Fates Intertwined (Tere Bin AU)

2. Haqeeqat

"Tum ne bulaya Murtasim?" Meerab asked as soon as she entered his office.
"Han betho. I need to talk to you about something important." Murtasim gestured her to a chair and Meerab seated herself.
"Are you happy with Maa Begum's decision?" Murtasim asked her.
Meerab looked down at his question. From his expressions she had already deduced that he was happy with this match and she didn't want to upset him. It wasn't that she didn't like Murtasim, she had actually never thought about something like this and right now her number one priority was Bachelor of Laws.

Murtasim must've guessed what she was thinking because he said, "Dekho Meerab I know tum Maa ke is faislay se khush nahi ho. Ye Baba ka faisla tha tab hi wo un ki bat ka pas rakh rahi hain. Agar tum ye soch rahi ho ke inkar karne se tumhari shadi delay hojayegi tou aesa nahi hoga. There are a lot of potential guys in the family that can be a suitable match for you. Maa Begum tumhari shadi me der bhi nahi lagayengi zyada kyu ke aage Marium bhi hai jis ka unhe sochna hai. Aur phir mere liye tumhare career ki jang larna bhi bohot mushkil hoga. Mei ye nahi keh raha je mei hathiyar dal dunga agar tumhari kisi aur se bat pakki hogyi tou. Koshish zaroor karunga mei lekin zaroori nahi ke har larka chahe ke uss ki wife higher studies continue kare. Lekin mei ye chahta hu Meerab aur tum se wada bhi karta hu ke tumhara khwab pura karne me tumhara har qadam pe sath dunga. Baki it's upto you. As you wish. " Murtasim fervently hoped that she'd say yes to him. He couldn't even imagine Meerab being someone else's wife.
" The Degree Programme is atleast 5 years long. " Meerab muttered.
" It's okay. I can wait for you. I would have waited even if it had been 10 years long." Murtasim assured her.
Murtasim was so right about all of this. Never had a girl in their family gone to a university but he was willing to fight for her. Willing to wait for her. Then she looked at Murtasim. He was everything a girl could want. Good Looks! Well educated! Caring! Meerab thought to herself. This match wasn't that bad so she nodded. "Yes Murtasim. I accept this proposal."
Murtasim immediately took out a box. It held a ring. "Your birthday gift", he smiled. Despite the circumstances Meerab couldn't help but smile. "Ye tou unfair hai Mr. Khan. Engagement ring ko kon birthday gift me deta hai? I want a separate gift for my birthday."
Murtasim laughed. "Wo bhi dedunga Mrs Khan."
Meerab felt the heat rising on her face. She must be clearly blushing, she thought.
"Pehna du Meerab?" Murtasim asked.
Meerab nodded.
As he slid the ring on her finger, Meerab smiled and blushed again.
"Oho someone's blushing." Murtasim remarked. "Kahi pyar tou nahi hogya mujh se Meerab."
Meerab shook her head. "Mera dimagh kharab nahi hai ke tum se pyar karu."
"Hayeeee lekin hum tou ap ko apna dil de bethe hain. Khyal rakhiyega iss dil ka."
Meerab looked at him in shock. Murtasim never striked her as the kind of guy who could fall in love with a girl.
"I know bohat handsome hu mei lekin phir bhi kyu dekh rahi ho aese." Murtasim teased.
"Nahi dekh rahi ja rahi hu mei." Meerab said angrily as she turned towards the door.
"Han chali jao yarr. Wese bhi dusre shehar chali hi jaogi kuch dino me. Phir bas mei yha reh jaonga tumhari yadon ke sath." Murtasim sighed sadly.
Meerab ignored him and quickly went downstairs.
As usual Maa Begum was sitting in the living room. When she saw the ring she smiled."Mei ne Murtasim se pehly hi kaha tha ke Meerab ke inkar ki waja koi nahi banti. Ao mere sath betho yaha. Ab tou ye zimadari tum ne hi sambhalni hai bohat jald."
Meerab nodded and sat next to her.
Just then a maid announced the arrival of Anwar khan (Meerab's father). He had come to Pakistan after 4 years. Last time being the death of his brother.
Anwar entered and patted Meerab on the head. He handed her a parcel. "Happy birthday beta." Meerab nodded and said "thank you".
"Kal rat pohnchna tha mei ne lekin flight delay ho gyi. 18th Birthdays are special that's why I wanted to be here for my daughter." He explained.
Then he noticed the ring on Meerab's finger. It had the Khan family heirloom on it. His face changed.
"Meerab apne kamre me jao." Anwar almost shouted, his face twisted with anger.
Not understanding why his mood changed so suddenly, Meerab decided to linger outside the living room hoping to catch a few words.
"Yeh kya kiya ap ne bhabhi begum. Mere peeth peeche meri beti ki zindagi ka itna bara faisla? Ap ne tou poochne ki zehmat bhi nahi ki."
"Tum ne itne salo'n me Meerab ki kheryat poochne ki zehmat ki? Tum ne tou tab bhi uss ke sar pe hath na rakha jab Shahnawaz dunya se gaye. Uss rat Marium aur Murtasim ke sath wo bhi yateem huwi thi kyu ke usse pala tou mei ne aur shahnawaz ne hi hai. Tum ne aur Nadia ne tou sirf paida kiya tha. Issi liye Meerab ki zindagi ke faislon ka haq bhi rakhte hain hum." Maa Begum stated.
"Nadia ko beech me na hi laye ap tou behtar hoga. Ap ki bekar aur fazool riwayat ke peeche meri biwi ki zindagi tabah hogyi. Iss ghar ke logo ke rawayyon ki waja se wo mujhy humesha ke liye chorr ke chali gyi. Ap meri biwi ki Qatil hain Bhabhi ye matt bhoolen. Mei ap ko iss bat ki ijazat nahi dunga ke ap meri beti ki zindagi bhi wese hi barbad karden jese ap ne meri ki thi." Anwar was fuming with rage.
"Agar itne hi buray thay hum tou apni beti humaray pas chor kar hi kyu gaye? Le jaate apne sath." Maa Begum was also angry now.
"Chor ke gaya zaroor tha lekin ab usse lene aya hu. Mere sath London jayegi wo. Mei ab usse apni Maa ke qatilo ke sath mazeed nahi rehne de sakta."
"Han han le jao apni beti ko. Dushman ki beti se wese bhi humara kya lena dena." Mas Begum shouted but in her heart she wished that Anwar's threats were just to scare her. She loved Meerab like her own.

Meerab's heart beat became fast. Tou ye thi uss ki zindagi ki talkh haqeeqat. Dushman ki beti thi wo. Aur ye haqeeqat itne sal kisi ne bhi nahi batayi. Murtasim ne bhi nahi ya shayad usse bhi nahi pata hoga. She thought her mother died at childbirth but she was killed by Maa Begum? Was it because she was an enemy? Warm tears started to flow from her eyes and her vision got blurry. She decided to go to her room but with her vision clouded she did not see someone coming her way and bumped into him.

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A/N: How was the twist about Meerab's roots? Also I am traveling so my other Meerasim fanfic update will take a few days. Be patient.