Tere Bin - OS compilation

Red Rose

Meerab was feeling restless thinking about Mariam's problems. She was hoping to convince Murtasim about Mariam and Anas but then Maa Begum had dropped the bombshell of their relatives calling off Haya's alliance and instead seeking Mariam's proposal, it had thrown her plans awry. Judging by the intense reaction Murtasim gave just for taking his sister's name in the context of love, gave her a very good idea of what could happen if she did tell him the truth. She sighed.

She got a call from her friend Saba earlier. She is visiting her relatives nearby and so they decided to meet up. It would be great to catch up and share some of what's been on her mind lately.

Saba and Meerab were talking about their classmates when the topic of Rohail came up. "Meerab he's madly in love with you yaar", Saba said exasperated. Meerab shook her head, "You know I can't do anything about it Saba. I'm married and the way he behaved last time was beyond inappropriate. He forced me to go home with him. Moreover, he has a white board with my pictures and cards. It was beyond creepy", Meerab said shuddering slightly at the memory.

Saba sighed, "I can understand Meerab, but he feels like you are not happy in your marriage so he is waiting for you to leave Murtasim and then get married to you. He even knows about your contract. Don't you think that's too much information to share with someone who's obsessed with you? And besides are you really planning on ending your marriage with Murtasim?", Saba asked seriously.

Meerab averted her gaze guiltily. She shouldn't have told Rohail about something so intimate, especially after Murtasim had saved her from embarrassment in front of their family regarding their marital status when Haya had found the contract. And regarding the question of leaving Murtasim, she wasn't sure anymore. In the beginning of their union that was precisely what she was planning to do. Marry him, hurt his family as much as she could and leave. But now? She has started caring about Maa Begum, Mariam, the people who depended on them and...Murtasim.

She didn't want to think about this subject anymore so she changed the topic to Mariam. "But Meerab, why are you so eager to help her anyways?", Saba asked genuinely confused. "I know the pain of being forced into a marriage Saba, I don't want her to go through it too, not when she already has someone who truly loves her", Meerab said with a wistful tone.

"And how are you so sure he loves Mariam?", Saba asked curious. "He cares about her, makes her happy and he even said he's willing to sacrifice his life for her. We rarely see this kind of love Saba", Meerab said a bit sadly. Saba just looked at her oddly. "What?", Meerab asked confused by her reaction.

"Actually I know another couple who experienced everything you said and more", she said. "Really!", Meerab asked surprised. "Who?". "You and Murtasim of course", Saba said smiling a little. "What? No, no way. Are you crazy? How is that even possible? Yes he does tell me he loves me but that's just because he wants to tie me to his side not because he loves me. Besides, I don't even like him", Meerab kept on blabbering.

Saba gave her an amused look, "Slow down Meerab". Meerab tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths. She didn't know why she was feeling flustered all of a sudden. "Why did you come to that conclusion anyway?", Meerab asked pretending not to care about her answer. To be honest she had been struggling with some similar kind of questions for the past few days. Saba smiled secretly, "Well first things first, he did save your life, twice, if I remember correctly. Once was when his rival's men kidnapped you and the next time was during that car accident. Both times he didn't even care about his life and just reflexively tried to save you. And the care part, every time you misjudge his decisions and get into trouble he has always come to your rescue and taken care of you. I don't think anyone can pretend for so long to care, just to save their ego you know. It's not like anyone's going to judge him if he leaves you and marries another girl. His cousin Haya is more than ready from what you told me, but still he only expects you to take care of him and prefers your company over anyone else's". Meerab was amazed at her friend's perspective analysis of her situation.