Meerab caressed his hair softly to calm him down. Murtasim wiped his tears and pulled Meerab into a hug to get some strength to look normal. For a son who was loved dearly, the mother's ignorance looks worse. He is heartbroken as to save one relationship he broke another. He can't bear his mother's ignore and her words stabbed his heart. He tightened the hug to absorb his pain in her embrace. Meerab felt his pain as she knew the feeling of getting abandoned by her parents. She rubbed his back softly and kissed his forehead showing her support.
Murtasim looked down as he felt ashamed of breaking his mother's trust twice and after marriage, he changed his behavior toward his mother. She was a single mother but never let them feel the loss of a father and he saw his father in her behavior. He completed 2 years of his graduation when he got to know that his father was sick and when he came back, his father died. From that day Ma Begum always supported him and became his wall. She took care of Haya and Mariyam by providing the same love to both and he completed his duties as a good brother. He left his studies and started living here and was used to hearing constant praise from his mother. Now when the same mother disowned him, he felt the world slipping under his feet.
"Don't worry. We will handle everything together Murtasim. I... I can't see you crying. Please stop crying. How I will go?", Meerab asked and continued rubbing her hand on his back softly. Murtasim sighed and broke the hug and noticed her moistened eyes.
"Is she hurt because I'm crying?" He wondered and took a deep breath to talk with her. He held her hand and stared at her beautiful and soft hands. He rubbed his thumb on the back of her palm and noticed her shiver with his touch. He can feel her unconditional love for him and feel so blessed that he got his love back. He used to feel himself unlucky in love but not anymore.
"I'm not crying. I'm just hurt", Murtasim replied and helped her to sit on the sofa in the hall but Meerab stood up immediately realizing she needed to fight for her husband who always stood for her. Here she is the one to be blamed not him. She walked towards Ma Begum's room and stopped when she reached near door. Her heartbeat raised in fear and she stepped back only to be held by Murtasim
"I'm with you but can't face her. I'm ashamed so if you can help I would be thankful for my whole life", Murtasim whispered near her ear encircling his arm on her waist from her back. He pulled Meerab back and kissed her shoulder. "I will not hear a word against you so go without any fear", Murtasim whispered again and slowly moved his hand towards her arms and rubbed them softly to give her support. Meerab turned with a smile and nodded, Murtasim blinked his eyes in assurance and gestured for her to go. He stood near the door to hear thier conversation when Meerab entered the room taking baby steps.
"Ma Begum", Meerab called her while entering with baby steps. She felt like she was going to meet the strict principal of her school and her best friend was waiting for her near the door. No doubt he acts as a best friend sometimes and wishes they had the same relationship from childhood then she would have tried to manage with him happily. If she had known his loving nature before then she would have fallen for him a long ago
"Why you come back now? If you hated Murtasim and us then what is the need to come here ?", Ma Begum snapped at Meerab angrily
"I don't hate him and I came back here for him because that is my right", Meerab replied confidently like she always did but this time she got strength from her husband as she knew if not him then she would have never gathered to manofy her. She never pacified anyone but for him, she needed to do it because she couldn't see him upset.
"Leave me alone. I don't want to talk with you both. Go to your room with your husband if you consider him the one", Ma Begum said, her voice softened on listening to Meerab's words but she didn't change her expression as she was deeply hurt and both of them couldn't heal her sorrow. Only if she knew Meerab came with an innocent life who would take sadness from this house and light this home with his or her innocence
"I do and please listen to me once", Meerab requested. Ma Begum neither denied nor accepted her request but Meerab took her silence as yes and started speaking
"I went because of one reason", Meerab said and looked down in embarrassment. What she would say here? That she left him because they had s*x ? She knows Ma Begum will never understand her if she tries to tell her why she left so she chooses to hide the actual reason and continue further
"Which reason?", Ma Begum asked but Meerab ignored her question and continued speaking
"Then a month later I got to know that I... I was pregnant. I went back to Murtasim in the village because I was scared because of Haya...", Meerab said and was interrupted by Ma Begum
"Tum toh kisi se ni darti thi. Then why this decision?", she asked
"I'm not scared of anyone but the mother inside me was scared because of Haya. If she could try killing me even though she knew I was faking it then I went selfish. Ma Begum I just wanted to protect our first baby. It is not Murtasim's fault, don't blame him. I... I was afraid of Haya and was not ready to take a risk. That's why when she went I came back", Meerab explained and waited for her to say something and kept looking at her to see any extension changes and smiled widely when Ma Begum looked towards her abdomen with a smile.
"Hope you are not faking pregnancy to get forgiveness", Ma Begum asked confirming if she heard right or not. As far as she knew Meerab always refused to accept Murtasim and made a contract how did this happen? She was thinking of these questions when Meerab said
"I'm really pregnant and your son is going to be a father. Won't you protect your child like I did from a girl like Haya?", Meerab asked
"I would have handled Haya", Ma Begum said but Meerab shook her head not accepting her defeat because she knew whatever she feared was right.
"I was not ready to take a risk. I can fight with any problem if it comes to me but for our child, I can't take a risk. Will you love this real baby the way you loved the fake child?", Meerab asked to which Ma Begum nodded and walked towards Meerab. She caressed Meerab's cheek and kissed her forehead
"I will never forget what you both did to me and you broke my trust but as a mother, I understand that you acted as a responsible mother. If you both told me about this before then I would have married Haya a long time ago. But you both choose to play with your family. Anyways a mother is forgiving another mother. Please stay with my son forever because that month Murtasim was broken. Meerab I know I should not say this but try to understand him. He must be having desires, don't come to a point where you will have his memories but not him. I miss my husband but I can't touch him so respect Murtasim", Ma Begum said and pulled Meerab into a hug. Meerab closed her eyes tightly feeling the motherly warmth from Ma Begum and smiled thinking of their future now
"Congratulations. I'm happy for you both. What about your stupid contract?", Ma Begum asked sarcastically. Meerab pulled herself from her hug as she felt Ma Begum taunted but when she saw her smile, Meerab smiled and looked down feeling awkward as she was hesitant to talk about their intimacy but here she had to tell her what happened to the contract.
"I don't need protection from him anymore", Meerab gave the indirect answer and looked down. Ma Begum smiled and told her "Let me call Murtasim" and shouted Feena's name which scared Meerab as she didn't want anyone to see Murtasim eavesdropping on them
"Murtasim is here. Call him directly ", Meerab said immediately and called Murtasim inside fearing his insult. She will not like someone making fun of him especially who works under him. Ma Begum smiled and hugged Murtasim
"Congratulations. May God bless you both", Ma Begum said and asked them to take a rest. She ordered Murtasim to take care of Meerab and told him not to make Meerab travel and work which made Meerab smile and she felt so happy to find Ma Begum on her side. Later both came back to their room, Meerab took a long breath of relief after coming back to her place after 6 long months. On seeing the bed she remembered that night when they became one and blushed reminiscing that moment. She realized that she also loved that night just like him but her thoughts came to a halt when she felt him pulling her into his arms into a tight hug
"Thank you so much for supporting me Meerab", Murtasim screamed happily and twirled her by picking her up in his arms. Meerab laughed when he twirled her as this moment felt like a dream, she felt like she was living a fairytale where Murtasim was a prince and she was a princess. When he felt his head spinning, he safely let Meerab stand on her feet and held his head as he was not used to these stupid games and that's why he felt dizzy with a little spin
"This was my responsibility to support you ", Meerab said and held him to support him from falling as she feared he fell. But Murtasim would not have as he knew how to hold himself and felt himself on top of the world when Meerab held him in her arms to stop him from falling.
"She thought I was about to fall. Impressive. You are in love Meerab", Murtasim thought and bit his lip to suppress his smile. He wants to laugh like a manic feeling her love and support but he doesn't want her to think of him as a crazy man.
"What do you want in return?", he asked
"Nothing, Instead I returned your favours Murtasim. You always supported me when I needed you so I also did what I was supposed to do", Meerab replied and walked towards Meerab and remembered her chain. She shivered in fear and walked towards bed immediately as she was unable to meet her eyes with herself. From whom she was running away? Murtasim or from herself? And how she will talk with Farukh because she knows Murtasim will never allow her to go alone. That would be risky and she knows that
"Where are you going?", Meerab asked when she noticed Murtasim walking toward the sofa
"Ohh. Forgot that you allowed me to share a bed. I went there as a habit ", Murtasim answered and came back towards her. He sat beside her and held her hand in his, he moved her hand towards his lips and kissed her fingers
"Again Thanks a lot for everything Meerab. I love you", Murtasim confessed and placed her hand on his shoulder, and moved his face close to her. Meerab froze at her place as she remembered their last kiss which had a special place inside her heart as his kisses and presence looked so heartwarming to her now. His scent is very intoxicating she always loses her senses whenever he comes towards her and decreases their distance. Murtasim kept on moving forward and stopped when their foreheads touched. He encircled his hand over her waist and inched more closer to her leaving no space for air to pass through. Meerab started to breathe heavily due to the proximity and she felt too shy to look at him and say whatever she was about to say
"You are so kind my love", he said and rubbed his cheek on her which made Meerab giggle and she held his shirt tightly. Murtasim smiled widely on hearing her giggle sound which looked melodious to him. She and her innocence are his powers and her giggle is his best song which he would love to hear again and again.
"You are very kind and loving. Mai bhi tumse uthi he...", Meerab stopped in mid realising she was not supposed to say this. She feared any problem between them and went silent fearing separation. She is unable to fight with her emotions, she knows Murtasim can't live without her but she can't trust her destiny which was always cruel to her. Meerab noticed his smile drop and he was about to move back but she pulled him back and kissed his forehead followed by cheeks and a peek at his lips
"You deserve all the love and I am providing you that", Meerab said
"T... this ", Murtasim stammered and touched the places where she kissed him and looked at her in happiness. He felt himself on top of the world when she kissed him and she is taking the initiative to help him and be with him. She was showering his love and he couldn't help but jump in excitement
"Never drop your smile because your smile makes me happy ", Meerab said and layed on the bed hiding her smile
"If you will kiss like this daily then I will stay happy", Murtasim said and hovered over her. Meerab giggled and gestured towards the door
"It's morning so behave Mr...", Meerab warned to which Murtasim replied"I lose senses on seeing you", just then they heard footsteps and Murtasim immediately changed his position and lay on the bed with her. They noticed Feena entering the room and when she noticed them on the bed, she felt uncomfortable and looked down
"Ma Begum asked do you need anything? Breakfast is ready ", Feena said
"We are full. Go and please don't enter this room before knocking", Meerab said and passed a sarcastic smile to Feena. Feena replied with an okay and left from there in embarrassment. Murtasim smiled knowing well Meerab is a straightforward girl and he loved this nature as sometimes we are scared to point out mistakes which are important to be pointed out but we never do.
The whole day went with Meerab resting and Murtasim paying bills for Haya's wedding and taking care of other work. It's late at night and Murtasim is not back yet which looked strange to Meerab as Murtasim rarely goes missing at night, she started to fear for his safety and called him many times but he didn't pick up which scared her but she had no option left rather than waiting for him as she can't risk baby's life. She sat on the bed tensed thinking of Murtasim and preparing a long list of scolding but when the door opened slowly, her anger vanished
"Murtasim where were you?", Meerab asked him when he came back but didn't look at her.
"There was some work", Murtasim replied and opened his coat and a few buttons of his shirt to get fresh air as he felt suffocated a while ago
"You didn't tell me. You were supposed to tell me everything ", Meerab said and placed her hand on his shoulder but he jerked her hand and sat on the bed holding his head. Meerab looked at him worried as his eyes were drowsy and his behavior was very fishy. She knows there is a big problem that he is not ready to tell and is unable to handle the problem as well. Her eyes welled with tears because of his behaviour but still, she gathered the courage to talk to him because she knew he might be facing something worse
"Murtasim what happened? You were supposed to...", Meerab was about to repeat her line when Murtasim interrupted her angrily
"Stop acting like my mother and please I'm not your child who needs permission ", Murtasim shouted angrily and instantly realized his mistake and rubbed his forehead in frustration. He knows he should not let any problem affect thier relationship but right now he is very angry and can't even tell her because of her pregnancy. How can he let her take tension in this phase? When her teary eyes, he looked down in regret. How can he let his anger overpower his calmness?
"Share your problem with me", Meerab asked with tears and placed her head on his shoulder and forced his hand to touch her belly. Her tears fell on his shoulder making his shoulder wet which made him regret mora. Murtasim closes his eyes tight as a tear escapes from his eye realizing his impact on her. He sensed the fear in her eyes when she was hesitant to place her head on his shoulder. If she thinks he didn't notice, the she is very wrong as he noticed her but didn't say anything as he was controlling his boiling anger
"Go and Sleep yar. Take care of our baby. Let's sleep ", Murtasim said and kissed her forehead softly, and caressed her belly. Thier baby helped him to control his anger and he helped Meerab to lie down he also lay beside her back facing her. Meerab also turned her back to him and wiped her tears which fell because of his rudeness and strange behaviour. In the morning she noticed Murtasim staring at her and she remembered last night
"Came back to your senses?", Meerab asked sarcastically
"There is a problem which I can't tell but I am... I'm trapped Meerab ", Murtasim said and sat on the bed looking down in regret
"That doesn't justify your anger, Murtasim Khan. You want me to confess but keep on increasing my insecurities", Meerab said angrily and left for the bathroom to avoid further conversation.
"I know my mistake and will make it up to you soon", he said thinking of arranging a date for them and there he will manofy his wife. He loves bearing her tantrums and her anger and feels he is with a different Meerab if she doesn't show her right and anger on him. Also, he needs to know about her Insecurities and how he increased them. He is with her then how? He is used to her pregnancy tantrums but he doesn't have any idea regarding her fears.
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Thanks a lot for the love everyone. So here is another update as a gift for all of you ❤️. Keep loving and supporting
I wrote this part in a hurry so if you found any mistake then you are free to point it out ❤️. I intentionally didn't put Meerab's feelings after coming back to the room. You will see that in the next chapter
Heart for all of you from Wahaj Ali akka Murtasim Khan as he needs support from you guys to manofy his lioness 😆