Chapter 2 - Blood Ties

I know I know, that first chapter pretty much didn't make any sense. But it wasn't supposed to :P. Hopefully it starts making more sense from this chapter onwards.
Italics are used for all memories.

~

For each person there is a sentence - a series of words - which has the power to destroy them. 

- Philip K. Dick

~

1st of February 2013,

She walked with her head down, battling against the speckles of snow that obscured her view for moments at a time, sometimes slowly, one by one, and sometimes all at once. But she kept on going, holding the hood in front of her and her heavy coat fastened tightly around her. 

She could have made this a whole lot easier, but that would have ruined other things. She moved back a stray bronze strand of hair that blew in front of her face, stopping for a fraction of a second and sighed loudly. She was not the young woman she had been when she had first bestowed this responsibility upon Zeenat. 

Zeenat began the moment Dilshaad sat down, she had been expecting this, for years now and now that it was finally about to happen, she wasn't so sure she could do it. 

"You're taking Zoya," she finally stated, letting her eyes meet Dilshaad's as Dilshaad nodded back slowly. They had both known this day would come.

Dilshaad let her finger travel over the rim of the mug for a second before she looked back at Zeenat, "but I wanted to ask for your permission for something," she finally said, as Zeenat looked to her confused. 

"Look Zeenat... The responsibility I gave you all those years ago... To look after Zoya like a daughter, you've fulfilled that till this date, without any complaints, any misgivings, she's become your daughter," Dilshaad was speaking her heart, she rarely voiced her feelings but this was necessary. 

"So I can't make this decision on my own, it is for you to take."

Zeenat continued to watch her, her brows furrowed, she didn't understand where this was going. 

Dilshaad finally brought her hand and placed it upon Zeenat's, giving it a soft squeeze, "I would like to ask for Zoya's hand in marriage for my Asad," she finally said, her words gentle, as a slow smile spread over Zeenat's face. 

****

Present Day...

"Miss..." Asad closed his eyes, struggling with his words and thoughts and the anger that was slowly but surely consuming him. 

"It's mrs!" Zoya shouted, growling at him then turning back away, continued to fling her clothes onto the floor.

He pinched the space between his eyebrows as he surveyed the mess that his otherwise neat room had become. "Fine! Mrs Zoya! May I ask what exactly it is you are doing?!" He demanded, the decibels of his voice increasing with each word. 

She stopped suddenly, letting herself turn around towards him one more time. Then brought her hands in front of her, gesturing as she spoke, "Mr Khan," she emphasised the informal way that she had now become accustomed to addressing him. "There is no need to panic, I am just looking for my clothes, I will clean everything once I am done. Why are you over-reacting?" She questioned patiently as he glowered back in return. 

He walked towards her then, just as she was about to turn away, "Why am I over-reacting?!" He shouted, "look at the state this room is in! Since the day you have arrived in my life, my life feels like a mess! This room, the house, everything!" He continued to shout. This had been building up for quite a while now. They had been married for a week and she was showing no signs of even so much as trying to adapt to his way of life, instead she was adamant on continuing on her own, disgusting manner of living. 

She turned back around completely again, frowning back at him, "I'm sorry, you should have thought about that before saying qubool hai. Now we are both stuck in my life that is a so called mess!" She stated with equal force, keeping her eyes level with his as she folded her arms in front of her. 

Asad Ahmed Khan however, was not yet done, "Zoya, I know you are this modern girl, who was brought up in New York, but there are rules here," he continued to reprimand her, he was done with watching and leaving quietly, today was the day that he got all of his words out. "You do not enter this house later than necessary," he began then, his finger pointed, taking a step towards her as she took one back, "you do not eat pizza and leave it lying around as if there are a dozen servants here to clean up your mess," another foot forward, as she took one more back, "and you do not turn my room into a dump to your pleasing!" He finally finished off, his voice loud with anger, his nostrils flaring with the fury coursing through him as Zoya continued to stare back at him, her eyes wide in shock, her arms no longer crossed in front of her. 

She took several more steps back, till her heel banged into the bed frame and she stumbled as she nearly fell onto it, but his hand went around her wrist just then, yanking her back up close to him, till their breaths were almost colliding off of each other. 

She swallowed hard, she hadn't expected him to become this angry. He let go of her arm then, looking away to calm himself down, then looked back up towards her once more. "Clearly your parents never focused on your upbringing," he finally stated icily then turning around, strode away. 

Zoya continued to stand there, dumbstruck, in a place where the words had hit her but she wasn't quite sure how to take them in yet, not even noticing the tears that began to prickle at her eyes. She fell onto her bed then, feeling a part of her slowly break away and brought her palms to her face as slow, silent tears trailed down her face. She had actually begun to give him a chance, after the whole commotion of getting over whether or not he was trying to kill her, she had begun to try and see him in a different light. 

He was different to her yes, but not everyone was the same and she had been willing to give this man, that constantly walked around in his own shell a chance but maybe not anymore. She stood up then and began walking off as if in a daze, all of her bottled up feelings and nightmares coming through to the forefront. 

She walked over to the end of the room, to the large window that let the silver moonbeam rays adorn the whole room, and looked up at the cloudless sky, her hand soothing the base of her throat. There wasn't a day that passed without her thinking of her mother that had passed away, at an age where she had not even understood the true reality of loss and a father that she had never quite known. But being reminded of it by someone else, hurt her somewhere deeper. 

She began to wipe at her tears harshly then, she would give anything to find him, her father and that was why she was here, she finally decided. 

****

"Bhabi? Bhabi?" Shireen continued to call out as she roamed through the house, her eyes travelling to every corner until she finally came to a stop right in front of Razia. She brought a large smile onto her face then, "arrey bhabi! I was looking for you everywhere," she smiled as Razia considered her slowly, glancing at her from head to toe. 

"What is it Shireen?" She questioned bitterly then, she was in a foul mood and not prepared to be put through even more of the torturously stupid questions that Shireen would ask her. 

"Bhabi, do you know where Rashid is? He hasn't been answering my calls for a week now," Shireen questioned innocently, watching Razia's eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she had the time to hide her reaction. 

"Why would I know Shireen? Do I look like some sort of tracking device that I would know of your husbands whereabouts?" She questioned cuttingly. 

"Arrey nahin bhabi, I was just asking you know because I can't seem to get a hold of him. And as it is you seem to know everything anyway," Shireen continued to speak in her innocent form as Razia looked her up and down again then walked away. 

Shireen turned around, folding her arms in front of her, watching Razia's back then slowly began to follow her through the house. She would find out for definite where Rashid was today. 

****

There was a slow breeze about that made flowers sway in it's gait and Humeira sat perched on the little bench outside, watching their dainty movements as she pondered through her own thoughts and feelings. A few strands of her hair blew over her face and she moved them away slowly with her fingers, almost missing the warmth of his hand next to hers as he sat down next to her. 

"I guess we've both found time to come sit here for a change," Aayan's voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she slowly looked up to watch the side of his face, the striking features that matched his equally handsome brother. 

"Hmmm..." She mumbled, not even remembering what he had said in the first place. 

He looked towards her then, their gazes colliding for a fraction of a second before she looked down, shying away from his eyes that always saw right through her. 

He too looked away then, for his next words he knew, deep inside would hurt them both equally. Letting his finger graze over the soft marble of the bench he began, "your mother has chosen a girl for me to marry," he finally mumbled. 

She turned back towards him instantly, her eyes large with shock as his words echoed through her, stamping her every desire, not even leaving her time to compose herself. 

****

Asad slowly walked back towards their room, his feet coming to a slow halt just as he reached the door. He swallowed hard, thinking about his rash words, how she had in the end just stood there, taking it all in. He had to clench his hands into fists, he'd have to apologise. It had been wrong of him to bring her parents into this, after all he hadn't even met them. 

He slowly began to the turn the knob, sighing, his eyes widening the very next second. His room, their room was spotlessly clean but the person he had come looking for, Zoya, was no where to be seen. 

****

Shireen walked over to the booth in a hurry, her feet quick on the ground as she looked to all directions around her, pulling her dupatta further in front of her, covering her face. 

She looked around once more before she finally entered the telephone booth, her fingers quickly pressing on the number that was now engraved into her memory. 

The woman at the other end picked up on the third ring, listening quietly, waiting for Shireen to begin speaking. 

"You were right, Rahsid is in New York. Make sure Zeenat stays for a while longer in Mumbai," she finished off quickly, her eyes constantly focused around her as she made sure she was not being followed or watched then quickly replaced the receiver. 

Her heart was still hammering away in her chest by the time she reached home, thankfully they had acted on time. 

~

The path to heaven

runs through miles of clouded hell

~

Chapter 1 - First Impressions

This chapter is the one that introduces the characters ;). Hence the different spindles of thread and then how they intertwine ;) xx.

~

We are stitched and sewn

And we are held together

With the thread of hope

- Tyler Knott Gregson

~

She sat with her legs out in front of her, her knees bent, her lehenga covering her feet, only the scarlet nail varnish out for show. She sat with her head bowed down, her duppatta over her head, covering her face.

Zoya was a nervous reck, she could literally feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins and had to bend her fingers several times as she brought them out of the awkward clasp she had them in. This was not what she had perceived her wedding night to be like.

No, she rolled her eyes, sighing, she hadn't seen a future of a wedding, at least not with such haste and definitely not to a man that she had never seen or met before. Speaking of which, where even was this Mr No-Show-Khan. It had been two hours, surely the pestering souls had left by now, or would it end up being like one of those Bollywood films where he would have gone to meet his girlfriend on the side, whilst she sat here with an increasing risk of developing deep vein thrombosis?

She lifted her dupatta to glimpse up at the clock. Yep it had definitely been two hours. She scrunched the material of the bedspread she was lying on and was just about to begin to slide herself off of the bed when she heard the door click, causing her heart to momentarily leap out of her chest. With her eyes wide, looking very much like a thief caught in act, she had to take several breaths to calm herself down. Then rapidly regaining her posture she looked down to her feet, sensing him approach, just as she had been told to by her Aapi. Not that she would otherwise have done so, but she was panicking and had no other ideas of her own.

He clicked the door shut in place, closing his eyes momentarily and drawing a deep breath in then out again. It took him several seconds before he could unwound his hand from around the cold handle of the door. He wasn't ready for any of this, he felt uneasy and completely out of place, because for once in his life after many years, he really didn't know what would happen next. He didn't know what to say or do or to expect of this relationship that he had undoubtedly been pushed into. Slowly turning around he began to walk towards her, his feet slowing of their own accord as she sat in front of him. She brought to his mind the impression of a beautiful flower, sitting in a pool of floating petals, her dazzling beauty, the simplicity with which she sat with her head bowed causing him to lose track of his thought process completely.

She waited for him to approach her, with her heart stuck in her throat. She was sure she had stopped breathing. She tried to listen for his footsteps but they seemed to have stopped.

He couldn't bring himself to move any further and just continued to watch her from the end of the bed. He was sure she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Her mind was getting the better of her now, why couldn't she hear him? Did he leave? She lifted her head slowly, cautious to whatever lay ahead for her.

She froze suddenly, her eyes almost popping out of her sockets as her eyes finally clashed against his.

He frowned suddenly, he recognised that face.

Her jaw fell open, the sculptured face, the set jaw, those soulful eyes, she'd scene them only hours before.

The gust of wind, her long black strands of hair as they had fallen against her face, he could remember it all but too clearly. He took a further step towards her but she was too quick for him.

Zoya flung the dupatta off of her head, springing up on top of the bed so that she was standing.

Asad's eyes widened as he took a step back, horrified at the audacity of the woman, and quite frankly disgusted at the mess that she was creating.

She was standing on top of the petals now, letting them scrunch under her feet. She had been right, she was being framed. All sorts of expressions began to pass through her face as anger bubbled up inside of her. She had been right, this was all a plan.

"Can you please get down from the bed?" He began to shout, quite clearly forgetting that they were even a newly married couple.

She narrowed her eyes at him then. She had been right all along, he probably had a girlfriend on the side and he probably married her so that he could kill her. But why would he want to kill her? He did! She finally decided, he did want to kill her. That's why he'd come after her in the car.

"Can you hear me?!" He shouted again, "please get down from the bed!" He told her once more, his voice stern this time.

She took a further step towards him, pointing her finger down at him, "excuse me Mr Murderer! But I don't think I need to obey any of your rules!" She argued pointedly.

"Excuse me?" He frowned, sure he would end up climbing on the bed if her absurdities didn't end. "I don't even know what you are talking about, but I'd appreciate it if you'd get down and talk this through like a sane person," he warned her, quite clearly pissed off.

"Oh is that right Mr Khan? I should get down so that you can easily kill me? Do you think I'm stupid?!"

"What?!| What is wrong with you?" He exclaimed, not understanding where this was going.

"Don't try to act dumb okay?! I know what's cooking on your mind! You... You murderer!"

He growled back up at her, this woman was impossible! What sort of mess had he gotten himself into? He folded his arms in front of him, "enough of this nonsense!" He finally barked, "I'm going to sleep on the couch. Now please have the decency to use some common sense and get down from the bed," he glowered then stormed off in search of a duvet.

She continued to stare at his back, her eyes and mouth wide open. The audacity of that man! Finally sensing that he was prepared to use other tactics she fell onto the bed and lay down to sleep. She knew what his plan was. He would kill her once she was asleep, but she was one step ahead, she would sleep with one eye open tonight.

****

A side of her lips curved up into a smile as she flicked the strands of hair obscuring her view away from her face, her perfectly manicured nails glistening from the beams of light that fell upon them. She stood there for a minute, at the entrance, looking at the interior of the office beyond the glass windows, the face of the man that she was here to meet today already flashing across her mind. She began walking then, in that slow, rhythmic motion of hers, where her hair swayed in perfect motion with her hips and her heels clicked to her liking upon the marble floor.

She ignored the many heads that turned her way as she walked past, each appraising the beauty that she was. But her eyes were reserved only for one man; Asad Ahmad Khan. So what if he was married to this new woman, even though he wasn't now, he would one day turn out to be his father's son.

The woman at the reception looked up as she approached, her expression changing before she quickly hid it, almost surprised at the beauty that the young woman in front of her displayed. "Yes ma'am, can I help you?" She questioned courteously.

"Yes I have an appointment with Mr Asad Ahmad Khan today," she replied back, equally politely.

"Sure ma'am," the receptionist replied, "can I take your name please?"

Her lips curled up into a pretentious smile, "Yes, the name is Humeira Siddiqui," she finally replied.

****

"Ayaan I want you to listen carefully to me," Asad sat facing the back wall of his office, sure to keep his voice low, it was necessary that they not let their relationship onto anyone.

"But bhai jaan, you do not understand. This stupid woman is driving me up the wall! I'm inches away from hitting my head and landing on top of her with a thud!" He exclaimed in exasperation, looking left, right and center as he spoke, making sure that Raziya was not in hearing distance.

Asad made a face, then shook his head, did anything Ayaan say ever make sense, "what are you even saying?" He questioned, obviously unable to grasp the ramble that was Ayaan's mind.

Ayaan sighed out loud, "bhai jaan I'm just saying that if I keep on agreeing with her I'll end up nowhere good," he muttered through gritted teeth, then scratched the mop of scruff that was his head.

"But Ayaan, we won't know what she's planning unless you pretend to be on her side," Asad tried to explain to him.

"Oh to hell with her! Can I just murder her? That will be the end of it!" He replied, infuriated.

"Ayaan, we need to get to the bottom of Rashid's plan, we can't do that without gaining Raziya's trust," Asad tried to explain to him once more.

"Fine! But it won't be long before she just you know dies. It will happen, it'll be an accident, on my part," Ayaan huffed then disconnected the line.

Asad sighed, would there ever be an end to his problems? As if that reckless father of his and Raziya hadn't been enough trouble now he had a new disaster to deal with. A disaster that came dressed in beauty and a mouth that seized to shut; Zoya. He rolled his eyes thinking of her, she had arrived at the breakfast table late then continued to make faces at him all throughout breakfast.

Was this even the way he had ever perceived his married life to be, Asad wondered frowning.

****

Her reddish, bonze hair swayed underneath the dupatta she had thrown over her head as she rapidly walked down the narrow lane, vary that someone may be following her. She tried not to worry too much as she looked back to see if anyone was behind her every few seconds.

Finally reaching that familiar door, Dilshaad Ahmed Khan rested her hands on the peeling paint of the old, sturdy door. She took a deep breath in as the relief of not being followed washed over her once more. Then quickly unearthing the small metal key out of her purse she pushed it into the slot and turned it, taking the key quickly back out before she turned the handle and quickly went in, shutting the door behind her.

Her eyes took their time to adjust to the darkness as she felt the other person quickly reach her.

"Is Asad suspicious?" The other woman questioned.

Dilshaad shook her head quickly, as the other woman's face came into view. "Not yet, but he probably will be as time progresses. Zoya isn't his type of girl, so sooner or later he will start wondering why she was proposed to him," she explained.

"Then Dilshaad we must hurry," the urgency and fear in the other woman's voice was all but too clear.

"Don't you think I know that?" Dilshaad questioned back. "It was your job to find out where he was, have you done that?" The annoyance in Dilshaad's voice was clear.

The other woman slowly shook her head, her eyes downcast. "Give me a few more days, I'm working on it," she reassured Dilshaad.

Dilshaad nodded slowly, understanding the situation at hand more than it appeared. "I just hope this one doesn't backfire on us," she finally commented before she adjusted her dupatta and walked over to the back of the room, to the other entrance and allowed herself out. 

The other woman quickly gathered her bag, fixed her thick curly hair then rushed off and exited through the door Dilshaad had previously entered through. 

****

Raziya stood at the entrance to the Siddiqui household, her arms crossed in front of her as she watched Shireen enter with her beady hawk-like eyes. She let them take in Shireen's form fully, from head to toe, not missing the faint smudge of mud on Shireen's shalwaar leg. 

She adjusted herself quickly before Shireen caught on and quickly ran to her side, hurriedly fixing a smile onto her face. 

"Arrey Shireen, where have you been? You had me so worried," she pretended as she placed her arm around Shireen, forcing her to not run away from the situation. 

Shireen was however, not the fool that Raziya imagined her to be, "Oho Bhabi I was just buying a few things," she tried to brush off, not quite making eye contact. 

"For two hours?" Raziya questioned, her voice slightly sharper this time, "and you had turned your mobile off as well," she added.

"Really? Oh God Bhabi, I don't know how that would have happened. See I saw this new dieting regime, where all these women were losing weight because of this special yogurt. And you know Bhabi, how I am on a diet right now..." Shireen began then, continuing with her show of pretending to be the biggest idiot in the world. 

"Okay okay!" Raziya nodded, interjecting quickly, "you go upstairs and freshen up, I'll get the salad ready," she quickly mumbled, then rolling her eyes walked off. Still not quite convinced the story matched the mud stain on her shalwaar. 


P.S. I have a thing for Humeira, I just feel she has the potential to be portrayed in so many different shades. So Humeria appreciation went into the formation of her character. I do toggle and turn positive characters negative and vice versa though... So you have been warned :P. 
P.S.S. I know there wasn't loads of Asya... But I had to introduce my characters :/... So there will be tub loads of Asya in the next chapter ;) xx

Prologue

~

What you grow to love might be one of life's biggest surprises. 

- Charity Shumway, The Girls to Watch

~

"Zoya Farrukhi how can you be this careless? You are so late! You are so done for! Aapi is going to have you for dinner!" Zoya was obviously talking to herself as she half ran, half walked down the busy crowded street, her left hand around her precious iPad, her right hand gesturing out as she told herself off.

She finally got off of the street, stepping foot onto a dusty lane, it would only take her five more minutes from here to get to the hotel they were staying in; she'd only be twenty minutes late and if she was too late she could always just get married in her jeans and top, they were decent enough.

"Mr whatever it is Khan will just have to be content, after all he's getting married to me, not my clothes," she fumed as a gust of wind blew her hair into her face and she moved it out of the way, almost missing the large black four-by-four approaching her from the side. She half swayed, half turned to the right, only missing it by a narrow margin, kicking up dust and dirt in her efforts.

He brought the jeep to a screeching halt, his eyes already fixed on the long black hair and the side profile of an admittedly beautiful girl, yet another irritating event that just spelled the disaster that was already looming over his head.

She stormed off towards it, blowing her hair out of her face, "Allah miya what's..." Her words died on her lips as he clicked his door open and stepped out, removing his aviators to appraise her carefully. Her eyes widened and she was momentarily taken aback by the handsome man standing in front of her, his features were so sharp, so sculptured that she almost forgot to blink.

He glared back in response, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

She frowned back, she didn't like his attitude, it was his fault! "If you don't know how to drive then why do you?" She questioned, taking a step towards him as he appraised her with disbelief.

"Excuse me? If you don't know how to walk then why do you step out of your house?"

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the audacity of this man standing in front of her. "If you don't know how to speak properly, then why don't you just keep quiet?!" She retorted back with equal intensity.

He raised an eyebrow, taking one last irritated glance at her, "I don't have time for this," he brushed off indifferently, then turning around got into his jeep.

Her eyes widened further, "excuse me?" She took further steps towards the vehicle but it was already moving away.

She stood rooted to the spot for several more minutes, her hands balled into fists at her side. "Allah Miya what's wrong with this county?! Rude, ignorant people!" She fumed then stormed off in her desired direction.

****

Asad Ahmad Khan took a deep breath in, making a last bid attempt to calm himself down. He regretted agreeing to this ordeal in the first place now, he wanted to take back his word that he had given to his mother, but he couldn't, he wouldn't. Asad was a man of few words, of principles and a life built inside the sanctuary of high walls. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine a blank, empty space, one where he didn't have to think or act. As he sat, with his legs crossed in front of him, an array of flowers hiding his face he let his vulnerable emotions flicker through his face one last time before the mask came on.

He opened his eyes slowly, as if he was coming out of deep sleep as his mothers hands caressed his and her kind brown eyes peered and smiled into his. She ran her hand over his cheek then stood up and walked away. His happiness lay in his mothers and even though that meant marrying a girl whom he had never known or spoken to before, he decided he would do it gladly.

He didn't dare turn his head however, he tried to ignore the golden, shimmering curtain, only centimeters away that separated him from the girl that he would inevitably spend the rest of his life with. He didn't think he could afford even a seconds glance.

****

Zoya placed her hand over her heart, trying to stop it from beating so loud that it drowned out the background noise, her Aapis reassurances. She was sure if it didn't end soon enough she would scream out loud, she had an image of herself just then, her hands at her ears as she screamed. That made her eyes pop open, "what's wrong with you Zoya? Calm down!" She tried to reassure herself. She tried to prevent herself from looking around through the curtain that separated them, to the side profile of the man that she would forever belong to from this day onwards. And to think that she had never heard his voice, seen his face before unnerved her.

"Aapi do you think this guy is right for me? Do you think I'm ready for marriage?" 

She remembered questioning her Aapi earlier, because her own answers to both of those questions was a big loud no, screamed out at the top of her lungs. But she would have to do this, because she could not deny her Aapi any longer and if she didn't get married to someone in Bhopal, she would never succeed in her quest to find her father.

She tried to block out the red heavily ornate dress that weighed her down, the crowd that hustled and bustled around her, the atmosphere, her life that was about to take a sharp turn, she tried to push all of it to the back of her mind.

"Zoya Farrukhi kya tumhein yeh nikha qabool hain?"

She scrunched her eyes shut and took a deep breath in, her fingers tight against each other as she held onto them as if for dear life.

"Qubool hai," she uttered, the words that would finally decide her fate and she heard her own voice as if from a distant land, the pounding of her heart too loud in her ears.

"Asad Ahmad Khan, kya tumhein yeh nikha qubool hain?"

He opened his eyes slowly, focused them straight ahead, determined to stick by what he had agreed to, sealing his destiny forever.

"Qubool hai."