The Eclipsed Heart

Chapter 41

Her swollen eyes met his, and he couldn't help but worry. "Meerab, you should have called me. What happened? Did you have another nightmare?" he inquired, the tenderness in his voice attempting to ease her distress.

She sniffed, shaking her head in response. Sitting up, she asked, her voice barely a whisper, "What happened at the panchayat?" The concern in her eyes mirrored Murtasim's own worry.

He hesitated, grappling with the choice of words. Opting to provide a distraction, he began recounting the events. "Malik Zubair confessed to his crimes. He admitted to killing Mahi, and the police took him away. The panchayat suggested compensation, but I declined. Nothing can turn back time. What's done is done," Murtasim explained as his gaze remained on Meerab's tear stained face.

In the silence that lingered between them, Meerab's mind became a battlefield of conflicting emotions. The phrase "turn back time" had ignited a storm of questions within her once again. Did it mean Murtasim still harbored feelings for Mahi? Was she just a shadow in the background, an inadvertent replacement for a love that seemed irreplaceable? The thought clawed at her, and the fear of confronting the truth paralyzed her as her inner turmoil that had been brewing since the morning threatened to drown her.

As she looked into Murtasim's eyes, Meerab saw the warmth and concern, but beneath it lay a well of emotions she couldn't comprehend. The unspoken words echoed louder than the ones they shared. She longed to ask him where she stood in his life, whether she was merely a compromise, a fleeting presence meant to fill a void left by another. But the fear of rejection held her back, a shroud of vulnerability that she wasn't ready to unveil.

The memory of Murtasim's kisses haunted her, each one carrying a weight of unspoken promises. She wanted to ask their meaning, to unravel the layers of his affection, but the idea of hearing that they were just gestures of comfort, that had been one of his "responsibilities" as her husband terrified her. She felt a fragility within herself, a vulnerability she had never experienced before.

Inhaling deeply, Meerab summoned the courage to break the heavy silence. "Are you okay, Mr. Khan?" Her voice trembled slightly, betraying the emotional turmoil within.

"I am. I feel... liberated, you know. It's as if the weight that has been burdening me for years has finally been lifted," Murtasim replied, his eyes reflecting a mix of relief and contemplation. The echoes of their last conversation lingered, leaving an imprint on the present moment.

As Meerab hesitated, she delved into the heart of her uncertainties. "What if Mahi hadn't died? She wanted a different life, and you wanted another. Would you have sacrificed everything for her?" The question hung in the air, pregnant with the weight of unspoken possibilities.

Murtasim sighed, his gaze fixed on some distant point. "I don't know, Meerab. Honestly, I have no answer to that. But I do understand her perspective. She worked tirelessly to break free from the shackles of her past. And I understand why she was hesitant to compromise on her dreams. Perhaps, given more time, we would have found a middle ground to it." His words, though seemed normal to him were piercing Meerab, leaving her grappling with the uncertainty that shrouded his past.

The wave of uncertainty intensified as she pressed further, surprising even herself. "Would you have left her?" The admission startled her, and she couldn't comprehend the conflicting emotions within. A part of her yearned for Murtasim to admit he would have left Mahi, but another part questioned the sorrowfulness behind such a desire.

Murtasim, caught off guard by the intensity of her question, looked at Meerab with confusion. Something unfamiliar lurked in her eyes, a depth of emotion he hadn't expected. Unsure of how to navigate the complexities of their conversation, he opted for a deflection. "We should sleep, Meerab. It's late," he suggested, avoiding the past that he felt ready to move on from.