in my life expected anything other than falling in love with my Mr. Right. Here things were just going the reverse way.
Next morning...
I had added his number to my contacts, but I was never ever going to call him or message him by myself. This was the last thing that I would ever do. I didn't like men who lacked in the courage to make an approach themselves, instead waited for the girl to take the first step. But again, I didn't like men who were over friendly and unnecessarily too good to me either. Or may be, they had their reasons. In both ways, I was one choosy person and definitely not an easy nut to crack for Asad Ahmed Khan.
Just when I was hovering over the fact to call him or not to, my phone started ringing and my eyes almost came out of its sockets at the flash of his name on the screen. I was a confident lady in anything that I did, and this time too things shouldn't be any different. I took in a deep breath before I took the call.
"Hello...", I answered the call, trying hard to not let my voice tremble.
"Hi... Am I speaking to Ms. Zoya Farooqui?" I heard an extremely manly yet gentleman's voice coming from the other end. His voice sounded good, may be not as good as how he looked. I bit my lips as my mind flooded with the memory of the day when my parents had shown his photograph to me.
"Yes.. and is that Asad Ahmed Khan?", I asked the obvious.
"So we both know each other by our names atleast..", he said and I realized that the situation was nothing different for him too. If he was going to be a part of my life, than the same was with him too. There was an uncertainty that was present in both of our voices, which clearly stated the fact that we were 'nervous'! Damn! Nervous was not going to explain the sensations that we were going through now.
"So...", I said, because I didn't knew what more to say.
"What do you do?", he asked me after a minute of silence. He probably knew what I was doing, but he had to come up with something to carry on with the conversation. I told him about my MBA, my internship and how I plan to work even after I get married. He chuckled at what I said and I became aware of that too. I had mentioned marriage to the person who was probably my prospective groom.
I had to come up with a counter explanation or anything to hide what I said, and I did so. "Why are you laughing? Are you against women working and being independent enough to take care of themselves? I asked him, not only because I had to conceal what I had said before, but also because I really wanted to know his point of view regarding this since I really wanted to work.
I wanted his honest answer to this, and I never realized why, but I wanted him to read my mind and say what I wanted to listen.
"Ms. Farooqui.. First of all, I really appreciate you for being so thoughtful and serious about your career. And second, I am not any of those men who are against the working of women. My mother had been a participant in my father's business for years and was involved in it till the day I took over it. I would also consider myself to be the luckiest person if I get that same amount of support from my wife too.", he said and I could sense sincerity in his words.
I had my first conversation with Asad and I have to admit, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact it was quite good, but I could never say that to Ammi. I still needed time to think.
~Asad's POV~
After the day when my mother broke the news of her to have successfully found my bride, I was literally left tormented. Ammi had that exceptional quality of judging people and this time it was Gafoor Mamu's friend, Anwar Farooqui's daughter that she was talking about. Zoya... I remember Nikhat taking that name quite a few times, but I had never tried knowing who she exactly was or how she was. Only if I knew that she was going to be my prospective bride.
Ammi gave me her number last night and after an hour long hesitation the next morning, I finally made up my mind to call her up; after all I could not let my parents be disappointed in me.
She picked up the phone with a simple hello and my heart probably skipped a beat when I heard her voice. I imagined how she must have been looking then. Was she really having those dimples which I believed there was when I had seen her photograph.
There was a dead silence as none of us said anything. I asked her what she was doing. Not that I didn't know about it, but I had to come up with something to break the tranquility. I got to know that she was willing to work and I was thankful to God that she was. I always wanted an independent and confident lady as my wife, who would also match up with every step of mine in our business, just like my mother. Even if she didn't want to join my business, I was very much willing enough to let her choose her way. I tried to explain her that and was glad when I recognized that that silence to be her acceptance to my honesty. From there, our first conversation went quite smooth. Unexpected, but definitely worth.
I was still in Delhi at Mamu's place and was supposed to reach Bhopal and meet Zoya after exactly 7 days. It was a long time in terms of business but when it came to meeting a girl, 7 days were way too less to prepare myself. I had no idea about what I had to say. Damn! Business meetings were easier!!
~Day 1: Zoya's POV~
I was following my usual routine. With my morning coffee, newspaper and a romantic novel by my side, I sat in the balcony bathing in the bright sun rays of a winter morning. My holidays were still on and this was my usual way to spend my lazy mornings, until today.
Just when I folded down the newspaper and took up the novel to read, I heard my phone ringing.Asad...
Was it telepathy or just a lucky morning for me? I was wondering whether Asad would ever call me again before coming to Bhopal. Would it be inappropriate if I called him? These thoughts were raking my mind ever since last night.
"Good Morning Ms. Farooqui." His voice sounded heavier, but not nervous like before.
"Good Morning Mr. Khan..", I greeted him back.
"I thought to let you know, we have booked out tickets for Bhopal. It's in a week."
A Week! SEVEN Days!! OMG!! Was I dreaming or is it really true? Are things really moving that fast or was I simply hallucinating? I wished I was, but to my disappointment, I wasn't.
"Oh..Okay... Ummm... Thanks for letting me know.", I thanked him.
"Are you nervous?", he asked me.
I wasn't going to lie to him. "Yeah.. I am...", I said as I took a breath in.
"Same here Ms. Farooqui...", he admitted. I liked it when guys admitted their fears, not because it made them weak in front of girls, but simply because they were made of flesh and blood too and feeling the anxiety wasn't anything to be ashamed of. It was...natural...!!
The call ended with a decent talk of a few more minutes that included letting each other know about the weather and what we usually did in cold wintry days when work deprived. I got to know how difficult it was getting for him to manage work from here, though his advisors were efficiently working on their tip toes to keep the business going.
He was a hard working man, that's what I concluded that day.
~Day 2: Asad's POV~
It was quite a tedious job to manage my time with that of New York. I was working overnight and slept only after dawn. My employees, which included my assistant Prasad was one of the most efficient workers that I had. Beyond the premises of my office, I shared a brotherly relation with him. So, when he got to know that I was staying here for a few more days to meet my bride, he was more than HAPPY to take up the entire work load on himself. He had also mentioned the word 'Bhabi' quite a number of times when I was in a video conference with him.
After switching off my laptop and finally hitting my back to the mattress, I thought about what Prasad said. 'Bhabi' definitely didn't seem that weird now, if it was for her. I slept with a small smile on my face, the reason for which was unknown, yet quite fulfilling.
I woke up at the violent shriek of my phone. Yes, when you sleep so late and then be woken up again after few insufficient hours, then your most soothing ringtone too sounds like screeching. I took the call, because the caller was too adamant to not stop calling me. I didn't bother taking a look at the name.
"Hello...", I said in a sleepy and annoying tone.
"Good Morning Mr. Khan..." That's it! Her voice was just enough to drive out the sleep from my eyes.
"Ms. Farooqui.. I'm sorry.. Good...good morning...", I mumbled and yawned.
"I just called to greet you.. Anyway.. I didn't know that you were a late riser.", she said and I knew that she must have been shocked to know that even a business man could sleep till so late. If my sleepy brain could comprehend right, then I was sure that I had heard a chuckle, which I felt likeignoring quite willingly.
"I was up all night. You know, It kinda gets tough to work when you are 10 and a half hours ahead of the place where you work in.", I said and she agreed. She was a sensible woman, and the woman who herself wanted to enter the world of business would understand me for no doubt.
"Good Night Mr. Khan... Sleep well...", she laughed as she said this.
"I guess I am done with it.." It was true; I was no more a sleepyhead now.
"Hmm... Your mom had called my mom to let her know about your arrival. Ammi was a little shocked when I didn't react to it, like the way I do every time. And then when she asked me, I told her that it was you who had told me about it. Then I heard her talking to Dilshad Aunty again. So just thought of letting you know this.."
My hands automatically reached to my forehead and started pressing it as I knew that my parents and my whole family would now bug me to no end till the time I give them every details of what I said to Zoya and what she had said to me. I was here wondering that I had nothing enough to do the whole day, but now I had my afternoon packed with answering to the questionnaire coming from people of all age groups.
"Thanks..It should be helpful.." This time I was sure that she was laughing when I sighed heavily repenting on the awkward situation that was about to come.
"Stop laughing.. It doesn't take too long for the tables to turn. I am sure Nikhat would be too glad to do the same favors to you as well..", I smirked as I said this.
"We will see it then.. Right now, it's you who are going through all this, and I am way too enjoying it...", her muffled laughter was what I heard next and I didn't have the heart to say anything more which would interrupt me from hearing her laughing. It felt good, quite strangely as it was, but I did feel good thinking that she was happy. We were much at ease while talking to each other this time.
I hanged up the call and went to freshen up while I got ready to start my day with lots of teasing on the way.
~Day 3: Zoya's POV~
I was taking my afternoon nap, and quite strangely thinking about Asad and smiling. Yeah, Smiling... This was the first time when Zoya Farooqui was smiling thinking about some guy whom she had never met. Yesterday I had taken up the initiative to call him when he didn't, but today, I somehow knew that he would have stayed awake all night again. So I preferred texting him rather than dragging him out of his sleep. I was right in my preconceived notion, as his reply came to me after a good four hours.
My phone buzzed and I found His message, and the smile immediately broadened. But what I saw next had replaced my smile with embarrassment and then anger. He had sent me a childhood picture of mine along with few other kids, but unlike them, I was bald headed and also had my lower lip folded downwards which clearly depicted that I was hell annoyed with the photo session back then. In short, that photograph was not the one which any girl would want her probable fiance to see.
I called him but was welcomed by a female voice which I need not take a second more to realize to be Nikhat's. She was back from her honeymoon.
"I am going to kill you Nikhat!! Why did you show this picture to him???", I shouted at her, and it increased my annoyance when she laughed more.
"Zoya, I was just showing Bhaijaan our old albums, and you were there in many of them. This one just came up suddenly and he got a hold of it before I could take it away from him."
"Then take it now!!! And I swear, I have many more embarrassing photographs of yours which I can any day show it to Imraan jeeju..", I tried blackmailing, only to fail.
"Oh Zoya.. do you really think it would bother me? Imraan is tied up with me now, and so am I. Even if he teases me and I get angry, we would kiss and make up you know...", she said with a glint of naughtiness and a blush which I was sure she must be having then.
"TMI Nikhat... I really don't want descriptions of you and him kissing.. Just take away the photograph from him, right now!!!!"
"What do you want Nikhat to do right now, Ms. Farooqui??" I knew he was smirking, but my voice had suddenly gone down hearing his. There was something intoxicating in that voice of his which I was still not able to discern what it did to me.
"I don't want you to see it..", I simply stated.
"The damage is already done Ms. Farooqui.. I have seen it already.."
"Arrgghhh..!! Mr. Khan, this is really not fair. Let me get hold of one of your old pictures, and then I will show you what I am capable of.."
"And may I know how would you get one?", he asked me amusedly.
"Allah Miyan! What's wrong with you Mr. Khan? Of course when I go to New York..." This time I did the damage myself. Arrows left from the bow and words from the mouth could never be brought back.
"I mean, I always wanted to go to New York, you know..to visit and all... So...", I tried to rectify my mistake but it was too late.
"Hopefully We will Ms. Farooqui..."
Did I just hear him right? Was he actually mentioning me about going to New York, with him? I thanked my stars since Asad was not infront of me then. The color of my cheeks had already gone red to redder when he agreed to what I blabbered.
"You are really looking nice in this.. I mean cute..." he said and I smiled at the way he said the word cute. It kinda seemed cute to hear it coming from him.
"But I don't look like that now, definitely not bald anymore. I have long hair that almost touches my waist.", I stated proudly.
"How would I know that you are saying the truth? I have never met you or seen you. It's still 4 days to go you see.."
I didn't know what he was exactly implied, but my heart indicated to me to say what I said next.
"It's not necessary to wait till then.. We can surely skype, you know...", I suggested and prayed so that he doesn't consider me to be creepy or anything. Thankfully he didn't and the next thing that I knew was, we both anticipated seeing each other.
~Day 4: Asad's POV~
I was busy on a conference call with my board members. When I had finally wrapped up all my work, it was almost 4 in the morning.
Freak!! Zoya would have gone to sleep while waiting for my call.. I cursed myself for being so irresponsible towards her.
"You there?"- I texted her.
I got her reply within a minute. I called her, this time, a video call.
"Hey..", I said in my usual tone..
"Hi...", she hushed.
"Why are you whispering? And why is it so dark behind you?", I asked her as it was unusual of her to talk in a whispering tone.
"I am in the balcony..and my sister Humeira is sleeping in the adjacent room. I don't want her to wake up.", she said, and seemed to look a little shy. I still couldn't see her properly, and I hastily told her so.
"I can't see you.. I mea...meannn... it's too dark out there..."
She angled herself in a proper way and I could see her now. She looked far more beautiful that what I had seen her in her photograph. The photograph didn't show her dimples when she said 'Thanks' shyly..It didn't show her long moving eyelids that drooped down when her almond shaped eyes shyly looked down to avoid my gaze. It was then when I realized that I had my eyes stuck on her. I cleared my throat and apologized to her for the delay.
"I am really sorry.. I got busy with work. You know, the time difference is getting too difficult to manage."
"I know.. I was awake..so no need to say a sorry.."
"You were awake? Waiting for me to call Ms. Farooqui?", I asked her amusedly and with a smirk at the corner of my lips.
She rolled her eyes and shied away. "I was reading.."
"So you love reading?? What kind of books do you prefer?", I decided not to tease her or embarrass her anymore, so went with what she had started.
"Don't have a specific genre, but Romance is what I prefer the most..", she cooed as she said this and I understood that she was an extreme lover of romantic novels. My first gift to her was decided.
"What about you? What kind of books do you like?"
"I am definitely not into romantic novels.." I said and she laughed at it. I believe it was clear enough to her by now that I was a person quite opposite to her in few respects.
"But I don't mind giving it a try now.. You know...",I said with sincerity.
"Okay then, read it and let me know how you found it. Nikhat has a huge collection of them. Just get hold of one from her shelf and start reading!!" I laughed at her antics. Was she too naive to get what I meant, or just too smart enough to play with her words so well? I decided to consider the latter as the former had nothing to do with the Zoya Farooqui I got to know by now.
We decided to call it a night, or rather a morning when I saw her trying to suppress her yawn.
~Day 5: Zoya's POV~
If it wouldn't have been darker at my side, then I was sure I would have been caught by him for turning crimson red. He was in a simple black tee, with his hair mostly out of place, yet his features had that indescribable power of getting me attracted towards him. The slight stubble on his face and the smirk that it hid behind them was what made him look more handsome than he already was.
I could easily comprehend what he meant by "I don't mind giving it a try now..", but I acted innocent there. I think I was caught, but he didn't pester on it further and that's all it mattered.
Tonight, I was again waiting for him to call me, and he did. We talked and admired each other for a number of things which were unknown to us. I told him about my interest in drama and poetry and how much I was into them when I was in school. He encouraged me to resume them and I did the same when he told me about his interest towards basket ball. We asked each other about our likes and dislikes in foods, movies, hobbies and not to forget, the weather.. Above all that, the thing which really touched a delicate string in my heart was his concern for me when I shivered as a gush of cold wind blew.
We were not sleepy tonight, yet he declared a 'Good Night' quite early as I was the one feeling cold sitting in the balcony.
~Day 6: Asad's POV~
"Do you like roses?", I asked her when I stopped my car on the way in front of a flower shop.
"I do..", she answered, a little flabbergasted as this was not the usual time when I called, neither did I say anything ever before saying a Hello.
"Tell me which color?", I asked as I got down from my car.
"Will it sound weird if I say that I like white roses more than the red ones?", she said hesitatingly.
I loved the way how a confident girl like her became all shy when it came to expressing her desires to me.
"I will definitely not mind if you turn out to like marigold more than roses or lilies. I would still respect that.", I said genuinely.
"Are you planning to buy me flowers from Delhi Mr. Khan?? You still have a day to go, if you remember." I heard her melodious laughter after she said this.
"Oh..I really wish I hadn't...", I sighed. In these last few days I had been quite observant about my growing feelings towards her. I liked her, and I often confided that to myself and I had already started respecting her more each day. I was actually looking forward to meet her.
~Day 7: Zoya's POV~
All these days were not that difficult for me to initiate something that I can give the name of friendship, but today, everything was going weird. I was freaking nervous, and my hands were trembling whenever I thought about us meeting at 7 in the evening. The Khans were coming home for dinner, along with Gafoor uncle and his whole family. I was busy setting the cushions right when my phone buzzed. These days, a smile on my face came as a reflex whenever He called or messaged.
"We have reached Bhopal Airport." I smiled reading it.
The next second I received another one.. "Nervous?"
"Yeah.. You?", I replied.
"Me too.. Don't worry.. Everything should be fine.."
"I hope it does.. See you soon..."
"Uhmm.. Zoya... wear something in white, as in it's your favorite color.. :)"
I blushed. This man had a strange capability to make me blush even at the mere thought of him looking at me the way no one had ever looked before.
I put on the earrings and draped the white dupatta around my neck. I thought to keep it simple as it was what I was. No lies and no pretense. And as far as I knew him by now, I was sure even he would go for the same.
Humeira and Nikhat's loud shriek told me that They were here. I took a deep breath and walked downstairs to meet by hopefully-to-be-husband and his dearest family. I never mentioned, but he was too close to his family, especially his sister Najma, just the way I was to Humeira.
Nikhat was shouting at the top of her voice when she almost jumped on me and took me in a tight hug. It was like a homecoming for her and I am glad that Asad had suggested her to come along too as that would make things less awkward for both of us.
"I am so happy Zoya.. You have no idea what a great thing is happening to you!! Not saying this because Asad Bhaijaan is my brother, but because you are too precious a friend to be lied to... You both are perfect for each other... Just be confident and go for it...", she whispered in my ears as she hugged me.
"Thanks Nikhat...", I replied and hugged her tighter.
"Look everyone, both of them are wearing white... and as far as I know, white is Zoya's favorite color. Isn't it so Bhaijaan?", she smiled cunningly and got back to her old teasing self.
It was then when I saw him. He was in his blue denims and a white shirt whose first two buttons was open and gave a little view of his chest. His arms had a bulge which clearly outlined his well toned body underneath his shirt. His eyes weren't fixated on me and I was, uhmmm... disappointed. I wanted him to look at me and atleast say something by motioning with his eyes, like he always did.
I met Dilshad Aunty and I must say that I immediately grew a liking towards her. She was such a warm lady and everything that she said to me through her blessings touched my heart and I knew how much she wanted all this to work.
Rashid Uncle was a tall and stout man, much taller than his wife, but he had a sense of humor that instantly clicked well with that of mine.
And Najma, or Tamater like everyone called her, was an adorable girl whom I wanted to hug at that very moment. Now I knew why Asad was so very close to his family.
By the next hour, the whole living room was filled with an unusual commotion which only came when long lost friends met and rejoiced after years. Najma went along with Humeira very well and Dilshad Aunty had been extremely sweet in helping my mother with the snacks. She wasn't taking a No from Ammi. And the men got busy discussing business and retirement. Nothing seemed like a meeting between two families who were presumably going to be related through the sacred bond of marriage.
But among all this, Asad and I were the quieter ones who only exchanged glances when the other was not looking. Nikhat seemed to have noticed that.
"Zoya.. Why don't you take Bhaijaan upstairs instead of staring at each other? I am sure you both would want some time alone to yourself." I glared at her as everyone else tried to hide their smile.
After a bit of more teasing from our cousins, I finally took him upstairs.. This time, his eyes refused to move from me when I took him to my room. I tried hard to ignore that as I didn't want to turn red in front of him. I showed him my collection of books and he was clearly impressed by the number of them.
He had a quick look of the room and then we stood in the balcony where I spent nights talking to him. We smiled as we both thought of the same thing. His gaze was still on me.
"You look beautiful Zoya...", I heard him say.
"Thanks.. You look good too.." I managed to form the words in spite of the blush that crept up to my face.
"I don't know Zoya...how to frame this... But I don't know how to play with my words, moreover with my feelings either. I like you..I know that and I am pretty well sure about it. But I have no idea if the feelings that I have for you is love or not... You are a lover of Love... I have come to know that fact. And I may not be the one whom you have always imagined about... but I am not wrong either.. I respect you for your views on life, I adore you for your innocence, I envy you for your confidence and honesty... And I want to love you for everything about you, no matter what they are. You won't have any coercing from my side, but I will be glad if you decide to give us a chance..."
My heart was melting with every word that he said. I had never come across anyone who had been as observant about me as he was. It seemed like I was a book to him and he had just read every word and every phrase of me. I have always wanted this in my man. I never expected anything other than these.
He was moving out of my room when there was a lack of response from my side.
"Asad..." I called out to him for the first time by taking his name.
"What if I say no?" Suddenly I was back to my teasing mood.
He took small steps towards me, a smile adorning the corners of his lips. My eyes locked with his and his breath mingled with mine as his fingers very lightly touched my cheeks, turning it to a deeper shade of red. His fingers lingered there for a longer time, slightly stroking the sides of my crimson cheeks and blowing the hairs out that blocked the view of my face. I laughed as it tickled me.
"This sound..I want to hear this... for the rest of my life... and for that, you better say a Yes as I am not going to take a No from you. Take your time, as long as you want. But say Yes.. Please..."
And then he did something out of the blue. He kissed me lightly on my cheeks!!! It was just a feather touch peck, yet it could successfully run shivers down my spine. I was left open mouthed, and Asad had already taken the stairs that lead him downstairs.
A week later...
I went to my mother's room to tell her about what I wanted. Asad had already gone back to New York, anticipating a Yes from me, soon. And I was taking my own sweet time to torture him, though I knew what my answer would be.
"Zoya... It's been a week.. What am I supposed to tell Dilshad?", she asked me worriedly.
"Hmm..."
"What hmmm Zoya??What am I supposed to say to Dilshad?", she asked me again.
"Ammi... I was wondering, how would I manage to stay so far from you and Abbu.. Isn't New York just too far to send me? Asad will have to bring me here at least twice a year!", I said to her with a pout and definitely a naughty smile that reflected in my eyes.
"Zoyaaa... I am sooo happy... Let me call up Dilshad... Right Now...!!!! "
And Our wedding was fixed, 6 months later.
Wedding Day...
~Zoya's POV~
Once again I was pacing around the room, in anxiety and excitement.
"Aapi.. Here you go..", Humeira said as she handed me the parcel. It was a bouquet of white roses and a letter along with it.
"I really don't understand you both. In this world of technology, you both are still sending letters to each other! How awfully weird is that!!", she exclaimed in surprise.
"You will not understand it now. Wait for the day you get your Mr. Right and then you will say the same. There is something different in reading hand written letters. I can almost feel him when I read it. And I can smell his cologne too..", I winked as I took in the smell of his cologne from the letter. Humeira rolled her eyes, unable to register the emotions that I felt through this letter. She left the room all to me so that I could read the last letter from my future husband.
Dear Ms. Farooqui..
I would actually miss you calling by this name... But I am happier that your new name will be more precious to me, Mrs. Khan...
The last letter to my would be wife from her to-be-husband.. Worry not, many more are to come, and they will be from a loving husband to his beloved wife...
Glad that you are finally done with your internship and your MBA. I want you to join me in the office once we fly to New York. I wouldn't mind if you decide to work somewhere else, but your weekends should be free. They would only belong to me when I would have you all to myself.. *wink*
See, We are actually going to New York and I would surely not mind if you get hold of any of my old pics. You have all the right to...
Can't wait to see you as my bride Zoya... Make it soon... I am downstairs, waiting for you...
Love You...
Yours Asad...
I read and re-read the letter. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I was all decked up in my bridal attire, all ready to get married to Him, 'the one' I love...
Yes, I am in love with him, though I could never say him so.. But I will, tonight...
Though it all went in a reverse order, it wasn't anything that I regret, and was sure that Asad would never regret too..
It was just our Destiny to be together..So what if it had uncertainties in the beginning.. WE were meant to be...
Edited by BeYourself - 9 years ago
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