As Meerab walked through the gallery, she sensed Haya approach Murtasim, who was a little behind her.
"Murtasim ye- tum kise waapas leke aaye ho iss ghar mein?" Haya stopped Murtasim, trying to sound authoritative, knowing Meerab was within hearing distance.
And that stopped Meerab. She looked back at them both in disgust.
"Apni biwi ko," Murtasim replied, looking straight into Meerab's eyes. Meerab felt her stomach do a backflip at his words. Despite the distance, their eyes held each other's for what felt like an eternity until she turned again to go inside the room, all the while feeling a sense of pride. Murtasim started following Meerab to their room, moving past Haya when she stopped him again, with a hand on his arm.
"Accha wo Murtasim,-" Haya started but was instantly cut off by Murtasim, who moved his arm away from her hand and said, "Mere paas tumhari faltu baat sunne ka time nahi hai, I am very tired, and I just want to go to my room and rest with my wife."
"Nahi wo, maa begum ne bola tha Murtasim aa jaye to mere paas bhejna". Haya informed him, unphased by Murtasim's disrespectful behavior like always.
"Accha theek hai, tum jao, main aata hoon," he replied and turned towards his room.
______
Meerab was sitting on the bed, lost in deep thoughts of Haya, when Murtasim entered.
"Hey", Murtasim clicked his fingers in front of her as he sat beside her, "kya soch rahi hoon?".
"Haan? Haan wo- mujhe tumse bohot zaroori baat karni hai.", Meerab decided it was finally time to show him Haya's true colors. She was scared he might not trust her, he might question her again but she had to take a leap of faith. She could not stay in the house with a woman who not only did her dirty but Maryam, as well.
"What is it?" Murtasim asked, now concerned, noticing her eyes that looked like they were holding something back. A storm churning in the cog wheels of her mind but a striking calmness and determination to her face that made her even more beautiful.
"Haya," she turned towards him and replied-just one word. And Murtasim sighed, thinking not again. This was one topic he wanted to run from now, mainly because he didn't know how to tackle this issue. He had noticed Meerab's look of disgust in the gallery; she was jealous of Haya, and despite him telling her repeatedly that she had nothing to be worried about, Meerab wouldn't let it go.
Meerab noticed the change in his expression, from concern to discomfort, and she felt hurt. Because someone who was the cause of many of her miseries was somehow someone he just saw as his innocent and naive cousin, rather than seeing her for who she truly was. Someone who would go to great lengths to make sure they were never one, and that they would never live happily. With a sigh she knew she had to have this conversation and have it now.
"What about her now? What did she do?" he asked as he tried to compose himself.
"Everything," Meerab said point blank. "She was the cause of everything, she is the reason you threw me out; she is the reason everyone hates me, she is the reason Mariyam went through this trauma, she is the reason for everything that happened the past weeks in this house." And Murtasim looked at her, shocked and confused, out of his mind. His mind running a mile a minute. He thought she was going to ask him to maintain a distance from Haya, but here Meerab was telling a completely different tale.
"Heh, I knew you wouldn't believe me," Meerab muttered under her breath, a sarcastic smile on her face. "Like always, she is the goddess, who can do no wrong and I am the one at fault for questioning her intentions. "I am wrong," her voice raised as she took in his silence and tried to hold back her tears.
