Burn The World

Wedding

Maa Begum was damn serious when she had said ‘first instance’. She announced that she was arranging for the wedding to be held next week in the Hyderabad haveli. How she was planning on doing it in such a short time and inviting everyone was beyond anyone’s comprehension, but she was a woman on a mission. She wasn’t about to be stopped.

Not that Meerab and Murtasim wanted her to slow down. They were tired of having to put on a pretence of being distant. They couldn’t even sit next to each other on the same couch. It was exhausting. They just wanted normalcy, so they were completely on board with Maa Begum’s rush to have a wedding. And that’s how Maa Begum, Meerab and Murtasim headed to Hyderabad the very next morning.

In the haveli, Meerab had been given a well furnished guest room to stay in. It was suspiciously the room that was located the furthest away from Murtasim’s bedroom.

Despite the insanely short amount of time Maa Begum was making arrangements in, she was considerate in making sure it would still be a fantastic event. She was arranging clothes from the best designers and the best catering in the city by paying double the price for the short notice.

Maa Begum made sure Meerab’s friends attended as well. She invited Saba and Farrukh to stay over at the haveli a few days before the wedding itself, so they could partake in the pre-wedding events. She arranged for two guest rooms to be set up for them (even Saba and Farrukh were being kept apart under Maa Begum’s roof). She had also arranged for one of their drivers to provide a pick up for Saba and Farrukh so they could travel to Hyderabad with ease.

Naurez also arrived in Hyderabad a few days earlier than the wedding, leaving poor Qayyum to deal with office matters himself. The instant Naurez set foot in the haveli, he immediately offered a helping hand in setting up the decorations for the ubtan function, as Maryam was in charge of it. He was hoping Maryam would finally start chatting with him as they hung up flowers.

The handful of days before the ubtan passed by in the frenzy of preparations and making sure the tailor got the adjustments just right. Maa Begum made sure that during this time, Murtasim had as little interaction as possible with Meerab. She had essentially banned them from being in the same room at once. The ban however, only seemed to increase Murtasim’s urge to meet up with Meerab more.

“Maa Begum, why can’t I just go and talk to Meerab?” said Murtasim sullenly.

He eyed Meerab through the top floor’s window as she sat in the lawn outside with Saba. She was looking gorgeous in a light blue shalwar kameez. The breeze ruffled through her brown curls elegantly.

Maa Begum rolled her eyes at her son. “Murtasim, look away from the window and kindly pay attention to what I’m saying. Do these shoes fit okay, or do you need a different size?”

“Maa Begum, I’ll just ask her how her day is going. I promise I won’t linger around her,” said Murtasim, still ignoring anything his mother was saying to him.

“Meerab ke deewanay! If you so much as put a foot within a metre radius of her, I will make your life ten times more difficult than it is now. Stop shamelessly chasing after the innocent girl.”

Murtasim raised his eyebrows at his mother. Meerab sure as hell wasn’t innocent. She rivalled him in terms of sexual passion and aggression.

“Maa Begum, why are you framing me as the only shameless one here?”

“Because beta, in this sort of situation, men are always at fault. You’ve corrupted my poor child. Stay away from her till after the wedding,” said Maa Begum, eyeing him with disdain.

“Wow. We haven’t even gotten married yet and you’re already siding with your daughter-in-law and ganging up against me! May I remind you that I’m your poor child!? Remember me, your biological child!?”