"Pehla Bhai tumari ladaai lad rahe the, ab tumhare Dad lad rahe hai
As Mahi kept spewing nonsense, all Zoya could think about was Yash. Had he really been a different person like people said he was? If he was going bankrupt why didn't he share anything with her. And the day he came to meet her before...before the accident happened. Everything had seemed fine. They had been fine.
"Aap Zoya se aise baat nahi kar sakti Mahi! Apni tameez mein rahiye. Waseem replied. This jolted Zoya out of her thought. This situation was getting worse, if she didn't try to control it her Abu and Mahi will end up saying and doing things, which may cause even more mayhem. She had to take her Abu away.
"Abu yahaan se chalte hai please. Zoya pleaded with her Dad.
"Haan yahi sahi hoga! Go on Mr.Waseem, turn your back and leave, just like your daughter, who could never be a proper wife or a proper life partner. In fact, sad sahi kehte hai Zoya surf bholi ban sakti hai. No wonder Bhai ka affair chai raha tha. Who would want to stay with such a naive and cowardish personality. Now that I think about it, Bhai ko probably tum par taras agaya hoga that's why he stayed with you as long as he did... before Mahi could finish the sentence she felt a sting on her cheek. The sound of the slap resonated in the silence that followed.
Mahi after registering that she had been slapped looked up to see Zoya standing in front of her, with a coldness in her eyes that had never been there before. Shocked would be an understatement, to describe what Mahi was feeling. Not once in the time that she had known Zoya had she ever seen her react to anything. Especially react to defend herself in situations like this one. Zoya was always the quiet and innocent personality who never wanted any trouble from anyone. So to see her stand up for herself shocked Mahi beyond words, rendering her speechless for now.
"I.am.not.a.coward!Zoya said with a firm tone in her voice,Aap ne hamare baare mein bohut kuch bol diya hai, but don't you dare think that because I am staying quiet means that I am a coward. Aur aap kaisi behen hai, Yash ko guzre hue 1 din bhi nahi hua and this is what you have to say. Yash agar yahan hote to he would have been really sad to see you like this Mahi.
"Abu please let's leave. There has been enough said and done, Zoya said while dragging her Dad away with her.
To say she was surprised at her own behaviour would be unfair. She was more than surprised. She never acted like this. Never once had she stood up..to anyone or...anything. But today when Mahi kept calling her naive and a coward especially assuming the fact that Yash having an affair was justified, something hardened in her. She refused to believe that Yash would cheat her, not when he loved her so much. And she wasn't a coward! She can defend herself.. she just never chooses to, because staying quiet was always somehow easier, but not today. Today she realised that if she hadn't said anything, this word "coward would be stuck with her forever. And she was far away from being a coward. Yes she might be broken and hurting right now but she wasn't a coward!
At the Airport
The ride to the airport had been a quiet one. Zoya's Dad hadn't asked her any questions about what she did at Yash's house or why she slapped Mahi. Honestly speaking Zoya was glad he didn't ask her anything, because she was still trying to figure out what exactly changed in her.
The flight to Mussorie would not be boarding until 2 hours. Zoya was sitting in the waiting lounge with her Abu contemplating if leaving Mumbai was the right decision. She was playing with the ring Yash gave her, lost in though when she heard it fall down to the ground. She went to pick it up but it rolled a bit further away lost in the cluster or footsteps, which kept kicking it further away.
When she finally got to it, she almost got her hand stamped on. As she retrieved the without injuring her hand, she looked up to find HIM standing there staring at her with a sarcastic smile on his face. I think..he was called Aditya..yeah Aditya Hooda. Whose wife had been found...with Yash. He hand intertwined with.. The memory made her uneasy and she gulped nervously.
"Tu tm bhaag rahi ho, phirse! Wah, matlab kitni consistent ho tum bhaagne mein. Pehle reality se bhaag rahi thi aur ab...let me guess, apne in-laws se? Aditya asked sarcastically. He hadn't expected to find Zoya at the airport at all. In fact he was hoping he wouldn't have to see her at all. Seeing her reminded him of that man..Yash and even worse Pooja's betrayal. Their tightly held hands flashed in front of them and he had to do everything to keep himself from lashing out. So instead of that, he always ended up taunting Zoya whenever he saw her. Maybe it was like a defence mechanism...
In the meantime Zoya had stood up, why is it that everyone kept assuming she was running away!
"Haam haag nahi rahi hai. Zoya said with tears in her eyes.
Aditya smirked. Ah the irony! "Rumhe kya lagta hai ki aise bhaag ne se, tumhara saath jo hua wo banal jayega.. Wake uppp! You can't change reality. Tumhare paati ka meri patni ke saath affair chal raha tha. He was lying to you!! Wo tumble dhokha de raha tha , aur tum bhaag rahi ho..hamesha ki tharha..! Aditya lashed out, yet again.
Zoya closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and said, "Hum.Bhaag.Nahi.Rahe.Hai! when she opened her eyes, the coldness from hours ago was back. Her resolve hardened and even with tears in her eyes there was defiance in her eyes. "Aap hame jaante hi kitna hai? Haan mere paati our apki patni ek saath mile accident ke duran. So what? I trust Yash with all my heart. Aur you are talking about facing reality? Meri reality yeah hai, ki hum toot chuke hai. Hum monte hai ki hum theek nahi hai. I can't pretend to be normal, like you are. At least hamme itni to himmat hai ki hum ye admit kar sake. Aur Aap? Apki patni go guzre 2 din phi nahi hua, aur app ajj yahan agaye plane udane. Maybe you need a reality check more that I do. Kyunki, you just lose someone you loved with all your heart yet you seem very, normal to me. Don't you think you are lying to yourself by pretending to be ok with all of this.
Aditya couldn't say anything because to an extent what Zoya was saying was absolutely right. He was lying to himself by pretending to be ok! He didn't want to feel all anything, he didn't want to feel the despair. But he couldn't let her see that. He won't let anyone know how affected he was by this incident. Hoe affected he was by Pooja..
"Ek Minute! You don't know anything about Pooja! So stop.. stop acting like you know how i feel. Just Stop Aditya said in anger. She was getting to him with her words.
"Exactly. Bura Laga na? So stop acting like you know me as well, because neither do you know me and nor do you know Yash. So please hame akele chod dijiye!Zoya retorted.
Both of them were silent for a moment. In a way both of them made each other face their true feelings in some way or another. Even if it was for a moment, both of them had been vulnerable in front of each other and nobody likes showing their weaknesses in front of anyone, it's human nature. Their pain is connected them, even though they didn't know it yet.
As the moment passes Zoya clutched her ring a little bit more rigidly in her hand and turned around to leave. While Aditya looked at Zoya's retreating back wondering why he felt the need to engage with her everytime he saw her. Was he angry on her, or just angry on himself that he couldn't grieve properly, like the way she is for her... husband. With that though in his mind Aditya left to board the plane.
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