Unveiling Meerab [Tere Bin FF]

11. three out of seven

A/N: Thank you to all of you for love and support for Unveiling Meerab thus far! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter because it's my favourite so far!

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The evening drew to a quiet close, the air laden with the mouthwatering scent of the meal they'd just consumed. In the heart of the comfortable silence, Meerab found herself craving something warm. "Coffee banane chale, mein or tum?" She asked.

Murtasim, engrossed in the papers sprawled out on the table before him, looked up. His sharp gaze was questioning, but a hint of amusement played at the corner of his lips. He likely knew why she was asking for him to accompany her, he had caught on to her wary glances cast about the floor earlier. The sight of a spider in the hallway had sparked an irrational fear in her, the thought of sharing space with more of the eight-legged creatures they had unknowingly let out the previous day making her skin crawl.

"Do you need a protector, Meerab?" He teased, his rich voice breaking the tranquility of the room, every syllable pulling at the strings of her heart. She didn't know when he had gone from annoying to endearing, but the shift made her heart flutter.

"No!" She retorted, but the tremor in her voice betrayed her. She wondered if he heard it too, the unintentional hint of vulnerability that slipped past her defenses.

"Then I should go just to make sure you don't poison my coffee." He continued, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he got up, holding his hand out to her, she took his hand and let him pull her out of the room, the warmth and strong hold oddly comforting.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his playful jab while their fingers intertwined and they stepped out of his makeshift office and towards the kitchen. "If I wanted to do that, I would've done it months ago." She muttered as they walked through the dark hallway.

His chuckle was soft, but it reverberated through her like a pleasant hum, like it travelled through his body to hers through their joined hands. "So, you're saying you've dropped that plan now? No more fish and no more poison?"

Caught off guard by his playful assertion, Meerab realized she had inadvertently revealed more than she intended. Choosing nonchalance, she shrugged her shoulders as he came to a stop by the staircase, pulling her back towards him as she attempted to walk past.

She turned to him, wanting to say something witty but all the thoughts disappeared as she looked at Murtasim. His eyes were as dark as a starless night, the depths dancing with something that caused her breath to hitch in her chest. The corners of his mouth curved into a playful smile that caused an unfamiliar flutter in her stomach. "That must mean it's more than care...you like me." Murtasim declared, his voice brimming with mirth.

Meerab shrugged nonchalantly, her hand instinctively clutching the fabric of her dupatta as if it could mask the turmoil beneath, she had admitted to caring while curled up in bed with him that morning while he bared his soul to her. This tender banter now felt like traversing a frozen lake, the ice beneath their feet fragile and brittle. It was a thrilling dance, but also, strangely terrifying for she felt like she would fall through any second.

"Meerab." The sound of her name rolling off his tongue tugged her out of her thoughts. His voice was a notch lower, threading a note of seriousness through the previously playful atmosphere.

The sudden shift was unexpected, and she found herself involuntarily meeting his gaze, the connection piercing through her defenses again – she didn't know when her walls had grown so weak.

The steady thrumming of her heart escalated, pounding against her ribs in a silent confession of the emotions brewing within her. "A little." She whispered back, hoping to pass off the lie with a semblance of conviction.