*2 weeks later*

[It had almost been a month and half since she was here, in Musoorie, and for some reason, she had begun to develop a liking to the place.

She had begun to find a belonging to the place, and that was probably only thanks to Nani and Tara, and of course, Aditya.

It was another usual night, and Zoya was sleepless. Although things in her life had changed for the better, she had simply lost the ability to sleep peacefully, ever since Yash passed away. Her mind kept convincing her that maybe coming to Musoorie would sort all her issues out, but she simply couldn't fall asleep. Her eyes would slightly droop at around 4 AM, and then wake up right in time, at around 7 AM, to wake Tara up.

But in all honestly, she was just grateful that she was alive and well. Sleep was the least of her concerns.

It was 2 AM, and Zoya decided to do what she usually did. She stepped out for a walk. Wrapping the dupatta around her frame, she quietly left the house and began walking.

Her mind began thinking, what if she bumped into Aditya? She had already imagined the hearing he'd give her. After all, that's all he did. Constantly give her 'taana's, sense when she was in danger and save her and look ridiculously good in that Air Force uniform.

Wait. Did she really just think the last bit?

She mentally cursed herself for having such thoughts, but truthfully, Aditya did have something annoyingly attractive about him. ]

Zoya: (Apologetically to herself) Allah miyaan hume maaf kar dein! H-Hum waise Bilqul nahi hai! Aise khyaal...tauba tauba! Maante hai ki ek saal hua hai Yash ke jaane ke baad, lekin humne Kasam Li hai ki hum kissi Aur ke baare mein aisa kabhi Kuch nahi sochenge!

[As she walked down the dimly lit street, she heard the roaring of engines and a few laughs, that sounded rather manly. Her senses heightened, and when she turned around she saw a group of men, who were thankfully, not her in-laws.

She tightly held on to her dupatta before walking quick, and the men began whistling and following her.]

Men: Itna Kya bhaag rahi Ho Jaaneman? Thoda hume bhi pyaar karo!

[She kept walking ahead, not knowing where she was going, whilst simultaneously chanting her god's name.

This was supposed to be Aditya's entry, where the heck was he?

Suddenly, Zoya was stopped by 2 men bikes, and she was trapped.]

Zoya: (Crying) D-Dekhiye...H-Hum...Humaare saath please Kuch mat kijiye...YA ALLAH!

[The men snatched the dupatta off her body and she screamed for help, before wrapping her arms tightly around her body, in an attempt to protect herself.

The leader hungrily looked at her and reached his hand out, and just a second later, he was on the floor with a broken arm.]

Zoya: (Relieved) A-A-Aditya...

[This was beginning to look like one of those Bollywood movies now, with the typical 'abla Nari' scenarios, but Zoya ought to thank Aditya for his instincts, because strangely enough, he was always on time.

After beating the man to the ground, he picked up the dupatta lying on the ground and placed it in her hand, when suddenly a sound of a sharp knife piercing through was heard.

Zoya screamed in horror when she saw the man slash Aditya's back. Aditya fell straight in her arms, and she collapsed on the ground, pulling him close to her and screaming in horror.]

Zoya: (Crying) Aditya! Aditya! Ya Allah! Yeh Kya kar diya tum logo ne!

Man 1: Tu pagal hai Kya? Yeh Air Force mein kaam karta hai! Hum pakde gaye toh kabhi nahi bacch paayenge! BHAAG!

[The men ran, and immediately, Zoya unfastened the buttons of his shirt and took her dupatta to wrap and tie the wound up tightly, to prevent further blood loss.

Her shaken fingers picked up the phone and dialed the ambulance.]

*In the ambulance*

Zoya: Jaldi chalaayie! Itna Khoon beh raha hai! Jaldi Chalein, Please!

*At the hospital, around 3-4 hours later*

[After calling Nani up and informing her about what had happened, Zoya walked back towards the ICU. Her eyes peeked through the ICU room, and she quickly sat on the floor, praying hard.]

Zoya: Hum musibat laane ke liye hi paida hue the...humaari bewakoofi ke wajah se Aaj Aditya ICU mein hai...Allah miyaan, Sab theek kar dein, Please. Woh bahut acche insaan hai

Doctor: Ghaav kaafi gehra hai, Mrs. Hooda

Zoya: (Confused) J-Ji? Kya?

Doctor: Aap innki biwi nahi hai?

Zoya: (Wiping her tears) N-Nahi...Nahi

Doctor: Toh Kya lagte hai woh aapke liye?

Zoya: Kya farak padhta hai doctor? Bataayie, tabiyat kaisi hai ab innki?

Doctor: Behtar hai, but woh 2-3 hafte tak kaam par nahi jaa paayenge

Zoya: Accha...

Doctor: Haan, aur———

Nurse: Doctor! Patient ko hosh aa gaya hai!

Zoya: Shukar hai! Doctor, hum aa sakte hai, Please? Please?

Doctor: Ji, chaliye

[Zoya followed the doctor into the room, and when her eyes saw Aditya awake, relief flooded over her. ]

Doctor: How are you feeling now Mr. Hooda?

Aditya: Theek hoon, Doctor

Doctor: Aapki dost badi samajhdaar hai. Ambulance ke aane se pehle unhone apna dupatta aapke ghaav par baandha, and you lost very little blood because of that!

[Embarrassed, Zoya looked away, and she knew that Aditya's eyes were still fixed on her. ]

Doctor: I understand ki aap Air Force pilot hai, but you cannot work for the next 2-3 weeks. Zoya ji, aap please Ensure ki woh Aisa kuch nahi karenge

Zoya: Ji...Woh——

Aditya: Main apne faisle khud leta hoon, Doctor

Doctor: I understand, lekin——

Aditya: Mujhe Ghar jaana hai, abhi.

Doctor: Ji, Aaj shaam tak wait karein, hum phir se check up karenge, aur yeh dawaai——

Zoya: Hum...Hum lekar aayenge

[What had suddenly happened to Zoya? Aditya looked at her confusingly and begun to understand that she was repenting, but he failed to understand why.

He watched Zoya take the list of medicines and rush outside, while Nani and Tara entered. A smile appeared on his face when Tara ran to him.]

Tara: Dita!!!

Aditya: Arre Tara, school nahi gayi?

Nani: School Kaise bhejti? Tum theek Ho? Aur Zoya? Pata nahi yeh Sab Kab khatam hoga. Bechaari Yahaan chain se saans bhi nahi le sakti!

Aditya: Main theek hoon. Zoya dawaai lene gayi hai

Nani: Accha theek hai

Aditya: Aap Log Ghar jaayie, Main aa jaaonga

Nani: Bilqul nahi, Sab saath mein chalenge!

Aditya: Tara ko school nahi bhejna hai? Aaj koi function tha Na?

Nani: Haan bhejna hai, par ——

Zoya: Nani aap Ghar jaayie, hum Tara ko school drop karke, Aditya ko Ghar lekar aayenge

Nani: Nahi nahi, tum Yahaan Aditya ke saath raho, Main Tara ko school lekar jaaongi. Waise bhi Mujhe school mein Kuch kaam hai

Aditya: Nani, lekin——

Zoya: Theek hai

[Soon enough, everyone left and it was just Zoya and Aditya.

The awkwardness was quite literally too much to handle, but Zoya finally broke the ice.]

Zoya: Aditya...I'm sorry...Aap...Aap humesha humaari wajah se phans jaate hai Aur——

Aditya: Mujhe Ghar Jaana hai, abhi

Zoya: Ji-Ji...

[Aditya pushed the sheets off his body, showing his naked upper half and Zoya immediately looked away. A few minutes later she heard slight winces of pain and noticed that he was struggling to wear the shirt.]

Zoya: Hum...Hum madad kar lein?

Aditya: Nahi, Main theek...ah!

[Zoya walked to him and helped him wear his shirt, and began buttoning it up. Instantly, it reminded her of something.

*Flashback*
Yash: Zoya! Zoya! Yaar yeh shirt ki button!

Zoya; Uffo! Sui-dhaage se button lagaana bhi nahi aata!

Yash: (Pulling her close) Yehi toh bahaana hai, Mrs. Arora, Aapke kareeb aane ka

Zoya: Accha ji! ]

Zoya: (Smiling) Yash aap bhi Na!

[Her smile instantly disappeared when she realised that she was daydreaming, again.

Aditya instantly noticed the way the smile on her face disappeared, and everything went back to normal.]

Zoya: Ho Gaya...

[Aditya turned around and tried walking but almost fell until he felt zoya's hand on his arm, supporting him.

Aditya looked at Zoya and her eyes were constant focused on his wound. As she supported him, he had slowly learned that what he thought of Zoya was quite incorrect.

Sometimes people who always saved others did also need some saving themselves, right? ]

—————————-
My exams are over!!! So here you go!! Adi and Zoya are back!!!

Thank you for reading! Love y'all ❤️