5
“Kehkar Batana Zaruri Hai Kya?”
“Why now?” Asad looked at her figure seated opposite him, knees folded, head resting on her hands draped over her knees. Her white dupatta floated in the gentle breeze lightly grazing the overgrown grass making her look angelic.
“Jee?” he asked, softly.
She simply looked around the place and lightly shrugged; questioning.
Why now? she asks. Careful eyes. Careful smiles.
Because…
… I had gone so long refusing to allow myself to feel any kind of love. Because the moment I saw you in this very dargah, somehow this soul knew...
You were going to be either the death of me or the life of me.
I couldn’t control it. Even when I wanted to. I know, because I tried. I tried like hell, Zoya.
Because when I got to know you mind, heart and soul, my priorities shifted. My life flipped.
Because you were a thunderstorm, who took me with you to paths I never knew could exist.
I felt myself wanting your heart. Your attention. Your everything.
I was good at lying to myself, though.
I did it often.
I still do.
Because it scares me how much I would give, just to see you everyday. Because I sure as hell didn’t want to hurt you. Ruin you with my past. I did anyway, though. So much. More than once.
And now? Now I only plan to spend a lifetime making it up to you. Showing you parts of this heart, that you breathed life into.
That’s. Why.
“It felt right.” was his three-word answer.
Zoya smiled and hugged herself closer.
Somehow, she’d heard the unsaid. His eyes talked. The silence after his lips moved; saying.
“Let’s get you home, it’s getting late” he offered her his hand.
She took it quietly.
It was much later at night, when she lay awake reminiscing in her bed, staring at the same moon that had witnessed their love tonight.
Oh, it was love! She’d always been sure about that.
They were just in a fight right now. And once they got out victorious, they’ll able to speak the unsaid. Until then, she would keep discovering whatever he gave. Hungrily. Greedily. Chapter by chapter. She’ll keep reading him.
🌼🌼🌼
DAY 2
Zeenat saw the giddiness on Zoya’s face the next morning. Anwar and she shared a look and breathed easy. Whatever she might showcase, she knew their happiness belonged together. And if they passed this hurdle together, then nothing would ever come between those two.
The Khan Villa wasn’t far from the mellow tunes of bliss either.
There was a spring in his step and melodies on lips.
The ladies of the house, pinched themselves, wondering if they’d imagined him singing in the kitchen, pouring coffee, singing some more. There was no grin on his face, nor a wide smile. But they knew that this was a man who was deliriously happy.
“Looks like a date went well.” Najma regretted as soon as she said that because her bhaijaan froze, embarrassed, and didn’t resume his inner happy dance for atleast the next ten minutes.
They knew it had recommenced somewhere in his brain, because they heard him tapping his foot to a tune. Again. Dilshad smiled and sent a thankful prayer above.
His cell rang simultaneously with the doorbell and Asad excused himself to his room.
“Zoya?” her phuphi smiled surprised.
“Good” she looked at her watch “mid-morning Phuphi”
“Good mid-morning to you as well” she laughed. “Aao na beta”
“I hope I’m not disturbing but Aapi made her ever famous kheer, so I brought some.”
“Zoya, kaisi baatein kar rahe ho? Aapke aane se disturbances solve hoti hain sirf” Najma gushed over her future bhabhi.
“Waah waah, Waah waah” Dilshad joined in, but noticed Zoya’s eyes trained only towards one room.
“Here” she handed the kheer back “You go and serve. Hum toh baith ke khayenge bas”
When she brought back four katoris, Zoya looked at the two remaining in the tray unsure.
“Acha ye Asad ko bhi dedena please. He loves kheer.” Dilshad said nonchalant as if she hadn’t planned that to perfection.
Najma giggled hiding behind her kheer ki katori.
“Oh no no, Phuphi, that’s not why I…”
“I know, you came to see me and Najma only because you missed us so much and feed us the ever popular kheer recipe.”
Ummm
Dilshad’s expression was so neutral that Zoya couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not.
“Jao na” she said pushing “I’m sure he’ll like that muuuch better.”
There it was, she was definitely being trifled with.
Zoya sprinted towards his room, cheeks turning red, to avoid further embarrassment.
🌼🌼🌼
Two knocks later, Zoya decided to enter anyway. As she looked back turning the knob, she saw tamatar still snickering and her Ammi elbowing her to stop.
She tried to roll her eyes but ended grinning wide in return.
She just loved them so much!
Her smile disappeared, though. She took him in instantly and closed the door behind her.
“Mr. Khan?” she announced her presence placing katoris on the table.
He looked up; surprise written over his face. “Zoya?”
Her intuition flickered. He doesn’t call her zoya for nothing. “What’s wrong?”
There was a two second delay from him “Nothing’s wrong. What would be wrong?” You’re here.
“You were sitting with your head in your hands.” she challenged. He didn’t speak.
“Jahapanah” It was a warning, but also a request.
Quiet for only a second, he blew out a quick breath and sat down on the settee. She sat beside him.
“I was talking to my lawyer” Was this about his Abbu’s case? Dilshad’s smiling face flashed in her mind.
“It’s that woman” he venomously spit out. Oh! He didn’t have to say her name aloud.
“What about her?” she soldiered on.
Asad looked at her. Zoya tried to read his eyes. She hit a wall.
“Apparently she is… pregnant.” A gasp escaped her lips. He trained his eyes to the floor as he spoke “Mr. Rai, the case handler, thinks her plan was to pass it as…” He couldn’t finish it, multiple betrayals hurting.
No amount of armor could hide the devastation in his eyes, right now. It was prominent and so much of it.
She quietly placed her hand upon his; empathetic. A long stretch of silence followed, needing time to process all of that, she spoke again, “Does phuphi know?”
“No” his answer was instantaneous “I just got the phone call.”
She knew she had this weird sensation in the back of her head all morning. Her instincts were never wrong. Swallowing the thickness that just swelled in her throat, she moved the hand to his shoulder, turning him to her side.
For a moment, he forgot everything they sat with, such was the power of her touch.
He already knew what she was about to say.
“Mr. Khan, it’s an innocent life.”
His eyes misted “I know. I talked to the lawyer about not pressing charges. They might let her get off with community service and a restraining order” His hand found hers quickly, covering it as though he was becoming her shield. Her armor.
“I promise you, I’ll always keep you safe”
She loved it. She hated it.
Hated the situation they were in. Loved his frantic eyes, lightly brushing thumb tingling her skin. His protective hold. And absolutely hated that she wanted that hold everywhere right now. She didn’t like who he turned her into sometimes.
“I’m not worried about me.” her voice was velvet “But I don’t think we should mention it to anyone else. Especially phuphi. She took it so hard the first time and tamatar, she is just a kid.”
He listened to her talk, observed, and thought, What did I do to deserve you? Every day, it becomes clearer than ever. That I don’t.
She observed back, reading the guilt written everywhere “Aapki galti nahi hai Mr. Khan. Aap bas apne dost par yakeen kar rahe the” His breath hitched “But you need to realize, not everything is black and white, there’s multiple sides to everything, to people. So listen when next time, someone comes to you explaining.” He lowered his gaze, embarrassed.
“By the way, Aapi sent that for you as well” she changed the topic. It was much too gloomy in there.
Asad looked at the kheer. “She doesn’t hate me anymore.” he asked hopeful.
“Oh she definitely does.”
They both let out a short laugh. Zoya wanted to take a picture of his, before it disappeared again.
The mood shifted.
“I cannot wait for tonight” Asad enunciated every word, holding onto her hand still.
She focused her gaze past his shoulder. “Is that something you read in,‘The Man’s Guide to Women”, she said eyeing his book.
A split second of panicked, widened stare passed.
Zoya flew from the settee and over him to reach it, but Asad was faster. He seized it before she could get her hands on and threw it Out. The. Window.
“Allah Miyan! Seriously? That is so far away” she teased.
Before she could climb the sofa with her sandals on, Asad grabbed her midway hooking his finger through her belt loops, pulling her back into him. She stumbled into his chest and looked down where his finger still grazed her waist. Inhaling sharply, as he pulled his hand away, she stood frozen, because holy hell, she wasn’t expecting that.
Zoya watched him make his way to the garden; stride a little too casual.
Glued to the spot, she breathed a little too hard, her waist on fire.
🌼🌼🌼
{Song in title: Aise Kyun (Ghazal Version) by Rekha Bhardwaj}
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Look at me busting chapters left, right, and centre!
Edited by Vintage_flow - 1 years ago
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