Renewed Vows (Tere Bin)

11. Tears Of Love

It was a beautiful morning, painted with the soft hues of dawn. The air was crisp and invigorating, carrying the promise of a new day. As the sun gently climbed above the horizon, birds awoke from their slumber, greeting the world with their cheerful melodies.

The gentle chirping of birds filled the air, creating a symphony of nature's harmony. And that's what woke Meerab up. Murtasim still had his arms wrapped around her. Meerab smiled at him. Sleeping and waking up in his arms was something she could easily get used to. She tried to get out of the bed but Murtasim held her back.
"A few more minutes please?" he asked his voice heavy with sleep. Meerab nodded and lay back in his arms. "I want to wake up to this every morning for the rest of my life." Murtasim whispered and Meerab smiled. She wanted to too.

After a while Meerab woke Murtasim up. "Uth jao Murtasim hume niklna hai."
"Itni kya jaldi hai yar. Let me sleep." Murtasim murmured pulling her close again.
It was so unlike Murtasim to sleep till late but today he seemed relaxed.
"Baray Abu sab sambhal rahe hain iss ka matlab yeh nahi hai ke tum lambi taan ke sote raho." Meerab told him.
"Tum bhi so jao na please. Aur mujhy bhi sone do."
"Okay." Meerab was annoyed now. "Itni neend aa rahi hai tou sofe pe so jao. Mei sukoon se bed pe sona chahti hu." She pushed him from the bed and threw a pillow at him. "Jaan?" Murtasim was shocked beyond words. "Yeh kya bat huwi?"
"Tum bhool gaye ho ke hume jana hai aj?" Meerab asked.
"Bhoola nahi hu Meerab. It's just that itne arse baad I've felt this much relaxed. Dil chah raha tha zyada sone ka. Bed pe bhi nahi soya itne arse se..."
"Jab mei nahi thi tab so jate.. Kis ne roka tha." She shouted trying to defend herself but ended up hurting Murtasim more.
"Tumhari yad sone deti tab sota na." Meerab felt a pang of guilt. Just because of her zidd, he had been sleeping uncomfortably on the sofa for months. Her anger went down as it was now replaced by guilt. She got up from the bed and went to sit on the sofa.
"I'm sorry Murtasim." She muttered her apology.
Murtasim sighed. "Choti choti bato pe ab mujhy bed se dhakka dedogi kya? Iss se tou yehi behtr hai ke mei bed pe so hi nahi. I think sofa hi theek hai mere liye."
Meerab shook her head. "I'm sorry na."
"Nahi Meerab aese nahi chalega. Agar tum yehi sab chahti ho tou contract kyu phara. Na pharti jesa tha wesa chalne deti sab." Murtasim raised his voice at Meerab.
She broke down into sobs. "Murtasim mei tumhare ilawa kuch nahi chahti. Please aesa nahi kaho. Contract mei ne apni khushi se phara hai Murtasim."
"Agar khushi se phara hai tou ye sab kya hai Meerab." Murtasim asked.
"I was just a little annoyed Murtasim because tum uth nahi rahe thy."
"Utha huwa tha I was teasing you."
"Ye mujhy kese pata chalna tha. I thought ke tum gao jana nahi chahte."
"Still Meerab it doesn't justify your behaviour."
"You're right it doesn't. Mei aesi hi hu i guess. Tumhare liye Haya hi theek thi. You didn't deserve me Murtasim. Mei ne humesha har bat ke liye tumhe kasoorwar samjha hai. I never realised that you were the victim of circumstances just like I was. Iss sab ke bawajud bhi you dealt with me with patience. Yet I kept finding ways to fight you. I started blaming you for the scenarios Haya created. I knew very well about Haya's intentions yet I doubted you. I never gave you the right of a husband yet I expected you to stay loyal. I hurt you a lot Murtasim. I don't deserve you. You deserve someone jo tumhari muhabbat ka jawab muhabbat se de na ke nafrat se. I chose the wrong time to accept my feelings for you and to realise my mistakes." Meerab was crying now and then she felt Murtasim hugging her tight.
" Aur iss sab ke bawajud tum Meri Meerab ho. I love you and accept you with all your flaws Meerab and I am sorry too. I know I should've distanced myself from Haya so she couldn't create such scenarios. I teased you a lot, I still do it even though I know tumhe acha nahi lagta. I doubted you whenever I saw you with your friends. I'm sorry Meerab." Murtasim's eyes welled up with tears.
" Believe me Murtasim when I say this ke mujhy uss me 1 percent interest nahi hai. He was just a good friend. Aur shadi se pehle mujhy uss ki kisi feelings ka idea bhi nahi tha. Lekin agar wo proposal le ke aya bhi hota tou mei mana karti. He isn't the kind of man I wanted as a husband." Meerab knew he had been talking about Rohail.
" What kind of man did you want as a husband then? What were your fantasies Meerab? I wanna know. " Murtasim asked her.
" Someone rich and handsome who would love me for me. Who would care for me, keep me in his shelter but still give me enough freedom so I could breathe." As Meerab said all this, she realised Murtasim was exactly the kind of man she'd wanted. "Someone like you Murtasim." Meerab finished whispering the last sentence into his ear. Murtasim slightly reddened at her statement.
"What about you Murtasim?"
"I wanted a determined girl who knew how to fight for her rights. Someone with dreams and ambitions but very kind at heart. I used to admire your quality of fighting for yourself long before we got married. I think that's why I fell in love so easily."
Meerab smiled. Indeed sometimes elders make the right decisions for you. For the first time Meerab realised how perfect their couple was.
They both had been crying throughout this conversation but now each of their faces held a beautiful smile as they gazed at each other with love. This beautiful moment was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Murtasim groaned. "Now I understand why people go on a honeymoon." He said not wanting to let go of Meerab.
"Murtasimmm", Meerab blushed.
"I'm sure tumhare bager nashta shuru nahi hoga that's why we're being called. Chalte hain na please. I'm hungry too." Meerab pouted at him.
"Alright alright. Chalo", Murtasim gave in. He could never say no to Meerab especially when she pouted like that.
They both freshened up and went for breakfast.
Meerab noticed that Haya wasn't in a bad mood now. She had a content smile on her face. Either Meerab's words had made sense to her or she was planning something else against them. Meerab hoped she was wrong but Haya's track record told her that the latter was more likely.
After breakfast Murtasim got their luggage loaded into his car.
Maa Begum had tears in her eyes as they bade goodbye to her. Haya still had that smile painted on her face. Only God knows what's going on in her head, Meerab thought.
Murtasim asked his right hand man Bakhtu to follow him with a few guards in another car.
"Guards kyu Murtasim?", Meerab asked once they sat in the car.
"You can never be too careful with the Maliks so close. I almost lost you to them once, I can not even think of something like that happening once again." Murtasim's jaw was clenched as he said this.
Meerab lightly touched his cheek letting her hand caress it softly. His face immediately relaxed upon her touch. "Please Murtasim itna stress nahi lo it's not good. Malik ko tou sirf zameen pe ikhtilaf tha na. Wo tou tum usse de chukay ho."
Murtasim nodded but then he said, "Malik Zubair jesa shakhs bahane dhoondta hai hum se larne ke. Agar Malik Mukhtar ka koi aesa beta na hota tou mei shayad ab tak mei Maliko se sulah kar leta. Ek hafte se uper ho gaya hai Marium walay waqiye ko. Pata nahi ab wo mujh pe kis tarah ka vaar karega. It seems he's taking a lot of time to plan something. Dar sirf iss bat ka hai ke wo dubara meri izzat ki taraf ankh na uthaye."
Meerab made a face and turned towards the window then said," Tum ne agar itni stress wali baatein hi karni hain tou ghar wapas chalo. Mujhy nahi jana gao."
"Apne khadshat bhi ab apni biwi se discuss na karu? Jo dil me araha tha wohi keh diya yar. Okay I promise ab se sari achi achi baatein karunga. Naraz tou nahi ho na please. I'm sorry." Murtasim reached out his hand over the console to take hers. He gently caressed it hoping Meerab would look at him again.
" I'm sorry Jaaan.." Murtasim apologised again.
"It's okay Murtasim." Meerab looked towards him and gave him a small smile.
For a little while, Murtasim drove towards the village, one of his hands still intertwined with Meerab's.

Do comment please. It gives me the energy to write more.

A/N: They really should leave for the village ASAP. Everyone just keeps interrupting their beautiful moments. Not proof read yet cuz I'm travelling but I hope you liked it.
Will you all be comfortable with mature content now because it's time the contract was breached?
Also don't forget to show some love to my other Meerasim fanfic! It's called Fates Intertwined.