ASYA FF – “Kaise Katan Birha Ki Ratiyaan” - Page 5

Try updating soon pwetty pwease

Thank you so much!! It’s been such a long time and still reliving asya and writing asya feels the same 💖 So glad you enjoyed the story! Updating now 

Jo hukam mere aaka  🧞‍♀️😁

Updating now. There isn’t a bonus chapter but I did write an extra lonnggg chapter 6. 

Happy reading ✨

6

“ Toota Taara Tha Mann Mera ”

“Allah Hafiz! I’ll see you guys at breakfast tomorrow.” Zoya said walking out of Dilshad’s room upstairs.

“Bye” The ladies of the house answered simultaneously.

She noticed him standing at the bottom of the stairs both hands locked behind his back, waiting.

“Jahapanah” Zoya said addressing him. She practically heard him rolling his eyes.

“Miss Faaroqui” he replied.

“Voh… actually, I was just wanting to make sure.” Some seconds of silence passed. 

“Make what sure?” she asked confused, he seemed to have reached the end of his sentence without making any sense.

“I texted you... just now” He awkwardly pointed at the phone in her hands. After the secret book discovery he was much too embarrassed to ask it to her face, so he had texted her from his room while she was upstairs. Of course, she texted him back, but he wanted to confirm still.

It was her turn to roll eyes. She wasn’t going to be quiet about it.

“Allah Miyan, What’s wrong with you? Mr. Khan aap bhi na, zarurat se zyada sharmaate hain. Fine, main hi ‘make sure’ kar deti hun. Yes, you may pick me up tonight.”

“Shukr”

“But, I must clarify now” Asad’s shukriya got cut off “You may only pick me up, if, you promise there would be food.”

His fingers reached the bridge of his nose with her giggle. 

It was all so stupid!

In the urgency to tell her how serious he was about marrying her and finally opening himself to her, he had forgotten to arrange dinner on the first date. It was only later in the car when her stomach made a low growling noise, he’d realized. Zoya had uneasily laughed it off but he couldn’t. 

Multiple face palms all at once took place. How could he forget?!

He could tell he was forgiven by his lady though; as he watched her eyes light up teasing him. 

“Chaliye Mr. Khan, isi baat pe ek sheyar arz kiya hai”

“Ya Allah” It was a whisper but she heard it and glared. 

Asad instantly switched to neutral face. He was on thin ice with her as is. He better learn appreciating her shayaris soon. In any case, he had to get used to them at some point; he hoped. He blushed at the thought.

“Arz kiya hai,

Taeh karna padta hai safar, jab bulava ho aya,

Taeh karna padta hai safar, jab bulava ho aya,

Date night toh ki, par khana hi nahi khilaya.

Shukriya. Shukriya.”

He couldn’t stop himself from pinching the bridge of his nose again. She exclaimed at him, ‘Jahapanah!’ and his tiny stifled laugh slipped through. 

“You really need to enjoy finer things in life.”

“Like your shayari?”

“Like my shayari.”

Asad took her advice for once and looked at her like she was the finer thing he wanted to enjoy. 

That shut her up.

He stepped back to give her way when she made a move to leave, but kept his eyes locked with hers. Zoya grabbed the door handle and he grabbed her arm. She stared back curiously. 

“Maine...umm realize kiya ki jo teen shabd sabse zaruri the, vo maine kahi nahi abhi takk aapse” She waited with baited breath, heart thundering.

“I am sorry.” She released her breath.

“I am really sorry for the way I behaved these past couple days. I have come to realize … outfits mean nothing. Aap sahi kehti thi. Tehzeeb dil main hoti hai, jeans main nahi”

With that he freed her from his hold, but only literally. 

He was trying to fix the ruins and show up as a better man, and she allowed him. 

                                    🌼🌼🌼

Asad filled in all the blanks, healed the bruised parts, reached places she didn’t know existed. 

Fixing her hair she stole a glance at him now, driving with concentration, when his eyes met hers. 

Zoya looked away to stare out the window of her seat. She hadn’t meant to ogle. 

A moment later she looked back and eyes met again.

Oh crap!

Not wanting to make it awkward, she refrained herself from turning to her side. 

The refrain lasted all for two seconds. When they looked at each other the third time, a smile slipped through her lips, amused at whatever game they were playing. 

He smiled, too. 

He. Smiled. Too. 

Asad looked back at the road but the smile remained for several seconds. Zoya knew because she couldn’t stop staring at it. There was something about him letting his guard down that made her weak in the knees. 

They parked in front of a corporate looking building and her brows knitted. 

She was expecting a restaurant, foolishly, like a normal person. 

Giving up on guessing, she walked behind him. It seemed to be a private building with high security that only he had access to. It was dark so she couldn’t register much except the fact it looked like an office space. Trying not to trip in her saree, she followed him to the elevator.

Doors closed, Asad took his phone out of his pocket to text someone. She took the opportunity to study him while his attention was off of her. 

She came to the conclusion that not just the man but even his looks were completely contradictory. Clad in a black suit tonight, he looked like the vision of two creators who were at war. 

The strength in his bone structure and strong jaw contrasted with the harmless, inviting appeal of his lips. A single flick of hair couldn’t decide if it wanted to get together with the rest or plop on his forehead. The casual posture was at war with the fierceness in his eyes. His composure flipping between engaging and indifferent. 

One hand seemed to have moved towards her while the other gripped the wall of the elevator a little hard. 

She heard him sigh when the doors opened. 

Asad released a breath, almost gasping for air, putting space between them immediately as he stepped out. 

Zoya’s black saree wasn’t making it easy on him. Her perfume clouded his senses and he took multiple breaths to clear his mind before he did something stupid. Guiding her onto a flight of stairs, he saw a flash of recognition on her face as she read the familiar sign on the building walls. 

‘Dilshad Architecture’

We were at his office?!

Asad closed the stair exit door behind them and let her surprised face take in the decked terrace.  

                                    🌼🌼🌼

Her hair kissed by the gentle breeze, she stood in awe of his endeavours. 

When he turned to gauge her reaction, she was doing one of her unfathomable staring things again. That she thought, he didn’t know, she was doing in the elevator trip here. 

With eyes like hers, it should be illegal. 

Asad raised his eyebrows shoving his hands into his pant pockets trying to mask some of the awkwardness he was feeling. The way she looked at him made him feel like an exhibit. 

Gaze full of admiration, she looked around to observe it all, take in his efforts. You could see everything, the busy streets, the vendors, Bhopal traffic, and city lights. There was a single candle lit on a table which sat close to the thick cement railings allowing them for a wonderful view. There would be room for more candles, but the said table held their dinner as well. A lot of dinner. 

Zoya laughed out loud “Mr. Khan, I said food for us, not for entire Bhopal!” Asad followed her gaze and joined in with his best smile. 

“I wanted us to enjoy our dinner in peace so I thought why a restaurant, when I can…” he said pointing towards the set table. 

Zoya offered him her hand quietly letting him know she approved, which he delightfully took, taking her to a seat opposite his. 

It wasn’t an extravagant setting. And she loved it. The simplicity of it. The intimacy of it. 

“The view from up here is simply charming” she remarked. 

“I often come here after long days. The vastness of the city somehow turns all my dilemmas small.” 

Zoya looked up at him enchanted. He was a different kind of Asad when he talked with his eyes and a different kind when he talked with his heart. 

“I never could tell what goes through your head most times. You never smile. You never laugh. You never really flirted” Zoya snickered nervously “It always seemed like there was a constant veil of armor between you and the rest of the world…so…this is really nice.” she finished with a smile.

His heart picked up and he reflected on her words. The way she understood his actions before he even took them was incredible. 

He was smiling. He was laughing. He was well…attempting to atleast flirt. He was opening up to her. Anyone could arrange the dinners, candles, and roses. But she saw what mattered. And for that he was grateful.

Arranging the plates in front of her, he spoke “So Aapi, Jeeju and Ammi had a full-on conference today after you left.”

“Wait, they went home? Aapi said she is taking Jeeju shopping.” 

It didn’t escape his notice that she used the word – home. 

“Oh” Asad panicked. He didn’t know the information was not to be disclosed. Looking at Zoya’s face, he knew he couldn’t be saved from her queries now. 

“And… Mr. Khan?! What did she say? Is everything alright between phuphi and them.”

“Yes, everything is alright” he rushed to assure “They were just teaching me…groom manners.” He finished saying, defeated.

Zoya pressed her smile between her lips. “I am sorry.”

“Ah…it was for the best.” Zoya could tell there was more coming. She looked on, waiting. 

“Actually, Aapi mentioned something, she made a point about our lifestyles and it’s no secret from you as well...”

“Ki aap aur main bahut alag hain. Human and alien alag. I remember, go on.” she said starting to serve the food nonchalantly. 

Asad blinked a couple times and smiled embarrassingly looking at his plate before sobering up “Her words today got me thinking and I wanted to tell you something about mine.” Her hands stopped, letting him know she was paying attention “Growing up, it was hard watching Ammi and Najma navigate through life without an elder male figure.” 

She noticed how he didn’t say the word Abbu.

“I was a kid and the only way I knew how to protect them was to restrict them. Whenever that became a habit, I didn’t realize.” 

Zoya didn’t expect the conversation to take this turn. She also knew how hard it was for him to do this, so, she stared at him silently for a while, studying him. Evaluating the heavy words. Asad could gauge from her expression that she wanted him to go on. 

“I had watched Tanveer’s father – who was the only father figure around when ours conveniently left – keep her in parda since we were little and that was the thing that became right and moral for me. So, when Ammi came forward with two kids to face this society” he sneered the word out “I had to protect my family at all costs.” His voice faded away, and he grew quiet, lost.

Zoya analyzed his words and the facts of past that became his present and now were bleeding into the future. She didn’t ask him any questions, simply waited for him to recollect his thoughts, and go on. 

Asad looked at the horizon where the sun had set a couple hours ago, took a deep breath, and began again “A lot has happened in the last couple days and to say that it has changed my perspective would be an understatement”

 He looked into her eyes now.

“Mere sahi ab galt hain aur jo galt the vo sahi. Shayad mujhe dono mein farak karna hi nai aya. Ye jaante huye bhi ki log vo nahi jo dikhte hain, main vahi manta aya. Khud ko to chot pahunchai hi par aapko bhi zakhmi kar diya” Zoya noticed his eyes had slightly welled up.

She held his hand over the table, orange shadows casted by the candle reflecting on their adjoined fingers. 

“Hum dono alag hai” he continued “par aap mere lai galat nahi hain. I was the wrong one.” Zoya opened her mouth to say something but he held a hand to stop her “Kehna bahut zaruri hai, Miss Faaroqui. Aapko shukriya kehna bahut zaruri hai…mujhe zindagi ka behtar nazariya dene ke liye”

This time she couldn’t stop the tears. With a gasp, her heart melted and hope seeped in. 

Her insecurities had haunted her, made her feel worthless. His words were enough to tell her that she was enough.

His denials had nothing to do with her, but everything to do with him. 

The point that he’d realized it in the first place was a massive step for both of them to heal together.

After all, she’d been burnt by her past too. 

                                    🌼🌼🌼

The next ten minutes were spent in silence. He held back his brewing emotions and she hers. The fact that Asad of all people had talked to her about his childhood was massive. In all honestly, if she was being true to herself, she hadn’t expected this change for atleast five years into the marriage. 

And here they were.  

Some more ice cracked that had caged her heart and fell at his feet. 

Zoya understood him a bit better. A lot better. 

She didn’t ask questions because she didn’t know where to begin. None of his answers would reassure her for it pained her to know how he’d suffered. 

But,

one thing was clear.

None of these reasons between them were a reason enough to deny their hearts happiness. She bared her burnt self to tell him.

“I used to think I knew what I wanted” Asad looked at her moonlit face; she spoke looking over the city. 

“The kind of men I disliked, I was very clear about. And they talked about women something like you” He flinched. Her hand tightened on his; comforting “Not a lot of people accept their mistakes, forget learning from them. Par aap sab jaise nahi hai. Sabse alag hain aap” She stared into his eyes. His heart. His soul “Isliye toh main…” both lightly gasped knowing what she was about to say. 

Zoya blinked and looked down at her untouched plate, willing it to give her the strength to speak “When I grew up and eventually fathomed what unfairness had been done to my Ammi, I spent years resenting men. All men. Avoiding them. Evading them. Doubting them. But…I don’t know when or how Mr. Khan, I woke up one day and deduced I didn’t. My Jeeju is a man. A man who knows how to love, respect, trust. And as if that thought wasn’t wired solidly enough in my brain…you showed up” His eyes searched hers desperately “You were rock solid with your back against your family. Like a pillar you stood with them through everything and my perceptions changed. Your epiphany may be a little more dramatic and painful than mine” They both tried to smile in sympathy but lips wouldn’t move “But it is telling you the same thing, it has told me in the last months” 

Her hold on his hand tightened even more, leaning in, she placed her other hand on top of his and spoke,

 “We are not our parents.”

The tears were falling, falling, falling. 

They mixed in with their smiles and sighs; burden of years lifted off their chests; guilts lifted off, lungs now breathed a little easier. 

                                     🌼🌼🌼

You can know a million things in your head, understand them all, but once a loved one voices them for you, the release is different and outlooks change. His Ammi had told him over and over “You are Dilshad Asad Ahmed Khan, not Rashid Asad Ahmed Khan” but how could he listen, when he was waiting for her to say it. 

The food lay forgotten in front of them.

They kept talking, talking, talking. 

Pandora’s box had been opened and they both knew moments like these were few and far. They grabbed at it with both hands and freed themselves from years of pain. 

It was still theirs to keep – the pain – only it would now come in flashes. It was no longer a constant reminder of their existence. They laughed some and cried some. But only topics of past were discussed.

Asad had come to realize that the reason he was so unsure of Zoya was his own distrust. Everyone he loved left. His Abbu…Ayaan. It was either taken from him or voluntarily went missing. So when problems arose, he rushed to bury them lest someone found an excuse to leave. Even when it came to Tanveer.

Past taught him some goodbyes were for the best, so, keeping that in mind he would turn over a leaf, turn over a word called trust. 

“Asad” his Ammi startled him.

“Kya abhi takk chatt pae baithe ho tum. It’s 4 in the morning. Is everything okay, beta?” 

More than okay, Ammijaan.

“Jee bas neend nai a rahi”

“Itna miss kar rahe ho?”

“Ammi” he said shy. Dilshad couldn’t help but giggle. She placed a hand over head “Go to sleep. You’ve got only two days to get my bahu raazi. Plan banane ke liye neend toh zaruri hai”

“Aapko kisne kaha ki main koi plan bana raha hu”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Neend zaruri hai, good night Ammi”

He was walking over to his room mapping out the building blocks of his next date when he heard a sound. 

It’s coming from Zoya’s room.

Inching closer he opened the door slowly, body alert. 

Oh the cupboard!

Posture relaxed when he discovered it was the repeat offender. 

How many times do I have to tell someone to come fix it. The broken latch on her cupboard and an open window played in symphony with the strong wind. Asad rushed to close the window first so he can stop hearing the constant crash of the cupboard’s door against the wall. Turning back, he was just grabbing a chair to place in front of it when he noticed some papers strewn about on the floor. 

One of them was a picture of Jeeju, Aapi and Zoya. He smiled looking at the girl with the intoxicating dimples. Asad still couldn’t believe she had held his hands and given as much a part of her as he did. He traced her outline in the photo lovingly. 

Then, he bent down to pick another ones – one was a photo that he recognized was her Abbu’s. Sighing he put it in the cupboard, and the second a piece of paper with writing across it. 

Curious, he opened the letter to quickly glance. He didn’t want to invade her privacy. But that thought went out with the idea of just a  glance, when he read the title of the letter.

‘A wish list for my future husband’

                                    🌼🌼🌼

        {Song in title: Kora kaagaz tha mann mera}

                   ——————————————-

It’s a lil serious I guess, but hope it’s more a realistic version of their relationship ❤️🌼

Happy reading ✨

OMG okay, while reading this, I bowed down to your way of writing (again), I fell in love with how it's so deep yet so easy to read (again!). Asad and Zoya definitely not mean all mushy and gooey romance (though I love them doing that too) and you've beautifully retained their essence Them opening up to each other was definitely my fav part and this one of my most fav work of yours ❤️ 

Eager to read next part....try to update soon 

I just love the way you write. It simply takes me to that world and somehow it is always so soothing❤️ Loved how they talked about all their insecurities and cleared up everything. Told each other their reasons. So excited for the next chapter 😍 thank youuuu ❤️

Okay, wow. There's so much to take in from this chapter. It is, as always, beautifully written and composed! You are such an expert at really capturing the depth of their characters, as well as adding (much needed) improvements of your own! Your versions of Asad and Zoya have an impeccable balance in their personalities, yet their differences cutely set them apart. Hats off to you!

Loved loved LOVVEDD this chapter! 💖💖

My my! What an incredibly written chapter it was. well, it's the fact that you make everything extraordinary beautiful with your touch. this chapter compensated the days you didn't wrote. Truly, it was a chapter worth waiting and reading. looking forward to many more chapters. I'm sure they will be worth reading too. 

Well, I hope you're doing fine <3

P.s: Post early because I'm always desperate to read your stories 🙈🦩

Originally posted by: Butterscotch11

OMG okay, while reading this, I bowed down to your way of writing (again), I fell in love with how it's so deep yet so easy to read (again!). Asad and Zoya definitely not mean all mushy and gooey romance (though I love them doing that too) and you've beautifully retained their essence Them opening up to each other was definitely my fav part and this one of my most fav work of yours ❤️ 

Eager to read next part....try to update soon 

 Thankyou (again) ❤️  I am so glad you enjoyed it. It’s hard to convey in words sometimes, the atmosphere or rather the seriousness of the atmosphere without it being too serious( hope that made sense) Always trying to retain their essence like you said. Hope to do that in future updates too ✨

Originally posted by: sj_qh_kabhi

I just love the way you write. It simply takes me to that world and somehow it is always so soothing❤️ Loved how they talked about all their insecurities and cleared up everything. Told each other their reasons. So excited for the next chapter 😍 thank youuuu ❤️

Thank you thank you 😊 I love to write to blow off day’s steam, and I love when it has the same effect for a reader. I so wish they would have done the serious talks in the show. Would have made some great moments ✨ Any hoo, will try to update soon