Okay, so here's part two. I have changed the timeline a bit to delwy Mariyam's wedding.
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A ray of hope was reconstructed in Murtasim's heart, but in Karachi, Meerab's heart was shattered in a million pieces.
How could everything go so wrong in a span of hours? She had a lot of apprehension while sending Mariyam away with Anas, but Mariyam hadn't left her with any choice. Meerab believed her when she said that she would rather die than marry Naurez. If only she had a little more time in her hands, she could have sorted things out, but time was one thing that neither Mariyam nor Murtasim were willing to give her.
She had made Mariyam promise that she would return immediately after the nikah - her being away from the house for the entire night wasn't even a discussion. Her biggest mistake had been to put her faith in Mariyam's trust. Meerab knew that she should have trusted Murtasim when he said Anas wasn't the good guy, but she had felt helpless against Mariyam's pleas for help. She had honestly believed that Murtasim had made a mistake. The address was mixed up because she had seen his house herself, and it had been normal, but she had been deceived by Malik Zubair instead.
She would never forget the look on Muratsim's face when he had found out Zubair had Mariyam. He had looked lost for a minute, defeated almost, but he had picked himself up and focused on finding Mariyam because that's what he did. He took care of everything, burying his feelings and his fears inside. Meerab had seen how he worried he had been, but he still found it in himself to comfort her when he saw her crying. Murtasim had consoled her and trusted her even when fingers were pointed at her by Maa Begum and Haya.
Meerab almost told him that she had helped Mariyam leave at that time. Almost because that's the thing about trust. One you have it you are so afraid to break it, especially with Muratsim. It would have been the right thing to do, but sometimes doing what is right is the hardest thing to do. she was just so scared. For Mariyam and for herself. She knew Murtasim loved her, but the fear that he would abandon her was so huge. Not because she would be cast out of the home but because he would walk away from her. The one person who had been in her corner, someone she had come to depend on and had become necessary for her peace of mind, someone she loved wholeheartedly. Yes, love. She had realized she loved him and was on the verge of telling him, but she hadn't. How she wished she could go back to the moment when he had poured his heart out, but she had been out of words. Her heart and eyes had cried for him, but she had been unable to form the words to reassure him.
In the end, he had found out. From Haya. She had shown everyone the video, cleverly leaving the audio out so it seemed Meerab had let Mariyam go, even though she had pleaded with Mariyam till the last minute to rethink her decision, to give her just a day more to talk to Murtasim but Mariyam had refused and Meerab had chosen her life over the family, her relationship knowing the ramifications her actions would have.
"Mujhe hamari mohabbat ki kasam, sabko faramosh kar dunga. Sirf tumhari baat par yakeen karunga. Ek baar kaho ye jhooth hai" His words kept ringing in her ears, and the horrible night flashed in front of her eyes. Even after seeing the video with his own eyes, he had been clinging to a shred of hope that it was all untrue. His eyes had begged her to say that it was all a lie. That Haya had fabricated everything, but she couldn't lie to him. She had watched as his eyes widened in disbelief when she confessed that the video wasn't fake. The shock of betrayal on his face, his eyes filled with pain and sheen of tears. His eyes had lowered to the floor, the proud set of his shoulders drooping a little as if an invisible weight was placed on them. He had closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned away from her, calling Zubair and agreed to his demands but hadn't said a word or even looked at her.
She had prayed for him to come back home safe and sound. Prayed that Allah would uphold his honor, that he wouldn't pay for her mistakes. Her prayers had been answered and he had come home with Mariyam, both of them safe. She had known he would be angry and hurt, and from past experiences, he would refuse to talk to her, avoid her. She was prepared for all of that. She would have waited as long as he needed, listened to him rant and rave, and would have begged for his forgiveness, but he hadn't done any of that. Maa Begum had reminded him of the promise that he had made, and he had just nodded, still not looking at Meerab or saying a word to her.
