FF: Yes Boss #3 - Link to #4 on pg 1 - Page 46

"Asad, where did you go? We waited for so long but you didn't turn up," Dilshaad chided her son a short while after he'd walked through the main door. Zoya and Najma stood up from where they were sitting on the sofa as well, as they turned to Asad and waited for his answer.

"Woh actually main... mera meeting tha! Clients ke saath. It dragged for much longer than I had anticipated," Asad quickly replied, making Dilshaad shake her head disappointedly. Zoya raised an eyebrow at his lame excuse. She had clearly heard RK and Narges cancel the meeting, so what meeting was he talking about?

"Accha woh sab chodo, yeh dekho bhaijaan! Humne kya kya khareeda hai..." Najma's voice floated through the awkward silence that had ensued, in an attempt to cut the obvious tension which had developed in the room. She grabbed a paper bag off the coffee table, before rummaging through it quickly.

"Tamatar main bohut thak gaya hoon, it's been a long day. Waise bhi, I suppose I'll see all the stuff you guys bought tomorrow anyway. Please excuse me. Goodnight," Asad cut Najma off in a strangely cordial manner, before she had even pulled the fabric out of the paper bag. Najma nodded sadly, as she placed the paper bag down on the coffee table again, watching her brother march off to his room wordlessly.

Zoya heard Asad's room door shut with a loud bang, and she flinched a little at the sound of it. She bit her lower lip cautiously as she controlled herself from expressing the burst of emotions that was exploding in her heart, looking down at the ground listlessly. She only looked up again when she felt a warm hand pat the top of her head lovingly.

"Zoya, you know how he is. Don't think too much of it. Maybe he's just overwhelmed by all of this. Tum bhi thak gayi hogi, I think you should get some rest now. Tomorrow will be a brand new day for all of us," Dilshaad tried to make amends for her son, and Zoya simply smiled weakly. She wasn't even sure why she was doing this anymore. Just to stay in India apparently. But why did she even want to do that? It's not like there was anything for her to do here. She sighed deeply as she squeezed Dilshaad's hand for reassurance, before walking back to her own room as well.

A while later, Zoya found herself lying in bed under her covers, staring at the ceiling. She could almost hear the silence around her, especially after Dilshaad and Najma retired back to their rooms as well, leaving the house in darkness. But it wasn't the silence of the house that bothered Zoya. It was Asad's silence that she couldn't bear. She sat up in her bed in frustration, throwing her covers aside. There was no way she was going to force herself or Asad to go through with this nikaah if it was just going to be a big joke in the end anyway. She had to end it now.

Zoya strode out of the door confidently, just to find that the house wasn't actually in total darkness. Asad's room light was still on, and his door was slightly ajar, allowing a sliver of light to escape from the edge. And she could clearly see the outline of Asad's body through the translucent door, as he paced from one side to the other. Frowning a little, Zoya walked up to Asad's door on the tip of her toes, before pulling the door just a little more and peeping into the room curiously.

 Zoya's frowned deepened, as she found Asad still dressed in his office attire, but looking slightly disheveled. His coat had been thrown on the bed carelessly, and his tie loosened just enough for his to unbutton the top button of his shirt. It was only when he groaned a little that Zoya realized he was on the phone.

"Mr Tripathi, I understand your concern, but I'm not cancelling the wedding. I know it's a little abrupt and all, but the fact of the matter is that it is still happening. The circumstances are out of my control... Yes, I've read the papers and I'll get back to you after I'm ready," Asad argued with a certain Mr Tripathi, confusing Zoya even further. Now who was this man, and what was his problem with the wedding?

Zoya watched Asad throw his phone on his bed in frustration after he'd ended the call, before running both his hands through his hair and growling aloud. He finally pulled his tie free completely and tossed it on his bed, on top of a few papers that were lying there as well. He picked them up and stared at them in a steely manner.

"Zoya..." Asad whispered into the silence of his room, as his eyes almost burned holes in the papers. He tossed them back on the bed and unbuttoned his shirt, throwing it next to the papers before walking off to the bathroom and shutting the door with a slam.

Zoya found herself scurrying into the room immediately after Asad had disappeared into the bathroom, unable to contain her curiosity as she made a dash for the papers. She grabbed them and looked nervously back at the bathroom door, before skimming through the papers quickly. Her eyes widened, as she dropped the papers back on the bed and used her hands to cover her mouth instead, to stop the gasp that was about to escape her lips from becoming audible. Tears sprung to her eyes immediately, as she tried to digest what she had read. Asad Ahmed Khan really was a big jerk!

After a few minutes of shock, Zoya heard the bathroom door knob being turned. She turned away in an attempt to bolt out of the room, but then found herself pausing. Instead, she quickly wiped away her tears and put on a brave face, crossing her arms across her chest and tapping her foot on the ground impatiently as she waited for Asad to come out of the bathroom.

"Whoa!" Asad exclaimed, not expecting to see Zoya in his room at this time. He made a lame attempt to cover his upper body with his towel, but then gave up and let it hang over his neck again, as he tried to regain his composure. This was his room anyway, and she was the one who entered it without knocking, so there was no need to hide.

"Aap yahan kya kar rahi ho?! Tameez cheez ki koi baat toh aap mein hai hi nahi, barging into a man's room in the middle of the night without warning," Asad grumbled, as he ignored her and walked towards his closet to pull out a kurta.

"First of all, it's hardly the middle of the night. It's only past ten; it's just that everyone went to bed early. Besides, from tomorrow night this is going to be my room too right, so what difference does it make now?" Zoya commented as casually as possible, and as she had predicted, Asad froze midway through his actions, dropping his kurta back into the closet accidentally.

"See? I knew you would react this way. If you're so against this wedding, why don't you just cancel it? It's not like I'll be deported, because like Phuphi said, I'm technically not staying here illegally yet. I'll only be doing so if I stay beyond tomorrow. Toh ek kaam karte hai, I'll just pack my bags and leave by tomorrow morning. That way, I won't be deported, and you won't need to force yourself to say qubool hai!" Zoya ranted, as Asad slowly turned back to her, his expressions completely unreadable. Zoya heaved as she caught her breath and waited for Asad to say something, but he didn't. He continued staring at her silently.

"FINE, I won't wait till tomorrow morning even. I'll just pack my bags and leave NOW! Goodbye Mr Khan," Zoya screamed hysterically into his stoic face, before turning away and heading to the door, lest her tears begin to show again.

But before she could take a step out of the room, she felt Asad's hand grip her upper arm and yank her in a sudden jerk, making her turn around and fall over her own feet, inevitably crashing into Asad's bare torso. Asad instinctively wrapped an arm around Zoya's waist in a protective manner, despite the fact that her bumping into him had made him lose his balance as well. They both wobbled backwards awkwardly before the bed behind them broke their fall, and the two of them fell onto it unceremoniously, with Zoya sprawled across Asad's body.

Zoya lifted her head up from Asad's chest slowly, both her hands resting on his shoulders as support. She tried repeatedly to lift the rest of her body off of him as well, but couldn't since Asad's arm was still pinning her to him securely. She paused then, and made the mistake of tracing her eyes up to his. In a matter of seconds, she found herself relaxing her muscles and giving up on resisting. Asad trailed the side of Zoya's face from her eyes down to her chin with his finger leisurely, before placing it below her chin and lifting her face upwards a little. Zoya felt Asad shift a little as he pushed his head off the bed a little, his face inching towards hers slowly. She smiled despite herself, and closed her eyes just as his lips pressed against hers.

"Wa... wait... WAIT!" Zoya first mumbled against Asad's lips as he increased pressure a little, before pulling away completely, too sudden for Asad to even stop her. She hopped off the bed quickly, and wiped her lower lip with a shaky finger, as she waited for Asad to stand up as well. But he didn't, choosing instead to sit up on the bed, playing with his fingers casually as he stared at the floor.

"I'm sorry about that. But anyway, you're not going anywhere, because this wedding is not going to be cancelled, no matter what you say," Asad spoke clearly, his tone commanding. Zoya felt a flutter in her heart, hearing the certainty in his voice. So he did want this then...?

"Why?" Zoya finally asked the obvious, hoping that he would've elaborated without her prompting. Asad shifted uncomfortably for a while before getting up and walking to his closet again, pulling out his kurta.

"Because while you may escape scot-free once you get on the plane, I'll still be arrested here for misleading authorities. Now since I've helped you so much thus far, I don't think this is too much to ask for from you," Asad explained, as he faced the closet and pulled the kurta over his upper body.

"A nikaah is not too much to ask for? A nikaah...? A NIKAAH?!" Zoya reiterated a few times, still unable to understand why he was taking it so casually. Her bubble of hope burst immediately, as her eyes found the papers that now lay crumpled on the bed after they'd fallen on them. Now those papers made perfect sense too.

"Yes, um, a nakli one, like I'd explained," Asad continued distractedly, as he began picking up the things that lay strewn on his bed, still not bothering to even look up at her. He placed the papers on his side table after he was done putting his clothes on hangers, as he waited for Zoya to respond. He finally gave up avoiding eye contact and turned to her, just to find that she was no longer there. He ran towards his open door, looking out into the darkness.

"Relax, I'm not running off to the States yet, you won't rot in jail. Just going to bed," Asad jumped a little as he suddenly heard Zoya's voice, coming from where she stood in front of her room door. He nodded curtly as soon as his eyes met her pained ones, before shutting his door quickly. He sighed deeply as he climbed into his bed and closed his eyes, hoping his brain would take a break and let him rest. He needed the rest; after all it was his wedding tomorrow!