CHAPTER 45

CHAPTER 45 : Test of friendship

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"That's cheating !!! THAT IS STRAIGHT UP CHEATING" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I hit the back of Kashaf di , who just laughed and pulled out the fake money, she hid under her leg. We were sitting cross legged on the floor as we played monopoly.

"Now I can understand how she has won since the last 2 turns" Abhishek's voice rang in the hallway making Aditi and I laugh even more .

Instead of answering Kashaf di just laughed even more . While wiping the corner of my eyes , my eyes fell on Ismail who just gave us a little smile as he stared at the scene.

It seemed as if something was disturbing him , ever since he came . Otherwise he would be the first one laughing, and cracking all sorts of Santa Banta jokes .

"Ismail, while they are playing , let's go in the kitchen and cook something for them" I told him and got up from the ground , as we were bombarded with dishes requests from everyone .

Aditi wanted white sauce pasta , while Abhishek was craving for some red sauce one , and Kashaf di wanted to have some samosas .

I rolled my eyes at the requests , "If y'all want these , then make them yourself . I will just make some fries and aloo samosas . If you want , then eat it and if you don't , then make it yourself" I said and walked inside , and their silence was enough to tell that these guys would lazily sit and eat whatever was served to them instead of working for it .

"You're fine with it too , right ?" I asked while looking towards Ismail who looked lost and he just gave a little nod .

Sighing , Safia followed him in the kitchen , who just made his way and started to cook . Safia just put her elbows on the slab and leaned her body on it .

"So, what is bugging you?" Safia inquired, and Ismail looked at her with a little frown , as if asking 'what kind of question is it?' . Safia slapped him lightly over the head.

"Don't be like this okay ? I have grown up beside you . I know you better than you know yourself . Tell me what is it?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's-" he tried to speak, but just stopped . He didn't knew what to speak , and how to put his words in a sentence so that it doesn't hurt Safia. He wanted to hide it from her , but he knew he couldn't hide it forever. Atleast not from her .

"It's ?" Safia's patience was like a thin ice and Ismail was dancing on it .

"It's complicated" Ismail's reply made her groan.

"You took all these years to just utter it's complicated ? You are god's favorite Ismail, because today I am in a good mood, other I would have—" Safia started to look around the hotel's kitchen and then grabbed a knife , "stabbed you" she completed her sentence with a glare.

"Now tell me , or wait , I will just call Kalyani and ask her . You both are together since all these time right? She must have known what's the reason behind your behaviour " Safia opened her phone and started to scroll down to find her number , and Ismail's eyes widened and he quickly held her hand .

"Stop!" He panicked . He knew she was still unaware of the death of her beloved friend , and perhaps it was one of the thing he had been hiding from her .

"What? If you don't tell me I will ask about it from Kalyani, she isn't an arrogant prick like you" Safia rolled her eyes , but Ismail just gave her a dry smile .

Kalyani or Radhika, what difference does a name make ? Afterall she was his friend . The one whome he spent pretty few good moments with . He couldn't believe how few people took the matter of life and death so easily , like Rudhra and Fawad . Life was precious, and the living people were treasure . But they kept this matter on the tips of their figures and just one mistake could lead a person to lose their lives .

"Okay , I will tell you . But just give me a bit time . It's not as simple as it seems" Ismail tried to make her understand, and Safia's eyes frowned .

"It isn't simple ?" She asked and Ismail shook his head lightly.

He didn't know how much he was attached to with her in the small time . He just knows he has been carrying that pain in his heart .

"Okay,"Safia was defeated . She didn't know what to say , and she couldn't find herself to actually force Ismail . People had personal space . A thing which she rarely understood, and it was a rare moment.

"But when will you tell me ?" She inquired .

"When I feel the right time will be" Ismail just lowered his gaze and started to chop veggies.

He started at Safia who was looking happy .

"Is Mr Siddiqui treating you right?" Ismail was worried , he couldn't even put that into words . He knows that Fawad was a rich man ,so in case Safia ever messes up , or does something against his will , shooting her will be the first thing on his list .

"Right? He treats me sooo damn rightt!! You know ,He supported me without even knowing the whole scene , he made food for me , he bought me tote bags , he went on trip with me . The list is long" Safia's words provided a relief at his heart .

"So he loves you?" Ismail asked , and Safia bit a blush , "I suppose" although the confession hadn't taken place yet it was quiet clear .

'Then telling her about Radhika will just create unnecessarily chaos' Ismail thought to himself , and decided to keep it into his heart till the time he actually could .

"Okay, do you love him?" Ismail inquired . It was unnecessary question , the blush which was on Safia's cheek narrated the tale of her heart to him.

Despite this , he just wanted to engage in a conversation with her because it was the only thing which could lift hai mood .

~

"Finally ! You are here " Seth sighed in relief seeing Fawad . Fawad's heart dropped as his eyes went to his cousin , he didn't knew he was ready for the discussion for which he had called Seth in his hotel tonight .

"Yes , how have you been doing?" Fawad asked , and Seth noticed how his tone was wrapped with impatience.

"Great , but I am afraid if I stand here for a little long my legs will give up" Seth joked . It was partially true though . The room Fawad called him at was on 8th floor , and the lift was out of service for today due to technical issues.

"Ofcourse, sit" Fawad gestured towards the empty chair beside his own one .

They settled and ordered some food for themselves as they dive into the deeper talk.

"You have been off for a week , how are you feeling?" Seth asked .

"I am feeling great . It was the vacation I pretty much needed" Fawad smiled a little recalling all the incidents . Seth couldn't hide the burning sensation in his heart as he saw Fawad smiling . The woman he loved was the one his cousin did to , and it ached his heart more than it should have .

"I can totally see that . Safia's magic ?" Seth teased trying to conceal his feelings and Fawad chuckled "totally".

"How have your weekend been?" Fawad asked while sipping the juice the waiter just got for them .

"Quite happening and stressful " Seth's words made Fawad frown , "Why?"

"Things have been upside down . But again , that's what brings the fun part in life. Quickly tell me , should I tell the good part or bad part first?" Seth asked .

"Bad, let the good make me feel better later" despite Fawad himself choosing bad first , he wasn't ready to face it all .

"Dang,  I wanted to tell the good first, because it's all a mix" Seth sighed dramatically , trying to make jokes even in such a situation.

"Then why did you even bothered asking me first?" Fawad grumbled in annoyance . Seth laughed a little at that . Even after everything changing since the past months , he is glad to see that Fawad still gets annoyed quickly.

In the middle of the changes , he wanted to look for the familiarities and things from the past .

"C'mon, don't keep on laughing and tell me what's the matter " Fawad was worried about the others . He knew that the meeting was messed up and his father wouldn't let it slide of easily.

"Okay, so firstly, Augustus's wife woke up from her deep slumber—" Seth's words were cut by Fawad who was surprised "That is wonderful," Fawad wanted to say more but he cut the words short only . He have seen Augustus worry about his wife , and even cry at the nights holding her hand .

"Not that wonderful, like it is , just not- uh leave it.  I will leave it to you to decide" Seth said .

"There is no way , it can be a bad news" Fawad straight ahead declared. He was certain that he won't have any second thoughts about this situation.

"Well-she is Mrs Z"

There was a silence . It was enough of an answer from Fawad's side . Seth loved to joke around,  but lying wasn't one of the thing which was in his jokes . About works , he was always certain.

"And,-" Fawad was thinking of ways to proceed his answer. What was he supposed to say ? It came out of blue.

"Yeah" Seth pressed his lips in a thin line .

"Anything else which was feral about the week ?" Fawad inquired.

"Yeah , Rudhra actually told Augustus the truth that he was the one who tried to kill his wife , because he knew the truth" Seth stopped his sentence mid-way to study Fawad's face who was shocked and he just took a sharp breath in to calm himself down .

"Okay-"

"Just an okay?" Seth asked at the lack of response from Fawad's side .

"Oh , I would have cursed , but it's haram, so better be satisfied with an okay"Fawad gulped down the tangy juice . "And wait,how was Augustus's feelings? How did he reacted? He must have been shocked to know two screwed up news in the same day" Fawad felt bad for Augustus.

"Well,he already knew" the moment Seth ended his sentence Fawad just slammed the juice glass on table .

One week it was . And everything was suddenly so different and new .

"So they were in all this together?" Fawad felt betrayed at the thought of his friend helping his enemy.

"Absolutely not . Augustus won't betray you for the world" Seth was confident in his words . Despite all the hardships and the personal grudges which was coming between them all , he knew that they were close friends and loved each other.

"Then ? Why did he hid the identity of his wife ? Did he not trusted that I wouldn't have let anything happen to his wife . If anything, I would have sat down and cleared the air" Fawad couldn't hide his sadness and the feeling of betrayal he was feeling .

"He didn't knew earlier . I told him the day his wife got hospitalized. Do you really think that the man was in the mind to clear the air up? Think carefully Fawad " Seth was tired for the level of immaturity the others showed .

Everyone was reckless in their own ways .

Augustus married a woman he barely knew , Rudhra tortured her without thinking thoroughly about the consequences and Fawad wasn't in mood to listen .

"So you knew it?" Fawad asked, his voice was slower this time and he was trying to control his mind to jump on conclusions.

"I got to know that day itself and I suppose Rudhra also got to know about it later only, because when he got to know , he just took the matter in his own hands" Seth cleared out .

"Okay,so what is the situation now?" Fawad asked after a long silence.

"Augustus is with his wife, Rudhra is regretting and in hospital after being punched by Augustus . That's it . The air is cleared. It is just you ,who was left to know about this incident" Seth told him .

"Who should I go to see first?" Fawad asked Seth completely forgetting about the reason he wanted to talk with Seth in the first place.

"Don't meet anyone for now . Throw a dinner and call everyone tomorrow and clear the air between the two fools " Seth suggested .

"It won't clear up this easily" Fawad was surprised at Seth's ability to take things very easily without understanding the severity of the situation.

"It will be , although not like earlier . But if you convince them both to work on same stuff, they will co-operate for sure and in middle of all that,  forget about their personal enmity and differences" Seth's words now made more sense once he explained his words clearly.

"And what can be the work?" Fawad asked. The work must be big and one which needed both of them , and for now , Fawad didn't had any such work in his mind.

Seth gulped not knowing if Fawad was ready to listen or not , but he wanted to play his last short and replied , "Killing your father"

To be continued...