04. Here goes nothing

*****

Marwan closed his eyes in bliss as his taste buds got flooded with the heavenly taste of the garam chai in his hands. They had landed a few hours back in Delhi and right now were sitting in the headquarters as Major Mahajan settled all the formalities and mission details.

Ziah too sipped her tea silently while peeking at her surroundings every once in a while. Her mind had stopped the tsunami of

anxiety when Aliya had informed her about her stay with Marwan until further notice.

She was still a little tense but alas, her heart had reached back to its normal pace and she felt more comfortable than before.

"Marwan, aise kya hero ki tarah chai piye ja raha hai? 15 minute mein nikalna hai. Jaldi kar."

Marwan peeked from his closed lashes and completely disregarded Aliya's words who scowled at his blatant ignorance. Smiling apologetically at Ziah who didn't even have an idea about what was going on, Aliya stomped her foot on Marwan's right leg with full force.

The latter screamed at the sudden attack and Ziah jumped on her spot at the sudden noise. Marwan opened his eyes and glared at Aliya through his pained expression who didn't look the least bit sorry.

"Yeh kya harkat hai?"

"Jab banda baton se na maane, toh haath pair chalane padte hai. Now quickly get up and start the car."

"Main driver lagta hu tujhe?"

Aliya gave a once over to a horrified looking Marwan and tsked before shaking her head in negative.

"Nahi, lekin agar ek cap laga le aur thodi akad kam kar le, then you'll fit in the criteria perfectly."

The two glared daggers at each other but the angry session was disturbed when Ziah giggled at their interaction. Marwan shifted his glare from Aliya to her but Ziah found it tough to keep the amusement at bay.

Narrowing his eyes at the woman that was laughing at his misery, Marwan crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Anything funny, Ms. Ziah?"

Ziah tried her best to say a 'no' but Marwan could only huff when the girl wouldn't stop smiling or giggling while looking at his annoyed expression.

Looks like sympathetic people didn't exist anymore.

"Use kya dat raha hai? Jaldi se ready ho. Nikalna hai kuch der mein."

Daiyan informed the people in the room though he was going back to Lucknow while the three were off to Bandra.

"Mujhe nahi jaana us khadus ke ghar mein."

Marwan whined to his friend who only shook his head. Daiyan knew his best friend didn't have the best relations with his father but what could he do? Duty asks for adjustment and right now, Marwan would have to do just that.

"Marwan, kuch hafton ki baat hai and then you can come back. Chalo abhi, late ho raha hai."

Daiyan ushered the people out of the cabin and Marwan bid a highly dramatic farewell to the people in the headquarters and didn't miss the chance to annoy his best friend.

"Acha chalta hu, duaon mein yaad rakhna, mere zikr ka, zuban pe swad rakhna. Dil ke-"

"Abey oye, kya bakwas kar raha hai?"

Marwan just placed a hand on his heart, acting as if Daiyan's words had hurt him to a deep extent before wiping the nonexistent tear from his eye.

"Haye, socha nahi tha ki mera sabse acha dost hi mujhe paraya kar dega."

Ziah bit her lips and ducked her head down to stop herself from smiling at the man's antics. The 8 hours that she had spend in their company had cleared one thing in her mind,

Marwan could be the most dramatic person one could ever meet at the same time, he could be the most determined man when on a mission.

Anyways, both the categories balanced themselves, mostly.

Daiyan rolled his eyes at Marwan's dramatics before shoving him inside the passenger seat of the black scorpio. He had hired a driver to drop them towards the nearest airport and Marwan couldn't be any more grateful for his friend's unasked help.

"Ja raha hu main! Roz call karna mujhe. Jald milenge mere dost!"

Marwan waved his hand from the car window and Daiyan hit a hand on his forehead in utter annoyance before walking away in order to avoid further embarrassment that might come handy with Marwan's antics.

His friend did too much nakhre for his own good.

*****

Ziah removed her small bag from the overhead bin but stumbled a little when someone shoved her not-so gently. Marwan was quick to catch her elbow before she could hit her head on the seat and glared at the young man who gulped before apologizing and running away.

"Pata nahi in logo ko kaunsi jaldi hoti hai."

Aliya muttered under her breath but the two had heard her loud and clear and couldn't help but nod in agreement. The amount of patience in the people when travelling in a plane was equal to the amount of water that could be stored in a strainer.

Which is equal to null.

Ziah gave a small smile to Marwan as a 'thank you' and he returned the 'your welcome' with a wider one. Aliya passed a weird look to the two before grabbing her bags and walking out. Ziah followed close behind and soon the three stood outside of the airport.

Marwan looked around for a while and sighed in annoyance once his suspicions were confirmed. His father once again decided to play the grudge game and hence, there was no car waiting for him.

Meanwhile Aliya's usually neutral face was lit up like the decorations on eid as she got a glimpse of her father's face who stood with pride glinting in his eyes as he waved at his daughter.

Marwan could feel a little something twisting in his heart as he registered the love-filled union but before those prickly words could resurface again, he shook his head and looked away.

Ziah watched as Aliya hugged her father. A sad smile formed on her face as she remembered the many memories that were kept buried in the back of her mind for so many years or maybe, they just didn't get a chance to resurface.

"Marwan, driver ko call karoge or shall I drop you to your home?"

Aliya asked with a knowing look. Ziah looked between the two, releasing the rising tension, she looked down and played with the small stone that lay immobile at her feet.

Marwan looked at Ziah for a while before nodding his head. He was sure that she wouldn't be comfortable with two men in the car and hence, having Aliya in their company would be the best decision.

Aliya smiled at him and took hold of Ziah's hand, who jerked a little at the sudden contact but anyhow let Aliya lead her towards her car. She greeted Aliya's father with a polite smile and a salam, and the old man was kind enough to return the gesture with an even enthusiastic energy.

"I'll sit in the back seat with her."

Aliya proposed, more like stated and got in the back seat with Ziah next in line. Marwan rolled his eyes, before getting into the passenger seat.

"Assalamu alaikum, uncle. Sab khairiyat?"

Aliya's father laughed at the ever cheerful man and gave an affirmative reply. Ziah watched in silence as Marwan bumped his fist with Aliya's father and the woman beside her, just shook her head at their antics.

*****

Marwan got out of the car and quickly removed their bags from the trunk before opening the door for Ziah, who was left stunned at the sudden gentlemanly acts.

Marwan passed her a sheepish smile and Ziah chuckled lightly before getting out but not before bidding an 'Allahfiz' and a 'thank you' to Aliya and her father.

"Here goes nothing."

She heard Marwan's exasperated whisper and looked towards his home and to say the guy belonged to a rich family would be an understatement. The mansion was relatively big to say the least with beautiful carvings spread throughout the brick structure.

"Yeh-"

"Sirf dekhne mein acha hai. The residents inside ain't that beautiful apart from one."

Marwan said with a nonchalant tone but Ziah could clearly feel the detachment he had with this mansion.

She remained silent for the rest of the while and watched as a man came and carried their bags inside. Marwan walked forward and motioned for her to follow him and Ziah found herself walking behind him like a lost puppy.

"Marwan!"

Ziah jumped in surprise when the voice yelled from out of nowhere. Meanwhile a wide smile spread across Marwan's face as he watched his mother running in haste, very eager to hug him and suffocate him with her motherly affection.

Not that Marwan was complaining. He lived for his mother's affections since his father was never in the family picture to begin with.

"Mama."

He yelled back with an equally excited tone and Ziah saw the edlerly woman crushing the 6'4 man in a tight hug. Her wide eyes looked in awe as Marwan silently took it all without a word. His eyes were closed but the childlike glee on his face and the wide smile on his lips told everything that Ziah would want to know about the son-mother relationship.

"Kaisa hai mera bacha? Tune time pe khana khaya na? Mission khatm hote hi phone kyu nahi kiya? Pata hai jaan nikli jaa rahi thi meri jab tera koi call nahi aya. Aise toh na daraya kar apni mama ko."

Madiha's voice got emotional towards the end and she sniffled lightly. Marwan quickly grew alert of the emotional session that was minutes away from hitting him like a loaded truck and he quickly kissed his mother's forehead before hugging her tight.

"Mama, main bilkul theek hu aur khana bhi time se khaya hai. Kuch zaruri kaam mein masroof ho gaya tha isliye call nahi kar paya. Forgive me?"

He gave his best puppy eyes to Madiha, who of course, melted at her son's expressions and nodded her head before running a hand through his hair.

"Chalo bahot achi baat hai."

Madiha's eyes then looked at Ziah who was now all of a sudden extremely nervous. The elderly woman looked at her for a few seconds before offering her a welcoming smile. She opened her mouth to begin the introductions but an icy voice disturbed the once cheerful environment in the living room.

"Aa gaye nawab zade?"

**********

Aha, a little bit of family drama is about to begin. You all ready for it?!👀

Sadly this will be the last update for the next 2-3 weeks due to some educational hazards, pretty please hang on till then. I'll try to make some time to update the further chapters but no promises, since I know myself really well... 😁😅

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