Unveiling Meerab [Tere Bin FF]

37. a step into the second

A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for all the love for the last chapter, so happy to see that so many of you are enjoying all the cuteness! Onto the next chapter where we get to meet their friends again!

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November's arrival heralded a shift not just in the season but within Meerab, a hopeful promise that perhaps the toughest days were behind them. As she sat up in bed, bracing for the familiar wave of nausea that had become her unwanted companion, it was absent, leaving her in bewildered relief.

"What's wrong?" Murtasim's voice, laced with concern, cut through the quiet of the morning. He always woke up abruptly when he felt her move.

"I...am not nauseous," she responded, her voice a mixture of surprise and cautious optimism. The realization felt like a rare gift, a morning not marred by the overwhelming urge to be sick.

"That's good, right? They said it stops as the second trimester starts?" Murtasim's confusion was genuine, his knowledge a patchwork of doctors' reassurances and late-night reading sessions.

"So abruptly?" Meerab couldn't help but wonder aloud. The sudden change, while welcome, felt almost unreal after weeks of constant discomfort.

"It said that morning sickness starts to disappear at Week 13, you're there," he yawned, his voice heavy with sleep but still filled with concern. His casual mention of 'it' referred to the myriad of articles and forums he had scoured.

"It's too early to assume it completely stopped, we'll see what happens," she mused, not wanting to get her hopes up only for the nausea to return with a vengeance.

"You should still suck on the lozenge," he suggested, leaning over her to retrieve the packet from the bedside table.

"Thank you," she whispered, accepting the lozenge with a soft smile.

"You're welcome, meri jaan," he whispered back. "Good morning," he hummed, his lips gently pressing against her temple, a familiar gesture that always managed to fill her heart with warmth.

She couldn't help but laugh, the sound bright and clear in the quiet of the morning. "Good morning," she echoed back, her heart swelling with the love.

Her laughter only grew as Murtasim made his way down the bed, carefully lifting the hem of the oversized t-shirt she wore. The gentle press of his lips against her still flat stomach sent a flutter of joy through her. "Good morning, meri choti shehzadi," he whispered to their child.

Meerab couldn't resist running her fingers through his hair, the strands a tousled mess from sleep. She found herself straightening them almost absentmindedly, a smile playing on her lips.

Murtasim's voice was soft, almost reverent, as he spoke again to their baby, "Let's call it quits on the nausea please, your mama has suffered enough."

Then, as he moved back up to her side, he extended his hand. "Ready to get up?" he asked, his eyes crinkling at the corners with his smile.

She nodded, taking his hand and allowing him to help her to her feet, like he did every morning.

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Murtasim's protective nature intensified with each day that passed. This overprotectiveness became more pronounced when Saim relocated from the village to Hyderabad. Something she immediately disliked.

As the morning sun filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow over their living room, Meerab trailed behind Murtasim, her tone a mix of frustration and concern. "You can't just order him here," she lamented, watching as her husband rummaged through the cluttered coffee table for a misplaced file amidst a chaotic mix of his folders and her books.