You and Me (Tere Bin FF)

1. The Wedding

Meerab stared at the decorated stage in front of her through her veil with blank eyes. It was her wedding day, but she was feeling detached from it all. She was getting married to Khan Murtasim Khan, the man she had nothing in common with, the man she had claimed to hate all these years. The head of this family with ancient values and so-called traditions, he stood for everything she hated about this family. A small part of her kept hoping this was a nightmare, and her baba would come to wake her up soon like he always did, bringing her to the reality and happy life she had been living. Where things were alright, there were no arbitrary lines or stifling traditions to cage her, but a larger part of her knew that was not to happen. This was her reality now, HE was her reality.

Her baba would never reach out with a gentle hand, assuring everything was alright in the world because he wasn't her baba anymore. Sharp pinpricks of betrayal stung her heart.. They lied to her all these years. Kept the truth hidden until it was convenient for them to reveal it. Neither her birth father nor her adopted parents gave a thought to how she would feel. Akram Khan couldn't bear to look at her, so he gave her away to Waquas Ahemd, and her baba, who claimed to love her above all else, handed her fate to Maa Begum to keep his word. Was that all it took? Did she not have any value apart from what wishes she could fulfill knowingly or unknowingly? They took away all her rights and options, so she was left with nothing. Wondering if the so-called word love held any meaning in the real world.

Mariyam and Maa Begum praised her looks and said she looked beautiful, but it was meaningless to her. Meerab wasn't one of those girls whose sole goal in life was to marry someone and kept dreaming about their big day but as she stood on the precipice of a life changing momenent she couldn't help but wonder how different this day would have been if truth wasn't revealed to her, if she were marrying someone she liked...maybe even loved. Surrounded by her parents and friedns, a day filled with shy smiles and hopes. Would she have blushed waiting for her groom, her henna stained hand adorned with his name, heartbeat quickening in anticipation of uttering those words? As she waited on the stage, she realized this was just one more thing they had stolen from her, and her heart ached with renewed pain. How she wished her parents were here... walking her to the stage, their hearts full of happiness, but that was not to be. They had abandoned her completely and her pride wouldn't let her call them again..she had begged and pleaded to meet them and as they denied her request she resolved that she would never again step foot at their home or ask them for anything in life. She was alone...utterly alone, but she still had her pride. She would get through this.

As she sat pondering her fate, she felt it...her baba's hand on her head and looked up to see him smiling at her. She almost lost it then, her resolve crumbling, but she remembered the closed door and her pleas that went unanswered. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Aap yahan kis haq se?"

"Beti ho tum meri! Aaj tumhari zindagi ka sabse ahem din hai." Her baba replied.

Meerab scoffed "kaunsi beti? Jiske mooh par darawaza band kar diya tha aap ne? Ab kyun aaye hai? Ye dekhne ke aapka wada Pura ho raha hain ya nai?"

Her baba shook his head. "Aisa nahi hai...meri majboori thi. Main tumhe takleef nai Dena chahta tha purani batein yaad dila kar....khair wo to Murtasim khud hame lene aaya aur insist Kiya to hum reh na paye".

Meerab looked up at him, shocked that Murtaism had taken the effort to bring them, but she wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction of taking away her choice again. "Dekh Liya? Aap ka wada Pura hua..ab jayein main jhooti beatein bardasht nai kar sakti".

"Meerab.." He tried again, but she just shook her head and looked away. Her father accepting defeat sighed and moved away from the stage.

Meerab's heart and mind were torn in opposing directions. Joy that her parents were here and pain reminding her everything they had done. She didn't know if she should rage and cry or be happy for their presence. As she was lost in the whirlpool of her thoughts, Murtasim sat opposite her. She could see him through the gaps in the flowery veil. He looked as he always did..confident and unsmiling. Well dressed but unapproachable with an air of indifference around him, but his eyes weren't blank. They spoke volumes as he stared back at her unblinking with a strange look. He almost looked awed...as if he found her beautiful. He couldn't find her attractive, could he? They were at each other's throats days ago.

As she stared back at him, she wondered why he brought her parents here today? Did he realize that she felt alone? Could he see through her mask of indifference? Why not suggest it and leave the decision with the elders. Instead, he drove to and from Karachi on his wedding day! Murtasim was a complex man, and she had realized just how complex in the last days. He had refused to marry her initially but came after her when she ran away and took her to the hospital when she met with an accident. There were so many layers to him - he slapped her, considered her stubborn and impulsive but didn't hesitate when she asked him to take her to Karachi. He stood silent without any judgment as she begged at her parents' door and completely surprised her when he offered her his home to stay. Without any strings or conditions. She hadn't seen him smile much, but there were instances when his softer side peaked out - the way he had asked her to reconsider decision to marry him, offering to speak to his Mother so she wasn't forced and when she last saw him evening of Mayun he had looked at her with the same gaze as now. Sitting beside her as his mother forced him, he had asked quietly, "Tum theek ho?" Meerab had just shrugged and ignored him, choosing to look at Marium instead. He hadn't pressed the issue, but sitting here, she knew that he had paid attention and tried to give back a little of what had been taken from her. Fix what he hadn't broken.

As the wedding progressed, she uttered those words that would bind them together. "Qubool hai" she said, looking at Murtasim. She saw him smile slightly as he uttered those words in return without taking his eyes off her. She wondered what this marriage would bring to their life... there was uncertainty, anger definitely and also sligt curiosity mixed in with a smidgen of anticipation now. Was he her Jailor in this lifelong punishment or her Protector in the unpredictable labyrinth called life?

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