"Siddharth", Zoya almost shouted.

"Zoya", Siddharth too was equally shocked & surprised.

"What a pleasant surprise!", Zoya's face beamed at the familiar face. Without wasting another moment, she wrapped her arms around him.

Siddharth too couldn't contain his happiness. "Zo, can't believe tum yahan", he said hugging her tightly.

Both their partners were blankly staring at each other, completely unaware of the connection between the two. Aditya was a bit surprise with the casuality of Zoya. Surely he didn't know much about her, but he hasn't seen her speaking much to anyone ever since they have met. But the smile of her face was clearly telling that she has met someone whom she shares a deep relationship with.

"St. Clare's ke baad aap achanak kahan gum ho gye the?", Zoya asked.

"Yaar main 2 saal ke liye New York chala gya. Wahan Roshni mil gyi. Wapas aaya to Watchman kaka ne bataya tum logon ne Mussoorie chod dia h. Phir Roshni ke saath yahan Delhi settle ho gya. Ab Dad ka business handle krta hu", Siddharth explained. "Pr tum batao tum itne saalon tk kahan gayab ho gyi thi?", he asked.

"Abbu business expand kr rhe the issliye hume Mussoorie chodna pada. Mumbai me hamara ghar tha issliye Abbu wahan shift ho gye. Aur Fashion Designing kr ke khud ka Boutique set up kr lia. Phir zindagi itni mashroof hoti chali gyi ki purane doston ka saath hi chhoot gya", Zoya told reviving the old memories.

Their partners were quitely witnessing the reunion of old friends until Roshni finally interrupted. "Guys? Yahan hum dono bhi h", she said pointing at Aditya. "Koi hume kuch bataega?", she asked.

Zoya & Siddharth were so engrossed in their conversation that for a moment they forgot that Aditya & Roshni were there too. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Zo, meri biwi Roshni. Aur Roshni, yeh h mere bachpan ki dost Zoya. Hum school mein saath padhte the", Siddharth said while introducing the two ladies.

"Hello Roshni", Zoya said taking her into a lovely hug.

Roshni replied with a sweet "Hello".

"Adi so sorry bhai. Hum purane dost ek baar ke liye bhool hi gye tu bhi yahan h", Sid chuckled to Aditya who was quitely standing until now. "Pr yeh batao ki tum dono kahan pr mile?", he asked looking at AdiYa.

Zoya was about to answer when Aditya spoke, "Actually hamari Mumbai mein Arrange Marriage hui h".  Zoya glanced at Aditya.......he was smiling but was not looking at her. She turned her attention back to Siddharth. Aditya looked at Zoya from the sideways. He was actually little hurt that Zoya did not introduce him to her friend but he covered it with a smile.

"Really! Pr Zo tum to humesha se hi Love Marriage krna chahti thi right? Phir tum Arrange Marriage ke liye kaise ready ho gyi?", Siddharth asked with curiosity.

Zoya was silent at this question. Aditya was looking at her, waiting for her reply. "Woh....ummm.....hum....woh", Siddharth laughed seeing her stuttering.

"Come on Zo, main to mazaak kr rha tha. Achcha kaafi late ho gya h hume chalna chahiye. Aur haan iss Sunday ke ghar pe ek Party rakhi h. Tum dono ko aana h", Siddharth invited AdiYa.

"Done", Aditya said giving him a good-bye hug.

"See you at the party", Siddharth said hugging Zoya.

Siddharth and Roshni left leaving AdiYa behind. Nearly all the guests had already left. Now only the family members were there. Papa Hooda had already retired to his room and Anjana was instructing the staff to wrap up and clean everything.

Siddharth Khurana & Roshni Khurana

~~~~~~~~~~

Zoya was brushing her hair in the mirror when Aditya came out of the washroom changed into his night clothes. She was looking happy. Aditya smiled and came near her. He softly slide his hand around her waist catching Zoya's attention who seemed to be lost in happy memories. He moved her hairs aside & put his chin on her shoulders. He looked at her through the mirror.

Zoya's smile faded and she looked down avoiding his eyes. That wasn't the arms she wanted to be in. She felt suffocating with the closeness. His hold on her waist got tighter and she could feel his breath over her shoulder.

"You were looking so beautiful today".

"I am tired........hume neend aa rhi h", she said cutting him and removed his hands from over her waist.

"Yeah sure", Aditya was saying when she walked towards her side of the bed and slept hugging her blanket.

Aditya stood there watching her for few minutes. Zoya was facing the other side. After a while, he switched off the lamp & slept on his side. Zoya opened her eyes & slowly turned her head towards his side. He was sleeping facing other side.

'Hum jaante h ki aap humare Shauhar h. Hum pr haq h aapka. Pr humare beech mein kabhi Miyan-Biwi ka rishta kayam ho hi nhi skta h. Kyunki sach to yeh h ki humare liye yeh Nikaah sirf ek smjhauta h jo humne apne Ammi-Abbu ki Khushi ke liye kia h. Hum ne vaada kia tha apni Ammi se ki hum iss Nikaah ko taa-umra nibhaenge. Pr ek vaada humne kisi aur se bhi kia tha humari mohabbat pr sirf unki haq rhega. Behtar hoga aap hum se koi ummeed na rakhein. Kyunki hum fir se mohabbat nhi kr payenge', Zoya wiped her tears and slept.

~~~~~~~~~~

Zoya came out of the bathroom wrapped in her towel after taking her bath. She had woken up early in the morning and taken a shower since it is gonna be the first day in her Delhi office after her marriage and she didn't want to be late. Nor she wanted someone else to woke her up.

Zoya was about to walk to the closet for taking out her clothes when the door of the room opened and she turned around. Aditya had came back from his jogging. His t-shirt was completely wet with the sweat. He saw Zoya standing in front of him wrapped only in a towel and water droplets dripping from her neck to her visible cleavage.

His eyes met Zoya's who stood frozen at her place. That moment had happened so fast that she didn't get time to react. For a moment, Aditya's eyes didn't want to leave Zoya. She was looking fresh as her white skin glistened like diamonds after the shower.

Zoya's cheeks had turned pink due to the blushing. Aditya felt his throat going dry as he gulped. It took him few seconds to realize and took a control on himself. He gather the courage to look away and shut the door behind him.

Aditya started walking in her direction. Her heartbeats raced faster as he came near. Aditya gave her a look and passed by. He opened the closet right behind her and took out a towel.

"I think I should get ready too", he said & went straight inside the bathroom. Zoya sighed a deep breath and immediately rushed to the wardrobe to get dressed before he comes back.

~~~~~~~~~~

Anjana was arranging the breakfast on the dining table when Zoya came. Zoya was dressed in red-saree and looked very beautiful. She smiled and helped Anjana set the table. Anjana was happy seeing Zoya taking care of her responsibilities.

"Adi ready hua? Aaj usse jaldi niklna h", Anjana asked.

"Maa woh ho rhe h ready", Zoya replied in soft tone.

"Shaadi ke baad aaj Adi ka pehla din h. Dahi-Cheeni khila kr hi bhejna", Anjana doted.

"Jii", Zoya nodded.

Just then all the 3 Hooda Boys joined the Hooda Ladies around the table. Harsh & Arjun were in their black courts while Aditya was dressed in his Pilot uniform. Anjana sat with Papa Hooda while Arjun sat next to them. And Aditya was sitting opposite them. Zoya served the breakfast and quietly came sat next to Aditya.

"Bachcha aaj tum bhi to office join kr rhi ho na?", Harsh asked Zoya while eating.

"Jii Papa! Abhi thodi der mein niklenge", she told.

"Hmmm...to fir tum Adi ke saath hi chali jana. Airport ke raaste me tumhara office padta h. Adi chhod dega tumhe", he told.

Papa Hooda & Arjun finished their break fast and got up to leave for the Court.

"Bhai aaj aapka as a Captain first day. So all the best", Arjun said while picking up his court and left along with Harsh.

"Mam, aapne yeh laane ko kaha tha", a servant came to Anjana with a bowl of Dahi-Cheeni.

"Haa yeh Zoya ko de do", she instructed. Her phone was rang & she went to attend the call.

AdiYa were alone now. Zoya had already finished, so she took the bowl & waited as Aditya was still eating. He cleaned his hand with the tissue and got up to find her waiting for him.

"Aaj aapka pehla din h issliye Good Luck ke liye Maa ne yeh Dahi-Cheeni dene ko kaha h", she said.

"To khila do", Aditya said pointing at the bowl & opened his mouth.

Zoya looked at Aditya who was waiting with his mouth open. She filled a spoon & hesitatingly took towards his mouth. He held her hand and directed the spoon inside his mouth.

"Pehla din to tumhara bhi h", Aditya said taking the bowl from her hands. He then filled a spoon and fed it to her.

"Shukriya", Zoya said wiping her mouth.

Just then Anjana returned after finishing her call. "Adi tune Dahi-Cheeni khaa li?", she asked. Aditya smiled & came near to touch her feet. She happily blessed him.

"All the best", she wished kissing him on forehead.

Aditya hugged her, "Thanks Maa".

"Meri bahu ko safely office drop kr dena. Aur haan aaj shaam Mrs. Gupta ne tum dono ko Dinner pe invite kia h to ghar jaldi aa jana", Anjana instructed.

"Jii Maa", Aditya promised her and left.

~~~~~~~~~~

Aditya opened the door of car for Zoya. After making sure she has sat properly, he walked to the other side and took the driver seat. He tied his seatbelt & turned to check Zoya's. She had not forgotten it this time.

"Ready?", he asked starting the engine.

Since Zoya's office wasn't far from their house and there was no morning traffic, it took them few minutes to reach there. The whole car ride went in silent as Zoya was looking out the window whole time. Aditya glanced at her few times in order to initiate a conversation but she didn't bother. Soon they reached her office and Zoya got out of the car.

"See you then", he passed a warm smile.

"Shukriya", she said and walked towards her office.

"Zoya", Aditya called and she turned.

"Shaam ko shayad main thoda sa late ho jaunga. Issliye tumhe direct ghar se pick krunga. Driver tumhe ghar chhod dega", he told.

"Jii", she replied.

"Bye", he smiled & drove away.

Zoya turned and walked towards office FASHIONISTA. It was Waseem's idea to start another branch in Delhi. Arjun had helped her find this new building for her office using his contacts. Though she'll be starting afresh here but she had taken care of her old office too. She had handed its responsibility to her assistant Mona and will be herself monitoring over from here.

Just as Zoya entered the office, her phone started ringing. She smiled reading the caller's name. It was her Abbu calling. She immediately picked up the call.

"Hello Abbu", Zoya spoke with a heavy voice.

"Kaisi h aap hamari bachchi?", a rather emotional voice meet her ears.

"Khuda Hafiz Abbu! Hum theek h. Aap kaise h?", she felt her voice going weak.

"Aapke bina hum kaise ho skte h Zoya", he spoke in a low voice.

"To fir aapne ab tk phone kyun nhi kia?", she demanded.

"Phone krte to hume aapki aur bhi yaad aati. Hum aapko kamzor nhi krna chahte the".

"Aur Ammi? Unhe hamari yaad nhi aayi? Woh humse baat nhi karengi?".

"Aap jab se gayi h aapki Ammi ke aansu thame nhi h. Woh to aapse kb se hi baat krna chahti thi. Hum hi jaante h kaise sambhala h humne inhe", he told.

"Hume Ammi se baat krni h", she told.

And next moment she heard Roshnaq's wet voice, "Zoya kaisi h aap beta?".

Zoya smiled hearing her mother after so long, "Hum theek h Ammi. Aap kaisi h?".

"Aapki awaaz sun kr ab achche ho gye h", Roshnaq replied.

"Aap aur Abbu kb aa rhe h humse milne? Hum aap dono ki bahut miss krte h", she asked wiping her tears.

"Hum aur aapke Abbu bhi aapko bahut miss krte h. Hum jldi Delhi aaenge aapse aur Aditya se milne", Roshnaq promised.

"Hume intezaar rhega", Zoya smiled.

"Aditya kaise h? Aap khush to h na unke saath?", Roshnaq voiced her motherly concern.

Zoya hesitated while answering Ammi's question, "Jii....Ammi....hum....theek h".

"Aur Aditya? Aapne unke baare me kuch nhi kaha", Roshnaq asked.

"Aditya bhi theek h Ammi", Zoya replied in a low tone.

"Hum ummeed h aapko apna vaada yaad hoga jo aapne Nikaah ke waqt hume dia tha", Roshnaq said sensing hesitation in Zoya's voice.

"Hum vo vaada yaad h Ammi".

"Ummeed krte h aap apni purani zindagi bhula kr Aditya ke saath apne rishte ko poore dil se nibhaengi", Roshnaq said. Zoya fell silent at her mother's words. She felt guilty hearing her expectations from her.

"Ammi hum office me h. Aapse baad me baat krte h", saying this she cut the call.

**********

Hello readers! Hope you are enjoying the early updates.

So this was the first surprise! Zoya's childhood friend Siddharth!

Wait for the next surprises to unfold.

Take care!

Loads of love :)