CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 23 : Ashes of Love

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The week passed quickly for Safia . So quickly , that she wasn't able to believe that she was in the hotel room . The huge glasses displayed the view of the city . She was all dressed up in her powder blue coloured lengha which had silver  floral embroideries on the side. Her parents were in the other room , enjoying the service of the luxurious hotel . She stared through the window staring at the crowd and lightning of America.

She took a deep breath in , trying to calm herself down for this big day. There were many thoughts in her mind , and the foremost was 'Am I ready for this marriage ?'

But then she remembered the happy faces of her , when she told them the big news.

Convincing them for this marriage was not a big deal for her . Fawad was a rich, successful young man . Her mother couldn't believe that her daughter was getting married to a business tycoon . They lied about the wedding being this quick was the bad health of Fawad's grandfather.

Which wasn't entirely wrong . He was indeed very ill and could die almost any moment . All he desired was to see his grandson become a family man . What was challenging was to make them believe that they were actually in love and sure of this decision.

Safia kept looking outside the glass , her reflection faintly formed over it , and the memory of that day struck her mind.

Flashback

"I am so nervous . Mr Siddiqui—Please maintain your temper in front of my father , he might or might not say something rude or ask you a few questions which you might find offensive , but remember —"Before she could complete , Fawad looked at her.

"I will remember he's your father . I have to respect him like my own , if not less , then more , because he's handling his daughter to me" Fawad said to her with sincerity. She patted his shoulder in happiness.

"Exactly!! Look this much sincere and he will be sure that we are in love . Mr Siddiqui you are full of surprises!! I never expected you to be so good in acting" She wiped her invisible happy tears away dramatically.

Fawad sighed at her words .

"Let's go inside . Shall we ?" He asked, ignoring her last statement.

"Sure sure!" She happily exclaimed and walked in .

Safia's parents, who were with Ismail and Kalyani , were waiting in a restaurant, where Safia told them she would introduce them to the man of her dreams .

As soon as she appeared beside Fawad , her father's eyes widened and he couldn't believe that her daughter was with him.

"What is she doing with Fawad Siddiqui?" He whispered to his wife.

"I don't know, maybe he came to ask for her hand , for one of his cooks," her mother said . She didn't want to insult her daughter, but she couldn't bring herself to even think of her daughter's association with Fawad .

"Assalamualaikum, I am Fawad Siddiqui. It's nice to meet you sir" He bowed.

"Walekum assalam son , you are here because?" Her father asked awkwardly.

"To ask for Safia's hand in marriage" he said as his ear tips turned pinkish.

"For?" Her mother asked and Fawad chuckled awkwardly at that question.

'Who would I ask for ? Of Course myself. Have these people lost their marbles ?' he thought to himself.

"Me ammi ! He's here for me! Let's sit for dinner and talk about it" Safia said and needless to say the parents didn't let the thing go easily . They had thousands of questions.

And the foremost was — "What made you choose Safia out of every possible girl?" . They were certain that their daughter is one in a million , but what caught Fawad's eyes in her . They wanted to know for sure that he was falling for her personality, not her outward appearance . They wanted to assure that their daughter won't be tossed around after the man is bored of her looks .

Safia looked at Fawad in worry , as he put the spoon down on his plate. She wasn't sure what he would answer about her .

'What made him choose me ? Gosh if I was given a choice even I won't choose myself . I don't know what answer he will give ! Ya Rab please handle this and make sure that this lie doesn't get caught' She mentally prayed.

"Her courage," Fawad answered , taking her by shock.

"Her courage to help a small boy in a forest , when she was small herself and then—again saving him in the party . It's not what everyone can do . Not everyone has the strength to stand up for others . She's kind hearted and sweet , maybe sometimes a little crack too , making me ponder which asylum has released her . But her courage is one of the features which shine as brightly as her eyes do when she takes a bite of something she actually likes , or finds amusement in something" Fawad let his feelings out.

He wanted it to be a short and sophisticated answer , but the moment he started speaking about her , he couldn't stop.  There were more words he wanted to say and perhaps poems he wanted to compose for her , but for now , he knew that was enough .

Present

"Mr Siddiqui, you are so good with lies , that for a moment even I thought that you were in love with me" She mumbled to herself. She walked towards the mirror which was back to make sure she looked great for the last time , on this day .

Safia's makeup was done by professionals , and after every few seconds . Her hair was tied in a bun , with a few strands of hair falling over her face adding to the overall beauty of the look.

Her mehndi had Fawad's name over it , and she knew that after the marriage , Fawad would find his own name in the mehndi as a fun ceremony .

From fun—she got reminded of Seth .

She quickly dropped him a text.

Safia

Where are you ?

Seth

I might not be coming to the wedding .

Safia

But why ?

Seth

Just some work came up .

Khair , did you apply the mehndi ?

Ismail texted me how happily you were putting gloves over your hands to not wet them .

Safia

Yes !! Let me send you the pic

◯ ◯ ◯ image loading ◯ ◯ ◯

Seth stared at the mehndi , adoring the palms of Safia . A bitter feeling filled his heart and an over rushing feelings of possessiveness washed over him .

Without realizing a tear fell down his eyes which he wiped , with a chuckle .

'What is happening to my heart ? I should be happy for Fawad , but here I am sad and envious, ' Seth thought to himself before gulping in a glass of juice .

'Maybe it's because I was told about the wedding only a few hours ago' He tried to convince himself . He got informed of the wedding at the last moment, and he was hurt, but not that hurt to cry . He had a way of getting back at Fawad , but this time he felt lost . Deep down he knew that these feelings were just some envy or sadness , instead love .

"I just need to pray-or perhaps sleep" Seth mumbled and dragged himself to the bed , but still his heart was bleeding and every single second felt like a knife was piercing his chest . The face of Safia , illuminating under the light of the lanterns was clearly engraved in his mind and he couldn't get them out of his head no matter what .

Where on one hand , the sadness couldn't be controlled , on the other hand, Fawad couldn't control his excitement. He kept checking his own self in the mirror to see his hairs were fixed and what not .

Rudhra sighed as a memory of his own self came in front of his eyes.

Flashback

"Ma-Ma ! I am looking fine right?" He asked for the 10th time . He couldn't calm himself down , and his mother smiled . "You look like the most handsome man ever ! Now stop doubting yourself " She smiled and praised him.

"I can't believe today I am going to finally marry her" he dreamily said while hugging Fawad from the side , who was in the room .

Fawad slightly pushed him away with disgust.

"Don't hug me . I am not your wife . Go and hug her" Fawad told him coldly.

"What did you call her ?" Rudhra asked with a sheepish smile waiting to hear more.

"Your wife?" Fawad said with uncertainty.

Rudhra just let out a dreamy breath .

"How wonderful it sounds . I can't wait for the feeling , when I finally make her mine . Kalyani Gaytri Rajpoot" He happily said.

"And you will take her last name too? Gayatri " Seth laughed . He knew that the last name belonged to her grandmother and he couldn't fathom how to imagine Rudhra carrying the name of an old lady just to please his wife.

"Of Course. I don't see a problem with that" He said.

Present

'I should have seen the problem, after all too much water kills a plant too' He thought to himself and then stared at Fawad , who was now talking with Omari .

Omari was one of their friends . They became friends for a brief period of 4 years . Omari used to be a dealer of weapons too , but now he was a settled man with his own business industry , after he met his wife.

On Omari's shoulder was the purse of his wife, which he was happily carrying . The feminine powder blue coloured purse reminded him of Safia.

"Omari, can you send bhabhi to check on Safia ? And bring her to the hall?" He asked.

"Sure. Let me call her" Omari said and walked out.

~~~

The door of Safia's room opened , and a woman came inside. Safia was taking a sip of the tea , which she ordered just now to calm herself down and seeing the lady, she quickly put it down . The lady had worn a silver burkha with a veil over her face . Safia knew her because she kept coming inside with food a few times prior to this.

"Please come outside sweetheart. It's time to go" The lady held her hand . She could feel herself tremble . Even though it was not real , she still felt nervous . With every passing second she felt like a real bride.

The lady noticed her nervousness and smiled. "You know , even I was nervous when I first got married to Omari " She smiled as she kept walking with Safia towards the main hall.

"I knew deep down things were fake and nothing was real . I was his secret wife—but my heart couldn't understand it . And it's fine too . Give it time . And one thing I would suggest is give yourself time too along with this relationship" She comforted Safia.

"You know this relatio-nship is fake?"Safia asked.

The lady hummed in reply , she overheard the conversation of Fawad with Omari.

"Was your relationship fake too?" She asked.

"Mine was quite interesting , but in a different way " The lady smiled .

"Did you manage to love your husband?" Safia asked . She didn't want to sound nosy but she was curious .

"Yes . It's not difficult to fall in love with a person . What's difficult is to maintain that relationship, and put in effort . Even though it might not be real , I hope you will put efforts with Safia , because I can see Fawad doing that already" She said and with the final step , they were led to the grand hall .

The hall had a big chandelier, which was located right above the stage where the marriage was about to happen .

Safia couldn't help but imagine the last scene of Om Shanti Om , which was one of her favorite movies , reminding herself of the scene where the dead body of a female lead was hidden under the chandelier.

She could see her parents on the side with Kalyani still in viel and Ismail . Kalyani's dress was similar to that of Safia , and Safia did it knowingly . She wanted Kalyani to enjoy the feeling of being special to Safia , even when it has only been a few months since they were together .

One could easily mistake them with each other .

Ismail smiled when he saw her and approached her .

"You are looking like the most beautiful bride Chimpo" He complimented , but his words held various emotions . One of them was sadness. He knew that after she gets married, things might not always be the same. They might not always be the same.

"I was born beautiful" Safia said while tossing her dupatta sideways as if it was her hair.

"Sit there, love . The time is approaching" The lady from earlier said pointing towards the stage and Safia gave a little nod. Her father led her there while getting emotional . Her mother was happy and nudged her phuphi .

"I can't even believe how fortunate our Safia is to get married in this household . What do you say?" She asked and her phuphi Sabreen just gave a dry laugh with a nod . Sabreen dripped of envy, seeing so many staff roam around her brother and his wife , and giving them special treatment. She was used to them suffering , and a part of her didn't like the well-being of them.

She called Murad in irritation, her son cut the call , not wanting to hear one more word about how grand the wedding was . He was already sad about the loss of Safia .

"Please get a little side" the lady in a silver burkha told the aunt , as the photographers walked towards Safia to film the whole scene.

"How can you treat me like this ? I am not some random guest ! I am her phuphi !!" The aunt said angrily. The lady stopped with an apologetic look.

"I am very sorry for that , but please sit on the stage , it's difficult for the staff to move when you stand midway" she sweetly replied and walked off making the aunt scoff , as she angrily walked towards the stage .

The voice of the qazi starting the nikah could be heard on the mic . A thick cloth was in between Fawad and Safia . Just the thought that the love of his life was behind the curtain was enough to make his heart beat at a fast pace.

"Do you Safia , daughter of Murtuza Yousuf accept Fawad Siddique as your husband?" The qazi asked . Even though Fawad knew the answer in his mind , yet his heart kept beating at a fast pace, scared of what would happen if she turned back.

"I accept," Safia said slowly . She knew the weight of her words , they weren't just any letters but a stamp which would be there and start a new chapter of her life . Her father wiped his tears from his eyes hearing those words .

The vows went on for 2 more times . Each time with equal amounts of nervousness Fawad waited for the answer.

And when her vows were finally done , the qazi turned towards Fawad.

"Do you , Fawad Siddique, son of Khalid Siddiqui, accept Safia Yousuf as your wife?" Fawad's heart flipped in happiness , hearing Safia and wife in the same sentence .

"I do" he almost instantly said , making Augustus almost bite a laugh back at the desperation . Rudhra was sitting on the side of Fawad with an uninterested face , wanting the nikah to get over , so that they could dig in the food.

"Do you-" before the qazi could say for the second time a sound of gunshot echoed down the hall . The guests started to whisper things to each other and Safia's parents looked at them shocked.

"Continue" Fawad said coldly , realizing that there was an attack about to happen . But he didn't want to leave the stage before the wedding happened . He pulled out a gun from the pocket of his pants . He loaded it . Safia's father's eyes widened in horror seeing that.

"Safia! What is happening?!" Her father exclaimed in worry .

"Calm down baba. It's fine-qazi sahab please hurry" Safia tried to calm herself down . She clenched her lengha in worry , and the lady in the silver girl just held her hands gently , squeezing them softly , as if telling her to not be worried . Safia looked at her and passed a half smile.

With an attack carrying out outside , and screams of people echoing , it was difficult to calm down.

The qazi hesitated , and looked at Rudhra for confirmation who just got up from the stage . Guests stared at him .

"Continue . I will blow some heads and return soon" Rudhra walked outside .

"I might lend him a hand" Augustus told them and was about to go down the stage when Zeheb held his hand with pleading eyes.

"Don't go. I am scared" she whispered. She was worried about which new enemy had appeared , because these certainly weren't her people. She was busy at the wedding , taking multiple scoops of ice-cream to even care about attacking people.

"I will come back soon," Augustus told her , while stroking a hair behind her ears and slowly removing her hand and going outside.

"Do you Fawad Siddique , son of Khalid Siddiqui, accept Safia Yousuf as your wife?" The qazi asked, scared for his own life.

"I do," Fawad said.

The sounds of gunshots got louder , indicating that the fight was now taking place somewhere near.

"Do-Do you Fawad Siddique, son of Khalid Siddiqui, accept Safia Yousuf as your wife?" As soon as the qazi said it the fourth time , Fawad said "I do". He quickly signed the nikahnama and joined his hands for the quick short prayer.

The qazi's voice kept trembling with fear as he kept saying the prayers, and Safia's father couldn't find words to stop anything from happening. He was scared.

Fawad's mind was filled with anger , but he tried to stay calm and collected at least till his wedding was done.  He knew that Rudhra and Augustus would handle the work , along with his other men.

"It's done . You both are a couple now " The qazi said with fear looking at Fawad.

"Great then" Fawad loosened up the top buttons of his sherwani . The sound of continuous bullets started ringing around the place.

He removed the fabric separating him with Safia . He stared at her face which was worried , in the moment of ruckus , he found himself at relief , at the thought that she was now his wife.

"Don't worry . I won't let anything happen to you " he comforted her . Their eyes locked and she still looked worried , but passed him a nod , he smiled slightly and walked outside.

'They will regret even coming to destroy my wedding, ' Fawad thought to himself .

"Evacuate this place everyone ! It's not safe for now ! Your cars will lead you to the guesthouse where the next ceremonies will take place" The silver veiled lady told everyone and the guests from Fawad's side were quick to follow .

Ismail stared at Safia , who had now gotten up from the stage and was searching around the place like crazy, for Kalyani , so that they could leave together . Ismail knew that she went to the washroom in between, but she was now missing for a long period of time and amongst the attack taking place , it was difficult to say that she is safe .

"SAFIA FOLLOW THEM!" Ismail shouted pointing towards the group of people leaving , as guards protected them.

"NOT WITHOUT KALYANI" Safia shouted across the hall as their voices were barely audible under the loud noises.

Ismail didn't reply knowing it's practically useless to argue with someone who is as stubborn as Safia.

"Chachi go" Ismail shook Safia's mother's body . Her eyes got teary, releasing what was happening.

"Are we going to die?" She asked.

"Of Course not chachi-now go the same direction as Sabreen phuphi is going, " Ismail told her . Sabreen was quick to react and followed the line of the people.

"Murtaza-Murtaza! Let's go" she said and held the hand of her husband and he quickly nodded.

"Ismail , come with Safia" he said with a dry throat and Ismail nodded. The couple left , and Ismail turned to look at Safia , only to find the hall empty . She had left to find Kalyani.

"SAFIA!" He shouted, but no reply came.

The hall was empty now and the flowers which were decorated in the beautiful frames were now crushed and dirtied by the feet of people.  Nobody could actually tell that there was a wedding taking place over there just a few moments ago. The power supplies of the place were cut and the chandelier lights flickered and went off.

The door swung open and a man walked inside, to check upon the people

"Evacuate the place ! What are you waiting for ? A fire has broken out" the man warned and ran away .

Ismail threw a nearby vase on the ground to shatter in frustration. He walked outside , and the gun shots could be heard . A man came to attack him , but before Ismail could charge at him , another sound was heard with which the man fell dead on the ground with blood oozing down his forehead.

Ismail turned around , to find Fawad there.

He was covered in blood and sweat . His hairs stuck to his forehead and he resembled a monster . The one he was always taught to be .

"Where is Safia?" Fawad asked . Even with his mind full of vengeance , he wanted to ensure she was safe.

"She-she ran to find our friend " Ismail told him with worry.

"You let her go ? Just like that?" Fawad held Ismail's collar.

"I couldn't do anything—I tried to stop , but she sneaked and ran away" Ismail's eyes filled with tears at the guilt.

"If anything happens to her . I will freaking burn every single person alive here. Just remember this" Fawad pushed Ismail and he fell on the ground .

Fawad walked upstairs , to the hotel room . Pushing the doors of each room open.  The smell of the smoke was all over as few devices caught fire . The hotel staff were out as they waited for firefighters.

With each step Fawad felt a part of him was dying. He felt his heart ache as he walked around the lobby like a crazy person .

"SAFIA! WHERE ARE YOU?" He shouted on the top of his lungs , looking for her.

"SAFIA!" He yelled . A few footsteps came from behind , he quickly turned around to find an enemy and shot him dead and continued his search.

"SAFIA!!" He shouted and his throat ached as the smoke entered them making him cough , but he didn't give up . Instead, I walked a few floors above .

"Where are you going sir?" A staff member asked him .

"Have you seen a girl-a girl in a blue lengha?" Fawad said and coughed .

"No sir . There is no one . Please go down . The doors of the upper rooms are made of iron . Even if someone is there , it's almost impossible to open or even touch the knobs without the firefighters. The fire around has heated every metal" The man warned , but Fawad just ignored his advice and ran upstairs. The man wanted to take him downstairs , but a part of the roof fell down due to the fire and the staff ran down fearfully.

"Safia !!" Fawad shouted as he reached upstairs . His voice got weaker , but his determination to find his wife remained the same.

'I can't lose you , just when I found you' He thought to himself .

He kept shouting and with each step his legs felt weak and his head felt dizzy .

"Safia—"he said in a broken voice .

"MR SIDDIQUI!" Her faint voice came from a room . He quickly turned on the side and ran in the direction.

"MR SIDDIQUI ARE YOU THERE?" She shouted . Her voice sounded weak and desperate for help.

"Yes-I am here" Fawad took a breath of relief knowing that he finally found her.

"Please get me outside," she cried .

Fawad's heart ached as he looked around trying to find something from which he could open the hot metal door , but there was nothing . He removed his sherwani , revealing his nicely built body , and wrapped it around his hand hoping to hold the knob and open it from outside . But due to the heavy clothes his hands couldn't hold the knob .

"Mr Siddiqui -" Safia cried and that was all for him to touch the hot knob with his bare hands and open the door . His hands burned , and he wanted to almost remove them from the handle, but he knew what hurt him more was her tears.

As soon as the knob opened . He kicked the door , and Safia who was sitting on the other side of the room quickly got up . Her mascara was smudged due to tears and her face was dripping with sweat as the heat filled the room . Her hairs stuck to her neck and chest due to the sweat . Her dress has few black holes which were due to the little flames. Her tired eyes met with the determined eyes of Fawad .

There was fire in the middle , as a wooden decoration on the ceiling had caught fire and fell off on the ground , from where the fire had reached the curtains .

Fawad didn't knew what he could call it . A twist of fates ? Few moments ago,  there was a clothe separating them both , and now , there was a line of fire .

Even when he wanted to focus on the fire , he couldn't. No rational thoughts came to his mind . His wife was on the other side crying , and looking at him with hope and desperation asking him to rescue him silently . Without any thoughts he ran outside . Safai thought that he had left her and just closed her eyes silently murdering prayers while dying.  She tried to come to terms with the reality that she was about to die .

Fawad was busy outside and looked around for something which could help . There was a glass with a fire extinguisher in it . There was a box of axe on the other side ,but going to that was impossible as it was burning. He torened his sherwani and wrapped it around his own fist . He started punching the glass .

First punch—Then second...then third continuously on the same page . The glass cracked by the impact , and he punched again . The glass had stains of his blood , as his knuckles bursted from the impact of the hits , but he kept punching until the glass broke down . The shervani which was a pastel shade , now dripped of crimson blood.

He used it , and it was successful in reducing the flames . Fawad backed off a bit , releasing , he can't waste more with time with the fire extinguisher, to save Safia , as she kept coughing. His own energy was draining and he felt dizzy. They both needed to get out soon.  He threw it on the side and jumped in the fire across the room to rescue her.

Safia's eyes widened at that , but before she could open her mouth to protest, the man stumbled to gain a posture. , but was now on the same side as hers.

"Safia —lets go" He said with a gentle smile trying to calm her down , just how she calmed him down in every worst situation.

She hesitatantly nodded.

"Oh a count of 3 , jump with me to that side okay?" He asked her to make sure she was okay with the plan.

"I am scared of fire" She confessed . "I-I can't bring myself to even think of jumping over it" She wiped her tears harshly.

"You-you should go . I am sorry , I wasted your time-asking you to come here" She said with guilt.

"We both are going out together, or neither one " Fawad shortly replied and wrapped his arms under her knees and the other one , on her waist . Before Safia could say anything, she realized that she was getting lifted in arms.

"You will fall" She whispered to him .

"It is going to be fine , if it's with you" Fawad said. He prayed in his mind silently to god , and jumped to the other side with all the strength he could gather .

Safia clenched her eyes shut not wanting to see where they land. All she felt was landing over a hard place . She opened her eyes slowly, and realised that she was in Fawad's arms . They both had fell on the ground , and he had took the impact of the hit while facing the hard marble floor himself.

'Mr Siddiqui—I could never think you would do so much to protect me' She thought to herself as she noticed Fawad clenching his eyes shut to let in the pain .

"I am sorry" She whispered as she still laid on top of him . Her limps felt weak as more smoke entered her chest and she coughed. The fire was around them .

She was scared but seeing Fawad gave her an immense amount of relief that she couldn't even think about . She could hear his voice , 'Don't worry . I won't let anything happen to you'

She closed her eyes letting in the fading scent of the itr which Fawad had applied , while slowly slipping into deep slumber tired from the adventures of the day . Keeping her eyes open was difficult , but before her eyes slut down , she could see Fawad's head fall down too , as he had himself slipped into unconsciousness. His grip had tightened her waist bringing her closer to him .

She tried to blink her eyes open , and noticed a pair of sandals appearing and a girl with a tan body crouched down with a smirk.

"Can't let you die so quickly Fawad , you still have to witness your father dying before your eyes , just like you killed my brother" the voice said with a chuckle and that's the last thing Safia heard before she went unconscious, in the arms of her husband .

~~~

Ismail was in the garden area of the hotel , as it remained unaffected . He was waiting for Safia to return . Rudhra was sitting on the side and lit up another cigar as he let the toxic smoke inside his lungs.

Seth entered the area with a tensed look on his face.

"Are you crazy ! You all came here without informing me and then decided to fight a whole damn group of assassins instead of negotiating?!" Seth angrily said.

"Negotiation is for the weaklings" Rudhra said and Seth angrily bowed down to Rudhra's level.

"Due to this thing—those assassins were kidnapping Safia ! Just for a mere amount of 30,000 dollars we could lose her life" Seth pulled a girl from behind whose head was covered from head to toe .

"It's not Safia ! It's Kalyani. I can't believe they took you accidentally. Thanks for bringing her back" Ismail thanked and took Kalyani towards him .

Rudhra stopped smoking and looked at Ismail.

"Kalyani-?!" He murmured.

"Not every Kalyani is the same one as yours" Seth said with irritation.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem in having a look at her face in that case right?" Rudhra asked.

To be continued.....

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Finally the chapter is doneee !!! Please do shower with votes and love (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)♥️ I worked hard on this ♥️ Hope you enjoyed it