Redemption

chapter 13

"Bhai?" Hadiya spoke before she could even think of anything and Zaryab froze on his spot for a moment. His heart was beating in his throat and he felt choked when Zahan stepped closer to Hadiya and asked her if Zaryab had said something to her.

Hadiya didn't reply and kept her mouth shut as she turned to look at Zaryab, watching her husband struggle to even shale his head to make her stay quiet she blinked before turning to Zahan.

"Nothing Bhai. I... I'm just a little overwhelmed these days" she said wiping her face and Zahan frowned more if possible.

"Zaryab I want to have a word with you" Zahan said after a moment of silence and Zaryab flinched at the sound of his voice.

"Me? Oh..." Zaryab blinked numerous times before nodding and leading Zahan to his home office.

As the two men stepped inside the office Zaryab closed the door behind him and watched Zahan taking a seat at the chairs placed in front of his desk.

"What can I help you with?" Zaryab asked with a smile this time, his composite back to normal.

Zahan stayed silent for a moment, his eyes seemed troubled and his gate slouched. He looked like a man confused between what path he should take and Zaryab felt his heart skip a beat.

"I.. Zoya.... Zaryab I don't know what to do" he sighed accepting his defeat against fate. He leaned more into the chair and stared at the ceiling for a good minute.

"I... this whole time..." Zahan raised his hand to try and make sense of anything but all he could do was move his fingers in desperation to grab the words to vocalize his feelings.

"All this time I thought... I thought I would never be able to see her. I had made peace with my life thinking that maybe she doesn't want me or worse maybe she really was... " he jerked his head sitting up straight. His eyes met Zaryab who had been nodding in understanding and he felt the man put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"How.. How do I make peace with this? How do I proceed with this now? She's well and alive, she doesn't need me. I've been waiting for her, dwelling in misery hoping that one day I'll be with her but she doesn't want me anymore" his voice sounded grave, deep and choked enough to move anyone to tears.

"It's hard to see the truth sometimes" Zaryab spoke before thinking and when Zahan's defeated glare met his eyes, he closed his eyes shut.

"The truth?"

"What truth? How- can she possibly just forget everything that we went through to end up together and now she doesn't feel the same way?" his voice rose a notch and Zaryab sighed with a nod of understanding.

"I know it must be hurting you but time goes by and people change" he tried making Zahan see the light of the situation, he could never give him false hope that maybe someday zoya will change her mind and they'll end up together. She was far more complicated than what Zahan was seeing and the knots of their relationship will take years of undoing.

"Change? Did I change? No. right?"

"Do you want her back?" Zaryab asked and a long silence prevailed between them as Zahan stared at the floor to make sense of his own feelings.

Did he want her back?

Why did he want her back?

What was he even going to do if he got her back? He had started to live his life on his own now, did she even matter anymore?

"I don't know, all the emotions i buried under the weight of her absence i- i am unable to believe that she's really alive and has been with me all this time but now that we have met eyes she wants me to forget that she's my wife" the words had fallen out of his mouth and calling her his wife out loud again made his chest tight.