Written in the Stars

۰۵

Azlan's mother had once told him how Hawwa was made out of Adam's left rib. Every woman was made out of the left rib of a man, right by his heart.
He wondered if that's why his heart started beating fast whenever he was around Zyva. Was she was afterall a piece of his being? Was she his soulmate?

He was never one to believe in such fantastical outlandish concepts. To him, marriage was nothing more than a necessity to live life by. Get married, have kids, take care of the kids and maybe just maybe fall in love eventually. Not that he hadn't seen happy marriages filled with love. His parents were a living testament to the very notion.

It was just that he couldn't ever imagine himself falling in love, he couldn't procure thinking about one person constantly that they are all you can even dream of. But, Zyva Qureshi was breaking everything he had built his mind on. He was experiencing everything he had sworn not to ever indulge in.

Seeing her sleep on the leather couch in his office made him smile unconsciously. His fingers itching to touch her skin, to tuck back the fleeting strand of hair that had fallen on her nose. He hated seeing her cry and the faint streaks of tear marks only caused him to reel back his fists in discomfort.

Having enough of fighting his useless restraint, he walked towards her, covering her body with his blazer the most he could, he kneeled down, softly rubbing her cheeks with his knuckles as he tucked her hair in. Suddenly his eyes caught her quivering lips as a lone tear slipped out from the confines of her closed lids.

"Zyva.." He gently called out, his thumb rubbing away at the tear, causing it to disappear into her skin. "Are you awake?"

After their grand exit from home, Azlan had gotten Zyva to his office ordering his brother to bring her stuff, but by then she had drifted off on his sofa, curled into a ball. He didn't have the heart to wake her up, so he barely managed to get back to working, checking on her every few minutes.

She fluttered her eyes open as unshed tears clung to her long lashes, her eyes rimmed red. Her plump lips quivering a lot more intensely this time around.

"Why are you so upset, sweetheart?" Azlan murmured helplessly as he continued swiping at the tears that were leaking out of eyes like a faucet.

"I-I just want to cry. I don't know why but i am getting a bad feeling." She almost whimpered, breathless from the turmoil boiling within her.

"Who are you getting this bad feeling from? Tell me." Azlan frowned, brushing her hair back.

"Pata nahi..."
(I don't know)

"There must be.. wait—Is it me? Am i the one who is making you feel like this? Are you uncomfortable?" A bucket of cold water dropped on his head as he withdrew his hands from her body.

Zyva simply shook her head, not even meeting his gaze, as she sat up straight on the sofa. This action only fuelled his fears of what was upsetting her. Of course, it was him. He was doing a terrible job at being a good husband.

"I—I.." Zyva began, as she tried putting to words what was going through her head, but Azlan cut her to it. Abruptly getting up from the ground, refusing to make eye contact with her, he walked back to his desk.

"It's okay. I understand. Do you want to visit your home? Of course you do. I think that would definitely make you feel better."

"Huh?" Apparently Zyva's questioning 'huh' sounded more like a typical answering "haan" which meant yes, because it broke Azlan's very existence as he sat down, his forehead bunching in tension at the failure of being a husband.

"I will drop you in a while then. Let me just wrap up my work."

Zyva was rendered speechless. Was he finally tired of her? Was it why he was telling her to go back to her home? There was no way she would have him drop her off, like he was doing her a favour. She had more self respect than that.