Umeed's ride back home with Haya and Sameer was smooth, with them discussing the dresses she and Mimi bought and the fun they had in the process. After having a quiet dinner with pasha sahab and the rest of the family members, Umeed rushed to her room with Haya to try on the bought dresses. She wore all the four dresses she bought earlier today, and all looked good, but Haya seemed confused seeing them all and couldn't help herself but ask; Umeed yeh 4 mein se 3 dress to tumne black kharidi hai jab ki tumhe to colorful kapde pasand hai, in fact, tumhari nail paint bhi to bright pastel shades hoti hai. Jaha tak mujhe yaad hai, black color to Farjaad ka favorite hai, ye tum uske pasandide rang ki shopping kyon kar aayi ho? Kabhi coffee pii ne ki khwahish zahir karti ho to kabhi kale kapde kharid lati ho, tum dono ke beech chal kya raha hai?
Farjaad ki birthday party par tumne painting Reena ko thama di,tumhari banvayi painting use gift karne kyon di? Muhe yaad hai pehle pura mall ghumaya tumne mujhe aur Sameer ko lekin tumhe kuch pasand nahi aaya, phir jaa kar kahi Sameer se ek din ke notice pe itni achi painting banvayi par last moment pe tumne Reena ko woh painting de di. Tumhari Reena se aisi to kya baat hui thi ki tumne apni gift use de di? Jab mai aur Sameer tumhe lene aaye the to na tumhari nazar Farjaad se hatt rahi thi aur na hi unhe dekhte hue tumhari muskan ruk rahi thi, Farjaad ka bhi yahi haal tha. Aisa to kya ho gaya ki birthday party par dono mein se kisi ne baat nahi ki lekin uske agle din dono ki ek dusre se nazre nahi hatt rahi thi, bata bhhi do kya chal raha hai?
Umeed didn't expect Haya to be this observant of their behavior but immediately came up with an excuse for buying the monochrome dress for her future business meetings and the reason for smiling to be just cordial in the presence of others. Haya didn't buy her answer and replied mai nahi manti par thik hai jab tak tum dono jung na laro logo ki zindagi mein sukoon rahega, mai nahi Changez Khan larta hai to usi se yeh baat batyana. Mai sone lagi hu, tum bhi sone ki tayari karo, and they put an end to the conversation.
Soon after their conversation, Haya fell asleep, but Umeed, reminiscing about today's events, couldn't help but smile. She wanted to confront Farjaad about his engagement news, but before she could, she had to leave, and yet she was content at heart. She didn't come to terms with the reason and at the same time found it silly to subconsciously have bought three black dresses, though it's not her style, but because the last time she saw Reena at Farjaad's birthday, she was wearing black. She bought 3 of them, thinking if Reena could carry them, she could do it better than her. She hated being envious of Reena, but she knew imagining Farjaad even near Reena made her furious for unknown reasons. She had a lot of questions but no answers, but today, she was too content to think about Reena and Farjaad in a single frame and didn't realize when she dozed off.
At the other end, once Umeed left, Farjaad had a quiet dinner with Mimi and Niggo. After dinner, he requested Mimi to bring coffee to his room in the next 30 minutes and apologized for making her do Niaz's work. Mimi politely agreed to the request, saying bhai isme apologize karne wali kya baat hai, mai le aaungi aap chinta na kare. Farjaad was working on the presentation for his upcoming meeting when his eyes fell on a horse painting that Reena gifted him on his birthday. He still couldn't wrap his head around why Reena gifted him something this sentimental; how could she have known about his liking? How Umeed knew he was fond of horses and should have had the widest smile seeing that painting gifted to him.
He still loved the painting, so he decided to hang it on a wall and got lost in the depth of the painting, which was when Mimi entered the room. She knew that Umeed handed over the painting, and Reena falsely claimed it to be her gift when gifting it to Farjaad. She didn't have hard feelings for Reena before this, but this time, Mimi was furious at her and wanted Farjaad to know the truth but didn't feel wise to tell it herself. She broke Farjaad off his thoughts, saying bhai yeh rahi aapki coffee, dekhe bilkul waqt par le aayi hu, Farjaad thanked her for the coffee with a smile.
Bhai aapko yeh painting bari pasand aayi hai na, haan Mimi beta pasand to bohot aayi hai par samajh mai meri yeh nahi aa raha ki Reena ne itni sentimental gift ka kaise socha, use kaise pata mujhe ye pasand aayegi? Maine to kabhi usse casually bhi baat nahi ki, pasand batana to dur ki baat hai. Hearing this, Mimi thought to put Reena in the spot, so she went ahead saying to Farjaad; bhai aap Reena se ek baar baat karke dekhe ki usne yeh painting kis artist se banvayi?
Kabhi aapko koi aur painting banvane ka dil chahein to banva sakte hai, baat to tum thik keh rahi ho lekin mai khud nahi baat kar raha usse Mehak se kahunga call kar artist ki information le le, itna waqt nahi he mere paas Reena se painting discuss karne ka. Mai artist se hi painting ke peeche ke khayalat ki malumat kar lunga, tum sone lago kal university bhi to jana hai tumne. Jee bhai, mai chalti hu; goodnight, and with a smile, Mimi left Farjaad's room. She knew Reena would have to answer about the artist, which she was unaware of. While heading to her room, she finally let out a sigh of relief, kyonki agar koi Umeed ko thais pauhchayega to dard Mimi ko bhi hoga aur zahir si baat hai use Umeed ko dard pauhchane ke liye answerable to hona hoga.
Farjaad continued preparing the presentation for some more time before heading to bed, but his mind wasn't at rest. He wanted all the answers; why was he jealous seeing AK and Umeed together at his birthday party? How did Umeed know I love horses and anything related to them? Why was Umeed heading to his room earlier today? What did she have to say? When will he get a call from the watch shop requesting him to look at and approve the sketch before they begin to replicate the fabrication with that of the reference? When and how will he meet Umeed the next time, and how will he get all the answers to his burning questions? Thinking about everything on repeat, Farjaad didn't realize when he fell asleep.
The next day, Farjaad headed to the office early in the morning and asked Mehak to call Reena and request her to provide the details of the artist from whom she got the painting. Mehak assured that she will update Farjaad on this as soon as she talks to Reena over a call. Farjaad carried on with his work for the next few hours.
Mehak called as asked, and since the number flashing was Farjaad's office, Reena was excited, thinking Farjaad might be calling her to thank her for the painting she gifted. She lost all the excitement when she heard Mehak's voice at the other end. She was further shocked to know Farjaad wanted the artist's details of the painting she gifted him. Reena didn't have the answer to that, so she excused herself, assuring Mehak she would call back with the details once she found the receipt of the painting.
Reena got anxious and knew the only way she could know about the artist was if she got details from Umeed, who brought the painting to Farjaad's party, and the only way to talk to her was through Mimi. She dialed Mimi a call, and Mimi knew that she might have been asked about the artist's details already. Mimi took the call and greeted Reena with a hello, and so did Reena, followed by requesting Mimi to give Umeed's number, to which Mimi answered she couldn't give her number without her consent but assured Reena that Umeed will be visiting her place today evening so she can come, talk about anything she wants. Reena didn't have a choice so she agreed to meet them in the evening.
At 1 pm, the manager of the watch shop called the next day to inform Farjaad that the sketch was ready sooner than they expected and requested to come look at it once and approve it in the evening so that they could get ahead with the fabrication, which Farjaad readily agreed to. Farjaad had a meeting in the evening with Majid Sahib, so he requested Mehak to reschedule for tomorrow and headed to the shop at 4:30 p.m. On Farjaad's arrival at the shop, the manager escorted him to his office to show him the prepared sketch and reran the CCTV footage for Farjaad to compare the sketch with the provided reference. Farjaad found the sketch quite similar to the watch in the CCTV other than the hour and minute hands, but he knew it beforehand would be hard to replicate because of the unclarity when zoomed into the clip.
The provided sketch had a 28 mm round white dial, a silver metal strap with removable links to fit the wrist as desired, and a secure clasp. Since the hour and minute hand were unclear in the recording, the artisan sketched it similar to the reference antique model watches in the shop, keeping the hand color silver as found in the provided footage. Farjaad found the sketch okay, but he didn't just want the watch to look like Umeed's mom but also attach a sentiment value to it but didn't understand how.
It had been 5 minutes, but Farjaad didn't react to the sketch, so the manager had to intervene with his thoughts and ask him if he thought the sketch was good enough to begin the fabrication. On being broken from his chain of thought, he asked the manager if they could add one more modification to the sketch before starting the fabrication, and the manager agreed to the modification until it was anything else than the further replication of the provided model.
Farjaad, with a smile on his face, requested the manager to add آرزو in silver and a small diamond beside the name to the left of the dial. Hearing the request, the manager couldn't help but ask Farjaad if he was getting the name customized on the watch to gift it to someone special named Arzu. Farjaad sighed and replied nahi kisiki Umeed bhari aankhon se behte hue ashq ne ye ehsaas dila diya ki unki here jaisi muskurahat sirf Arzu hi wapis la sakti hai isilye thora customize karvana chahta hu. The manager didn't understand anything from what Farjaad expressed but still politely smiled, affirming that they would customize the watch with the name as suggested. Farjaad added that he wants that diamond to be a 3.5mm, 0.17ct round single-cut diamond (17 facets) of the color grade F.
Farjaad inquired about the time it would take to get the watch ready, to which the manager informed him that they do have all the necessary materials in place and available except the diamond requested today. The manager added that they will need to look into the diamond availability with their peers, which may take 2-3 days, followed by a week of fabrication to ensure the result is similar to the provided reference.
Farjaad did not expect it to be a 1-week process, so he wasn't surprised and politely smiled, adding jitni ho paye aitiyad karyega. IT'S MORE ABOUT EMOTIONS THAN MONEY, iss ghari ki kimmat paiso se nahi par kisike jazbato se juri hai. The manager realized the importance this fabrication held for Farjaad and assured him to deliver the watch as requested before bidding him goodbye.
At the other end, after the classes, Mimi brought Umeed to her place by 4:15 p.m. since she asked Reena to reach her place by 4:30 p.m., Mimi wanted Reena to apologize for giving Umeed's gift to Farjaad, which he loved. Mimi always wanted Umeed and Farjaad to get along and wanted Umeed to have the deserved credit. Reena was also desperate to get the artist's details and continue her pretense. She reached Mimi's place on time when Mimi and Umeed were having chai and discussing the bits of today from the university. Seeing Reena at Farjaad's place in the evening, she could think of nothing else but the possibility of them deciding to meet on Farjaad's return from the office. The mere thought of it resulted in a lump down her throat, but she didn't give it away yet.
The girls greeted each other and were having a casual talk when Reena brought Farjaad's party into the discussion. Once again, the mention of the party made Umeed feel her worst, and it was getting hard for her to breathe, imagining Farjaad and Reena together all over again. Reena turned herself to Umeed and asked where she usually gets the paintings from. Which artists she usually goes to? Mimi didn't expect Reena to seek information in such a sly manner, so she interfered saying I was about to ask you the same question since you gifted bhai one of the best paintings she saw in the longest time.
Reena didn't have an answer to Mimi's counter question but was hoping Umeed would spill some details on her asked questions. Umeed couldn't believe Reena asking her the artist's details on a general basis when she knew what she was referring to. When Umeed didn't blink an eye at her questions, Reena turned to Mimi and told her that she usually asks her house help to contact a gallery and check on the limited edition paintings. Reena continued by saying once I have the list she zeroes down on the painting after looking at its worth and orders it for herself or as a gift for someone.
Reena continued her pretense without apologizing or confessing that she did wrong claiming Umeed's gift to be her's, cooked up a story for Mimi, and narrated it confidently in front of Umeed. Mimi and Umeed were furious hearing what Reena had to say, but Mimi wanted Umeed to show Reena her place, so she sat back, holding her breath for Umeed to unravel her righteousness. Reena continued to blabber, mentioning that no matter if it is for yourself or your loved ones if things are expensive, they make people the happiest no matter whom they come from. Kyon Umeed, thik keh rahi hu na mai tum bhi to aise hi paintings kharid ti hogi na? To kya hua ki tumhare ghar pe mulazim nahi hai, tum khud gallery jaa kar yahi process follow karti hogi, hai na?
Umeed couldn't take it anymore, with a stern voice reverted saying jee nahi, na mai na koi samajhdar insan yeh process follow karega. I neither choose anything for myself nor my loved ones after looking at the price tag, mehngi cheezein dil ko bhaye ye katay zaruri nahi hai. Mimi backed Umeed and tried to confront Reena; kya tumne aise hi bhai ko wo painting gift kar di, if yes then how could you? Umeed knew Mimi knew the truth about the painting but was glad she didn't interfere much.
Umeed continued, tumhara manna hoga ki paiso se logo ke jazbat khareedein jaa sakte hain, but let me tell you, Miss. Reena, for once and all, IT'S MORE ABOUT EMOTIONS THAN MONEY, painting ki kimmat paiso se nahi par kisike jazbato se juri hai. Chahein tumne Farjaad ko wo painting materialistic ho kar gift kar di he will hold that painting to his heart because he loves horses and anything related. He respects art and the artist, not for the price tag it comes with but for the depth someone portrays on a canvas. If you could, you would have seen one of the softest hearts behind, a tough stature. Mimi der ho rahi hai mujhe, mai tumse kal milti hu university mein, saying this Umeed left leaving Reena dumbstruck.
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Sorry folks, the story was dead for over 3 months, but it somehow came to life & not sure how @xemberedcoalx remembered the dead fic & cared to check on the update schedule, so a big thanks to her🙏
Hence the chapter is dedicated to Suji 🥹. If you like it,then just like me thank her because without her checking on the schedule this chapter would still be in the drafts🤍
Would love to get your feedback, critique or otherwise. Take care 🫶