Dhaagey: The Ties that Bind Us

39. anwar khan

Author's Note: Yes, yes, I know it's been a year. But better late than never right? It took me a while to get back to Dhaagey, I was caught up in the other fics I was writing, my maternity leave ended so now I am back to a very demanding full-time job and have a very rambunctious toddler! I hope to finish Dhaagey up within the next few months before moving onto new stories. Thank you to everyone who's been so patient with me, I really appreciate it. Hope the fandom returns just like I returned to Dhaagey, hehe. See you on the other side! 

Reminder: Murtasim & Meerab did have a small nikaah with just family a few chapters ago due to Anwar threatening that he would never let Meerab marry Murtasim. Anwar was exposed for gambling away his portion of the family fortune, and wanted Meerab to marry someone like Armaan who wouldn't notice. He left the Khan Haveli after that. Murtasim and Meerab have been (barely) behaving as they wait for their big fat public wedding and just when they were having a very good time in the last chapter, they were interrupted by the news that Anwar had met with an accident. This chapter continues from the point where Meerab and Murtasim leave their Karachi penthouse for Hyderabad.

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The road stretched ahead, endless and dark, swallowed in the hush of the night. The headlights sliced through the stillness, casting fleeting glimpses of a world that neither of them truly saw. The city shimmered in the distance, neon lights reflecting off rain-slick asphalt, but it might as well have been a blur of shadows and silence.

Murtasim kept one hand on the wheel, the other wrapped securely around hers, his fingers curled around her cold ones. Her skin was always warm—soft, familiar, alive. But tonight, her hand lay in his like something distant, something unanchored.

She sat unmoving, her profile illuminated in the dim glow of the dashboard, her gaze locked onto the window.

She wasn't curling closer to him like she always did, shifting in her seat with a hushed laugh, pressing her shoulder against his, her body fitting against his side like it belonged there. She wasn't fidgeting, flipping through songs, skipping track after track, searching for one that matched the moment just right. She wasn't complaining about how long the drive was, nudging the air-conditioning dial to suit her own comfort rather than his, shooting him a playful glare when he turned it back.

She wasn't doing anything.

Just sitting there.

Still.

Silent.

Staring at the night as it blurred past the window, her reflection ghostly in the glass.

Her silence filled the car more than words ever could, thick and heavy, pressing against his chest with an unbearable weight.

Murtasim hated many things but nothing, nothing, compared to how much he hated Meerab's tears. And worse than her tears was her trying to hide them.

She wasn't wiping at her eyes, wasn't making a sound, but he knew.

Knew by the way she blinked too often, knew by the sharp little breaths she took when she thought he wouldn't notice. Knew by the way her grip around his hand was just a little too loose, like she couldn't decide whether she wanted to hold on or let go.

So, he let her be. For the whole ride.

The city blurred past them, neon lights and deserted streets, but Meerab remained motionless. Even when they pulled into the hospital parking lot and Murtasim turned off the ignition, she didn't stir. Didn't reach for the door, didn't shift in her seat. Just sat there, lost somewhere in that head of hers, drowning in thoughts he couldn't reach.