Junoon 9

DISCLAIMER: This story is an absolute work of fiction which means I am NOT promoting anything that I write. This story is solely based on random imaginations of mine and they are WILD. I DON'T mean to offend anyone. I feel the need to put this before every chapter lol.

Author's POV

Zara was looking in the mirror, brushing her hair, freeing it from the annoying tangles. Just as she untangled the last piece, Salaar walked in the room with his sleeves rolled up, looking agitated.

Salaar went towards his side table, trying to find something. He flipped through each drawer, throwing unnecessary stuff out.

'Kia howa hai?' Zara asked Salaar, getting up from her chair in front of the mirror. (What happened?)

Without asking him, he yelled for the butler, 'ILYAAS'. The poor guy rushed into the room, waiting for further orders.

'MERI FILES KAHAN HEIN? KITNI DAFA KAHA HE KE JO JAHAN PARA HE UDHER HI REHNE DO' Salaar yelled at the poor man, who looked like he was about to cry. (WHERE ARE MY FILES? HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE EVERYTHING AT ITS OWN PLACE.)

'Salaar, kion chilla rahe ho bichare par. Idhr hi kahin hon gi tumahri files.' Zara intervened, trying to save the Ilyaas from Salaar's wrath. (Salaar, why are you yelling at the poor man? Your files must be around here somewhere.)

'Zara tum beech mein naa parho' Salaar's hardened eyes shifted to Zara, making her halt in her stop. The fear of Salaar settling deep in her heart. (Zara don't interfere.)

Salaar shifted his eyes back to Ilyaas, who was shaking in his spot. 'BATAO MERI FILES KIDHAR HEN' Salaar yelled again, as he grabbed Ilyaas's collar. (TELL ME WHERE MY FILES ARE)

'Mu..mujhe nahi p..pata sahab' Ilyaas replied with his eyes down. (I..I don't k..know sir)

'Abhi yaad dilata hoon tumhe.' Salaar whipped out his gun with the same dark expression that has no ounce of mercy and placed it on Ilyaas's forhead. (Let me help you remember.)

'SALAAR ye kya kar rahe ho. Gun niche karo.' Zara said as she approached him. (SALAAR what are you doing? Put the gun down now.)

'Zara tumne aik aur qadam barhaya to me isse maar doon ga. Apni jagah pe raho.' Salaar shifted his eyes to Zara for a split second and shifted it back. (Zara if you come one step closer, I will shoot him. Stay in your place.)

'Ab batao kidhar hai meri files?' Salaar said in a dark voice to Ilyaas who had his eyes shut, tears running down his face. (Now tell me where are my files?)

'M..mujhe n...nahi pata sahab qa..sam se' Ilyaas spoke the truth which was unfortunately not in his favor. (I....I d..don't know sir, I sw..ear)

'Khuda hafiz Ilyaas.' Salaar shot him on the spot. Zara was mortified to see the scene in front of her, she screamed in fear of the monster in front of her. (Goodbye Ilyaas)

'I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE. YOU'RE A MONSTER. I WANT A DIVORCE.' Zara yelled as she tried to move past Salaar

Salaar grabbed her wrist, pushing her against the wall, leaving no room for escape. Zara started hitting Salaar's chest furiously for escape so he grabbed both of her hands and put it on top of her head.

'Tum meri ho. Khabardar talaq ka socha bhi to.' Salaar said with a dark look in his eyes. (You are mine. Don't you dare think of a divorce.)

'I am my own person. I don't want to be married to a monster. Set me free right now.' Zara said trying to be free from this forced relation.

'Fine I will.' Salaar lighted a glimmer of hope in her that soon disappeared when she felt the barrel of the gun on her stomach.

'If you can't be mine, no one will have you. See you soon' With that Salaar pulled the trigger.

Zara woke up screaming from the intense dream, sweating profusely. Salaar, who was sleeping beside her, woke up in haste, alert for any danger. When he finally understood it was Zara that had a nightmare.

"Kia howa Zara meri jaan?" Salaar asked Zara who was sweating and shaking. (What happened Zara, my love?)

"Tum mujhe maar do ge." Zara said with fear in her eyes. The fear that pierced straight through Salaar's heart. (You will kill me)

This had been going on for a few months ever since the events that took place in the basement were seen by Zara. She would wake up screaming and sweating from a nightmare in which Salaar was always the one to be blamed. Whereas Salaar had not even touched a gun since then.

Salaar sighed and hugged Zara, cradling her on his lap so that one of her legs was on one side while the other on the other side. He stroked her hair as he calmed her down. (A/N: Okay this is so off topic but in my imagination, Salaar's like this built guy but he's not buff buff, he's more on the skinnier side with like a decent amount of muscle. So like he has abs and a bit of bicep muscles but not buff buff. And for Zara, she's maybe like 5'4" and has a decent body shape. Like she's skinny but not very skinny. Anyway have fun reading lol)

"Men esa kabhi bhi nahi karoon ga meri jaan. Ap ek bura khwab dekh rahi thi." Salaar whispered in her ear, trying to calm her down. He rubbed circles on her palm as he knew it calmed her down. (I would never do something like that. You were having a nightmare.)

"You will never do anything like that?" Zara asked as she sniffed, recovering from her nightmare.

"Never ever" Salaar said with a strong voice, leaving no room for doubt.

After a few moments, Zara's little snores could be heard, she fell asleep and now Salaar could too without any hesitation. And that's what he did, fell asleep.

They were both woken up in the morning by Zara's phone ringing. Zara opened her eyes to see she was on top of Salaar not realizing she had slept on top of him.

Salaar opened his eyes and the first thing he was met with was the beautiful face of his love. If he could, he would permanently wake up to see her face, first thing in the morning.

Salaar grabbed Zara's phone and handed it to her immediately, taking a look at the caller as well. He had become paranoid after the calls she received from the human trafficking organization a few months back.

Zara immediately answered the call after she saw it was her mother. "Assalamualaikum Ami" Zara said as she got up from Salaar, who gave a small pout in return.

"Walaikum Assalam Zara. Kia hal he meri bachi ka?" Mrs. Siddiqui replied with a small voice. Zara could tell there was something wrong. (How is my daughter doing?)

"Mein bilkul theek hoon Ami. Aapka kya haal hai? Sab theek to he?" Zara said impatiently, knowing there was something off. (I am perfectly fine Mom. How are you? Is everything ok?)

"Tumhare baba ko faalig ka attack howa he." Mrs. Siddiqui said, her voice cracking in the process. (Your father had a paralysis attack.)

Zara could feel her head spinning. She grabbed the thing nearest to her and sat down. Salaar saw her condition and rushed to her side asking her what happened. She didn't reply.

"Ami, baba kahan hai abhi? Mein abhi aati hoon." Zara said, calming her beating heart. As a doctor, she has seen bad cases of paralysis and she could only pray her father's condition wasn't as bad. (Mom, where is dad right now? I will come straight away.)

As soon as her mom told her, Zara cut the call and faced Salaar who was patiently waiting. At this point, Zara's eyes were wet as she said "Salaar, baba ko faalig ka attack howa he" (Salaar, dad had a paralysis attack)

"Wo is waqt kahan hai?" Salaar asked immediately. (Where is he right now?)

"Hospital men hen. St. Peters." Zara said as she got up, not wanting to waste another second. (He is in the hospital. St. Peters) (A/N: FYI I have no clue if that's a hospital. I gave it a random name that sounded hospital-y)

"Zara" Salaar called her and as soon as she turned around, Salaar engulfed her in a hug. "Fikar naa karo, uncle bilkul theek honge." Zara only nodded in return. (Don't worry, uncle will be totally fine.)

Zara broke the hug and went to get ready. As soon as Zara left the room, Salaar picked up his phone and called a few people to make arrangements.

___________________________

They both arrived in front of St. Peters about 30 minutes later and rushed inside. Salaar and Zara met Ahsan and Adeel at the lobby in front of the reception. They exchanged greetings and Zara hugged Adeel.

"Zara, aap Adeel ke sath uncle se milne jao, mein thori der tak aata hoon. Saaron ko nashta dena" Salaar said as his eyes met Ahsan and they had a conversation. (Zara, you should go with Adeel and meet uncle, I'll come in a while. Give everyone breakfast.)

Zara nodded and followed Adeel. "Baba ko kia howa he?" Zara asked. (What happened to dad?)

"Yaar pata nahi. Stroke howa tha to jab hum hospital laye to pata chala saath paralysis attack howa he." Adeel explained the situation. (I don't know. He had a stroke and by the time we brought him here, we found that he had a paralysis attack as well.)

"Acha. Kaisi tabiyat hai abhi?" Zara asked another question. (Okay. How is his condition?)

"Filhal to so rahe hain aur reports ayi nahi." Adeel said as he caught her up. (He's sleeping right now and the reports have not arrived yet.)

They had reached the ward by this time, Zara knocked and walked in to see her beloved father in the hospital bed. Her mother was at his side and her sister-in-law (Ahsan's wife) was cutting some fruits for everyone.

"Assalamualaikum" Zara entered and hugged her mother, assuring her that she is here. She then hugged her sister-in-law who assured her too.

Zara turned to see her father and the monitors he was hooked on. The information on the monitor showed his health to be fine. Zara took a seat on the other side of her father's bed.

"Salaar nahi aya?" Her mother asked, a little disheartened that she didn't see her son-in-law. (Did Salaar not come?)

"Aya he. Woh Ahsan bhai ke sath lobby men he. Hum nashta le kar aye the, aap kha len." Zara said as she got up to serve everyone breakfast. (He did. He is with brother Ahsan in the lobby. We brought breakfast, you guys should have it.)

By the time she was done unpacking the food, Salaar and Ahsan also came in. Salaar went and got Mrs. Siddiqui's blessings.

Zara and her sister-in-law served everyone the plates filled with food to have. Zara sat beside her mom, making sure she ate, because she knew that her mom would not take a single bite.

After breakfast, Zara disposed of the plates and stored any extra food. Right then, the doctor with his team walked in with the reports. As soon as the doctor saw Salaar, he stood straighter than an arrow.

"Doctor, reports kesi hen?" Zara asked immediately. (Doctor, how are the reports?)

"So Mr. Siddiqui ki poori body down the neck is paralyzed, inke sirf hand aur finger ki movement he" The doctor said. Mrs. Siddiqui could be seen in shock. (So Mr. Siddiqui's whole body below the neck is paralyzed, there is only some movement in the hand and fingers.)

"Koi treatment he apke paas?" Zara asked in a sad voice. (Is there some treatment for it?)

"Tests aur scans se to improvement ke chances hein. With the right care, I'm sure ye recover kar sakte hen" The doctor said, bringing hope to the grief-stricken family. (The tests and scans show chances of improvement. With the right care, I'm sure he can fully recover.)

"Hum surgery nahi karwa sakte?" Zara asked. (Can we not do surgery?)

"No unfortunately surgery would be very risky and we cannot be sure about what to do surgery about" The doctor said in the most softest way possible

"Baba kab tak discharge ho sakte hen?" Zara asked. (When can my dad be discharged?)

"He can be discharged tomorrow. I can write down any restrictions for him in his file if you want to take him tomorrow" The doctor replied.

"Okay thank you doctor." Salaar said and smiled, seeing him off.

A silence fell on the family and Mrs. Siddiqui could not hold it in anymore, she started crying. Zara rushed to her aid and calmed her down.

Without anyone noticing, Mr. Siddiqui opened his eyes to find his wife crying and his daughter consoling her with the whole family around them.

"Arey Mumtaz, kion to rahi ho? Abhi men zinda hoon" Mr. Siddiqui asked his wife. (Hey Mumtaz, why are you crying? I am alive right now.)

Everyone turned to who the voice came from and saw Mr. Siddiqui had woken up. "Baba, aap uth gaye. Apki tabiyat kesi he?" Zara asked. (Dad, you're up. How are you feeling now?)

"Bas theek hi hoon beta. Thora dard ho raha hai magar baki sab theek hai. Aik glass pani dena please." Mr. Siddiqui said. (I'm okay, my child. I'm having some pain but apart from that I'm okay. Can you please give me a glass of water?)

Salaar passed a glass of water to Zara and she helped Mr. Siddiqui drink it. "Mujhe kia howa he?" Mr. Siddiqui asked. (What happened to me?)

Zara shared a look with the people around her, wondering if they should tell him. Until Mr. Siddiqui said, "Tumhara baap itna bhi kamzor nahi he ke apni halat na sun paye Zara." (Your father is not that weak that he can't even hear his condition, Zara)

"Uhm...baba.. apko aik stroke hua pehle jis ki waja se apko faalig ho gaya hai gardan se niche" Zara said, holding her father's hand for support (Uhm...dad.. you had a stroke from which you became paralyzed from the neck down.)

"But aap fikar naa karein, iska ilaaj ho sakta he." Zara added in quickly. (But don't worry, this can be treated.)

"Beta mene apni zindagi bohut achi tarah jee li he. Han kuch cheezein karna adhoori reh gayin magar koi baat nahi. Agr men recover naa bhi karoon to koi baat nahi." Mr. Siddiqui said with a smile on his face. (My child, I have lived my life to the fullest. Yes some things have been left undone but it's ok. Even if I don't recover, it's okay.)

"Had hi ho gayi hai uncle kaisi baatein kar rahe hen. Aap InshAllah zaroor theek ho jayein ge. Hum sab aapke paas hena." Salaar said, letting Mr. Siddiqui knows that he will recover no matter what. (Don't talk like that uncle. You will InshAllah recover soon. We are all with you.)

Mr. Siddiqui smiled and let his family do everything for him. He was so grateful to have such an amazing family.

_______________________

The next day, Salaar and Zara arrived even earlier. Salaar and Ahsan arranged for the discharge papers as Zara all the personal belongings. Zara's mother and sister-in-law went ahead before to prepare for Mr. Siddiqui's coming.

Adeel helped change Mr. Siddiqui's clothes to normal ones from the hospital ones. After everything was done, they left the hospital and came home.

When they were sitting in the lounge. Mr. Siddiqui asked, "Hospital ka bill kisne pay kiya?", worrying that it might have affected their economic situation. (Who paid the hospital bill?)

Ahsan opened his mouth to say something but Salaar suddenly yelled, "Apke bete ne." (Your son did.)

Everyone in the room started laughing, causing Salaar's ear tips to turn red from embarrassment.

"Mere bete ka bahut bahut shukriya." Mr. Siddiqui said, looking directly at Salaar. (Thank you very very much to my son.)

"Uncle, beton ko shukriya thori bolte hen. Wo to unka farz hota he." Salaar said. (Uncle, you don't thank your sons. This is their duty.)

"Beta bhi bulwatey ho aur phir uncle bhi kehte ho. Salaar miyaan baaz aa jao." Mr. Siddiqui said casually to Salaar. (I call you my son but you call me uncle. Mr. Salaar, get on track.)

"Jee unc-baba." Salaar said (Yes unc-dad)

Zara smiled and her heart warmed seeing them having such a wholesome conversation. Thankful that he was so helpful and so loving towards her family without any malicious intent.

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Assalamualaikum Everyone!!!

I know know I told you Saturday but here it is, half an hour late lol (time from here). It's a small chapter but the next chapter would be longer and probably the last too, still deciding on this. I really hope you guys enjoyed.

I haven't updated in so long because of exams and finals which were so hectic and I am honestly not super happy with my results (they aren't bad, I just don't like them). But gonna grind this semester lol so updates might be reallyyyyy slow.

I also want to say that please pray for the people of Palestine. Their suffering is increasing each passing day instead of decreasing. May Allah help them (Ameen). Please use your social media platforms to raise your voice for Palestine or boycott certain brands known to be providing funds to Israel. From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free 🍉

If you see any mistakes, feel free to point it out in the comments or contact me privately. If you have any concerns, leave a comment or contact me privately.

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See you in the next chapter, till then Allah Hafiz/Byee lovely people!!!! <3