Perfect Mismatch

2 : Uncomfortable?

Feeling too weak to stand even, she locked the door and put her hand against the wall. Once upon a time, a guy who would comfort her when she cried and lend her a shoulder turned out to be the one haunting her soul. He ended their four and a half-year relationship abruptly, as if they had never shared a bond. Even though her friends had advised her not to date Rohail, she continued to see him on a regular basis. She used to believe that they were only attempting to end their relationship because they were jealous, but as soon as she realized everything that was in front of her, she felt as though the ground was giving way beneath her feet.

The sharp pain on her heart made Meerab feel as she was being suffocated in the bathroom, and she began to breathe heavily. She wondered why it is always her? Why does no one like her, and why do not they stay with her for long? Why was Rohail acting this way when she was so in love with him, was prepared to do anything for him, and avoided upsetting him? What made him betray her?

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she recalled how, when she would share her fantasies with Rohail about getting married, he would always promise to fulfill them all. She collapsed to the floor, feeling completely alone in this strange house full of people she did not know what for. Given how much of a class divide there is, it is possible that Murtasim bought her and is now acting innocent. She felt her heart sink at the thought of spending her entire life with an unwanted husband. Wasn't love marriage her choice? Then why this betrayal? She let her tears fall freely and let her voice trail off into a dry throat. When she heard a knock at the door, she instantly wiped her tears and opened it to see a tense-looking Murtasim.

"Are you okay?" he inquired. Meerab nodded, averting her eyes to conceal her tears, but Murtasim saw them as well as her swollen, red eyes.

She took a deep breath to appear confident and natural, but deep down she is so broken that she thinks no one could ever be able to heal her from this heartbreak. "Where is kitchen?" she asked.

"Tell me what do you want?", he asked softly

"Do you have coffee?" she inquired. He nodded, then asked her to wait while he brought her a cup of coffee. Meerab turned down his offer. After leading her into the kitchen, Murtasim started to brew her coffee when Meerab grabbed the pan away from him. With full knowledge that Khala would scold him for bringing her here, he hung his head as he saw her enter the kitchen at that precise moment.

"Murtasim what's happening here? Why she is in the kitchen? It is her first day and you are allowing her to work", Seeing the couple, Seema crossed her arms over her shoulder and asked angrily,.

"I did not," Murtasim stammered in an attempt to defend himself, but Seema glared at him angrily and turned to smile at Meerab.

"Meerab go and change. He will bring coffee for you. Take some rest", she said, and those words sent Meerab back in time to a fight between her parents when she told them about her relationship with Rohail, which they saw as a betrayal and a disrespectful act. She was hurt and stood close to the door, listening to them argue about her, even going so far as to question her character.

While Aneela accused Wakas of spoiling Meerab and failing to take care of her, Wakas was advising her to reject Rohail because he had seen someone else. Her parents were discussing keeping her at home until they got married to someone else, and she could not take their eyes off of them. As she broke their conversation, Wakas walked out of the kitchen, telling her to go rest because she appeared worn out. He also said he would never allow her to marry Rohail. Upon hearing Seema's loud voice, she was brought back to reality and gave Meerab a gentle pat on the cheeks.

"Please let me know if he bothers you in any way," she said, to which Meerab gave a nod and turned to face the ground because this house's atmosphere differs from her own.