She is waiting for him to come take her back. Baba had told her that he wouldn't let them take her but she told him in clear words that it was her decision if she wanted to go back. So despite what he did, abandoning her, she's waiting for him to come and take her back with him. She won't agree instantly, she'll tell him how upset and mad she is at him, but she'll eventually go. Because she misses her home. No matter how loving and supportive her parents are, the Karachi house doesn't feel like home, not because she still hasn't forgiven her parents, she has, and she is very much grateful to them for standing by her during this tough time but they're not her home anymore, they haven't been since the time they shut their door on her. She loves them, they will always be the two most important people of her life, but her home now resides in a certain arrogant and moody man. The annoying man who refused to listen to her and gave her way bigger punishment than she deserved for her mistake. She misses him, his sometimes flirty, often deep, eyes on her his smiles around her, and his excuses of talking to her. She misses it all. Even his infuriating habit of making her nuts when he's being unreasonable. But what she misses the most, and what makes her cry the most is that night. When he confessed his love, when he begged her to take care of him with tears flowing down his eyes. And had made her heart hurt like nothing.
Meerab sighed at her thoughts. Murtasim should never get access to her mind.
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What is love if not for protection? What is love if not for understanding? What is love if not for trust? He failed her. He failed her when it mattered the most and he doesn't know if he's even worthy of her anymore or not. One thing he was sure of was that he'd never leave her, she was like oxygen to him, but he had even been manipulated into abandoning her. What else was left for him to do? His love was hollow. Without substance. He believed every single person over her, the one person he claimed to love the most. Sounds like a joke.
Murtasim laughs in misery, feeling pathetic about himself, as he drives. Despite everything, he was going to bring her back. He was gonna beg her for forgiveness, and he was gonna ask her for one more chance and he was gonna get her back. Because he may have survived without his 'oxygen' all this while, but he surely needed it. It was suffocating and he was quite miserable without her. He felt lifeless.
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He came. She knew he would yet somehow couldn't believe it as she saw him standing in front of her. She was staring at him with dumbfoundedness. He was looking...wrecked, to say the least. Still handsome though, wearing his signature white kurta shalwar. Baba was asking him why he was there and telling him he isn't wanted there which eventually broke her out of her trance.
"Meerab se ek baar milna hai, waqas chacha, bas.", he was almost pleading.
"Meerab ko-", Waqas started, likely to refuse on her behalf when she finally showed herself to Murtasim, coming forward from behind the wall next to the door.
"Baba, it's okay, mujhe bhi baat karni hai", she spoke, putting a hand on her father's shoulder.
"Theek hai beta", Waqas said. "Aao Murtasim Khan", and welcomed Murtasim in.
The environment was tense and Meerab was feeling anxious. "Murtasim", she called him and moved towards her bedroom in fast-paces as her parents turned to go towards the drawing room. She didn't want to talk with him in front of them.
Murtasim followed her. She was sitting on her bed as he entered her room. She was wearing a simple kurti and jeans and looked very worn out. His heart had been aching since he saw her and he had this need to touch her, but he knew he lost the right to when he "set her free".
"Kaisi ho?" he gathered courage and asked her.
"Theek", she replied rather coldly, trying to feign ignorance at his presence.
He sighed, understanding she was mad at him.
He moved towards her and sat on his knee beside her. She was startled at his sudden move but quickly composed herself. His face down, he took her small hands in his big ones and started, "I am sorry, I am really really sorry, mujhe maaf kar do ki maine tumpe bharosa nahi kiya." He looked up to see her face only to find her looking sideways. She was holding back her tears, his apologetic tone doing something to her heart, yet she tried to keep a straight face. "Please Meerab, ek aur chance de do". He turned her face towards himself with two of his fingers and forced her to look into his eyes. And that did it. That was enough to break her. She took her hands from him and got up to stand next to her dressing table. Her tears started flowing as she spoke, "You abandoned me on the road, and you think a sorry can fix it? I accepted you, your love, believed in it, trusted you, and you broke it all."
She let out a sarcastic laugh as she continued, "You know I was getting used to the idea of us, I was feeling safe in your presence, you started feeling like home to me and I had just started fal-, " she held back, realising what she was about to say. She turned and looked at his form with misery, "You said "tumhari marzi ki azaadi" when it was clear I didn't want to leave you. If only you had cared to listen, to look into my eyes, to understand . You claimed to love and trust me and still thought that it was my evil plan with Malik Zubair to make Maryam elope? Why murtasim? Tumne to meri ek nahi suni aur mujhe akela chhod diya? Mohabbat karne waale aisa karte hai?" By the time she ended, her voice level had increased and she was sobbing uncontrollably.
Murtasim who was on the floor, silently crying, while Meerab got every complaint out of her system, got up, turned her towards himself, and enveloped her in his arms. "Bas karo, please. I know, I know what I did was not fair but please don't cry like this. Jo tum kahogi waisa karoonga, jaisa chahogi waisa ban jaunga, bas ek mauka de do sab kuch theek karne ka yaar", his voice choked at the last words.
She slid her idle arms around his waist, put her head comfortably on his chest, and closed her eyes as her sobs subsided. "Jo tum kahogi waisa karunga, jaisa chahogi waisa ban jaunga", taking respite in those words and the sound of his heartbeat, she finally finally felt at home. They stood their hugging for a while with him caressing her head and her back and her tightening her grip around his waist.
"I am sorry t-" she softly started, only to be cut off by him as he pressed her head to his chest.
"Shh, you have nothing to be sorry for, your heart was in the right place", he assured her.
"No please", she broke the embrace as she took his hands in hers, "I now realize how stupid it was of me to let Maryam go with a man I barely knew, but Murtasim you have to know, I didn't have any choice, Maryam was-"
"You don't have to explain, Meerab, I know everything, Maryam ne sab bata diya hai mujhe", he interrupted. "Just, let's just leave it all behind, yeah?"
"Okay", she nodded.
"Do you forgive me?", he asked hesitantly.
"I- yes, I guess", she replied.
"I guess, huh?", he mused, "Well that's not exactly forgiveness, matlab mujhe aur mehnat karni padegi to earn it."
"Well, yeah, that doesn't hurt", Meerab said cheekily, a small smile gracing her lips.
"Okay so we'll go by what you want me to do", Murtasim said as he took out his hands from her hold and pulled her closer, holding by the waist. Meerab all flustered, was about to reply when they heard a knock on the door.
"Meerab beta", it was Waqas, probably up to call them for dinner. Murtasim groaned inwardly at being interrupted while Meerab removed his hands from around and wemt to open the door, trying get her heartbeat in check.
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