Hi guys! I'm back with next updt! And this time, I'm being extremely honest, half of tgis updt is utter crap, I'm not lying, when u read it, u'll understand urself. The firs half is really boring!
A small note abt this updt, a tiny part of this chapter has been extracted from
othe previous chapters of this ff, 'A Night to Remember'. It is what follwed after Zoya confessed her feelings for Asad, so basically its a flashback.
And there's a really important note at the end of the post. Plz do read it! Its quite important! :)
So that's abt it, here goes the 16th chapter:
Ehsaas
Asad's head shot up as Dilshaad's eyes glazed with anger as she looked on, at him, "Ammi-" "Enough Asad! You heard me and I will not change my decision. Not for you, not for anyone. Now, its your turn to decide. Is it going to be your ego, or is it going to be your mother? I'll leave that in your hands. You have an hour to let me know about your decision." Dilshaad cast a disgusted look at Asad before turning away. She stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut, behind her. To say that Asad was shocked, would be an understatement. Never in his life had he expected Dilshaad to react in that way. Asad slumped onto a chair. He'd thought that, maybe, Dilshaad would have felt a little bad, but would have left it at that. But who was he kidding? His mother, the person who was the most affected by the Siddiquis, she herself was ready to accept Zoya, even after knowing the truth, but Asad...a horrible feeling was starting to sink into him. He spoke into thin air, "Was I wrong?"
"I love you.", she let out in a breathy whisper. Asad froze, he was dumbstruck, he blinked wildly for a few seconds and all he managed to say was, "Huh?" Zoya buried her face into his chest, once again, as a deep shade of red, creeped up her cheeks. A dreamy smile formed on Asad's lips, as he realized that she'd actually said it and he had not been dreaming. Yes, he had know that it was coming, but he'd expected her to take at least the next ten minutes to actually get somewhere, he had not thought that it would come so quick. "What was that?", he asked, teasingly. Zoya whacked his arm, her head still hidden in his chest. Asad pulled away after a while and caressed her cheeks, he asked her, "Did you mean that?" "Like never before.", she replied.
Zoya sat back down on the bench, gently tugging Asad's arm, making him sit down beside her. "Mr.Khan.", she breathed.
"Hmm."
She shut her eyes as an involuntary sob escaped her lips. Asad looked on at her, perplexed, "Zoya,what happened?" Zoya sighed, "Mr. Khan, you know, I've never had a family. Aapi and jiju have always considered me their daughter and they've always done everything possible to put a smile on my face. I was never unhappy with them, but yet, I was always scared. Scared that they'll leave me, too. I was petrified, what if they started hating me for who I was? For that reason alone, I used to do anything and everything possible to gain their love, even though they'd never failed to make me feel wanted, but still, I couldn't shake away that feeling of dread that always stayed coiled around my heart. Years passed by, I found out my father might still be alive and then I came here to search for him, but he'd also left me, just like my ammi had, so many years ago." Asad's fingers crawled in between hers, entwining them. Asad smiled at her reassuringly, using his free hand to wipe away her tears. She continued, "I was so little when my parents left me that I don't even remember how they looked. After that incident, I started hating everything and everyone. I even used to hate my parents. I would look at the stars and yell at my ammi for leaving me at such a tender age, to live by myself, with absolutely no one to call mine. Then again, aapi and jiju were alwas there for me but I never felt like I belonged with them. There was always something missing in our perfect little family. I always thought that it was that one fact, that I wasn't related to them by blood. I used to get very angry and frustrated by that and the only way I could vent out that anger and frustration was by making them feeling bad. A part of it was to see whether they would start hating me, like everyone else, had. I used to yell at them, too, for absolutely no reason, but time and again, they proved my conception wrong, they still loved me, they understood my feelings. They knew why I behaved like that. But even then, I still couldn't accept them completely, by heart,especially after knowing that my father was alive. I wanted to know what it actually felt like to have a family. Even though I had to abandon that dream, after finding out that my father was no more, I found you and your family, instead. God knows how, I became so close to phuppi and Najma within a matter of days, the same closeness that I hadn't attained with aapi and jiju in nearly my entire life. Phuppi is the mother I never had. She loved me like her own daughter and Najma, she was like my own little sister. Then you happened." A tiny little smile edged on her lips as she completed the last sentence, "Mr. Khan, all my life, I've always tried not to love or trust, anyone and each time, I've failed. I was scared that those I love, will leave me." Asad watched her intently, trying to grasp the meaning of what she was trying to say. "Mr. Khan, I want you to promise me.", Zoya let out, finally. Asad frowned, "On what?" "Promise me that you'll never leave me.", she breathed. "You're scared that I might leave you, too, someday, aren't you?", Asad asked, a slight hint of shock and surprise lacing his voice. Zoya swallowed , "Mr. Khan, please, for my sake." "Zoya, throughout my childhood I've seen my ammi suffer for Mr. Rashid Ahmed Khan's wrong doings and
betrayal. He left my ammi with two children to take care of all by herself. I've lived through that pain, I wouldn't even think of doing the same thing to anyone and why would you think I would do that to you? ", Asad asked, a little hurt. "And why do you think that it always needs to be that you would leave me on purpose?", Zoya countered. Asad's forehead creased in confusion, as he tried to make sense of what Zoya had just said. It finally struck Asad, the meaning of her words sunk in perfectly. Asad smiled a little, he grasped their already entwined hands tighter, he spoke in a breathy whisper, "I promise you, I will never leave you, not for anyone, not for anything. Be it heaven or Earth, I'll always be with you."
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to swat the memory out of his head. At the end, he had betrayed Zoya, he'd broke his promise to her. Where Zoya had thought, Asad would never betray her intentionally, he had done exactly the same. "I'm not him. I'm not Rashid Ahmed Khan. I didn't betray her.", Asad whispered. His worst fear had come true, he done exactly the same as his father, even after seeing his ammi suffer for so many years. Asad screamed out aloud, in frustration. A quiet voice spoke in his head, You were wrong Asad, very wrong.
Asas slowly trudged his way to Dilshaad's room. He stood in front of her room, contemplating his own actions. How would he face Dilshaad? He slowly raised his hand over, to knock on the door. His arm fell back to his side as the door clicked open, before he could knock. Dilshaad looked up at him, puzzled, "What are you doing here? " Asad inhaled a deep breath. "Ammi, I'm really sorry. I didn't think before I said anything. I'm really sorry, ammi, I-" "So will you bring Zoya back home, or not?", Dilshaad asked. Asad looked down at his feet, unable to speak. "Asad, I asked you something. Will you bring Zoya back home, or not?" Asad slowly nodded, "Jee, ammi."
Asad entered Zoya's room, he scanned the room, slowly. No one would ever believe that Zoya had ever been there. Everything was back in place. No clothes strewn across the room, no pizza boxes lying at the most unpredictable places, neither was there her ever famous pepper spray. The only identity to say that Zoya had actually been there, was her sweet strawberry fragrance that was still lingering in the room. Asad swallowed that huge lump in his throat. He still couldn't believe how things had turned around so quickly. Asad took in a deep breath, "Where do I start?" He had no idea about where Zoya could have gone. He'd tried calling her, but she wouldn't pick up the phone, quite obviously. From the day before, when he'd heard Zoya talking to herself, in her room, he only knew that Zoya was still in Bhopal, somewhere, in some hotel. "She must've left some or the other clue, behind.", he said to himself. Dilshaad walked in. "Did you find something?", she asked, as Asad turned around. "No ammi, I just came in." Dilshaad walked over to the drawers. "Search the wardrobe.", she instructed. Both of them started looking through the room, trying to find the smallest of clues, but all there efforts were ending in vain. Dilshaad sighed in defeat, she slumped down on the bed , just before something caught her eyes. She picked up the scrunched piece of paper up from the floor and stretched it out. Dilshaad's eyes widened, "Asad, look at this."
She handed the piece of paper over to Asad, for him to see. "Hotel Asiana.", he read out. "This is Zoya's handwriting, right?" Asad glanced back down at the piece of paper and nodded, "I know this hotel. " "Well then, what are you waiting for? Find out if Zoya's staying there!" "Jee ammi. I'm quite sure the hotel will not give out information about customers, but I'll go there and see what I can do about it." Dilshaad spoke, "Asad, you have to bring Zoya back home, you have to. I know she must be extremely hurt and angry, but just do something and bring her back. This is her home and I will not see her leaving us."
Asad made his way over to the receptionist's desk. "Excuse me.", he said. The lady looke up at him, "Yes sir, how can I help you?" Asad internally revised his own script, in his head. It was only a probability that Zoya was staying at that particular hotel but Asad had to give it a try. "A lady named Zoya Farooqui had checked into this hotel, yesterday. I accidentally misplaced her room number and I can't seem to reach her phone, either, could you please tell me which one it is?", he asked. "I'm sorry sir, we can't give those details out, but I could give her a call and ask her to come down here, to meet you." Asad smiled at her, slightly. This was going the exact way he wanted. "Yes, please.", he replied. "And whom should I say is calling?", she asked. "Anwar Farooqui.", he lied. He hoped he hadn't blown his cover, he was a horrible liar, as a matter of fact, it might have been pretty obvious that he'd just bluffed. But fortunately, for him, the receptionist seemed to buy it. "Yes sir, I'll give her a call.", she quickly looked up Zoya's name in the customer data on the computer. "Just a second, sir.", she said. "Take your time.", Asad said. The receptionist mumbled a number to herself as she reached out for the phone. Asad breathed a sigh of relief, Zoya was there, in that hotel. He watched as the receptionist spoke to Zoya, over the phone. "Sir, she said she'll be down right way. Meanwhile, please take a seat in the lounge, sir." Asad curtly nodded and made his way to the plush hotel lounge, right in front of the receptionist's desk. He plopped down on the sofa, as he waited for Zoya to come. He muttered, "I'm not letting you go this time, Zoya. "
A couple of minutes passed, Asad leaned back against the sofa, as he tapped, impatiently on the arm rest. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Zoya emerged from the elevator, quite obviously looking really excited. Asad gulped, as Zoya's eyes scanned the area, trying to find her jiju, who wasn't even there. Asad stood up and slowly made his way towards her. Zoya's eyes widened, as she noticed Asad approaching her. She frowned, how in the world had he known where she was? He initial shock was replaced by a sudden wave of anger, as realization swept over her. Anwar Farooqui. She gritted her teeth, he'd lied to the receptionist, knowing very well that she wouldn't come down if he'd took his own name. So he'd taken her jiju's name. Zoya groaned, she should've known. How would her jiju have ever even figured out that she was in a hotel? She cursed herself for her own stupidity. She glared at Asad, before turning away. She stomped her way back to the elevator, as fast as she could. But Asad beat her to it, she felt his fingers curl around her wrist as he yanked her back, towards him. She fell onto his chest, unceremoniously. She looked up and scowled at him. She bluntly ordered, a new found a layer of harshness lacing her voice, "Let me go, Mr. Khan."
Asad shook his head in negative. Zoya pushed him away, with all her might. Asad staggered back, quite surprised by Zoya's hostility. "What do you want, now? Why did you come behind me?", she hissed, fighting back tears that were threatening to spill. Asad forced a fake smile onto his face. He pulled her back into a hug. "I think you know what I want.", he whispered into her ear, huskily. "No, I don't and I don't want to know, either and don't touch me!", she snapped, a she tried to push him away,again. "Zoya, for heaven's sake, people are watching us!", Asad tried explaining. "I don't care! Now let me go, or I'll scream!", she threatened. Asad slowly pulled away from her, still holding on to her wrist. Zoya tried pulling her hand away from his grasp. "Let. Me. Go.", she hissed. "Zoya this is seriously embarrassing, you're insulting me in front of all these people." Zoya glowered at him. "You didn't really think about that, all those times when you insulted me, in front of everyone, did you?", she asked, as her eyes welled up, yet again. Asad stared at her for a few seconds, unable to think of any coherent reply. He sighed, "Come with me." He dragged her along, out of the hotel, ignoring her protests, "Mr. Khan, what are you doing?! Let go of me!"
He walked over to the vast garden of the hotel, the place was eerily quiet, devoid of much human presence. "Mr. Khan! Why did you bring me here? Let me go back!" "Zoya, please! Just listen to me for a couple of minutes!", Asad begged. "For what? You're probably gonna say that, you shouldn't have said whatever you did and that you're sorry about it and then, you'll ask me to come back to your house." Asad shut his eyes, trying to calm himself. This was gonna be much harder than he'd thought. "Anything new?", he heard her say. "Zoya, please, I'm really sorry! You know me, I think after I speak, not before and I end up saying things that I shouldn't and later regret them. Zoya, just forgive me this once, I promise you I will never hurt you again." "Oh please, Mr. Khan! I'm sick of forgiving you each and every time. I'm sick of your empty promises. I'm sick of you! Please, just leave me. What did you say? Everything that happened between was a nightmare and we were never meant to be together. What happened now? I don't care if you're going back on those words, but I'm not turning back, ever again. As a matter of fact, we weren't meant to be together. A man who can't respect a woman, can never be a good husband. Why, for that matter, you didn't even tell me what I did, before you sent me out of your house!", she snapped, dabbing at her eyes, hastily. Asad looked on at her, guiltily. Asad pleaded, "Zoya, please, I'm really sorry! I really didn't mean to hurt you so much. " "Except you did hurt me. A lot.", she replied, as her voice cracked. Asad hung his head low, in shame. He didn't know what else to say or do, to convince her. "Mr. Khan, even when you get hurt, physically, the wound heals; it stops hurting. But words, they leave a huge scar behind, a scar that doesn't heal. Etched into your soul, permanently, others might not be able to see it but only that person would know how much it hurts. It's really easy to hurt someone, but it's a ton harder to heal those deep wounds. I don't think anyone could know that better than you and yet you...", Zoya paused and sighed deeply. She looked into Asad's eyes, they exchangeda a few painful glances. Asad knew what she was gonna say, she didn't need to complete it and that's what shamed him the most. He'd learned enough for a lifetime, from his father and knowing extremely well how deep a wound words could make, he'd turned out to have done the same thing. Zoya's lips quivered, as she whispered, "Maybe it was written in my fate to live with those horrible scars that you gave me. Forever."
~-~-~-~-~Precap: Zoya staggered back, a few steps. Asad watched her face crumple up, yet again. His eyes brimmed with tears, as he saw her sinking to the grassy ground. Zoya looked up at him, her eyes seemed enpty and lost. It was just a matter of seconds before he realized, Zoya's head hit the floor. He screamed, "Zoya!!!"
~-~-~-~-~So that was it, I know the 1st half was really crap, I don't know abt the 2nd half, but I'm quite sure it wasn't as bad as the 1st half. Now what did Asad say to Zoya in that precap? So confusing!😆 No actually, it's pretty obvious, but still I'm gonna pretend that no one has any idea abt what asad told zoya in the precap 😆.
**IMPORTANT NOTE**
And another important thing, u all know how lazy I am when it comes to updating 😆. And u know how demotivated I can get 😆. I really want u guys to give ur reviews behind, I've tried my best to get u guys to come out n gimme ur comments but it hasn't really worked out. So this time,a small condition, I'll only updt once I get 7/8 pgs of comments. That's not too much to ask for, is it? And kiki, I know what ur thinking 😆. I know u have the talent to spam away to the 30th page all by urself so i'm actually thinking abt excluding u from this condition 😆. Naa, just kidding 😆!
Edited: Sorry I forgot to mention earlier guys, the 1st 3 pgs of comments is not counted, coz kiki spammed to the 3rd pg even b4 I cud updt, isn't she lovely?😆
So 8 pages it is guys!
And do hit the like button too!
So plz plz leave ur reviews behind guys! :)
Love,
Ramya :)
Edited by ..Ramya.. - 10 years ago
! and that wonderful and fascinating
one is ... my dear sparks
!!!youy are such a magnificient and lovely dog !❤️ i
hope one day you'll leave ramya and come with me ! i'll give you various
textbooks you can chew !😆 leave ramya and come with me darling ! 🤣
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