"Yeh kaisa hai Noor?" Arshad asked Noor showing her a beautiful ring. It was made of gold with diamonds forming a flower pattern in the centre.
"Bohot sundar. I am sure Appi ko bhi bohot pasand aayega." Noor said with excitement.
"Hmm.. Hope so. Accha Noor, Aapko kya lagta hai, Zoya maanegi?" Arshad asked in a serious tone.
"Zaroor. Waise bhi Appi ne itne saalon mein kisi ladke se baat nahi ki thi and look how comfortable she is with you. You know aajkal Appi zyada khush  rehne lagi hai. I mean she sings while cooking. Romantic movies dekhne lagi hai aur toh aur she has started looking after herself. The make up, the clothes. Aise lagta hai jaise she had found peace. I am pretty sure you are the reason." Noor said smiling.
Noor was right. Indeed Zoya had changed in past few days. Though it was near to impossible to get over what she went through but it seemed that the wounds that had healed physically long back were now healing in all true sense. Only if Noor knew it was Sahir within whom Zoya had found her peace. Not her fault though, even Zoya was in denial mode.
Arshad smiled back at her. Arshad has waited long for this.
"Aur agar Appi ne Na keh diya toh aap mujhse shaadi kar lijeyega. Waise bhi hume yeh ring bohot pasand aa gayi hai." Noor said with a mischievous smile. Arshad gave her a look and they both burst into laughter.
"Jee madam. Ab chale? Zoya se bhi milna hai."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zoya and Arshad were sitting in 'Royal Cafe'. It was one of Zoya's favourite places. Also this was the very place Arshad realised he had fallen for her. Somewhere between their conversations, her innocent rants, her precious smile and her kohl eyes ,he had his heart conquered .
"Toh Zoya.. kaisa chal raha hai aapka kaam? " Arshad tried to start a conversation.
"Haan? Umm.. theek.. theek hai." Zoya was distracted. The previous night events had disturbed her to great extent. She still had no idea how she lost control. She had no idea why did Sahir affect her. Moreover, she still had to meet Sahir and now she had no strength to meet his eyes. Not after how he reacted yesterday.
Flashback
Zoya was mesmerized. She couldnt help but feel a little tinge of pain and happiness looking at him.With every drop that dripped down his face, Zoya could feel her heart skipping a beat.After years,she stepped out in rain.  She was lost. She was lost in the man whose presence gave her peace. Unknowingly, she walked and stood close to him. Their clothes were all drenched in rain. His eyes were still closed. Maybe he didnt feel her presence so close to him. Zoya could feel something strange in her heart. That was when she placed her hand on his chest.
Sahir opened his eyes on the unexpected touch. Her eyes met his.There it was. Something that was Zoya's biggest weakness. His eyes. His damn eyes. Everytime she would look into those eyes, she would forget all her pain. She would find her solace in there. Those eyes reflected nothing but pain yet were the most beautiful object for Zoya. Sahir stood there still. He wasnt able to contemplate what was happening. Moreover, he was more scared of what shouldnt happen. Zoya came closer to him. For a moment, it was like that she wasnt herself anymore. It was like she had lost the senses to differentiate between right and wrong. She held his hand and placed it on her waist. She moved closer to him until there was no space between their bodies. The shocking part was Sahir didnt resist. Ideally, he should have but he didnt. She brought her face closer to his. There was almost negligible distance between their lips. Her heart was beating at phenomenal rate. It seemed as if he would hear it. Maybe he did hear it. Her breaths were slow and deep. She could feel his warm breath against her face. It was just then that the proximity between them hit Sahir. It was like coming out of some dream. His conscience spoke it was all wrong. He pushed Zoya away which in turn brought her out of her trance. God! What was she doing? How could she even think of it? What if something actually happened. Tears welled in her eyes. She was angry. She was really angry with herself. Zoya Siddiqui was not a woman who would loose control and make some stupid mistakes. Havent she already made many? She was out of words, she couldnt look into his eyes. She was scared to look into them. Probably Sahir would never want to see her again. There was a moment of silence where either of them could not find words. To their rescue, came Linda with her car. Zoya quickly took the back seat and Sahir took the passenger seat beside Linda.
"Drop her home first." Those were the only words that came out of his mouth. The entire drive was silent.
Flashback ends.
"Zoya.. aap sun rahi na hum kya keh rahe hai?" Arshad asked Zoya. He sensed she was distracted.
"Haan.. Woh sorry Arshad.. Humari tabiyat sahi nahi hai. Kuch kaam tha aapko?" She asked him uninterested. She was in such a pathetic condition that she didnt even want to come out of bed today. However, it was Arshad. No matter what, Zoya shall forever be obliged to him. If not for him, she would have never been able to survive Law school in London.
"Kya ho gaya Zoya aapko?" Arshad was now worried. He touched her forehead.
"My God! Zoya aapko bohot tez bukhaar hai. Aapki tabiyat itni kharab thi toh nahi aana chaiye tha na." Arshad was now feeling guilty.
"Aate kaise nahi. Aapne bulaya tha." Zoya smiled feebly.
"Chaliye mai aapko ghar drop kar deta hun." He got up to leave.
"Lekin aapko koi zaroori baat karni thi na?" Zoya asked.
"That can wait." He said.
They both were on their way back home. Arshad noticed that there was something disturbing her.
"I think aapka mood accha nahi hai. Let me play some song for you." He switched on his player and hit the play button on one of her favourite songs.
Tu Hi Haqeeaqat
Khawwb Tu
Dariya Tu Hi
Pyaas Tu
Tu Hi Dil Ke Beqarari
Tu Sukun Tu Sukun..
Zoya came out of her thoughts as soon as she heard the song. The flashbacks of yesterday's events came rushing to her. She closed her eyes.

Mein Hi To Tere Dil Main Hoon
Mein Hi To Saason Mein Basu
Tere Dil Ki Dhadkano Mein
Mein Hi Hoon Mein Hi Hoon..

She recalled the proximity between them. She recalled those lips that were close to her.

Tere Bina Na Saans Loo
Tere Bina Na Main Jeu
Tere Bina Na Ek Pal Bhi
Reh Saku Re Saku..

'SAHIR' she wispered to herself and a lone tear escaped her eye.
"Zoya aap theek toh hai?" Arshad was now panicking.
"Hum theek hai.. hume bas ghar chhodh dijeye." She said without looking at him. Though Arshad wanted to know but he thought it was better to give her space.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was 4'O clock in the evening. Zoya had slept for proper 3 hours and she felt better. It was time to face the inevitable. The documents needed to be discussed. She couldnt escape going to Saiyaara. She checked her phone hoping of one call or text from Saiyaara, from him, atleast for asking whether she will be coming or not but it was blank. Zoya got up and quickly dressed herself up.
The entire way she prayed for some kind of miracle that would erase Sahir's memory of events that took place the previous day. With slow steps , she reached office.
Linda was the first one to spot her.
"Zoya.. Tum yaha abhi?" Linda asked surprisingly.
"Haan. Woh kuch final documents discuss karne the Sahir se." Zoya replied.
"Sir didnt inform you? He had cancelled all the meetings that were scheduled for today." Linda said.
"What?! Why? Is he ok?" Zoya was now all more worried. She secretly wished that she must not be the reason behind this.
"I dont know Zoya. Sir just called and said so." Linda resumed her work.
"Ok Linda, can you tell me something?" Zoya asked.
"Haan Zoya bolo."
"Sahir ki wife ka naam Aarzoo tha na. Aap unhe jaanti thi?" Zoya asked.
"Zoya ,I am very busy. I will talk to you later." Linda tried to dismiss her question.
"Linda. Please. Its important."
"Zoya we are not allowed to even mention her name here. If sir gets to know anything, he will fire me."
"Dont worry. Sahir is not here and I am not telling him anything." Zoya reassured her.
"She was the executive director here at Saiyaara. Actually she started as an intern here. Sir was really impressed by her work. She indeed was very talented. Gradually, they became friends and later fell in love. Aarzoo loved Lucknow. However, she was pretty sure that marrying him would mean leaving the city. However, to her surprise , Sir announced that Saiyaara will function from Lucknow. Sir loved Aarzoo way too much. Infact, the man we see now is a total opposite of what he used to be. They were like that perfect happy couple." Linda narrated her the story.
"So what happened then? Where is Aarzoo now?" Zoya asked.
"Aarzoo went missing." Linda said in a soft cold tone.
"Whatt??!!  I thought.. how?" Zoya was shocked .
"It was an accident. All we know is that things were not good between Sir and Aarzoo in the last few days. Suddenly, news was out that she went missing.. We all were shocked. The search went on for days. Obviously, most believe she is dead. We were really traumatized.  However, it had impacted sir the most. He turned into a lifeless object. It took him a long time to resume work. Eventually he did but he had changed. He had become the famous Sahir Azeem Chaudhary who had no heart. After years, he was forced to get married to someone as a business deal. He didnt want to. He didnt even bother to see her photo once. We didnt even know her name. However, Sir went missing on the engagement day and the girl didnt turn up either. The wedding was called off. Perhaps, destiny didnt want them to meet." Linda told Zoya everything she knew.
Zoya bit her lower lip. It was ironic how two people who were supposed to meet in engagement ceremony escaped but ended up meeting the very same person under different circumstance. "No. Destiny very much wanted them to meet." Zoya said softly more to herself.
"Thanks Linda and dont worry, Sahir will not get to know anything."
Zoya turned to leave but she was determined. She needs to find more about Aarzoo. For some reason, she found it all weird. Things not ok between them and then Aarzoo's sudden dissappearance. She had to find about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zoya stumbled her way through the dark. She had somehow managed to enter Sahir's office. She turned on the flashlight of her phone and started searching through his cupboards.
As she was looking in the drawer, she found a photo . It was Sahir with the same girl she had seen photo of, in the hospital. They were looking at each other and laughing. A smile formed on Zoya's lips. The photo spoke of the love they had.
"Toh fir aisa kya ho gaya Sahir?" She thought to herself. She continued with the search. She was going through the papers when something caught her attention. It was a long paper with something written on it with blood. At first she was shocked but then she read what was written on it -
" Sahir ki Jeene ki Aarzoo toh ussi din marr gayi thi jis din Sahir ki Arzoo ne uska haath chhodh diya tha. Ab bas yeh saansein chal rahi hai jo har samay tumhara naam leti hai. Iss dard ki dawa bhi tum ho Aarzoo. Shyad maut hi iss dard ka ant ho."
Some unknown pain pierced her heart as soon as she read it. She could feel warm tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Itna pyaar karte the Sahir aap Aarzoo se? Fir kya ho gaya? kaha hai Aarzoo ab?" Zoya said to herself. She was still looking at the paper when she heard footsteps approaching the room.
"Damn..I am so dead. " Zoya tried to hide herself behind the desk.
She placed hands on her mouth to not let a sound escape her.
For a moment everything was quiet. Zoya let out a sigh of relief. Just then she felt warm hands on her shoulders.
"I am so doomed." She murmured.
"Look Sahir..I know.." she started speaking without looking at the man.
"Zoya..ab aap chor bann gayi?" Zoya turned to look at the familiar voice. It was Arshad and in that moment Zoya couldnt have been more grateful to the heaven above for saving her.
"Ohh thank God. Thank God.. Arshad aap hai.. lekin aap yaha? Kaise aur kyu? " Zoya asked.
"Arre Mai aapke ghar jaa raha tha toh raaste mein dekha aap kahi jaa rahi hai. Call bhi kiya maine kayi baar. Aapne uthaya nahi . I was worried Zoya. Aapki tabiyat nahi theek thi. Aapko follow kiya toh yaha pahuch gaya. Lekin hume yeh nahi samjh mein aa raha hai ki aap Saiyaara ke office mein aise choro ki tarah kya kar rahi hai?"
"Woh.. kuch khaas nahi.. ek document chaiye tha. Urgent tha. Raat ho gayi thi toh accha nahi laga Linda ko disturb karna." Zoya managed to answer.
Arshad had known Zoya for long. He knew she was lying. Zoya was a terrible liar. However, he thought it was better to get out first then question her. If somebody catches them like this, they will definitely be labelled as thieves.
"Zoya.. yaha se chalte hai.. warna Sahir sacchi mein aa jaayenge." Though not intended, it came out more as a warning.
Zoya could'nt help smiling.
"Why are you trying to sound like he is Gabbar?" And then Zoya imitated the famous dialogue from Sholay, "So jaa beta.. nahi toh Gabbar Singh Aa jaayega." The movie freak in her never fails at such moments.
"Accha theek hai.. pehle yaha se nikaliye.. fir Sholay Sholay khelenge." Arshad said smiling.
He helped her get up and they left.
Unknowingly and definitely unintentionally, there was something left behind. Well Zoya was definitely not a thief. If she was, she would have never left such a clue. Near the drawer was lying a shining  beautiful diamond pendant with 'ZS' engraved on it.
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Hello people. So here I am with another update. It was quick right? And its a long one.. Also no cliffhanger..so I guess no complains this time. 😂
Ok guys now here is something. I am going to start with rigorous academic year . I so want to continue with this story because its close to me , so either I am going to wrap it up within a month.. definitely that would mean shortening of story or else I can make it a rule to update every 15 days. So lets see how it turns out. I will see which can suit me better.
Anyways.. thoughts about the chapter. I hope you can feel the story progressing and it isnt going slow like before. Please do let me know if pace needs to be increased. Also I hope this chapter wasnt boring. We got to know a little about Aarzoo and Sahir. I know its a bit monotonous but well more Sahir Zoya moments are on the way. Waiting for your comments. Trust me it means a lot.

And yes lastly people who are messaging me to update my JenShad ff 'Beautiful misery'.. It will be up by tonight or tomorrow hopefully. I have written it half. It will be up as soon as I complete it. Thanks for the love.
Love. ❤
Shivja