"Tou akhir kar mil gaya tumhe khazana hmm..." Haya mocked at her. "Itna sab hone ke bawajood tumne yaqeenan lalach me hi Murtasim se Nikah kiya tha na? Aur ab tumhe uss ka phal bhi mil gaya. Aur ek wo hai jo tumhare sath humdardi karta hai, jis din usse tumhari asliyat ka pata lag gaya na Meerab, uss din wo tumhe chorr dega."
(So finally you did get the treasure huh? Despite everything that happened, I'm sure you only agreed to get married to Murtasim because you were greedy for his wealth. And now you are reaping the fruit of your decision. How foolish is he to sympathise with you day and night. The day Murtasim finds out about the truth, he'll surely leave you.)
The tone with which she spoke made Meerab extremely uncomfortable. Unknowingly, she had come to rely on Murtasim in their one month of marriage and the thought of him leaving her stirred a storm of emotions inside of her.
" Oh really? Mei ne lalach me shadi ki thi Murtasim se? Shayad tum bhool rahi ho Haya ke mere do baap hain, both of them are filthy rich and I'm the sole inheritor of their wealth." In normal circumstances, she would never address to Anwar as her father but right now she needed to show the truth of the situation to Haya.
(Oh really? I got married to Murtasim because I was greedy. Have you forgotten that I have two fathers, both of them filthy rich and I'm the sole inheritor of their wealth.)
"Chalo theek hai, maan li tumhari bat. Lekin ek bat yad rakhna, Murtasim tumhara kabhi nahi ho sakta. Wo sirf aur sirf mera hai aur mei usse legally bhi apna bana lungi jab wo tumhe chorr dega," Haya muttered through gritted teeth.
(Alright, even if that's the case you need to remember something. Murtasim will never truly be yours because he's mine and I'll make sure he legally becomes mine too after he leaves you.)
Meerab scoffed. "Tumhe jo karna hai karo Haya. Murtasim mera shohar hai aur iss khandan me talaq dene ka rivaj nahi hai," Meerab replied and Haya turned and left since she had lost for the time being.
(Do whatever you want to do Haya. Murtasim is my husband and you already know that divorces do not happen in this family.)
--------------------------
Meerab audibly gasped. The empty drawer meant only one thing, Haya had taken it and she had their conversation to base of her accusation on.
"Kya huwa Meerab?" Murtasim asked hearing her gasp.
(What happened Meerab?)
"Maa Begum ne jewellery di thi mujhe, I kept it here but it's not here anymore," she told him while realising how her mother in law would react when she found out that Meerab had been irresponsible.
(Maa Begum gave some jewellery to me for safekeeping. I kept it here but it's not here anymore.)
Murtasim inhaled sharply at her response, "Meerab are you sure that it was here? You may have misplaced it."
Meerab shook her head. "I'm one hundred percent sure that I kept it right here, inside this drawer, locked it up and placed the key in my makeup organiser so there was no way of anyone knowing the hiding place unless they watched me hide it."
"Do you doubt any of the maids?" He asked.
Meerab shook her head once more. "I have a doubt on Haya. In fact, I did feel that someone was in our room when I came in with the jewellery. But upon looking I found no one so I just assumed it to be a figment of my imagination. Now I'm not so sure."
"Why do you think it's Haya?" Murtasim asked slightly surprised at how calmly she took her name.
"Firstly, there was no reason for any of the maids to be inside our room at that time. And even if there had been one, why would she hide. Secondly later that day Haya accused me of marrying you because of greed. And she went on to imply that she would make sure to separate you from me. I didn't know that she could stoop so low but there's no other explanation apart from this. Especially since the maids working here have been around for years and correct me if I'm wrong but I have not heard anything like stealing happen in this house. "
Murtasim slowly nodded as he grasped the picture his wife had painted. Before he could say anything, however, Maa Begum stepped in looking slightly annoyed.
"Adha ghanta pehle Marium ko bheja tha mei ne aur abhi tak tum zevarat lekar nahi ayi," Maa Begum complained.
(I sent Marium half an hour ago to inform you that I want to see the jewellery and you still have not brought it to me.)
"Zevarat nahi hain iss ke pas, Maa," Murtasim informed her calmly.
(She does not have the pieces of Jewellery, Mother.)
"Kya matlab nahi hain? Isse hi diye thay mei ne. Itni si zimadari na sambhal saki tumhari ladli biwi se?" Maa Begum mocked angrily.
(What do you mean? I gave them to her. Your beloved wife couldn't even hold responsibility over such a small thing?)
Meerab felt angry tears line her eyes. She had very easily told Murtasim about her doubts on their cousin but the same thing couldn't be said to Maa Begum.
"Meerab ne sambhal kar hi rakhay thay, shayad bay dhyani me misplace ho gaye hain. Ap jaiye, hum dhoond ke laate hain," Murtasim's tone was still composed as he said this and thankfully, Maa Begum left wordlessly.
(Meerab did keep them safely. I think that she unknowingly misplaced them. You go, we'll look for them and bring them to you.)
"Ab kya karenge Murtasim?" Meerab asked as she felt a tear drop down from her eyes.
(What will we do now, Murtasim?)
"Rone ki zaroorat nahi hai Meerab. Mei Haya se bat karta hu, tum chup rehna." He said gently.
(You don't need to cry. I'll talk to Haya regarding this matter.)
"But..." Meerab started to argue but he cut her off.
"Let me handle this my way Meerab. Warna Maa Begum ke gusse ko tum janti ho. Do you really want her to find out that someone took the jewellery from you? Hmm?"
(Let me handle this my way Meerab. Otherwise you know the intensity of Maa Begum's anger. Do you really want her to find out that someone took the jewellery from you? Hmm?)
Meerab slowly shook her head. Just when things had started to go a little smoother, something had to happen.
"Come with me, Meerab," he called out as he stepped out of their room and she followed.
A couple of minutes later both of them stood right outside Haya's bedroom as Murtasim knocked on the door. There was no answer to his first knock so he knocked again, a little louder this time while calling out, "Haya darwaza kholo."
(Open the door, Haya.)
She opened the door and let them in. She ignored Meerab and turned to Murtasim, "Kya huwa Murtasim? Why are you here?"
(What happened Murtasim?)
"Meerab ki jewellery nahi mil rahi, I just want you to check ke kahi tumhare pas tou nahi aa gayi ghalti se," Murtasim requested hee politely earning him a glare from Meerab. However, she remained quiet trusting his better judgement.
(Meerab's jewellery is lost. Please just check incase it ended up with your belongings by mistake.)
"Nahi mei khandani zevarat ka kya karungi bhala?" Haya asked innocently.
(No! What would I even do with the Family Jewellery?)
"Mei ne tou Meerab ki jewellery ka poocha tha tum se. Who said anything about khandani zevarat?" Murtasim asked, his voice rising a little.
(I asked you about Meerab's jewellery.)
"Mmmera matlab..." Haya stammered while trying to defend herself.
(I mmean...)
"Behtar hoga Haya ke tum chup chap wo zevar wapis de do. Agar Maa Begum ko pata chal gaya tou socho kya hoga," Murtasim muttered, his voice laced with anger.
(It'd be better if you returned the jewellery quietly before this matter reaches Maa Begum.)
"Iss ghar me koi bhi bat Maa Begum se chupti nahi hai," said a female voice behind them causing all of them to turn around. There stood Maa Begum with the jewellery box in her hands.
(Nothing goes by me in this house.)
"Itni qeemti cheez Feena ke saman me kya kar rahi thi? Uss ka kehna hai ke Haya Bibi ke hukm pe uss ne apne pas rakha tha isse lekin jab usse andaza huwa ke iss me kya hai tou uss ne foran aa kar mujhy bata diya. KYA TUM APNI SAFAYI ME KUCH KEHNA CHAHOGI HAYA? Mei ne tou tumhari aesi tarbyat nahi ki ke tum apne hi ghar me chori karo. Phir ye sab kaha se seekha tum ne?" Maa Begum was seething with anger.
(What was something so valuable doing with Feena's things? She told me that she had kept it there on the orders of Haya Bibi but when she realised what the box actually held, she came to me and told me everything. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY IN YOUR DEFENSE HAYA? I didn't raise you to be a thief the where did you learn such things from?)
"Maa Begum wo..." Haya's head hung low with shame.
"Tumhe pata kese chala ke mei ne kaha chupaya hai ye?" Meerab asked her.
(How did you know where I kept the jewellery?)
"Jab tum room me aa rahi thi mei wahi thi. I heard your footsteps and hid under the bed. Wahi se mei ne dekha where you kept the jewellery," Haya admitted.
(When you were coming into your room, I was already there. When I heard your footsteps, I hid under the bed and saw where you hid the jewellery.)
"Why did you take it?" Murtasim asked her.
"Kyu ke mei tum se muhabbat karti hu Murtasim. Mei nahi chahti thi ke Meerab ya koi aur mere raste ke beech me aaye," Haya muttered softly.
(Because I love you Murtasim. I didn't want Meerab or anyone else coming in my way.)
Maa Begum immediately slapped her right across the face. "Ye tarbyat ki hai mei ne tumhari? Ke tum iss tarah behayai ka muzahira karo. Tumhare liye tou mujhe koi sanjeeda faisla lena parega. Murtasim tum ao mere sath mujhy tum se zaroori bat karni hai." With that Maa Begum left the room followed by Meerab and Murtasim.
(Did I raise you to be so cheap and shameless? I will need to take a serious decision about you now. Murtasim you come with me, I have an important matter to discuss with you.)
Meerab went back to her room, while Murtasim followed Maa Begum into the living room.
********************************
What do you think of this update? Also please give me ideas for Maa Begum's 'sanjeeda faisla' (serious decision) regarding Haya.
Also we're nearly at 20K reads which is really hard to believe since this story was supposed to be a one shot only. Thank you so much for all the love.
Please vote and comment your feedback.