Zoya
Everything seemed to be like a mess. My desk was filled with files and papers scattered on the ground too. I had never been so disorganised before. It seemed like I never knew how the business worked. My degree and internship of six years seemed to be like a total wastage. But I knew somewhere it was because of my mental situation. I could hardly focus on anything. My head started to ache and I was messing up everything. Frustrated, I slammed the file aside and pushed my head on the table, pinning my forehead against it. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths for a while.
I sensed someone nuzzling my hair so I abruptly got up, finding abbu next to me. He was smiling, a forced one.
"Abbu? You're at the office today?", I mumbled.
"I came here to pick you up", he said, making me confused.
"Pick me?", I rolled my eyes.
"Have you seen the time?", he asked, tilting his head at the clock behind me. I immediately turned and found out it was 12.
AbrarDays kept passing and I focused completely on finding a new job before I gave a resignation to this one. I was in contact with Kaif. He had been tracking all the vacancies for a long time. But this time he couldn't crack a single vacancy for me when I was easily getting them online. I wondered if he was lying. He was trying his best to make it up between me and Zoya. Was he deliberately not helping me out to get another job?Nonetheless, I still asked him about Zoya every day. He said she was okay. She had panicked once after knowing about my leave but then she managed to focus on the work. I hoped she had also accepted the truth and she would stop having any expectations from me. It would hurt her less.Dadi kept trying to convince me to talk to Zoya. As usual, I said I needed some time. Dadajan hardly talked to me. Before he could forgive me for marrying without informing them, he got offended by the recent mess. Proving me wrong, Mr. or Mrs Ali didn't t
Zoya"What?", I muttered, still trying to figure out if he was serious."Yes", he drove his eyes away."What do you mean?", I gasped, my fists clenched as I fumed in anger inside, wanting it to be a misunderstanding."Abrar was finding a new job for past four days", he told me. I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe that Abrar was preparing to go away from me. For good! Sick!"Why didn't you tell me before?", I groaned, gritting my teeth, trying to hold my frustration as much as I could."I thought he would not be able to do that. You know we say something in a rage of anger but we can't do that always. I never thought he would be able to do this. He just called me and said he got a job", he sighed.I couldn't breathe, holding the chair beside me tightly. It felt like my breath got stuck inside me and I was forcing myself to inhale. My eyes were on the ground and I felt my head spinning."Zoya, are you okay?", Kaif aske
ZoyaMy thumb brushed on the screen as I tried my best to pull a smile on my face."Enough now, Abrar. It's enough", my voice broke. "You think I'll let you go away from me so easily? It's not happening. Not until I'm alive. I love you. And I'll go to any extent to get you, Mr Zafar. You can't even imagine the intensity I have for you. If you don't wanna stay, I'll force you to stay"AbrarI was all set to join the Pacific, just needed a resignation letter from the present company. That was where the problems started to begin. I was clueless about how to do it. I knew Zoya. She would make a fuss out of it and try her best not to give me this allowance. But I was determined.It would be good for both of us. Zoya had to forget me. Anyhow. I was arranging my clothes for the next day and thought of starting my work from tomorrow at Pacific. I needed to settle there as soon as possible. I sent a mail to the manager under whom I would be working.
AbrarHowever, every time I shoved the thought away. How could I tag it as a mistake? Loving her was always the best thing that ever happened to me. But she was forcing me to think I made a mistake."I hope you won't let my second thought be true, Zoya", I mumbled, closing my eyes when I had finally started to feel cold. Too cold.Maybe hours passed under the shower."I don't want it to be a mistake", I said.*As I came out of the washroom while shivering, I saw dadi outside. She was gazing at me. She didn't talk much to me in recent days and I could sense the anger."Good morning, dadi", I said."How many hours did you spend inside?", she groaned, looking at me. "You're shivering""I was feeling too hot so", I mumbled, looking around. Even I didn't realize that."Seriously, Abrar? It's the middle of November. People are freezing. And you—", she rolled her eyes at me suspiciously."I was awake for pa
Abrar I pressed my lips while rolling eyes and swallowing the crumbling emotions inside me. Hurting her was hard but she should get a reality check about herself. She should. "Listen, Zoya", I gazed at her. "I'm not here to create a scene. It's your office. So, it'll be better if I can finish what I want to" She looked at me surprised when I brought out the resignation letter and slammed it on the table. She stared at it and shifted her eyes at me. "My resignation letter", I groaned. In no time, she scowled at me, parting her lips and again looking at the letter. Her eyes froze on it for a while, steady and calm. The next moment, she clenched her jaw without looking at me. "You're not getting it", she grumbled as I expected. "You can't bind me with yourself, Zoya", I said. This time she was not vulnerable anymore. She gritted her teeth while gazing at me. I took a step towards her. "You're bound to be with me",
KaifThe sound of Zoya sobbing could be heard around the whole office room. I could hear people whispering when Mr Ali rushed into Zoya's cabin."What happened to you, Abrar?", I groaned, looking at the door. It was such an embarrassing moment and I couldn't believe that he chose this place to do this.I looked at Zoya's cabin and without waiting for another moment, I followed Mr Ali. When I banged into the cabin, Zoya was sobbing on the floor, sitting against the wall. I kept standing at the door when Mr Ali knelt before her and tried to console her."Zoya, what happened? What happened again?", he caressed her hair as she cried continuously as if she was unable to stop crying to utter something."Zoya, say something. Don't scare me, please", Mr Ali groaned, cupping her face. I had never seen her crying like this and wondered if Abrar could ever make someone cry like this.He never hurt any stranger either, he always made people smile and he
AbrarI didn't get back home and spent the whole morning outside in that park. As I expected, Zoya again reacted so much. She couldn't handle a relationship like this. She could never. She had to know what relationship meant. It was not a game, not a business deal. It was a beautiful bond between two people which needed time, nourishment and patience to grow.She scared me.She scared me so much that I had to pull myself back. In this manner, we could definitely be together today. Sigh.I leaned back to the wooden bench and rewinded everything that happened this morning. I hoped she would understand.*"Don't tell me that you spend the whole day here", Kaif's voice brought me back to the senses when I fumbled and looked up at him. He was standing near the tea stall, gazing at me. As I rolled my eyes around, I found the sky turning darker. It was almost evening. That meant I wasted the whole day here instead of trying for another work. How woul
Abrar"Where's Zoya?", Dadi exclaimed, looking out of the door. In fact, she climbed down a few stairs to search for her. I stood like a statue at the door, finding Dadajan's eyes roaming around me. I wouldn't be able to answer if he asked something."Where's she?", dadajan grumbled this time. I hung my head, finding for words."Will you answer?", dadi came inside while clamouring. "Where's Zoya?""She didn't come", I mumbled."She didn't come or you didn't bring her with you. That poor girl might want to come", dadi seethed. I was out of words. "Didn't you say that you would bring her?""Dadi, I didn't say that I would bring, Zoya", I said from nowhere. It meant that I would have to face the consequences of turning them down right now."You gotta be kidding us, Abrar? Aren't you?", dadi's voice was never so harsh and loud to me. It was proof that she was angry with me beyond my expectations.I kept my eyes down."What's
Nikhat"He's the photocopy of Abrar", Mrs. Ali says, holding the newborn. After eight months of our marriage, Zoya delivered a cute baby boy. He's a premature baby, indeed but still out of all danger by the grace of God. "Just pray that he gets the same tactics as me. I can't handle two short-tempered creatures", Abrar laughs."Wait! You just wait. Let me get a bit healthier", Zoya shoots him a glare. "You can scream only. What else can you do?" Abrar rolls his eyes."You—"And they continue.I take the newborn in my arms, giggling at him lovingly."First and foremost rule, Mrs. Wife", Kaif whispers near me. "No future planning after this"He's always so scared!"I know right? Stop worrying!" I scowl at him. So many things changed over time but he didn't. At first, he was scared to love someone and get married. Now, he's scared of having a baby. I don't mind it though. It's just a matter of time. I'm happy the way I am.I was promoted to the company with my salary getting doubled.
Nikhat"Are you hungry already?" Kaif asks from behind.I drift my eyes outside and look at him from near the window with a smile. He is munching a subway burger with a tight-lipped smile on his face. "Wouldn't it be better if you had gotten something for me instead of just asking?" I shrug, jumping behind and sitting at the edge of the window."Hey, careful", his eyes widen. "You're gonna fall""I'm used to it", I giggle. "This is not the first time I'm sitting at your window"He chuckles, walking toward me. "Yeah, but definitely you never hoped onto it wearing a lehenga", he scoffs as I stare down at him. He stops just an inch away from me and spirals his left arm around my waist. I shudder with the abrupt contact and lack of distance between us. My heart starts thudding against my chest and my body vibrates when he tightens his grip around me. It's been a year since we were engaged but never before has he touched me this way. I didn't want him to. But if he wanted, I wouldn't ev
Author's POVRuzina goes completely shocked but it doesn't take her much time to understand what is exactly happening. "How wouldn't I come, Mrs Ruzina?" Irtaza chuckles. "After all, the alliance maker should be there?" Zoya presses her lips tightly so she doesn't burst into laughter by watching Ruzina's stunned face. On the other hand, Nikhat gets confused with Irtaza's words."Alliance maker?" She exclaims."We can discuss that later", Zoya jumps into the conversation. "Let the guests in, Nikhat""I'm sorry", she smiles and makes a way for them to get in. As others follow Ridwan and Nikhat inside, Ruzina keeps standing there and gazing at Irtaza."You look stunned, Mrs Ruzina", Zoya rolls her eyes. "Ah, well, let me introduce myself. Zoya Zafar, Irtaza's business partner and your would-be son-in-law's friend"Ruzina curls up her face and doesn't even smile at any of them. Zoya crosses her arms and takes a step toward her, raising her eyebrows."What did you think Mrs Ruzina? Onl
NikhatI have been waiting for the evening the entire day and finally, the moment arrived. Kaif has indeed replied to me with a message which said, "it's fine"The text didn't sound genuine to me at all. Especially when he sent only two words in the reply to my entire paragraph. Couldn't he realise the urgency in that message? I don't know if I'm overthinking. He's not bound to send me a paragraph just because I did. "Nikhat, shall we leave?" Mia asks. "No. I have some work left", I lie. I don't have any pending work. Besides, Irtaza already told us that he doesn't need the whole team today. I should have left. "I thought you were done", Mia roll her eyes."No. I—" I stammer. "I'm yet to complete a few""Okay, then. Goodnight", grabbing her stuff, Mia walks towards the exit. I get back to my desk and look for some work to do. "Nikhat!" Irtaza's voice hits my ear as I look up, finding him walking out of his cabin which is straight in front of me. "You didn't leave yet"I don't kn
NikhatI don't know how to react to this crap. I can only see how hard Irtaza is trying to pass a smile. I know that wasn't expected. And why did he even need to come here just because Ruzina called him? He could have turned her down. He has plenty of work to do. I force a smile and walk toward them. "That was not necessary. Was it?" I mumble, glaring at Ruzina. How can she still smile like that?"I just thought to—" Ruzina strives to say as I walk up to her."Thought to what?" "This is so embarrassing. Why did you do this? He's my boss", I exclaim, whispering near her face.I can't say if she deliberately did that. Why would she anyway?"But he said—" she mutters. "That's called courtesy which he said. And we'll not do that. That's our courtesy", I shoot her a glare. Ruzina frowns at me as if she still can't digest that I'm arguing with her. As I should. I should have done that a long time ago. And now she literally crossed the limits by embarrassing me. What will Irtaza think a
"Okay. What about that?" I ask."Irtaza came there to meet them. They spend an afternoon together", he says and his reactions harden."Okay, so?" I ask even though I have already sensed what it meant. This is something different from any boss and employee relationship. I'm not judging though and I'm not even sure if there's another reason. I bet Kaif also doesn't know the exact reason. He's just assuming. "So? Zoya, can't you understand what that means", he scoffs at me. "That means Nikhat is having a lot of guests. What else?" I roll my eyes. "Stop it, yaar. You—``''why can't you see what I'm seeing?" He yells out of nowhere. "Because I'm not as intelligent as you. Explain to me", I scowl at him. "You can't get, Zoya? Really? Don't you know what it means? In this society, when a guy meets a girl's parents? That guy who likes her. They literally had a meeting, a conversation. Don't you know what it seriously means?" He speaks out of frustration."So!" I mumble.."So!""Yeah. So,
KaifI walk faster. As fast as I could. Through the dark alley. My head literally stops working when I put the pieces of the puzzle of that incident. I don't know why I'm getting so pissed and irritated. He just came to meet.He just came to meet. I kept ranting this to myself until I reached the resort. I feel my breathing getting ten times faster than before. I can hear my groans as I grab the grills of the gate and fum heavily. My body has heated up and I'm unable to calm down anyway. Everything was going so fine. So damn fine. Until she talked about Irtaza being there. I lost it and I didn't want to show how pissed I was, nor could I behave normally. I'm already hiding enough and this will go beyond. Anticipation builds me rapidly, no matter how much I try to console myself. "Sir, I need to close the gate", the security guard says. I glare at him for no reason and storm into the resort, walking as fast as I can.I reach my room and twist the knob. Opening it a bit, I slam the
Nikhat"Nikhat!" He whispers my name but I don't look up. I feel him holding my hand tightly and I hold the edge of the bench. Then I sense him decreasing the gap between us. He uncovers my face, lifting my hair from my cheek and tucking them behind my ear. I can feel him staring at me which makes me blush harder. "Look at me", he leans down to my ear and whispers. I squirm with his warm breath fanning my skin. As I don't respond to his words, he lifts his hand to me and slides two of his fingers across my jaw, slowly nudging my face towards him. I finally look up at him. Our eyes meet. He smiles, peering at me as if he's scanning each detail of my face. I had never been so comfortable with anyone's gaze the way I'm with him. It seems to be pure and peaceful. Most importantly, I love it. He locks his hand with mine and gets closer to my face. Enough closer which forces me to drop my gaze in shyness. "Why do you always steal your gaze from me?" He whispers. "I want you to look
NikhatIt's been a while since I've sat here in the dark alley with Kaif. It's so strange that I have never explored this alley in the last six months but today I did. With him. I'm also a bit concerned about Ruzina and Abbu being in the lodge. They might be wondering where I have been. I'm sure Ruzina is gonna make a fuss about it to abbu as she has always been doing about me. I remember those days when I couldn't be a single minute late to return from school and Ruzina used to complain to abbu, saying I had been disappearing for hours. I can't forget those dreadful days and somewhere I used to believe Ruzina is acting like all the typical mothers as she had made me believe all mothers are like that. I used to think she was strict and wanted the best for me. As I grew up, I realised it wasn't a normal thing. But then, it was too late. Abbu wouldn't believe me if I said anything against her. He used to think I had gone reckless. I never complained for years. Then why at that moment