Meerab announced her wish to leave with Murtasim as they descended downstairs for dinner. This decision of hers led to an uncomfortable dinner for the four people present. While Anila seemed visibly upset, not wanting her daughter to return to the home where she was thrown out, Waqas kept a straight face as he couldn't interfere with her wish. They finished dinner, and Meerab went up to pack her belongings while Murtasim stayed back with Waqas and Anila.
He looked at the man in front of him. He had considered him as the boy to whom he would give Meerab's hand in marriage, believing him to protect his beloved daughter whom he had raised with a lot of love and pampering. But now, the same man right in front of him seemed like a stranger who had betrayed him, abandoned his daughter, and hurt her beyond measure.
As Waqas started, Murtasim twitched inside. "Meerab is leaving this house because she wants to; warna main usse tumhare ghar, uss haveli kabhi nahi bhejta.".
"Ji," Murtasim replied, his head down, feeling guilty.
"Toh phir ye sun lo ki ayenda aisa kuch bhi hua toh main Meerab ki bhi nahi sununga", Waqas warned Murtasim.
"Aap pareshan mat ho chacha, I will die before I even think of hurting her now. I am sorry, I really am, for what I did, but I promise you that you won't have any complaints about me from now on, especially when it comes to Meerab. I love her with my whole heart." Murtasim said, looking square in Waqas' eyes.
Waqas contemplated his confession and apology and said, "You somehow failed to prove that, beta, but I am giving you another chance. Don't ruin it, or else you won't see her ever again".
"Ji," Murtasim awkwardly replied, and then they sat for a while until the tense atmosphere got too much for Murtasim.
"Main Meerab ko dekh ke aata hoon, nikalna bhi hai."
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As she packed her essentials in her handbag, she was once again hit with how he had left her alone, without any of her stuff, at the side of the road. How helpless, alone, and homeless she left. He had asked for forgiveness, and she had forgiven him, but she couldn't forget; she knew this feeling would keep coming back. That one incident triggered her abandonment issues. A lone tear escaped her eyes, which she quickly wiped as she heard footsteps climbing upstairs toward her room.
"Meerab", it was Murtasim.
"Chalein?" he asked as he came in and looked at her. She was in a plain yellow shalwar kameez, looking as beautiful as she ever did.
"Hm," she replied, still lost in the thoughts of how scary it was to trust him again.
He held her hand in his, smiling at her, and she hesitantly smiled back, and they left for downstairs.
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"Mama...Baba...., mujhe thank you kehna tha, for standing by me, and for letting me stay here, while...the past weeks." her thoughts were just a plethora of emotions as she stood at the door of 'Meerab Villa,' talking to her adoptive parents.
"Kaisi baat kar rahi ho beta, hum humesha tumhare saath hai, aur ye ghar humesha tumhare liye khula hai," Waqas quickly responded, not being able to bear seeing his daughter so unsure.
Anila, silently weeping, pulled Meerab in a hug.
Murtasim, standing at the side, felt a pang in his heart at the interaction. He felt an insane need to make Meerab happy right then. Calculating in his mind, he knew what to do on the drive home.
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Karachi to Hyderabad was a two-hour drive. They were halfway through, and Murtasim was yet to find a panipuri stall. He had taken the highway route and hence this struggle with finding the panipuri stall. He had thought buying her favorite street food would fix her mood a little as she was mostly quiet the whole drive, except for the occasional hmms to his questions about her needs. He didn't know how else to cheer her up. So he kept looking for the stall as he drove. The Mercedes leaving the highways, entered a small city market, and Murtasim finally spotted some street food stalls. Moving slowly through the market, he finally spotted a panipuri stall and parked the car near it. Murtasim looked over at Meerab and found her dozed off. He looked at her, and then he kept looking for a while. This was Meerab, his Meerab that he had come to love so much. She looked like a dream as she slept, her soft snores the only sound in the car other than the buzzing of the street crowd. She was innocent and pure at heart; she got happy at the smallest things, just like the panipuri he was about to treat her with. He remembered the last time they had it, how, despite his reservations, he had fun just because of her. This girl added colours to his boring life; with her rare but radiant smile, her little anger fits, and her beautiful calming presence, she was slowly becoming his everything.
"Meerab," He slowly tucked a small strand of hair behind her ear as he called her name to wake her up. Surprisingly, a heavy sleeper like her wakes in an instant. "Huh, what, are we there?" she asked him in a groggy tone.
"No, but even better," he said, excitement in his voice apparent as he got down from the car.
He swiftly moved towards her side of the car and opened it.
"Panipuri for you, Mrs. Khan," he exclaimed as he pointed towards the stall.
Meerab looked at him and then at the stall, "Murtasim bhook nahi hai", she said, leaving him shocked.
"But we don't eat it to fill our stomach, we eat it to have fun, and you love it so much, come on," he tried to persuade her, uneasy at her behavior.
"Baad mein Murtasim, please, abhi chalte hai, hmm," Meerab said, motioning Murtasim to move back so she could close the door.
Murtasim stood outside her door for a few seconds. He couldn't figure out what was wrong. Meerab knocked at her window, wondering why he was standing there. It got him out of his trance, and he moved towards his side of the car and got in.
"Meerab, are you still upset with me?" he asked straightforwardly. Because he needed to know if his punishment was over or not, he needed to know to figure out how to fix everything.
Meerab felt surprised at his sudden question. She didn't expect him to notice her odd behavior so soon. Nonetheless, she decided to give him the clarity he deserved.
"I-I am not upset with you, Murtasim," she gave him a soft look as she spoke," but I can't shake off what had happened. When we hugged back there in my room, I felt safe, at home, cause I had just gotten you back after wishing for it for days, but when I was alone, that feeling of always being abandoned crept in, it shook me. I am trying to get over it, but it hurts. I have forgiven you Murtasim, but it'll take time for me to forget everything." she ended and turned towards the window.
Murtasim sighed and hit his head back to the car seat with a soft thud. It was too much.
She needed time, and she needed all the support he could give her. One action of his had reopened her old wounds, and it wouldn't go away as quickly as he thought. He felt regretful, remorseful and downright pathetic as he drove the further distance.
He glanced at Meerab; she was looking outside, and he felt the sudden need to capture her beauty as she perfectly blended in with the beautiful scenery. Just then, they arrived at a signal, and as he waited for the signal to turn green, it gave him the perfect chance to capture her beauty, while she stayed oblivious to his action, lost in her thoughts and the surroundings.
_________
They reached Khan Haveli around 11 PM, and as they entered, the first person they encountered was Haya. She was waiting for Murtasim to serve him dinner after a long day out, and watching him come inside with Meerab shocked the daylights out of her. Meerab couldn't hide her disgust upon seeing her and looked away instantly, moving to her room, but her words of the other night, that dreadful night, started echoing in her brain.
"Tab dhaana chahti thi yeh qayamat tum per jab tumhare liye chaaron raastein band ho jaein or dekho, tumhare liye ab koi raasta nhi bacha,
Meerab iss dafa mera waar khaali nhi gya. Iss dafa mein jeet gyi. Iss dafa gunahgaar tum ban gyi. Iss dafa main iss ghar se nahi nikali jaon gi, tum nikali jao gi iss ghar se.
Tum say nafrat karein gay sab. Ab murtasim tum se nafrat karega, mujhse nhi. Main jeet gyi, tum haar gyi!!"
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A/N: Fun fact - I made a friend watch the Haya-Meerab scene in episode 42 to get her dialogues because I couldn't bear to watch the scene myself lol. Thanks Mahru 💗
Hope you guys liked the update. Please drop your feedback. Constructive criticism is most welcome.
