chapter 25

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Ayesha's pov

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I reached super early to the office, I felt so insulted yesterday that I decided I will not continue with this work, to hell with the degree, I have almost completed my given period of time.

Now it's up to him, i don't care if he's going to give me approval or not, I can't let him walk over my self respect.

I checked the time, it was 7:30 am. I informed the guards about my arrival, so that they can unlock the floor and all the rooms. Once everyone leaves the office the guards lock everything digitally, they only unlock it by 8 o'clock.

I entered the elevator and took out the letter from my bag and held it tightly in my hand, my plan is to just leave it on Mr Khan's desk and leave before anyone comes.

The elevator door opened and I entered, the whole floor was completely empty, it looked a little horrifying, I should just get done and leave. I quickly went to Mr Khan's room, I went towards his chair and put the letter on his desk, I turned to leave.

I opened the door and bumped into something which definitely wasn't there when I entered, the thing and I screamed together. Wait! How did it scream? I looked carefully, it was not a thing, it was a person, mighty Mr Khan was there, I rolled my eyes.

You got to be kidding with me! What is he doing here so early?

"Why are you screaming?" I asked

"You startled me! I wasn't expecting anyone to be here. Why did you shout?" he answered

"Same reason. I'm leaving now" I said and turned, but he held my hand

"Wait!"

"Leave my hand" I shouted, he immediately left, "I'm done listening to whatever you have to tell me Mr Khan, not anymore, you cannot insult me anymore, I refuse to take your crap" I shouted

"I'm sorry" he said

"I don't need your sorry" I said and went into his cabin, he followed me. I picked up the letter from the table and extended towards him, he took it from my hand, he opened it and read it, he looked at me

"What is this?" He asked, I rolled my eyes

"London mei sirf khana pakana seekha tha? Kuch padhayi nahi kari thi, jo itna sa bhi nahi padh paa rahe (Did you only learn cooking in London, no studies, that you are not being able to read such a simple thing)" I taunted him and this time he rolled his eyes

"I know what this is! My point is why are you giving it to me?"

"Aapne to sachhi kuch bhi padhai nahi ki na,  (you really have not studied at all, right?) You are always running around shouting "I'm the boss" and now you are asking me why I'm giving it to you. In India we give resignation letters to the boss only"

"I know that, but you are not a permanent employee here, so it's nullified" he tore it

"Whatever! I don't care if I can resign or not, I am not going to come here from now, I've had enough of your mood swings. I refuse to be your punching bag" I held my chin up high and crossed my arms at my chest, he took a step towards me and held my arms

"It was my mistake. It was so wrong of me to shout at you, I was worked up about something and I took it out on you. I am very very sorry" he looked down

"I'm not going to change my decision, no matter what you say" I looked away, he sighed

"I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry" he was chanting, I looked at him, he was holding his ears, my eyes widened in surprise. "Please forgive me" he said, seeing him so desperately wanting forgiveness melted my anger, I held his hands and pulled them down

"What do you want from me? Why are you doing this Mr Khan?"

"Because I was wrong, and I have realised it"

"Just end this please. Give me the approval and I'll be out of your life"

"I will never let you go out of my life" he blurted

"Huh? What do you mean?" I raised my eyebrows at him

"Umm I.."

"Tell me"

"Because you are excellent at your job, you would be a pride for the company" he shrugged

"That's very nice of you, but my decision is firm" I turned around to leave

"Give me a last chance, I will never ask for another chance ever again" he shouted, I stopped, i turned to face him, he took out something from his blazer's pocket

"I also have a letter for you" he smiled, he gave me a piece of paper, I opened it to look at it. I smiled when I saw the whole page filled with "I am sorry for treating you badly"

"Is it enough to change your mind or should I write more?" He asked, a traitor grin formed on my lips

"Thank you so much" he said

"This is seriously your last chance Mr Khan, if you ever mistreat me now, it will not be good for you" I warned him

"Yes ma'am" he nodded, I smiled "By the way what are you doing in the office so early?"

"I wanted to keep the letter on your desk and leave before anyone comes. What about you?"

"Something like that"

"What do you mean?"

"You'll know" he shrugged

"You know I had to wake up so early, i didn't even get time to have breakfast, now I'm so hungry"

"Let's go" he said

"Where?" I frowned.

"To have breakfast, there's a coffee shop thirty minutes away from here" he suggested

I calculated in my head, thirty minutes to go, then thirty minutes to return, around forty five minutes to eat, so there's no way we can return in time

"Leave it, we will get late"

"So what! I'm the boss" he smirked, I shook my head. "Shall we go now?"

"Ok" I shrugged, "I'll be back" I said and left to keep some stuff on my desk. When I reached my cubicle, I saw a white rose there, I picked it up, it had a note with it.

I'm sorry..

Athar (Mr Khan)

I smiled looking at it, I kept the note and the rose in my bag and went back to him.

"Thanks" I smiled, he knew what I was talking about.

"You are most welcome. Shall we go now?" He asked, I nodded and together we left to have breakfast.

****

I was lying down on the bed, the day was quite long, I had so much work to do. Mr Khan kept me on my toes the whole day, he gave me tons of work, it was draining, but I loved every bit of it.

Sufiyan has been calling me since I have returned from the office, I have been avoiding his calls, he is demanding an answer and I really don't know what to tell him. He is a very nice person, but still something is stopping me from giving a nod to him, but what?

"Why is sufiyan calling me so late?" Reem asked, I looked at the time it was almost midnight

"Because I have been avoiding his calls, perhaps" I shrugged

"Why?"

"He wants an answer" i said, she rolled her eyes

"Talk to him, and tell him whatever you feel. If you want more time tell him that, but don't ignore him" she answered the call and pressed the phone on my ear, I glared at her

"Speak" she mouthed

"Hello" he said

"Aaaa hello" i said

"Ayesha? Thank God you are finally here, I have been calling you all day, you never answered my call. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah! I was just too busy"

"Too busy? In ignoring me?"

"No"

"Ayesha please talk to me! Tell me what is going on in your mind" he asked, I sighed deeply

I heard the call waiting sound, I checked the phone, it said "jackass calling" I rolled my eyes then I looked at Reem

"Izhaan is calling" I said

"Ignore him" she gestured with her hand

"Tell me, what do you feel?" Sufiyan asked

"I don't know"

"Seriously? You don't know. Say something yaar. I was calling you to tell that I told my parents about you, they want to talk to your parents" I sat up straight immediately

"My parents? Why?"

"To talk about our marriage" my eyes widened in surprise

"Marriage?" I shouted, Reem looked at me, "what?" She asked, i gestured her to tell later

"Yes our marriage, my parents have been asking me to get married, I told them I want to marry you" my throat felt dry

"Why me?"

"Because I love you. You don't want me to talk to them? You don't want to marry me?" I could hear the sadness in his voice, it made me feel bad.

What reason do I have to say no to him? I have to get married some day, then why not to him, he's an amazing guy who loves me dearly, but I don't love him. So what! Ayesha, the whole life is there to fall in love.

I was suddenly ready to give him my answer.

"Let your parents talk to my parents." I said

"Are you serious?" Happiness was evident in his voice

"Yes! And whatever my parents will decide, would be my answer to you"

"I don't know if I should be happy or scared" he said, I laughed

There was the call waiting beeping again, and this time it would not stop

"Reem he is calling you non stop" I said, she rolled her eyes

"Ignore"

"Sufiyan I'll talk to you later, Reem is getting a call, and I'm going to sleep now."

"Can we meet tomorrow, please"

Non stop beeping was bothering me now

"Sure. Good night" I said and hung up.

The phone started ringing immediately, I threw it on Reem.

******

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Izhaan's pov

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"No please not this one" maa shook her head, I took the photo from her hand and examined it, such a pretty one it was but maa hated it

Dada ji and dadi are completing sixty years of marriage, so we decided to give them a surprise. And that is why maa, papa, Athar, Hayat and me are sitting together and looking for pictures to make a short film of their whole lives.

We would be going to our ancestors house and stay there for two nights, it will be just the family and a few people will come to the party.

"Do you remember this one?" Papa asked maa, we all peaked it to have a look. It was our family picture, we were standing at the entrance of our house

"It was the day, when we started living in this house, Izhaan and Athar were just six years old that time" maa smiled at the memory

"And how old was I?" Hayat asked

"-4" Athar chuckled, she picked up an album and threw at him

"He's right" I said

"Just keep looking at pictures quietly" papa said

We all had one album each, it looked like our elders really liked taking pictures.

"How about this one?" Hayat showed a picture.

I took the picture from Hayat and had a look at it. It was her solo picture from primary school days.

"Isn't it very cute" she asked

"Yeah it's very pretty, but we are not making it for you, we will use it when it will be your sixtieth anniversary" I chuckled, she groaned

"Papa dekh lijiye izhaan Bhai ko mujhe sata rahe hai (papa look at Izhaan Bhai, he's troubling me)"

"Izhaan! Why are you always troubling her?" Papa scolded me

"It's fun" I shrugged, even he laughed

I noticed Athar staring at some pictures with great concentration. He was all lost in that

"What you looking at, buddy?" I asked

He looked up at me, he had a huge smile on his face.

"Is this who I think this is?' he asked pointing at some pictures, I took it from him, I took a look, it was a picture of Athar and along with him sat Ayesha, they were sitting on a bench, it looked like there was some celebration in our house

"Yes, I think so" I said

I flipped the pages of the album, suddenly a picture came, it was mine and Reem's picture, it looked like I was telling her something and she was laughing about it.

Yeh mujhse kabhi has ke bhi baat karti thi? (Did she really ever enjoy talking to me?). I loved the picture so much that I took a snap of it with my phone.

There was a picture where Reem was sitting with me and Ayesha sat with Athar, I showed it to him, he grinned ear to ear.

"Destiny" he mumbled to me, but somehow maa heard it

"What destiny Athar?" She asked, we both looked at each other, we had no answer to give

"Show me" she took the album from my hand, oh no!

"Oh this" she laughed, "yes Reem and Izhaan were destined to be together" she smiled, I sighed in relief, thank God she only noticed us

"Let me see" papa looked at it

"When Reem was a child, she would always stay stuck with Izhaan" maa said, then she looked at me, "she was really fond of you, always used to be around you. and you know she has never ever called you "bhai" but always said Athar bhai." My eyes widened at the information

"Really?" I asked

"Yes! Both the grandparents used to feel so great about her admiring you" papa said

"And how I used to treat her?" I asked out of curiosity

"You were so protective about her, once she fell sick and was hospitalized, you stayed there next to her and held her hand. You were just ten years old then" maa said

"She was hospitalized? What happened to her?" I suddenly got too worried, everyone laughed looking at me, I looked down feeling embarrassed about worrying about something that happened so long ago.

"Maa! Can Reem bhabhi also come with us for the celebration?" Hayat asked

"Of course, she is a part of the family, she has to be there" maa replied

"Don't you think she'll feel a little awkward?" I asked

"No she will not. And anyway Ayesha will also be there" maa said, I looked at Athar, his face lit up

"Really?" He asked getting too excited, maa frowned at him

"Did you find any other picture?" He asked, I suppressed a laughter

"Look at this one" papa said. And we continued looking for perfect pictures for dadi and dada ji.

After we were done I returned to my room. I was lying down on the bed and thinking, going through all the memories made me nostalgic

Did she really like me? I want to talk to her right now, I will tell her about the pictures. I took my phone to call her, it was 12 am, she must have gone to sleep. She has to go to the university in the morning.

I put my phone back, what will I tell her anyway?

We'll see!! I picked up my phone and called her, it was busy, who the hell is she talking to? So late at night

I sat up straight, is she talking with zuhan? Who is he anyway? I called her again, it was still busy. I was feeling jealous and hurt too, she should be talking to me only

I dialled her number again, it was again busy, I lost it now, I kept on calling her non stop, finally it rang

"What is your problem?" She shouted

"Who were you talking to?" I asked getting angry

"That's none of your concern"

"It is. I have the right to question you"

"Oh really! Now get the hell away from me with your rights"

"Reem! Tell me, who were you talking to? Right now" I shouted, "was it Zuhan?" I asked

"How do you know zuhan?" She asked, the worry in her voice confirmed that whoever he is she has been hiding from all of us

"Who is he?"

"Like I said earlier none of your concern" she said and then the line went silent, I called her back, but she didn't answer my phone. I threw my phone on the ground in anger, it broke into pieces

I will not leave this Zuhan.

*****"

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Reem's POV

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"Do you like it?" Saira ma'am asked showing me a dress

"Yeah! It's pretty" I nodded my head.

In past few days me and saira ma'am have grown close, her whole family lives in Qatar, she says I remind her about her little sister that is why she likes to spend time with me. In all honesty even I like spending time with her, she is really very kind and generous.

For a very long period of time I spent my time with Misha and Jasmine, I always knew they were using me for my money but I didn't mind, at least they gave me company, but now Allah has blessed me with genuine people, my gabbar is here with me, and now saira ma'am, even in university i found very nice people, I'm so happy now.

Ayesha has left everything on her parents for the marriage with Sufiyan, if things work she will be here in Delhi forever, I feel so excited about it, I just want to be as close with her as possible.

When we were kids we used to talk that we will get married to brothers, but then i got stuck with the jackass, and I can't even imagine Ayesha with Athar bhai ever, so now I'm happy about living in the same city after marriage.

I worry a lot about Zuhan, I want the best for him. Ya Allah please help my Zuhan. I looked at saira ma'am, she was talking with the shopkeeper.

She wanted to go shopping, so she requested me to accompany her, i didn't have a heart to say no to her, so even after having such a tight schedule, I agreed to come with her.

Isn't it weird, that Umar sir and saira ma'am would have been such a doting parents, yet they don't have a child, whereas zuhan is such an obedient and deserving boy, yet he has no parents.

The chain of my thoughts broke when my phone rang, I checked my phone it was Izhaan's call, he has gone crazy, he can't stop calling me, it's so irritating. I let the phone ring.

"Reem! What about this?" Ma'am asked showing me another dress

"Not that great, look for something better" I replied, my phone rang again, I felt so angry, he is definitely going to get an earful from me now, I took out my phone "zuhan's principal" flashed on my screen, I stood up immediately

"Hello" I answered

"Is this Reem Sheikh?" She asked

"Yes speaking"

"Would you mind coming to the school right now? It's urgent" I instantly felt nervous and scared

"Is zuhan ok?" I managed to ask

"Yes and no"

"What do you mean?"

"Please come as soon as possible"

"Ok! I'm on my way".

I hung up the call and ran to ma'am.

"I have to go to somewhere very important right now" I said

"Is everything ok?" She asked looking alarmed

"I don't know, I'm going to find out"

"I'll come with you"

"Ok, let's go" I didn't have time to argue.

We sat in the car and headed to the school. I got zuhan's admission done, I signed under the guardian that is why I keep getting all the updates about him from the school, but it was the first time that I was summoned like that.

I parked outside the school and went inside.

"Mrs Varghese?" I asked at the reception

"Madam is in her room, you may go inside"

I went in the room and found zuhan sitting in the corner with his head hung low, my heart ached to see him like this.

"Good afternoon ma'am" I said

Hearing my voice, zuhan looked up at me, he came running to me and hugged me tightly. I was relieved to see he was looking fine.

I was shocked to learn that the reason I was called was because zuhan's fighting with his classmate. They both had an argument about something and Zuhan hit him.

The principal was highly disappointed by him. She was saying that he is a very nice boy and it came as a shock to her that he could be so violent also, since it was his first time ever to be involved in a fight, he was left with a warning only

Zuhan went with a teacher to grab his stuff, while I stayed back with saira ma'am.

"Is he your brother?" Ma'am asked, I shook my head .

I told her the entire story about Zuhan and I told her that he is the sweetest boy ever. I don't understand what could have been the reason of him getting in a fight

When Zuhan returned all three of us were in the car, I was driving, ma'am was sitting beside me and Zuhan was at the back. I was driving him to the orphanage.

"Di I'm sorry" zuhan said

We stopped at the signal, I turned to look at him

"I am upset with you, I told you to never get into fights, didn't I?" I said showing my anger, he broke into tears

Saira ma'am gasped and turned back, she held him and put him on her lap

"Don't cry baby" she hugged him, while rubbing his back lovingly.

"Everyone in the school keep saying that I'm a bad boy because I don't have parents, I got really angry today, that is why I hit shayansh, he was teasing me" he cried

My heart felt heavy seeing him like this, before I could say anything to him. Saira ma'am handled him, she said soothing words to him, and in just a few minutes she was tickling him and he laughed

He put his head on her chest and she was telling him stories about butterfly and flowers, he had a beautiful smile on his face. I smiled looking at them, a thought occured in my head, but I pushed it down.

Soon we reached the orphanage to drop zuhan, i got a call from the NGO, there was a pregnant lady who was under our care, she went to labor, so I had to be with her. Ma'am said she will go back on her own, so I left her and went. I told Sheena aunty that I will call her later to explain zuhan's situation.

*****

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Athar's POV

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I was sitting in the office. so much work we are getting these days, I keep giving Ayesha a lot of work, so that she has no time for anything else.

I mostly keep her in my cabin so that she can be near me and I give her the excuse that she is in the learning phase so she has to stay close.

She went to get some papers photostate, but it has been more than fifteen minutes and she is not back as yet, I will have to go and check what is taking her so long.

I stood up from the chair and went in search for her, she was near the photocopy machine, but what made me angry was she was on phone, I cleared my throat, she turned around and found me standing there.

"Ok! I'll see you at seven" she said and hung up the call, when she removed the phone from her ear I saw sufiyan's name on the screen.

No sweetheart! You are not going to meet him tonight, I promise you that. I smiled evilly.

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