Fates Intertwined (Tere Bin AU)

1. Birthday

Murtasim looked at the time on his watch as he drove towards Hyderabad. If luck was on his side today he'd reach there just in time for Meerab's birthday party.
"Wah bhai wah, Meerab ke surprise me tou ab izafa hojayega. Ab tou bhai bhi aa gaye hain", Marium exclaimed as Murtasim entered the house.
"Hai kahan Meerab?" Murtasim wanted to see her badly.
"Apne room me hai. Aur abhi matt jayega waha. It'd spoil the surprise." Marium told her brother.
"Acha acha nahi ja raha. Assalam o Alaikum Maa. " Murtasim greeted his mother when she entered the living room.
"Wa Alaikum as salam beta. Jaldi aa gaye gao se?"
"Han bas abhi ke liye aya hu. Subh phir niklna hai." Murtasim told her.
"Beta parso nikal jana kal mujhy tum se ek zaroori kam hai." Maa Begum told her son.
"Chalen theek hai Maa jese ap ko sahi lage." Murtasim obeyed.
Just then Meerab walked downstairs and came into the living room. Murtasim could not stop looking at her. She looked beautiful even though she had dressed simply. As her eyes landed on Murtasim, her smile widened.
"Happy Birthday Meerab" Marium shouted as soon as she saw her cousin. "Thank you Marium. And thanks for all the arrangement."
"You're welcome." Marium smiled. "Chalo na Meerab Cake cut karo please."
Meerab cut the cake and they all clapped. Murtasim went closer and touched the cake scooping a bit of icing on his finger. Then he applied it on Meerab's cheek and laughed. "Happy Birthday Meerab."
"Kya masla hai tumhare sath Murtasim", Meerab shouted and stood on her tiptoes to apply some icing on Murtasim's face as well. But he moved and the icing got applied on his neck instead.
Maa Begum shook her head at them. "Itne baray ho gaye ho dono phir bhi bachpana hai ke khatam nahi hota."
"Rehne den na Maa. Kabhi kabhi tou Meerab ko tung karne ka moka milta hai." Murtasim said smiling.
Meerab smiled too. It was good to see a glimpse of old Murtasim today. He was seldom in such a good mood. That meant she could talk to him about pursuing her career today.
After the Birthday rituals ended, Meerab went to make tea for Murtasim wondering what had he gotten her for her birthday. She took the tea to his office.
As soon as Murtasim saw Meerab with the tea, he knew that she wanted something.
"Kya chahye Meerab?" he asked.
"Zaroori hai ke kuch chahye ho tab hi mei chaye banau tumhare liye. Wese nahi bana sakti kya?" Meerab defended herself.
"Bachpan se janta hu tumhe Meerab. Pehly it used to be chocolates and now it's Chaye. Saf saf batao what do you want yar."
Meerab handed him the cup of tea and sat down. "You know na, I have completed my Intermediate."
Murtasim nodded as he took a sip of tea. "Han tou?"
"Murtasim mei ne tumhe bataya tha na mujhy lawyer banna hai. You said you'd support me when the time came." Meerab continued.
"Han Meerab I remember. Maa se bat karunga mei don't you worry. Aur kuch chahye?"
Meerab smiled as she shook her head. She knew she could always count on Murtasim for anything she wanted.
"Chaye achi bani hai Meerab." He praised but Meerab was far too engrossed in her thoughts to hear him.

***

It was a beautiful morning or maybe it was all in Murtasim's head because it was finally time to fulfill his father's death wish. Something that Murtasim had been waiting for a long time.
"Beta tumhe tou pata hi hai ke tumhare Baba Meerab ko apni zindagi me hi apni bahu banana chahte thay. Lekin afsos umar ne un se wafa hi nahi ki aur wo ye zimmadari mere kandho pe dal gaye."
Murtasim nodded. He was well aware of his father's wishes and was glad this day had finally come. His love for Meerab had only grown ever since he had realised what love was.
'Beta mujhy ache se pata hai ke tumhe iss rishte se koi aetraz nahi hai lekin mei Meerab se uss ki razamandi zaroor poochna chahungi. "
"Ji Maa ap bilkul poochen. Ye Meerab ka haq hai. "
Just then Marium came in the living room and Maa Begum asked her to call Meerab.
As soon as Meerab came into the living room, Maa Begum made her sit beside herself.
Then Maa Begum told Meerab about Murtasim's proposal for her. Something that her Baray Abu had wanted. Meerab looked at Murtasim to see if he was okay with it. He looked happy and she sighed. She had known this matter would arise as soon as she completed high school but she hadn't expected such haste in the matter. Nor had she expected that her potential future husband would be Murtasim. She muttered a "I need time to think" and left the living room.

"Lagta hai bachi sharma gayi." Maa Begum exclaimed seeing Meerab leave quickly.
Murtasim merely nodded but in his head he was sure that Meerab hadn't shied away, she was unhappy with this arrangement. He knew Meerab too well.
"Maa agar uss ne inkar kardya tou?" Murtasim voiced his concerns to Maa Begum.
"Meerab meri beti hai Murtasim. Mei zabardasti nahi karungi uss ke sath. Lekin mera nahi khayal inkar ki koi waja hogi uss ke pas is liye fikar na karo." Maa Begum assured her son.
"Agar farz karen uss ne inkar kardya tou ap kahi aur rishta dekhengi?" Murtasim persisted.
"Han zahir hai beta. Yehi tou umar hoti hai bachiyo ko byahne ki. Aur Marium ki tarah Meerab bhi meri zimadari hai."
Murtasim thought about Meerab's future plans and ambitions. He would patiently wait for her to complete her studies but he knew someone else wouldn't even support her dreams. Such was the tradition in their family. Girls did not go to universities. High school or a college diploma was considered more than enough. He knew he had to talk to Meerab directly to make her see the reality of the situation.

Meanwhile Meerab was sulking in her room. Her 18th birthday had been the worst. Na Murtasim ne gift diya tha na baba ka London se koi gift aya tha. Aur ab ye bilawaja ka proposal. Itni bhi kya jaldi thi Maa Begum ko. Na wo kahi bhag rahi thi aur na hi Murtasim kahi ja raha tha. Aur iss sab ke beech me uss ki higher studies ki bat reh gayi thi. Soon admissions would close and she'd end up wasting 1 year. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Ajao" Meerab called out.
A maid entered and said, "BibiJi Khan ap ko apne office me bula rahen hain."
"Acha ap jaye mei ati hu" Meerab was frustrated. "Ab Murtasim ko pata nahi kya chahye." She muttered angrily as she grabbed her dupatta and walked out of the room.

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Feedback please. Also the next part is going to be very interesting.