When Rivals Collide (Tere Bin AU)

Chapter 12: Malik's Wish

Murtasim stood at the balcony adjoining his office, the cool night air doing little to temper the fire burning within him. His thoughts were a tangled mess, caught between the pull of duty, ambition, and the unexpected emotions that had begun to stir deep within him. The smoke from his cigarette curled into the night, dissipating into the darkness as he exhaled slowly, trying to make sense of everything that had happened.

Waqas’s plan was simple in its ambition yet convoluted in execution. Murtasim had done everything as instructed, softening his approach toward Meerab, allowing his normally stern exterior to crack just enough to let her see a different side of him. A side that wasn’t entirely a façade but was certainly more controlled than the ruthless lord that most of the village knew him to be. Waqas had been insistent that this was the way to win Meerab over, to make her see him as more than just a rival, as someone she could perhaps envision a future with. And yet, the thought of sending a marriage proposal so soon filled him with a gnawing sense of unease.

Meerab was not someone to be won over easily. She was fierce, independent, and stubborn—qualities that Murtasim both admired and found exasperating. He had seen the way her eyes flashed when she spoke her mind, the way she held her ground against him, and it intrigued him more than he cared to admit. But proposing marriage, particularly when their families had been rivals for so long, was a move that required careful consideration. The village would not easily accept such a union, and he knew it could stir up old resentments and new tensions.

another drag from his cigarette, his thoughts drifting to Bari Ammi, his late uncle’s widow, who had practically raised him after his parents’ deaths. She was the matriarch of the Malik family, a woman of formidable presence and unyielding strength. If anyone could bridge the chasm between the Khans and Maliks, it was her. But would she agree to take on such a delicate task? Would she be willing to humble herself and go to the Khans with a proposal for Meerab, knowing the history between their families?

Murtasim flicked the cigarette butt onto the floor, grinding it under his shoe with a frustrated growl. His father’s dying wish, recorded in that damned video, had been for him to marry Meerab and unite their families, to bring peace to the village and honor the secret friendship he had shared with Anwar Khan. It was a wish that Murtasim had initially dismissed as the ramblings of a dying man clinging to idealistic notions of peace. But now, with Waqas’s plan in motion and Meerab unknowingly caught in the middle, that wish had become something more—a tool, a means to an end.

But Murtasim wasn’t foolish enough to believe that peace was the true prize here. Power was. The Khan estate was a jewel, coveted by many, and by marrying Meerab, he would secure not just the estate but also the loyalty of those who followed the Khans. The villagers might grumble, but they would eventually fall in line, accepting the union as a necessary evil in the pursuit of stability and prosperity.

Yet, even as these thoughts of power and legacy swirled in his mind, Murtasim couldn’t shake the image of Meerab—the fire in her eyes, the defiance in her stance. She was different from anyone he had ever known, and the thought of manipulating her, of using her as a pawn in this grand scheme, made something twist uncomfortably in his chest.

With a sigh, Murtasim turned away from the balcony, the cool night air now biting against his skin. He needed to talk to Bari Ammi, to gauge her thoughts on the matter. She was wise, with a deep understanding of the village’s dynamics and the weight of legacy. If anyone could help him navigate this precarious situation, it was her.

As he made his way back into his office, his footsteps echoing softly on the wooden floor, Murtasim resolved to approach Bari Ammi with the proposal. But he would do so cautiously, presenting it not as a desperate bid for power but as a fulfillment of his father’s dying wish—a union that could heal old wounds and usher in a new era for their families and the village.