Riiiing

He sat up and answered his phone.

There it goes. Another perfect opportunity to tell him.

Zoya was restless for the next few days. Everytime she tried to talk Shezaad about her real true self, they were interrupted, in some way or another. Her gut told her delaying it wasn't good and it won't bring or do good to her or him if Shezaad found out about it from elsewhere and not her. her female intuiton told her some disaster was blowing lose in the horizon. but everytime she opned her mouths and th words were about to spring, someone either came or called.

"You are so jumpy these days. Why are you so restless? is everything alright?"

Of course Winifred would notice. she knew Zoya like she knew her palm.

"I'm fine. It's just...my dad and Tharique..."

"Hmm...", Winifred said absently lingering around.

"Did...did Shohrd tell you anything?"

"Shohrd?" Zoya paused her vegetable chopping.

The confusion in her tone gave Winifred the answer she needed.

"Nevermind".

Zoya watched her friend walk out in confusion but her mind was too busy to dwell on it.

Morning came, lectures happened as usual. She was determined to tell Shezaad somehow or the other today. She ever practiced it last night. When she went to the cafetaria, the table was already occupied with two seats empty. She took the one right across Shezaad because the other empty seat was immediately on Rona's right. She sat immediately on Shezaad's right. She bought herself a tuna sandwich and a coke. From where she sat her vision directly fell on the twined arms of the couple in front of her. Shezaad had his hand on the table and Rona had her left arm twined with his while she ate from the same bowl of noodles he was having.

Zoya's throat tightened at the sight. Her appetite immediately died. She ground her teeth hard to ge  a good grip on her.

The girl in front of her was having her own deep hearted satisfaction watching her face. After a few moments she moved her chair close to him and clutched his arm to her.

"I feel like I'm developing a bad headache", and she rested her head on her fiancé's shoulder. Shezaad' s eyes immediately drifted to Zoya helplessly. He looked guilty. He slowly straightened and peeled the damsel off him.

"Do you want to go get a pain killer?"

"Yeah that would be good", she tried to wrap herself all over him again.

"I'll get one for you", he got up and left without another glance.

Rona smirked at her. She wanted to stab the bitch with a fork. She felt stabbed by a fork herself. She wanted to stab everyone with fork!

"The oil prices are going havoc", someone on the table exclaimed.

"What do you mean?"

Two boys had their heads bent into a phone. That Arab Prince is a heck of a lucky guy. How come Blue Isle isn't on partnership with them. You know anything about it Rona?"

"No", she drawled. "But I'm sure Shezaad has his reasons if he isn't mingling. I'm really glad that he doesn't have anything to do with the Zafar scum anyway".

Something about her tone made Zoya look up. At her. A chill went down her spine. She knew that look.

Rona knew.

She didn't know what or how much, but she definitely knew something.

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"Hey... Zoya!"

She hued running footsteps behind her and turned to stop. She was on the fourth flow and walking to the elevator after her last class.

"Hey....wait".....

Shezaad ran to her panting from the opposite corner. And stopped a few steps in front of her.

"Yeah?"

"Hey...are you upset or something".

"No, why would you think that".

"Because...." and he stopped. What did he tell her?

"It's good you came anyway. I've been meaning to ask you something". She would save the sulking for later.

Both of them sat on the stairs. "I brought you something. Here". He handed her a mini burger. Her favourite chicken and cheese one.

"I know you ate nothing during lunch".

She looked at him. His eyes. And wordless emotion passed in between both of them. She looked away in embarrassment and took a bite of the juicy burger.

Yummmmm.... A perfect distraction from the blushing moment a few minutes ago. He watched her eat. He found it fascinating. Everything about her fascinated him.

"Didn't you say you wanted to tell me something?"

She nodded. Still chewing. She paused in between bites and said "But before that tell me. Someone during lunch said that you don't business with that Arab Prince. You know Zafar. I was wondering why he said that".

She watched his face turn black.

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"Come in".

His bent head raises as Shezaad walked into the room. He smiled politely though the Shezaad couldn't be courteous enough to return the gesture in the same intensity. His relationship with his step-father has always been complicated. He was his mother's husband as well as his father's brother. Shezaad felt betrayed and torn in between. It was off to a rocky start and had been so ever since he remembered.

"Why did u want to see me?"

He gestured to the envelope on the table and resumed looking through his papers. Shezaad suspiciously opened the envelope to find a stack of photographs. All of Zoya and him. In various places. Mostly at the college car park, in the ground at the cafe where we she poured wood apple over my head-

"In the library? You have a prick inside the college to give you inside information?"

He scanned through all the photos.

"I thought we had an agreement as to not pry about my personal life", the young man snapped.

He slowly and patiently removed his glasses. "All these", he gestured to the scattered photographs, "were taken by some pap photographer and some sent to reporters by your your own colleagues. They would have been published all over magazines and sleazy online websites unless we had eyes and ears watching out for you". His saintly-ness calmed the impending storm down.

"This has to stop", Shezaad's voice rang with a note of finality.

"Yes, this has to stop..... you are betrothed to another woman".

The direction this was going is unexpected. And it complicated enough and he didn't want to discuss it. Not with his step-father. Now with anyone.

"You have to decide son. You have to decide on which path you are going to take".

"It isn't as if I have much of a choice left", I looked away in a huff.

"It doesn't have to be that way you know".

It took Shezaad a moment or two to process his words.

"What do you mean?"

"What I'm trying to say is, sometimes all you have to decide is whether to let your brain decide or your heart".

Confusion crippled him. He was stuck between what was right and wrong. He couldn't even distinguish between the two. It was right to keep his word as an honest businessman and proceed with the political and loveless marriage that has been arranged years ago. And it was wrong to go back on his word for a woman he didn't know half a dozen months ago. At the same time it was right to choose the woman to whom his heart belong and let go of the one to whom he could never have feelings for. The conundrum had made his days hard and nights harder. He was pacifying with a woman to whom he gave his ring for a woman to whom he gave his heart.

"Ugh", he put it head in his hands.

"I don't know".

"I don't agree with that. You know. You know exactly what you should and shouldn't do", the elderly man's face was full of affection for his nephew, now son.

"What should I do?"

"I'm not going to tell you that. This is your life. And the most important decision of your life that is. So it's all upto you".

Another heavy sigh!

"But just so you know, whatever it is you decide, I would back you through it. Keep business and deals aside. For once think you have no strings attached".

Silence passed for a full minute. He looked out of the window behind him and back to the boy in front of him.

Eye to eye communication among two men is the most underestimated exchange of emotions. Rarely written about, spoken about and never, ever explained. It became too much for Shezaad. He hated his step-father could read his eyes. He could see in his eyes that he could. He looked away exclaiming.

"Why now? Nobody asked me to think  through the decision to marry Rona seven years ago! So why now?"

Shahid Sheriff rose from his chair and came from behind the table. He circled the radius of his oak desk and stopped beside Shezaad's chair, his face pensive.

He laid one last photo before Shezaad and left with a gentle squeeze and a pat on his shoulder. 

It was a picture, a rather close snap of him, taken in the parking lot, the day Zoya came back to college after her injuries. Shohrd wasn't captured but he knew the boy was bent at Zoya's feet tying her shoe laces. Zoya was looking at him and Shezaad was looking at her.

"Seven years ago, you never looked at anyone, the way you look at Zoya now".

His step father was paused at the door  watching him. He left wordlessly closing the door softly.

Oooh soo many cliffhangers in one huh. What do u think Rona knows about Zoya and why did Shezaad's face turn black. What does he have with Zoya's real biological father???? Ooh and also the BIG decision Mr. Blue has to make.. What will he decide? Will he choose from his brain and will he let his heart reign? Stay tunes to find out in the next chapter. Coming soon!!!

Mean while please vote, share and comment.

Love you
Sanfara 🤩❤️