A scene after their wedding - updated on page 16 - Page 5

Originally posted by: bookworm123

I would love to be called Lizzy (probably my favourite heroine). :)

Thank you so much for the kind words. I toned down the angst in the next update. :)

Originally posted by: SanFrangirl

Hey Elizabeth Bennett, right? :) Yay!

My all-time favorite literary character. Now I know why you love our arrogant " Mr Darcy" in Dr Asfi. :)

Love from one Lizzie fan to another!

Originally posted by: bookworm123

You write so beautifully yourself, feels nice to read your words of appreciation.

I did tone down the angst in the next update. Thought we should have some toe curling moments for a change

Part 4, continued from page 5

One evening, Khajista was brought in all battered and bruised. Zubia became extremely upset and left before her shift ended to retire to her room. She could not take the tension of waiting for her outcome. Asfand was stunned to see her reactions but could not go after her, he had to deal with the emergency.

Khajista survived and her baby though born premature was doing fine. A warrant was out for Bahadur's arrest, the villagers had reported to the authorities. Zubia did not return to work the next day. When she would not answer his frantic calls, he texted her to let her know that Khajista was fine.

Finally, in desperation he requested Geiti bhabhi to go to Zubia's room to check on her. Some instinct warned him not to involve anyone other than family.

Zubia had called her Khala in tears so she rushed to her hospital by taking a cab her son put her into. Zubia was very relieved to see her Khala who was like a mother to her.

When Geiti returned home, Usman, Lubna and Asfand were all very eager to know how she was doing. Normally Geiti was very discreet but she was very disturbed by Zubia's emotional state and could not keep it to herself. She reminded her of how she herself had cried when Daniyal died...she shared with them that Zubia was mourning the loss of her mother. As soon as she said that, there was silence in the room and all four of them pondered over the significance of that and the connection to Khajista's accident...none of them wanted to articulate the implication, it seemed too horrifying...

Asfand excused himself and went to his room. He was feeling extremely restless and wanted more than anything else to be with Zubia but he was helpless. He messaged her yet another time..."Please tell me you are ok, I am very worried, all of us are. I need to go to Islamabad early tomorrow and cannot go peacefully till I know you are ok". She finally replied..."I am sorry to have troubled all of you. I am fine. Please apologize to aunty, uncle and Geiti and thank them on my behalf".

Zubia's khala decided to stay with her for a few days in her room as she could not bear to leave her alone, even though Zubia assured her she was doing better. Zubia went to work the next day and had a tearful reunion with Khajista

-----

Geiti invited Zubia's khala to her home upon Lubna's suggestion. Khala sensed that Geiti wanted her to meet them without Zubia's knowledge but she knew from her phone calls with Zubia that Geiti and her family were very nice so she went ahead.

Lubna and Usman welcomed her khala with a lot of respect and affection as they were happy to meet someone who cared for Zubia so much.

After some small talk, they told her that they loved Zubia and wanted her to marry their son Dr. Asfandyar. Seeing khala's tears of joy, they decided to be frank. "We know everything but it makes no difference to us. We want you to tell Zubia that, she will listen to you as you are like her mother..."

Khala broke into tears at this and emboldened by their frank and affectionate attitude started speaking very glowingly about Zubia. ..she wanted them to know what a gem she was and also wanted to clear her name (she misunderstood them when they said they knew everything)...

She spoke about her suffocating home environment, how well her mother had raised her, how lonely she was as a teenager left to fend for herself, how she trusted the wrong person who promised to bring home a marriage proposal and take her away from her home. She broke down when she spoke about the taunts and treatment meted out to Zobia who was little more than a child who wanted to escape. Finally she told them how Zobia forgave her father, cared for him when he was unwell but was mistreated by her own brother and his wife...

Asfand was about to enter the living room when he heard khala in tears narrating all of this. He did not want to interrupt and embarrass her so he stayed where he was...he was thankful for that decision because he would not have wanted his family see him lose his composure like this..

Usman left the room to give khala privacy while Lubna and Geiti continued to talk to her. Finally they bid goodbye to her..

----

After khala left all of them sat quietly without saying anything, their minds too full and heavy after what they had heard.

Usman first spoke up. He said, "till now I only knew that Asfand had chosen Zubia, now I feel that they have been chosen for each other...she has also experienced the pain of betrayal by her own and faced ridicule.."

Lubna added..."She was all alone Usman, how did she withstand all this all alone? And she never said a word to Geiti or us, just smiled. At my age I could not forgive our relatives, she even took care of her father!"

Asfand who was listening quietly, finally spoke "Mama, Baba...do you know that I met Zubia many years ago and saved her from that scoundrel she trusted? We did not even know each other, it was a chance encounter"

They were stunned and silent...Usman spoke up..."After Urooj's confession and what we heard today, I am convinced more than ever that this is all part of God's plan for us, for Zubia and you"

Upon hearing this, Asfand raised his eyes and looked at his Baba in surprise, who looked back at him meaningfully...

Part 5 on page 8

Asfand meets Zubia

Originally posted by: bookworm123

I corrected it to Lizzie after I saw your reply. I knew there was something wrong with how I had written it.

And 🤗 to a fellow Lizzie Bennet fan..While I do love Darcy ( so many male leads are based on him, including some shades of Asfi), my real favourite in their story is Lizzie.

As for Asfi - I like FI's heroes on their own merit. She does set them up well - educated, gentlemanly, supportive...come to think of it Ashar from Humsafar turned out to be the rare weak one (I've only seen her dramas)..

And I posted the next update on page 5, not sure if you had the time to read it yet...

Originally posted by: SS88

Oh wow,that's an interesting plot twist. I never though the truth could come out in this manner, via Khala.

For some reason, I could not visualize a reserved Zubia sharing everything with Asfand. Since I did not have the skill to handle such an emotional scene and I had ideas around what their conversation would be like "after the reveal", I decided to follow that path...hope it comes out ok

It is true, all that Asfand and his family suffered,the humiliation which drove them to their ancestral home , and all that Zubiya suffered. right from her mom's death to being evicted from her childhood home to Khala's bahu misbehaving with her, all of this was part of Asfand and Zubi's "safar" to each other. I differ with Usman. They didn't choose each other. God chose them FOR each other , and then created circumstances , difficult and harsh , so that when they met they would truly value each other.

Originally posted by: SS88

@ Bookworm/Ms Bennet

You know, I read that as" they chose each other ".

Ab emotion aur excitement main theek se padha bhi nahi jaa raha. LOL

I think it was interesting, the way you set up things so Khala would be the one to tell the story to Lubna and Usman . I hope they don't use the original plot of the novel, where Zubi breaks down cos Khala and Khajista both die, and instead create different circumstances, like you have .

I actually want Zubi to be the one to tell Asfand. She's never had the chance to tell her side of the story to anyone,not even her own family. Everyone just got to know from each other, with more mirch-masala added in each retelling . I want her to get it off her chest, and I want Asfand to be the person who she shares it with.