Meri Musibat [Tere Bin FF]

19. 22, 25 - Part 7

A/N: Thank you to all of you for all the love for the last chapter! It's always surprising to come back to so many thoughtful comments, discussions, and reactions to the story, I am so glad y'all are enjoying it so far. It's been an angsty ride for a long time now, but we move up from here on! See you on the other side!

---------------------------------

As Meerab held the blue box, her hands were not just trembling; they were betraying a storm of emotions raging within her. The small, velvet box felt unusually heavy in her grasp, each quiver of her fingers echoing the tumultuous beat of her heart. Zaki had handed her the ring to ensure it fit, his face alight with a hopeful smile, but his eyes wary. For Meerab, the ring felt like a shackle, a tangible reminder of the life she was poised to step into — a life that increasingly felt like a beautifully gilded cage.

She couldn't accept it.

The hospital's quiet had been oppressive, the steady beeps of machines and the sharp smell of antiseptic a constant reminder of the reality she faced. Sitting by her father's side, she'd had too much time to think, to weigh her feelings for Murtasim against the practical, seemingly perfect future with Zaki. The realization of the unfairness of her impending decision had settled heavily on her shoulders, an unwelcome cloak of guilt and confusion. She was about to promise herself to one man while her heart and soul belonged to another, even if she wished it didn't.

She couldn't do that to Zaki.

Murtasim's departure had etched a gaping hole in her heart, a stark reminder of the pervasive loneliness that had haunted her long before the hospital's sterile corridors. She understood now that she had been attempting to patch up the void left by Murtasim with someone else, a futile effort to mask the pain with the promise of new beginnings. But this realization brought with it a heavy burden of unfairness — unfairness to Zaki. To draw him into her world, her pain, her unresolved love for another, would be to wrong him deeply.

Zaki deserved more than to be a mere substitute, a balm for her loneliness.

Now, standing in the driveway of her house, the evening air felt thick with the weight of impending decisions. The driveway was a familiar space of transitions, of hellos and goodbyes, and now it was about to witness perhaps the most significant farewell of all — the farewell to what might have been. Her father's return home that evening had brought a semblance of normalcy, the gentle murmur of family filling the house, contrasting sharply with the silent chaos of her inner world. It had only been days since Murtasim's abrupt departure from the hospital, days that felt like a lifetime, each moment closer to the day she was supposed to get engaged to Zaki.

She couldn't do it.

The thought of marrying Zaki didn't fill her with joy or anticipation. Instead, there was a hollow resignation, a whispered lie to herself that maybe, just maybe, life with him would be enough. He was everything society said was right: kind, successful, understanding, his family welcoming and warm. He was the type of man a woman could easily fall in love with, she might one day as well, but in that moment, with her heart so full of Murtasim it seemed impossible. In another life, if she was someone else, she might have loved him, might have been happy with the easy companionship and shared laughter. But now, her heart was so entwined with Murtasim's shadow that every beat seemed to whisper his name.

Meerab had tried to push him back into the box she had created, one labelled Murtasim, but even the Murtasim in her mind was too strong to be pushed into one.

It wasn't just about choosing between two men; it was about choosing between two futures, two versions of herself. One path led to a secure, respected life, filled with comfort and societal approval. The other was uncertain, fraught with emotional turmoil but also ignited by a love so intense it scared her. As she stood there, the ring a cold entity against her warm skin, Meerab knew the choice wouldn't just define her future; it would define her. And in that moment, with the weight of the ring in her hand and the weight of her decision in her heart, the path she needed to take became painfully clear.