~~Sirf Mohabbat~~ Chapter 10 pg 8|| 31st August - Page 2

"How are you feeling now?" Zara questioned taking a seat on the chair. The doctor had done a number of tests and prescribed blood thinning tablets to allow easy blood flow to the heart and lessen the risk of another heart attack.

"I don't know" Salma whispered, she held out her palm which Zara immediately held onto placing her other hand atop. "Zara, please don't leave me. I'm going to be alone, I don't want to be alone. I don't know how I'm going to be living without your abba and... you..."

"I'm not going anywhere, amma" Zara assured.

"Sach?" Salma gasped.

"I'll be here with you for some time" Zara replied refraining from telling her mother there was a deadline to her being here. 1 month.

Salma smiled and pulled Zara into her arms crying, she had missed 5 years of her daughter's life and she regretted the moment she'd made the decision.

Ayesha entered with her family to check on Salma, Zara slowly pulled back glancing over her shoulder blankly, she excused herself telling her mother she'd be back in a little while and walked out of the room leaving Ayesha and her family to speak to her mother alone.

Zara sat in the waiting room tapping away on her phone, she had glanced up repeatedly to see if Ayesha was leaving but none of them had stepped out yet.

She wanted to join her mother and hold her, but she didn't want Ayesha and her family present. If she could, she would have stopped them from meeting her mother.

Zara scoured through her emails, she smiled seeing an email from Iqbal. Opening it, she found he'd sent a number of applications for her internship at renowned hospitals all over the UK and USA.

"Hello" Iqbal answered his phone.

"Thanks for the applications, I really appreciate it" Zara responded, "Interning had slipped my mind since coming here" she added.

"It's okay, Zara do you think you'll definitely return after a month?" he questioned.

"What do you mean?" Zara responded alarmed, she hadn't heard him become so serious.

"Listen Zozo, some internship start on the week you return should you return within a month. If you cannot and you withdraw back your application, that's going to ruin your chances of applying at other hospitals. You know word spreads like fire" he explained.

Zara considered his words carefully and knew he was right, what if she couldn't return after a month, a number of different scenarios played in her mind and each had the same ending. She is unable to return in time.

"Hey, you okay?" Iqbal called out not hearing her respond.

"What do I do, Iqbal?" she murmured.

"Why not apply in India for now? So you keep practicing and work on building your career, when you return transfer over" he suggested.

"I'll... I'll have to think about that, I don't know how their teaching programs are here" she shrugged.

"You're not going to have time to look into all that either, I'll research for you and send applications" he offered.

"Thank you so much Iqbal, I don't know what I would be if you didn't help me so much" she offered her appreciation. "Thank you once again" she repeated. "I really really am so grateful".

"Don't praise me so much ZoZo, my heart can't take it" Iqbal answered making Zara laugh.

"Anyway, I'll speak to you later. Bye and take care of yourself, Saira isn't there and neither am I" she said and cut the call. She turned her head and noted Kabeer speaking to her mother's doctor. The lightness she'd been feeling disappeared and she grew concerned and angry at the same time.

"What's wrong?" she approached the doctor and focused only on him.

"Nothing Mrs Ahmed, I was just telling your husband about after care" the doctor replied.

Zara shot Kabeer a glare, and turned back to the doctor, "I can look after my mother very well and I know what she needs".

"I appreciate that, but she will need someone with her all the time for now, we don't want her suffering from another heart attack. Given your medical background and fresh education of medical school, I'm sure you know what I mean" he added meaningfully.

Zara nodded and he smiled excusing himself. Once he had left, Zara turned to Kabeer.

"I don't want to hear anyone address me as your wife or you as my husband. Stop telling people!"

"I asked for an update and he asked what's my relationship" Kabeer informed.

"You could have easily said you're amma's nephew" she stated firmly.

"I wouldn't have had the pleasure of seeing your face going all red and her eyes spitting fire then" Kabeer responded cheerily then entered her mother's room.

Zara scowled, she pushed open the door and entered behind him deciding to check on her mother. She ignored the others and moved to her mother's bedside.

"Oh Zara, you're here" Salma smiled stretching her hand out. Zara offered a small smile taking her mother's hand into hers.

"Zara" Ayesha placed her hand on her shoulder, Zara clenched her jaw but she didn't say anything not wanting to upset her mother. Had her mother not been here, she would have shrugged off the woman's hand. Instead, Zara glanced over at Ayesha.

"Salma bhabhi and you are going to move in with us until bhabhi is better" she said.

Zara couldn't hold back and this time shrugged off Ayesha's hand standing up quickly.

"No!"

"Salma chachi requires full time attention and care" Zeenat informed. "You wouldn't be able to do it by yourself".

"Please let me remind you all, she's my mother, my responsibility. 5 years ago, you all said I wouldn't achieve something, remember? I've done it. Just like that, I'll look after my mother without any of your support".

Salma frowned, "Zara..."

"Please amma" Zara intervened shaking her head.

"Zara, Ayesha is right. How are you going to be able to take care of me alone? It's at these difficult times that we need family, and I'm going to feel better with everyone. I'm going to feel alone anyway without your abba" Salma explained.

Zara felt her mother's words piercing her heart, her mother didn't think she could take of her alone, she was going to feel alone despite her promising to stay with her for the full month.

"Okay, do whatever you want" she murmured, she cradled her mother's cheeks and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Salma looked confused and her eyes widened when Zara simply walked out of the room.

"Zara" she cried out as it dawned on her that her daughter was leaving despite the promises she made. "Zara" she screamed.

"Kabeer, go and stop her" Ayesha gestured him in the same direction.

Kabeer nodded and exited the room breaking into a run when he couldn't see Zara anywhere.

He had to catch her before she left the hospital else he wouldn't know where to find her. He didn't think she'd be going to her parents home should she leave here.

"Zara" he called out noting her by the front desk.

Zara turned around facing him as he approached, "I've cleared her medical bill" she informed then turned to head outside.

"Zara listen to me" Kabeer held onto her elbow.

Zara shrugged off his hand narrowing her eyes, "Don't touch me" she hissed.

"Can you please just listen" he answered firmly.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say" she snapped.

"You either listen or I'm going to pick you up, lock you inside my car with me. Nobody will say anything to me because I am going to tell them you're my wife, and they have no right to interfere husband and wife" he warned. "You know I carry out my promises, Zara Siddiqui".

Zara pouted stepping back in fear, "Please don't..." she shook her head. She paused then straightened, her eyes filled with confidence and anger.

"Did you want to see a girl who's scared of your meaningless threats?" she smirked. "Kabeer Ahmed, I'm not that girl anymore" she added. "If you touch me, I'm going to scream every crime under the sun and have you arrested. And what proof do you have that we're married?" she asked.

"Can you please just listen" he answered firmly.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say" she snapped.

"You either listen or I'm going to pick you up, lock you inside my car with me. Nobody will say anything to me because I am going to tell them you're my wife, and they have no right to interfere husband and wife" he warned. "You know I carry out my promises, Zara Siddiqui".

Zara pouted stepping back in fear, "Please don't..." she shook her head. She paused then straightened, her eyes filled with confidence and anger.

"Did you want to see a girl who's scared of your meaningless threats?" she smirked. "Kabeer Ahmed, I'm not that girl anymore" she added. "If you touch me, I'm going to scream every crime under the sun and have you arrested. And what proof do you have that we're married?" she asked.

Kabeer arched his brows in amusement, "You're seriously asking that?" he paused and noted she didn't even seem to even grasp onto his response and stared at him stonily. "You're probably forgetting that with saying Qabool, you also sign the Nikah Na'ma" he reminded.

"I asked you, what proof do you have that we are married?" Zara reiterated.

"Nikah Na'ma" Kabeer replied frowning.

Zara smirked, "Now, I think you're forgetting I've got that. I can prove we're married, but what proof can you give?" she questioned.

Kabeer now understood what she meant, he smiled shaking his head. "It's for cases like this, that we have two witnesses from both sides".

"And people can be bought" she answered suggestively.

Kabeer immediately scowled clenching his jaw, Zara smiled sweetly and walked past him.  

Kabeer inhaled sharply trying to gather his thoughts together and remain calm for the sake of Salma, he recalled her tears and her cries for Zara. With no choice, he ran to catch up with Zara who was now out of the building and hailing an auto.

"Zara" he called coming to a stop besides her.

"Leave me alone" she snapped turning around and facing him.

"Chachi needs you right now, Zara. She's breaking down" he informed in a gentle voice. "She's just lost chacha, you returned and now you're just walking out?".

"You can call me selfish, but I am not going to move in with you and your family, not even for my amma" she responded firmly. "And she doesn't believe that I could care for her alone" she scoffed shaking her head.

"You heard what the doctor said, you yourself are a doctor. You should know better than to hurt her and stress out her heart right now" he answered. "You'll be liable for what happens next" he attempted to emotionally tug at her heart in the hopes of her returning inside.

"Emotionally blackmailing me won't work, Kabeer Ahmed" Zara responded. "I'm a doctor, remember? I'm surrounded by death all the time".

Kabeer was taken aback by her response, since when had she become so cold? That too towards her own mother.

Zara hailed an auto when she noticed that he simply looked surprised to say anything else. She climbed inside and asked him to take her home, all the while Kabeer was dumbfounded by his conversation with Zara.

She wasn't like this he thought inwardly.

"How are you so stupid?" Kabeer questioned flipping through the pages.

"Why don't you be honest and call yourself stupid?" Zara snatched her book back. "I don't understand why abba believes you know better than me?" she scowled.

"Because I do know" Kabeer pulled up his imaginary collar smiling widely.

"Oh really?" Zara smirked. "Did you tell abba, you failed your last exam and had to retake it?" she winked.

Kabeer immediately glanced around and turned back to his cousin, "Shut up. You promised you wouldn't say that again ever".

"There's no one here! You're such a darpok" she laughed and started packing her books and pens away. "You should really tell abba, I'm more of the tutor than you".

"So that chacha tells my abbu and he gives me a kicking up my ass?" Kabeer stuffed his books into his backpack. "I'm not ready to die yet" he said. "Accha, I'll see you tomorrow".

"Don't be late again" Zara called out heading towards her bedroom whilst Kabeer climbed down the stairs bidding bye to Salma and Irfan before he left.

"Kabeer, where is she?" Salma straightened hopefully and continued to look at the door as he entered inside the room. "Kabeer" she prompted.

"Chachi, she's gone" he informed sadly going to her side and embracing her when she fell apart sobbing.

Shahbaz clenched his fists by his sides, he turned and left the room unable to see her like this. He had promised Irfan he'd be looking out for Salma and Zara, but how? Salma was breaking apart and even more so due to Irfan's own daughter Zara.

He walked out of the hospital climbing into his car and ordered his driver to drive to Zara Siddiqui's house.

Zara frowned hearing insistent knocks, she pondered whether it could be Kabeer but didn't think he'd follow her leaving her mother crying.

She opened the door surprised to see her uncle stood outside and he didn't seem so pleased.

"You must be here to pick up amma's belongings' right?" she said returning inside leaving the door open for him to follow.

"Zara, return to the hospital and speak to Salma bhabhi" Shahbaz answered.

Zara paused, she turned around facing her uncle and arched her brows. "You're speaking to me as if you're ordering me?" she crossed her arms.

"I'm asking this on behalf of your abba and my brother" Shahbaz replied and noted gladly that seemed to garner her attention. Zara was a daddy's girl. More than Salma, she was closer to her father. "Do you think he would be happy to see this? Just think once, do you think Irfan bhai would be happy seeing the two people he loves the most are broken instead of joined together?" he questioned her.

Zara glanced over to the mantle above the fire place, she looked at her father's photograph and could imagine him blaming himself and crying in hurt.

"I know you are upset with all of us and nobody is blaming you right now, but think for once about your mother. Jannat is under her feet and you know that, hurting her is hurting your abba, Allah and our Prophet (S.A.W)" he reminded.

"I've got a condition" she stated, she wasn't going to easily give in. She wanted to see her mother on her own conditions.

Shahbaz was disgusted and disappointed by her response, which child is cold hearted to put conditions before she decides to see her mother, however he quickly masked his emotions. "What?" he asked.

"You, your wife, your family aren't going to be there. I want to speak to amma alone. I especially don't want to see... Kabeer there" she replied.

Shahbaz stared for a moment at her, then slowly nodded. "Okay, I'll call you once they've left then you can come".

Zara nodded and watched as he turned and left the house.

"Abbu, why would you agree to such a condition?" Kabeer questioned his father. They had returned home and Kabeer couldn't hold back from questioning his father. He hadn't said anything in front of Salma not wanting to stress her out.

"Kabeer, I done what is right for Salma bhabhi" Shahbaz answered. "That girl isn't the same girl, she's changed and she's..." he grated his teeth unable to find words to even describe her.

"She's rude and so cold" Zeenat finished. "Abbu, did you see how she talked to ammi? No one has ever spoken to ammi like that" she sighed shaking her head.

"Bas, bas... stop thinking so much" Ayesha intervened. "At least she is coming to see Salma bhabhi. She's lost her abba as well, so she must be hurting and isn't thinking straight" she attempted to reason.

"Ammi, what if she says something and hurts Salma chachi more?" Kabeer asked. "Whatever has come out of her mouth until now has just been poisonous".

"I agree, ammi" Zeenat sided with her brother in law.

"At the end of the day, Zara is a daughter. A daughter's heart melts in a glance, she wouldn't be so angry for long, she's upset and Salma knows that. Didn't you see how she returned on the earliest flight in the hopes of seeing Irfan bhai?"

"And he had passed away before she arrived" Zeenat replied.

"She's going to live with that for her whole life, she wouldn't want the same feeling again" Ayesha responded.

"Still ammi, I..." Kabeer started.

"Kabeer, it's getting late. I'm going to cook some food for Zara and Salma bhabhi, why don't you take it in for them to eat?" she suggested.

Kabeer agreed nodding his head and excused himself heading to his bedroom.

Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. 

I'll try updating OA tomorrow if time permits. I've returned to work so updates aren't going to be daily as I wanted.