Filmon ki Tarah| Completed ✔️

Chapter 7 (Tumhe Zameen chahiye thi ya Mahjabeen)

As the wind blew into the car, the sun dipped behind the mountains, casting its reflection onto the serene lake. The car steadily climbed up the narrow, foggy road, with Murtasim navigating it with precision. Mahjabeen admired his skillful driving, grateful for his ability to handle such challenging conditions. Although she knew how to drive, she felt uneasy on hilly roads shrouded in thick fog. Murtasim's mathematical prowess seemed to extend to his driving skills, making him an impressive husband in her eyes.

"Aapko raasta dikh raha?" Mahjabeen asked, her voice tinged with admiration. She turned to face the window, fascinated by the way Murtasim effortlessly maneuvered the car, anticipating every turn and adjusting their speed whenever another vehicle passed by. It was clear to her that he was no stranger to this route.

"Haan mai yaha bohot aata hu", he replied nonchalantly, his words striking a chord within her.

"Ohh... Akele?" she asked casually, but inside, she felt a surge of curiosity. She knew very little about Murtasim's personal life beyond their own relationship. His handsome appearance made her wonder if there had been someone else before Haya. Mahjabeen knew he didn't actually love her, they didn't share the same bed or talked about anything other than maths. That's not how couples in movies interacted, they didn't even rolled in the grass or wrote a letter to each other. She understood that their marriage lacked the romance she had always dreamed of, but she still considered Murtasim her husband.

"Hmm," he responded without clarifying further. The ambiguity of his answer bothered her. Was it a yes or a no? Secretly hoping it was the latter, she reminded herself that Murtasim belonged to her, regardless of whether he loved her or not. Satisfied with this she didn't press on the matter further, and they drove in silence except for the parts where Mahjabeen would point at goats and sheeps.

Maryam had made sure that they were twinning and even told her some pointers on how to start the romance from her side. First she had to be subtle, gentle and allow Murtasim to do things for her, like lead the way as they ran through the jungle. Second they had to hold hands throughout the journey, which they weren't because of safety reasons. Third they needed to talk, share each other's fears, secrets and past.

"Mujhe Maths se bohot darr lagta", she confessed starting from the last pointer. Murtasim glanced at her and laughed, at this point their entire family knew how much Mahjabeen hated Maths. Maa Begum had even said once that the two siblings had turned the Khan mansion into a tuition center.

"Kyun?" Murtasim humoured her with curiosity.

"Pehle toh mujhe pass honey nhi deta tha, saare mazmoon mai pass hoti thi magar ye ek wahid tha jo mere raaste mai kanta bankar raha. Ab hum dono ke beech kanta bangaya hai, romance ka toh the end hogaya", she complained truly sounding upset as if she was wronged by a mere subject.

"Romance? Woh kya hota", Murtasim joked acting innocent as if he had never heard that word before

"Aapko romance nahi pata!" she exclaimed in disbelief looking at him as if he was an alien. Murtasim just blinked innocently and said "Nahi Pata".

"Toh pata kya hai bawle!" she taunted giving him a last glance and then turning the window. Mahjabeen knew now she had to teach him romance like he had taught her Maths.

"Fikar na karo seekh jaoge dheere dheere", Mahjabeen tried to motivate him, Murtasim was biting his lips to stop himself from laughing. He nodded and she smiled brightly for a moment taking his breath away.

"Filme dekhte ho?" She asked curiously bending her head as if she was asking a student.

"Nahi", Murtasim lied straight through his tongue and earned another look of disbelief from Mahjabeen.