Zoya
His smile was always the evil one.
"Abbu, how can I? I mean it's such an old project. I know nothing about it yet. Let me handle the new project", I said.
"That's not a problem. Abrar knows about it well. He can guide you", abbu said. "And it'll be really good if you both work on the same project. You can discuss it anytime"
I didn't know that Abrar was working on the same thing. Besides, it seemed to be good if I stayed with him while Irtaza would be there.
I looked at Abrar. He seemed to be convinced with what abbu said and shook his head.
"I think Mr. Ali is giving me chances to give you proper coaching and class schedule", Abrar whispered while giggling.
The topic which kept torturing me the whole day, now making me laugh. I chuckled at him.
"I think the student is now willing to take the course", he winked at me.
"And the student hopes that the teacher won't be too much grumpy", I rolled my eyes at him.
Abrar"Zoya is looking so calm after coming back home. Did you say something to her?", dadi looked at me with her suspicious eyes, making me feel like a culprit. I got clueless and rolled my eyes, unable to say something."What? Tell me. See, she is really upset", dadi said, looking at Zoya from the kitchen counter. She was arranging the table for dinner.I paused for a moment while looking at her. Her eyes met mine abruptly for a while, then she immediately drove them away. I wondered if any of my actions offended her. I didn't want to hurt her sentiments, nor I did anything wrong. Then what exactly affected her so much?"Will you tell me?", dadi shrugged next to me while filling the bowl with curry and then handing it to me."Nothing, dadi. Just argued", I said and I knew dadi would not try to ask about the matter."If it's only an argument from both sides then it's fine. But I hope you didn't do anything one-sided that hurt
AbrarHer words confused me. I remained standing there like a statue, unable to understand what she exactly meant. I tried to repeat her words as her reactions flashed into my mind.She said it affected her because it didn't feel bad? What the heck was that? Zoya and her twisted words! When I was assured that I started knowing her well, she made sure that I stumbled upon the fact that she was impossible to understand.I glanced at her for once. She was not sleeping. Though she was not facing me, I could say she was still awake."Good night, Zoya", I grumbled and walked towards my couch, expecting her to reply to me. But she didn't.I pulled on my quilt and looked at her."And please decide if you want to say things clearly to me. I can't crack riddles after a hectic day", my voice was harsh. She didn't say anything as I expected."Isn't not replying to someone after repeated questions a bad manner?", she spoke after a while."Y
AbrarZoya was never a sensitive girl but I could sense she was holding back her tears too. She had many things unwrapped inside her that I didn't know. However, I always knew that there was another Zoya hidden inside her whom I still didn't know."Are you missing your ammi too? You can call her up", I said when I listened to her broken voice."Nothing like that. And I never cried missing my ammi. I cried missing her last time when I was twelve. That was the last time", she said."You were in—""America", she said before I could speak. "Eight years in America. Six years in Delhi. Far away from them. I'm kinda habitual to stay alone"I never felt like she was out of the country for such a long time. Her behavior never felt that way. She was always like the desi girl."What's in Delhi? I mean you finished your studies in America if I'm not wrong", I asked curiously because it was something that I was totally unaware of. "Sorry if
Abrar "You didn't tell me anything about it", I clamored in surprise. "I would do it after a few months", she glared at me. "So, it would take time to tell you. No?" "Yeah", I sniffed. "Now, if this truth comes out, I'm afraid that they may try to drag this matter again", she was tensed. I could sense her tension from the moment Irtaza showed up. At that moment, I wanted to remind her that once I told her she would have to pay a big price for this lie. However, she was too tensed. I didn't want to blame her more. She knew she invited this for herself. "Don't worry. We'll tackle the situation well", I smiled at her. Our eyes met and a smile of relief came across her face too. "I thought you would bash me because I was the one to start this", she muttered. "You started this lie alone but we lived this lie together. Even it ends, it will end with us", I told her. We kept staring at each other for a while. "
Zoya"What happened? Scared?", he asked with the same creepy smirk on his face which used to piss me off. I clenched my fists while gawking at him."I'm not scared of anyone if you literally know a little bit of me, Irtaza. If you're here to utter this nonsense, you better get lost. I'm not interested in dragging the past", I shrugged off, looking straight into his eyes."Nor do I, Zoya. I don't want to. But what to do? You're not easy to forget?", he bit his lower lip then licked them, staring at me. Leaning back to his chair, he looked at the ceiling when I was trying my best not to lose it."I'm not easy to forget or my rejection was not easy to forget. Ego!", I blurted out. He hated me. I knew he hated me, my attitude, my personality. Everything. There was no chance that he would still be stuck there because he liked me."As if you don't have an ego, Zoya Ali, ops! Now, it's Mrs. Zoya Zafar. Sounds so— I mean, gosh! You could be Mrs. Zoya
Abrar"I can't wait to unfold you", I groaned, looking straight into her eyes. Sometimes I felt like confronting her and make her spit everything that stayed behind the darkness to me.She would say. She would have no options instead of telling me what had been going into her tiny head for months. But I waited, patiently waited for this to come."I can't wait to unfold it to you", her voice was sharp and raspy, a smile clinging to her lips when she drove her eyes away from me. "But I don't know if things would remain the same between us once you would get to know everything"Adding this, she had already warned me a million times. Maybe, she wanted me to be prepared. Nonetheless, I knew whatever the secrets were, they could change our equations but not the way I felt for her. The only reason I was not telling her about my feelings as I didn't want to start anything by keeping mysteries between us."I don't want things to remain the same between us,
AbrarI lifted my head to see her, finding her already looking at me. The darkness increased around us but the moon was shining brighter than ever for me. She had worn a white suit today also. She had more than a dozen of white suits but I could differentiate between us. When the moonlight fell on her she appeared to be a fairy, sweet and timid, long hairs spread all around her back, a few strains of hair slapping her face with the breeze."Can I take a picture of yours?", those words slipped my mouth unknowingly.She folded her lips, keeping the smile on."What makes you feel like clicking my picture?", the smile on her face widened."Just— just like that", I mumbled, finding for a reason so I didn't look like a pervert. "I thought you would like a picture of yours in this view. The view is beautiful", I said, looking up at the sky, then my gaze slipped to the clean water of the lake."Stupid! Can you directly say that I'm looking bea
Abrar"May I come in, Sir?", I half-opened the door of Mr. Ali's cabin. He used to come office twice a week and usually on Monday and Tuesday. It was Thursday and I was a bit shocked to see him. It freaked me out when I saw Irtaza with him.I never disliked anyone for no reason. But for him! I didn't know why I couldn't stand him."Come in, Abrar", Mr. Ali beamed as I came inside with a smile."Good morning, Sir""Good morning. Have a sit", he said as I took my seat beside Irtaza."You're in the office today? Is there something important today?", I asked."Not today but tomorrow", Mr. Ali chuckled at me. I got confused."What's tomorrow?", I asked and with my question, both of them gawked at me. It was weird.I rolled my eyes at them. What was the next day? And if there was something, why did they get shocked when I said I didn't know about it? Was I supposed to know?"Well, Abrar. I don't know if you have a surpr
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