Hello Dearies,
Here is next Part ( Chapter 13 ) of the update... hope you will enjoy these two Chapters.😃
CHAPTER 13 :
Brentwood, the same evening:
Zainab entered Ghaffur and Raziya's room and closed the door nervously. Her heart was thudding inside her chest and a nervous sweat had broken on her face. She leaned against the door and took a few deep breaths to calm herself as she knew she had to do this for the sake of Zoya regardless of how scared she was.
For the past 3 days she had been anxiously waiting and looking for a chance to enter this room to search for Zoya's ring and today luck prevailed and she got the chance. Ghaffur was in his office and she had heard him tell Raziya in the morning that he would be returning late that day and then in the afternoon she heard Raziya telling the maid that she would be going to visit a relative.
Since then she had been sitting outside in the garden to see Raziya leaving and the moment she saw her get in to her car and drove away, she had hurried inside without wasting any moment.
She searched through whole room knowing that Ghaffur could have kept it at any place in order to hide it well. She even searched through Raziya's jewelry boxes. One of the drawers in the wardrobe was locked and she could not open it, but other than that she had searched everywhere but she could not find it. She became frustrated but then she thought of going through everything one more time in case she had missed it in her haste. And she was about to close the lower most drawer when she noticed a thin box made of a paper like material and it was partly hidden by some old Diaries and note books of Ghaffur kept there. It was not a kind of box in which a person like Ghaffur would keep any jewelry but still she thought of checking it. And she took the box and opened it to see that it contained some of Ghaffur's broken cuff links and things like that and then among them she noticed a beautiful ring that looked exactly like what Zoya had described.
She took out the ring, closed the box and kept it where it was and gazed at the ring. She was not even surprised or shocked to see the ring because somewhere in her heart she was already convinced that the ring would be with Ghaffur.
And there was no doubt in her mind that it was Zoya's ring, but to make it absolutely certain she moved towards the light and looked at the ring more carefully. And then she noticed the letters A and Z engraved inside the ring. Zainab then closed her fist over the ring and took a deep breath and closed her eyes in satisfaction upon finding the ring, but in the next instant she abruptly opened them wide with shock.
A foreboding thought had suddenly occurred to her. She realized that Ghaffur must have inspected the ring as carefully as she had just done and she knew that Ghaffur was not a fool not to realize what type of a ring it was. And the fact that he had kept the ring with him and had not given it to Zoya meant that he knew very well what type of ring that was. And that in turn could mean only one thing and that was Ghaffur knew about Asad and Zoya's marriage from that time onwards. Unlike Zoya, Zainab knew Ghaffur much better and it was not hard for her to accept that Ghaffur could have hidden the truth from everyone else and made Zoya get married to Ayaan. And the thought of what he might have done angered and disgusted her and she decided to confront Ghaffur as soon as he came home that night. She would not keep quiet.
She thought of going to her own room and sit and think of how she would confront Ghaffur and she walked upto the door. But the moment she reached for the door handle, someone else turned it from outside and she took a few steps back wondering who it could be. And then few seconds later Ghaffur opened the door and upon seeing her there he stood staring at her with shock.
And suddenly getting caught by Ghaffur made Zainab a little nervous once again but she managed to calm herself and faced Ghaffur with determination. In all these years of marriage to this man and despite the way he had treated her she had remained quiet and had even given him the due respect he deserved as her husband and the father of her daughter. But ever since Zoya's life became so complicated because of him, it appeared as if Zainab had finally come out of her cocoon and started to fly. Her daughter's problems had given her the strength to fight for the right thing and she faced Ghaffur with burning fire in her eyes.
"What are you doing here in my room?" Ghaffur entered the room and closed the door and stared at her with a hint of irritation on his face.
"I'm asking you why you are here in this room... I never knew that you sneak into our room behind me and Raziya's back." Ghaffur said and that snapped Zainab and made her even more angry.
"I'm here for a reason... I wanted to search for something here and I found it and I think I have found out even more by coming here today...my eyes have opened to so many things."
"What do you mean?... what are you talking about?... and how dare you come here and search through my things?" Ghaffur moved closer to her menacingly. He had noticed the rebellious and determined look on Zainab's face and he did not like it.
"I mean this." Zainab opened her palm and showed him the ring.
"I came to find this... Zoya's wedding ring, the ring that Asad had put on her finger when they got married... and I found it... but I'm wondering why you had kept it hidden with you and did not give it to Zoya all these days." Zainab stared at his eyes unflinchingly.
"I... I got it from the hospital... they gave to me Zoya's jewelry and clothes that she was wearing that day... and I forgot to give it back to her." Ghaffur turned away to avoid meeting Zainab's gaze but Zainab moved in front of him and continued to stare at him.
"That's very strange... how come you gave Zoya the rest of her jewelry and just forgot to give only this ring back to her?... you knew that Asad and Zoya were married isn't it?"
"I don't have to answer all your questions... and who are you to question me like this?... you have no right to question me and talk to me this way." Ghaffur's voice rose in anger.
"I have every right... I'm still married to you and a wife has a right to question a husband... and this has to do with my daughter and in that regard I have even more right to know the truth."
"I'm not answering anything... you can think whatever you want." Ghaffur started to walk away.
"You are not answering because you are guilty... you are guilty of a crime and you know that and that is the reason why you are not answering... Don't think I'm stupid... I know what you could be capable of doing and after finding this ring I'm sure of what you did." Zainab shouted at his retreating back.
"What do you mean?" Ghaffur turned around and asked her warily.
"You knew that Asad and Zoya got married in Paris... you knew it and perhaps you even have their marriage certificate... Zoya is frantically searching for that certificate and neither Asad nor his parents know about it...she called me this afternoon and told me that she had searched through all of Asad's things and it was not there and that Asad's parents had not seen it either... so it must be with you... and you have hidden everything from Zoya and made her get married to Ayaan as if her life with Asad never existed... you hoped that Zoya's memory would never return... but you lost in your gamble and Zoya got her memory back."
"I really don't know what you are talking about... and I don't have their marriage certificate."
"You have it... or you had it and you destroyed it... and that is the reason why you forced Ayaan to go to the court... because you know very well that Zoya's certificate is not with her and that she would not be able to produce it in court... I have lived with you for long and I know you like the back of my hand, Mr. Ghaffur Ahmed Siddique... you cannot fool me."
"So what if I had it and if I destroyed it... you have no way to prove it and I won't tell you... my daughter cannot be married to that man Asad Ahmed khan and be the daughter in Law of Rashid Ahmed Khan... and I will do anything in my power to make her leave Asad and come back." Ghaffur lashed out and clenched his fist in anger.
His thoughts then went to the day he landed in Paris to get Zoya.
All the way to the hospital and even in the flight he was thinking of why Zoya was with Asad in that car when the accident happened. He had broken up ties with that family long back and he hated them to the core. And he could never accept his daughter having any alliance with Asad Ahmed khan. And it may seem strange and heartless to others, but to him it was very normal that more than worrying about how hurt his daughter might have been due to the accident, his thoughts were about the reason why she was with Asad when the accident happened.
But when he reached the hospital and learnt that she was safe he sighed with relief; after all he loved and cared for his daughter in his own way. And then they told him that Zoya had partial Amnesia and Zoya herself cried and told him that she could not remember anything about her days in Paris and how the accident had happened. And he was frustrated, because Zoya was the only one who could tell why she was with Asad in a car when the accident happened but she did not remember anything and he wondered how he was going to find out the truth.
And then the next day when they discharged Zoya, they handed over to him Zoya's jewelry and the clothes that she was wearing when she was brought to the hospital. They handed over each item separately and made him sign that he had received them. And the ring was the last item they handed over and he was about to put it into the bag with the other items when the ring caught his attention. It did not look like an ordinary ring; in fact it looked so much like a wedding band although because of the small diamonds on it, it could be described as a ring.
He scrutinized the ring and turned it around and then he saw the letters A and Z engraved inside the ring. His heart skipped a beat then. what did it mean? He wondered. The letter Z surely meant Zoya but what about A? Could it be that Ayaan had given her a ring without his knowledge or could it by any chance be Asad? He immediately knew that he had to get to the bottom of it.
And after taking Zoya to the hotel he was staying, he gave Zoya everything else but kept the ring with him. His next destination was the Police Department. He told them that his daughter was still in shock and so he could not question her, but he wanted to know if they had any information regarding where she was staying. He said he had to collect her things.
The Police then told him the next shocking news. They said they believe that Zoya was staying with Asad in an apartment that he had rented and they had the address but they have not gone there since they did not need any clues from there for their investigation into the accident. He got the address from them and went to the apartment. Since it was an Apartment Hotel, he went straight to the Manager of the hotel and told him about the accident and that Zoya was his daughter and he wanted to take her things from the apartment. The Manager immediately agreed and then he said he was very sad to hear about Mr. and Mrs. Khan's accident and to give them his kind regards. Asad being a celebrity he had personally met them when they shifted to the Apartment and few times later. The Manager's words shocked him further. Asad and Zoya were staying together in an apartment as husband and wife and it shocked him to the core and he feared what that meant.
The Manager opened the Apartment for him and went away and he went from room to room and entered the bedroom and there he saw everything. Zoya's and Asad's clothes together in the wardrobe, her make up things on the dressing table, her I pad on the bedside table and more of her jewelry and things in another drawer. And then he saw a file on the second drawer of the wardrobe and opened it. And when he saw their marriage certificate in it everything became clear to him and he shook with rage and he could not believe that Zoya had done such a thing to him.
His immediate thought was to go to the hotel immediately and confront Zoya and shout at her, but then he started thinking with a clear head. Zoya had gotten married to Asad but it looked like they have done it in secret and no one at home knew about it. He knew that the media would have caught with it by now and it would have been mentioned in the newspapers that Zoya was his wife if people really knew about this marriage.
And from the conversation he had with the police officer, he had understood that even they did not know the exact relationship between Asad and Zoya. Zoya's passport which they had found in her bag was still in her maiden name and that was how they had gotten information about him and had informed him about the accident. And Zoya was not admitted in the hospital as Mrs. Khan so it was more obvious that they did know that she was married to Asad. Perhaps they just thought that they were having an affair and living together and that was all very normal to them so the police had not bothered to find out.
And he wondered if Rashid and Dilshad knew about it or not and the thought of them increased his anger further. Previous day, he had come to know from the hospital that Rashid and Dilshad had also arrived there but they had not come to meet Zoya. And he knew them well enough to know that regardless of the differences they had with him, they would have come to meet Zoya if they knew about her. He knew that Rashid and Dilshad were too nice in that way and he concluded that even they did not know anything about this marriage.
And after sitting at their apartment and thinking for almost an hour, he packed all of Zoya's things including the certificate and left for the hotel. He did not confront Zoya, after all she did not remember anything and no one else knew about this marriage as well. Hence the only thing he wanted to do for the time being was to keep it that way as a secret. He did not want anyone else to know about it till he figured out what to do. And he booked their tickets for next day and brought Zoya back home without even giving a thought to the fact that it was her legally wedded husband who was fighting for his life in a hospital in Paris and Zoya deserved to know the truth even if she had memory loss and did not remember about him.
And as the days passed by Zoya remained in her memory loss state and he learnt that Asad was still in coma. And the truth about their marriage remained a secret as they have kept it earlier and it became more evident that no one probably knew about it except him. And even the media in the few articles that later came out about Asad, did not mention Zoya's name and it was like even they have forgotten about Zoya's association with him.
And then few months later, Shirin and her husband once again started talking to him regarding Ayaan and Zoya's marriage. He did not know what to do and what to answer them. He did not want to tell the truth to them and get humiliated in front of them. His anger towards Rashid and the family grew during those days. But he had kept a tab on them just to know whether they knew anything about Zoya. And he knew it when they had brought Asad home as well. And during that time, he dreaded that may be they would finally approach Zoya and tell her the truth but they never did and it confirmed for him that they did not know about the marriage. And he did wonder why even Asad had not sent them for her but then he was glad he did not.
And then one day he said yes to Shirin and started talking to Zoya again regarding marriage to Ayaan. But he knew that Zoya cannot get married to Ayaan till she was divorced from Asad and then one day in a fit of rage he tore their marriage certificate, the only credible proof of their marriage.
And it was then that a thought occurred to him. Why not pretend that even he knew nothing about their marriage and get Zoya married to Ayaan? And the more he thought about it the more he felt that it was the best thing to do. He knew that Zoya could get her memory back and remember things but he had hoped that by then it would be too late and she would be married to Ayaan and settled down as his wife. And he knew that what he was making Zoya do was a crime and that it was even morally unacceptable to make her get married to someone else while she was already married to another. But he did not care. His reputation and his ego in front of Rashid and his family and his hatred overruled all other things; he could not tolerate even the thought of Zoya being the Daughter in Law of that family. And he made his decision and made Zoya marry Ayaan. He gambled but he lost in his gamble when Zoya refused to be with Ayaan and came back home and when she got her memory back soon after that.
"Where are you lost?... answer my question... you knew that Zoya was married to Asad isn't it?"
Hearing Zainab's voice Ghaffur came out of his thoughts.
"I told you that I'm not going to answer any of your questions... just get out from here." Ghaffur shouted.
"The fact that you are so angry right now and is not willing to answer my questions proves that my assumption is correct... you can't hide their certificate... give it to me."
"You will never get it you understand that... and you can never prove anything against me."
"How disgusting can you be?... I have always known what kind of a person you are but earlier even I would have never imagined that you would do such a thing to Zoya... I thought that at least you loved her and cared for her even if you never cared about me... but you have tried to destroy her life... and you have committed a crime and a sin, Mr. Ghaffur Ahmed Siddique... by making Zoya get married to Ayaan while knowing that she was married to Asad you have committed a crime... and it's not Zoya and Asad who should be dragged to court... it's you who need to be punished." Zainab's voice trembled with rage and finally hearing everything Zainab hurled at him, Ghaffur felt a twinge of guilt in his heart.
***************
Late in the same night, Zoya lay in the bed wide awake, unable to sleep. Asad on the other hand was relaxed and happy because things got sorted out with his parents and they were staying with him and he had fallen asleep easily.
After tossing and turning for a while Zoya knew that it was impossible for her to sleep right then. And fearing that Asad might wake up due to her restlessness, she got up from the bed. And wanting to deviate her thoughts and relax her mind, she decided to go down to the drawing and watch something on TV for a while.
But she could not concentrate on anything on TV as well, and after half an hour she gave up and turned off the TV. She got up from the sofa and started pacing across the drawing room, and it was like this Dilshad saw her while she was crossing the hall to go to the kitchen to get some water. Dilshad stopped and stood staring at Zoya wondering why she was not asleep at this time. And from across the distance also Dilshad could visualize the tension on Zoya's face and she realized that Zoya was very much disturbed about something. And Dilshad stood there wondering what to do and whether she should go and speak to Zoya or not. And then after another few minutes she saw that Zoya had stopped pacing across the room and had sat down on the floor near the sofa hugging her knees. She looked as if she was about to cry and Dilshad could not keep silent seeing her in that state and she walked towards Zoya.
"Zoya why aren't you asleep?... and you looked disturbed...is something wrong?" Dilshad sat on the sofa near her and caressed her head and seeing the concern in Dilshad's voice and feeling her motherly touch tears welled in her eyes for the second time in two days. And Dilshad immediately understood that something was really wrong.
"What is it Zoya? Is there any problems between you and Asad?" Dilshad understood that it would not be easy for a young woman like Zoya to face and deal with the condition in which Asad was in. Looking after and being with a man who was both emotionally and physically scarred and so vulnerable would not be an easy task and she understood that Asad could be difficult and stubborn as well.
"No Ammi... there's no problem as such between me and Asad."
"Are you telling the truth?...you know it always helps when you share things... and you could tell me about what it is that is disturbing you so much even if it is due to my son... maybe I could help you both."
"I am telling the truth Ammi... there's no problem between me and Asad...when we met for the first time, in the initial 2 to 3 days we did face some problems... Asad was not willing to accept me back in his life and he had some insecurity and all... but now things are almost normal between us." Zoya tried to smile while her eyes were brimming with tears.
"I'm really happy to know that Zoya... I'm still sad that we missed your marriage and all that... but now that my son is married, I want him to have a successful and loving marriage, the kind both Rashid and me have... my two children's happiness means everything to me... and now Zoya, you have also become our child and your happiness is equally important to me... so share with me if there is anything that's making you sad and disturbed... Is it because of your parents, because you are forced to leave them and choose Asad over them?"
Hearing everything Dilshad said and feeling her love and concern, the tears in Zoya's eyes started to run down freely and with a sob she hugged Dilshad's knee and put her face on her lap. And as Zoya cried, Dilshad stroked her hair lovingly.
And suddenly Zoya felt like sharing everything with Dilshad. She realized that Dilshad was just like her own Ammi and would understand her even though they had just met. And Zoya was sure that she would help her in any way she could.
"Ammi ." Zoya lifted her head and stared at Dilshad's face hesitatingly.
"There is something about my life about which you all don't know anything... even Asad doesn't know about it... and this is complicating our life right now... and I'm so scared."
"Do you want to tell me about it?" Dilshad asked her and Zoya nodded.
"I don't know from where to begin also." Zoya said, feeling nervous once again.
"Begin from the very beginning... that's the best." Dilshad smiled.
And Zoya began from the time that her Abbu started to push her into marrying Ayaan and how she went to Paris because of that and how she met Asad there and fell in love and then how her Abbu brought her back from Paris, her amnesia and how she was pressurized into marrying Ayaan and everything that followed and how she got her memory back and returned back to Asad. And finally she explained about the court case and what her Abbu and Ayaan are planning to do.
"And that's the actual reason why I need the marriage certificate so desperately..." Zoya whispered.
And after hearing everything Zoya told, Dilshad was too shocked but she could easily imagine Ghaffur manipulating his daughter this way and she could imagine the extent to which he could go to satisfy his ego and achieve whatever he wanted.
Dilshad sat there too numb to react. She was after all Asad's mother and it was hard for her to accept that Asad's wife had gone through the ritual of getting married to someone else while she was married to Asad. But then she looked at Zoya's face and saw the turmoil there and her heart went out to the unfortunate girl who happened to have a father like Ghaffur.
"Zoya I'm too shocked by everything you said... but I'm not surprised... your Abbu had always been like this... and I'm sorry to tell you that he is not a good man Zoya."
"I know that now Ammi... and I wish I had followed my instincts and not agreed to marry Ayaan. But then I have always loved my Abbu... we had differences and we kind of never got along with each other but still he is my Abbu and I loved him... so ultimately during that time when he kept on asking me to get married to Ayaan, I had to agree finally... I so wish I had followed my instincts and not agreed to it... it's all my fault."
"No Beta... please don't blame yourself so much... in your shoes anyone would have done that because after all parents means a lot to children... even my Asad who never thought of marrying before he met you, I'm sure even he would have ultimately gotten married to someone if we had kept on pressuring him... but we never did because whatever makes our children happy is what we want... he was happy to stay single and we accepted it even though it was my greatest wish to see him married... especially after Najma got married, I started wishing for Asad's marriage... but all these days he was never interested and you know I have almost given up hoping to see him with a wife... but now I see that someone has captured his heart so well that he got married in secret without even telling us...that too so soon after he met you." Dilshad smiled and tried to lighten the mood and Zoya blushed hearing the teasing note in Dilshad's voice and lowered her head shyly.
"You love him as much as he loves you right?" Dilshad held Zoya's chin and made her look up so that she could see what was in Zoya's eyes clearly. Seeing Asad and Zoya together, she could very well see the love they have for each other; but still she was a mother and she wanted to reassure of how much this girl to whom Asad had given his heart loved him in return. And especially now that she had learnt how complicated Asad and Zoya's life had become because of Zoya's Abbu, Dilshad knew that Zoya would be able to fight all the obstacles keeping aside the feelings she had for her Abbu, only if her love for Asad overpowers everything else.
"I do Ammi... Asad means everything to me... and I will do everything in my power to make him happy... and right now my first priority is to make him well and I don't want anything to disturb him and stress him... and that's the main reason why I'm so worried about this... I don't know how he would react to this court case and all...and this is the time when all my energy should be put on just being with Asad and help him recover, but instead I have to face this... and then Asad will be stressed once he learns the truth and he will only be thinking of all this and he won't concentrate on getting better... I wish I could do something and some miracle happens and Asad is spared from knowing the truth...I can't see him go back to the person he was when I first saw him 10 days ago... he was so disturbed, so insecure and I can't see him like that again Ammi." Tears welled in Zoya's eyes again and Dilshad reached out and cupped her face.
"Don't burden yourself too much Beta... now we are also here with you to share your burdens... and I am so happy to know that you care for Asad so much... and I know what you mean... I can see how much better Asad has become in the last few days... he looks so happy and relaxed... and even I don't want anything to disturb him right now, but Zoya, I feel you should tell him the truth soon... if he learns about it some other way he will be more hurt and more disturbed... think about this and make a decision Zoya... and I will be there to support you."
"Thanks Ammi, for being so understanding and for being such a wonderful mother... now I know why Asad is such a great human being... it's all because he has parents like you."
"Even you are a great girl Zoya... despite having a father like Ghaffur you have really grown up to be a beautiful soul Zoya." Dilshad said with a faraway look on her face.
"Ammi...can I ask you something?... what exactly happened between my Abbu and you and Rashid Abbu?"
"Do you really want to know Beta?... it's about your Abbu and you may not want to hear anything bad about him."
"I really want to know... and I feel I deserve to know the truth and see the real face of my Abbu... I have already guessed from my Ammi's talks that Abbu was the one at fault and now what I feel is that he had really done something against you all and I want to know about what happened in the past."
"Alright Zoya... if you think you can handle the truth, I will tell you everything." Dilshad said softly and caressed her hair tenderly.
PS... next Chapter will be about Rashid, Dilshad and Ghaffur and Zainab's past... sorry i could not include it in this chapter... It will become too long if i do it... also i have written so much in the last few days and i need a little break..( these two Chapters are actually 16 pages in WORD.) 😆
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