Fasaana

TWENTY THREE

Without all the exes, fights, and flaws
We wouldn't be standing here so tall.

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"Good morning, ma'am." Sarthak wished Zoya as soon as she stepped into the buffet hall for breakfast. Sehrish was beside her with her teddy bear clutched in her tiny hands.

Zoya smiled at him. "Morning, Sarthak."

"Good morning, cutie pie." He said, looking at Sehrish.

She grinned at him. "I went to the pool."

As Zoya promised, she took Sehrish to the pool in the morning, and she had not shut up about how fun it was ever since.

"Really?" Sarthak pretended to be happily surprised. "That's awesome."

Zoya made Sehrish sit beside Sarthak on the table and asked her, "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Pancakes." Sehrish said after thinking for a while.

Zoya padded off to the buffet counter and took two plates. In one, she served pancakes with strawberries and chocolate sauce for Sehrish, and on the other, she put a fruit bowl for herself. Along with it she took a cup of coffee for herself too.

"There you go, sweetheart." She kept the plate in front of Sehrish.

"Have you gone through the files one last time?" Zoya asked Sarthak while taking a bite of her fruit.

"Yes, everything is perfect." He nodded.

Before she could reply, her phone rang. It was Mahmood.

"Hello?" She picked up.

"Zoya, I have reached the hotel." He said. He was coming to pick up Sehrish from the hotel and take her home, while Zoya would join them after the meeting.

"Where are you?" She looked around to find him.

"Outside." He replied.

She frowned. "What are you doing outside?"

"It is such a big hotel. How can I.." Zoya could hear the embarrassment in his voice.

"Wait, I'm coming." She hung up the phone and told Sarthak that she'd be back in five minutes. She left Sehrish with him, and hurried outside.

She found Mahmood standing outside the gate of the hotel.

"Baba," She called him with a big smile.

He reciprocated it and waved at her instantly. She went closer and hugged him. "How are you?"

"I am fine." He replied, but she could see the wrinkles under his eyes. He was aging, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Come inside." She held his hand and tried to pull him, but he resisted.

"I am fine outside." He said.

"Baba, you're coming with me and that's final. And don't you dare get embarrassed." She strenly said and dragged him in.

All the glitter and shine inside the luxury hotel almost blinded Mahmood for a second. He looked around and found everyone dressed in exquisite clothes, and his faded old kurta pajama made him feel so out of place.

"Sehru, look who is here?" His trance was broken by Zoya’s voice.

Sehrish, who was talking to Sarthak, looked up and gave a full blown smile seeing her nanu. She hadn't met him much, but Zoya kept showing her pictures of her grandparents and aunts.

She jumped down the chair and hugged Mahmood’s leg. "My child," He said in joy and picked her up.

Then Zoya also introduced Sarthak to Mahmood and then sat him down to have breakfast with them. Mahmood tried to deny saying he'd already eaten at home, but Zoya didn’t listen to him. She took him over to the buffet counter and showed her all the available options. Among everything, he only knew puri sabzi, so Zoya served him that and also took a chicken salami and cheese sandwich for him to try.

Mahmood noticed that everyone around was eating with forks and knives. So he also picked up his fork and tried to tear his puri with it. Zoya saw that and smiled subtly at her adorable father. She forwarded her hand and tore a bit of the puri, dipped it in the sabzi and put the bite in front of his mouth. He looked at her and opened his mouth. As he chewed the food, she whispered, "Eat comfortably."

After half an hour, they all were done with breakfast. Sarthak called the driver who was assigned to them for their entire trip to bring the car to the front. Meanwhile, she asked a bell boy to get her luggage from her room since she was checking out. She would be spending the next two days at her father's home, which was once her home as well. It wasn't anymore. Her mother had made it very clear during her wedding that she had handed her over to her husband, and that there was no coming back. And Kausar stuck to her words when Zoya walked out of her abusive marriage.

The luggage was placed in a cab that Zoya had booked for Mahmood and Sehrish to drive them home. It was the first time Sehrish would be meeting Kausar and her sisters, Ziva and Zaina. The last time they'd seen her was in the hospital, when she was born. Kausar never visited her in Delhi, nor did she let her sisters come.

After they left, Zoya and Sarthak were also on their way for the meeting. It didn’t take them more than fifteen minutes to reach their destination. Jaipur was a relatively smaller city and didn't have much traffic.

Zoya stepped out of the car and eyed the five floored building in front of her. Subconsciously she ran her hands on the black formal suit with the blazer she was wearing. She normally didn’t dress up so formally, but today wasn't a normal day. Her hair was held in a low bun, and her three inch pointed heels made her feel more confident.

She felt like a fucking queen, and she was here to conquer.

"Shall we?" Sarthak gestured her to move forward. So, with her head held high, she strided inside the building.

"We are here to see Mrs Labia Aziz." Sarthak said to the receptionist.

"Are you from MacWeld?" The lady asked, to which Sarthak said yes.

She immediately said, "Ma'am is waiting for you. Shital will guide you."

A woman appeared beside Sarthak and asked them to follow her. She took them to the third floor.

"Labia ma'am is inside." The woman, Shital said and opened the door.

Zoya took a deep breath and stepped inside what was a conference room. And she was face to face with not only Labia, but also her ex-husband, Rizwan.

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This chapter was short, but it was so important for me. This just shows how much Zoya has grown. And that proud feeling Mahmood feels upon seeing her is so fulfilling.