Tere Bin - Parallel universe ending

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Guys, I wrote a small parallel universe storyline to calm my effing nerves and help me visualize my beautiful Murtasim and Meerub in an alternate happy ending. Putting it here to calm any other nerves that may need help :)

Haya is banished and slapped (trigger warning*) in my story, and I have only taken the last 2 episodes as my beginning for end. It's the first time I wrote something like this, so please excuse if you don't like it. :)

At the cafe:

Rohail - "Meerub, tum Murtasim se talaq kyun nahi le leti. Woh tumhare kaabil hi nahi hai. Tum bol do ke woh namard hai and bas khatam karo ye saza jo tum bhugat rahi ho".

Murtasim stands there and is numb. His wife, the woman he loves more than anything in the world, is sitting with a man who has professed his love to her and has not said a word to defend him. He leaves, dejected and defeated. He is angry, but doesn't know at what? Meerub, his destiny, the way this marriage was forced on them or the cruelty with which this marriage will now end?

Meerub is in her own thoughts and has not registered a word that Rohail said. She is lost in thoughts of Murtasim and all that he said to her, how he confessed his love, how he asked her to save him and their relationship. And what did she do? She in her foolishness and need for "justice" did not trust him enough.

"Maine bahut badi galti kar di. Maryam ko kuch ho jaata toh?" She remembers the last time she took bullets out of Murtasim's gun and Malik Zubair almost killed him. She shudders at what could have happened, and thinks of all the times Murtasim stood up for her, stood by her. Could she expect that he would and should have believed that her intentions were right? She truly believed he would. But instead he left her, without trying to understand why she did what she did. She is not sure what to feel anymore - Guilt? Regret? Hurt? Anger? She feels weak in her bones or the first time since her parents abandoned her that fateful night. Has she lost Murtasim too?

Rohail - "Meerub, Meerub - tum sun rahi ho maine kya kaha? Tum Murtasim se khula maang lo aur bas yeh chapter khatam karo. Us narq se nikal ke wapas aa jao mere paas. Hum ek nayi zindagi shuru kar sakte hain".

Meerub - " Ye kya bakwaas kar rahe ho Rohail? Tumse kisne kaha mujhe woh narq lagta hai? Aur tumhare saath kyun main zindagi shuru karu? Meri zindago mera shohar hai. Tum kaunsi galat faimi paal rahe ho? Main Murtasim ko behadd mohabbat karti hoon aur is shaadi ko nibhana chahti hoon". And it hits her that words that came out of her mouth were subconscious. She never registered that this is how she feels for him. She is shook by this realization and once again a wave of emotion engulfs her. Just that minute, she looks outside the window and sees his white car speeding away. Her heart sinks. Did he come to bring her home? Did he hear what Rohail said? Did he misunderstand her again? Should she go back to him and confess her feelings? She sat down because the weight of everything felt too much.

Saba, her best friend realized what Meerub was going through. "Meerub, tumhein Murtasim se baat karni chahiye aur use batana chahiye ki tumhare dil mein uske liya kya hai. Sab theek ho jayega, tum bas Murtasim se apne dil ki baat karo. Tumhari baaton se pata chalta hai ki woh bhi tumhein bahut chahta hai."

Rohail stands there, unable to move, not knowing, not understanding this turn of events, but for the first time, he can see the truth in Meerub's eyes and cannot deny that she is not his and he has to finally let her go.

Listening to Saba, Meerub rushes home and decides that she will rush back to Hyderabad tonight and stand by her man during Maryam's rukhsati and tell him how much she loves him.

She wears her favorite gold dress and puts on the earrings that he gave her on the wedding night as part of the family heirloom. She had put them aside because she never thought she would ever want anything from him or the family, but today, those same earrings felt like the touch of his fingers on her cheeks. She blushed looking at herself in the mirror. She was going to win him back today, forever.

At Hyderabad, during Maryam's rukhsati -

Meerub has arrived and is searching for Murtasim. She spots him, standing in a corner, looking forlorn, shoulders drooping, looking lost, and wonders if he's feeling that way because his sister is leaving or because he is missing her. She walks towards him, taking in his sight - her tall, handsome, righteous, responsible knight in shining armor, who is sensitive and emotional and has a heart of gold. A smile appears on her face, as she realizes she is irrevocably in love with this man, who Allah has made for her. She cannot wait to see his face when she tells him that she loves him.

Meerub, standing behind Murtasim, slowly taps his shoulder. Murtasim thinks it is Haya, who has for some reason decided to hover around him all day.

With a noticeable irritation in his voice - "Haya..yaaar" and he slowly turns around and is shocked to see Meerub there.

The name ignites her anger and hatred and insecurities. Before she can help herself, the vitriol has started.

"Sorry, mujhe nahi pata tha tum Haya ka wait kar rahe ho. Main paagal hoon jo tumhare saath khade hone aa gayi. Tum Haya ke saath hi theek lagte".

The bitterness in her voice lands on him and he can't help but feel his anger rising. How dare she say that when she was the one with Rohail listening calmly to all the trash talk behind his back?

"Acha, Rohail nahi ayaa tumhare saath?"

How dare he? How dare he accuse her? How dare he bring Rohail of all people in between them, when it has always been Haya who has openly challenged his wife and declared her love for Murtasim countless times?

"Haan, aana chahiye tha haath mein haath daalkar". She knows what will hurt him and she will use it, because how dare he accuse her when he sidelines Haya's advances.

"Haath uska bachta toh aata na". He knows he shouldn't have threatened her like that, but he can't help show his power when she belittles him like this.

She hears this and starts to wonder if she did the right thing by coming back. His anger, his ways of threatening with violence and show of power, will she ever be able to make peace with this? She needs to clear her mind and she walks away, not wanting to indulge in anymore mudslinging.

He stands there and immediately regrets taunting her. Did he catch a glimpse of a smile on her face, almost admiringly, when he turned around? Did she come here for him? No, it can't be. She doesn't love him, she has said this multiple times. She does not even want this marriage, she just needed a roof under her head, which also he took away when he left her. Why would she come back for him? He thinks about how he dropped her off in the middle of the night, in the same place, from where he promised to give her a home, a home she could always call her own. How did he take that away? He feels sick in his stomach. She must hate him. No matter what Meerub did, he cannot believe that she wanted to hurt him or Maryam. His Meerub is ziddi, dheet and sometimes naive, but she is not evil or cruel. Heck, she can't even see Neelo hurt, why would she ever do that to Maryam knowingly. If anything, she was the only person his sister felt safe enough to confess and talk to when she was lost and confused. And yet, in his fit of anger, he chose to leave her in the dead of the night, when she was at her most vulnerable. He can't bear the thought of what she might have felt in that moment. What must she be feeling now? He has to go to her. He has to find her and apologize to her.

Meerub is in the washroom, crying, feeling a wave of sadness fall over her. What have they come to? How did they fall in love and yet manage to hurt each other so much? She thinks of all the times she has misunderstood him, misbehaved and hurtled accusations at his character and at him. She thinks of times he has shown her how much he loves and values her, the dinner date he arranged, the way he slept with his hand under her head all night next to her just so she would not have to move her head, the way he protected her in front of his family when they found out about the contract, the loving way he glued it back together as a sign of respect of their understanding, the way he looked after her when Malik Zubair traumatized her, the way he holds her hand, the way he is gentle with her, the night he took her home when everyone left her, the way he looks at her, the love in his eyes, the tenderness in his voice when he is trying to talk to her. As this realization hits her, her tears feel like they are falling from relief from having a huge rock lift off of her chest. She realizes that Murtasim loves her and she loves him and maybe they can make this marriage work.

Haya watching Murtasim leave, decides this is her last attempt at finally hitting the nail in the coffin of this relationship. She follows Murtasim to his room. She waits until she sees Meerub coming towards the room and rushes to hug Murtasim when his back is turned towards her.

He senses someone coming towards him and thinks it is Meerub, almost rejects the idea, but then goes with his khush fehmi that maybe it really is her. Maybe he didn't just imagine the look on her face when he saw her. Maybe he did see love in her eyes.

"Mujhe pata tha tum ek din mere paas khud aaogi".

Meerub enters the room and watches this scene play out. She cannot believe her eyes. She can feel the anger, hurt, insecurity rise again. She knows this will not end well. "Murtasim!!!!!!", she yells.

He turns around and cannot fathom what just happened. Why the hell is Haya behind him? Meerub's face is engulfed in a kind of anger he has never seen before. "Oh my goodness, how the hell will I explain this to her". His mind starts to shut down. He looks shocked and in disbelief.

Meerub walks up to them and he knows she will raise her hand. After all, he knows his biwi. He starts to mumble something and WHACKKKKKK. Meerub slaps Haya. She has had enough of this vile woman.

"Haya, tum itna niche gir sakti ho maine socha nahi tha. Kis had tak tum jaa sakti ho? Kya tumhein zara si bhi sharam, ghairat, haya kuch nahi hai? Apne naam ka hi lihaaz rakh leti. Ek shaadi shuda mard ko lipatne mein tumhein koi sharam nahi aayi?"

Haya - "Main toh, woh bas"

Meerub - "Band karo apni bakwaas. Tumhare jaise ghatiya ladki maine aaj tak nahi dekhi. Jab Murtasim tumhein muh nahi lagata tha, tumhari beizzati lagti thi mujhe aur taras bhi aata tha, par ab lagta hai, woh sahi karta tha tumhare saath. Tumhein jab apni izzat ki koi ahmiat nahi hai, toh koi aur kaise or kyun karega? Aur tumhein kya laga, is harkat se main Murtasim pe shaq karoongi? Tumhari badkismati hai aur meri khush naseebi ki woh sirf mujhse mohabbat karta hai. Tum kitna bhi karlo, is mukaam tak tum kabhi nahi pahoch payogi. Tumhari saari saazishein bhi tumhein Murtasim ke dil mein jagah nahi de sakti, jab tak main zinda hoon."

Murtasim registers each word coming from Meerub. He is too stunned but realizes that Meerub has just in one swoop shown him where he stands in her life. Or at least that she trusts him.

Murtasim - "Haya, tumhari himmat kaise hui mujhe chune ki? Apni cousin or apni zimmedari samajh kar tumhare har gunah ko nazar andaaz kiya, tumhein ye ghar mein wapis rehne ki ijaazat di aur tumne ye sila diya? Maine tumhein humesha ek behen ki nazar se dekha aur tumne us paak rishte ki bhi touheen kar di. Mera tumse ab koi waasta nahi. Tum mere kamre se, is ghar se aur humari zaindagi se dafa ho jaao". He drags her out and takes her to Maa Begum. (Haya is then shunned out of the house and Bakthu drops her off to the gaon - She will get punishment later once her hand in the Maryam fiasco is also discovered. For now focus is Meerasim confession).

He walks slowly towards the room, with each step, going over Meerub's words to Haya. He doesn't know how he feels. She finally accepted that he loves her, she trusted him in the face of incriminating evidence, but yet something was amiss. She did not say she loved him. What was he supposed to make of this? How serendipitously stupid of him to think she would come running to him and hug him? His wife, Meerub, would never do that. Doesn't he know her better? He felt ridiculous at his folly. How would he face her?

As he walks towards the door, he sees Meerub standing there. In his mental state, he can't seem to recognize the emotion on her face. He is scared of her reaction and he doesn't know what to expect. So much has happened between them in the last few days, everything seems like a blur. All he knows is he loves her, beyond everything in the world, and losing her will be the death of him. He thinks of when he raised his hand on her, when he asked her to jump to prove her character, when he abandoned her. What would he have done if he saw her with Rohail in this position? Today, she proved to have more trust in him than he ever did in her. He can't come to face himself. He looks at her, with a deep agony in his eyes. She looks at him, with tenderness, but there is sadness and hurt in her eyes.

"Andar aao, tumse baat karni hai". He quietly follows, resigning to his whatever fate has in for him and she shuts the door behind them.

"Meerub, main..." She shushes him with a finger on his lips. He trembles under her touch.

"Aaj mujhe bolne do. Murtasim, aaj jo bhi hua, nahi hona chahiye tha. In kuch dino mein, jo bhi hua, woh nahi hona chahiye tha." His shoulders drop unconsciously. He thinks, this is it. She is going to ask to let her go. She finally wants out of this marriage.

"But jo hona chahiye tha, woh Allah ne bahut pehle kar diya tha, bas hum uski rehmeti samajh nahi paaye. Humaari shaadi. Bahut der se samajh aayi, but yeh Allah ki hum pe rehmat hai, jo usne humein ek doosre ke saath joda. Par hum dono ne is paak rishte ko sahi se nahi nibhaya, na isko us mukaam pe rakha."

Main jis tarah badi hui, maine kabhi nahi socha tha, zindagi mujhe aise mukaam pe khada karegi jahaan mera wajood hi mujhse chin jayega ek raat mein. Meri zabardasti se shaadi kar di jayegi. Sab mujhe beech raah mein bas chod denge. Maine humesha tumhein is ka kasoorwaar thehraaaya, jab ke ek tum hi the jisne mera saath nibhaya. Mujhe bas apni ana, aur apni zidd ke aage kuch nahi dikha. Maine humesha socha tha ki main jisse mohabbat karungi, ussi se shaadi karoongi. Tumhari aur meri zindagi, soch aur tarbiyat mein itna zayaada farq tha ki main ye baat accept hi nahi kar paayi ki mujhe tumse pyaar ho sakta hai. Tum ek behtareen life partner ho sakte ho.

Maine kabhi socha hi nahi, ki tumhari bhi zabardasti shaadi hui thi mere saath. Tum bhi nahi karna chahte the shaadi mujhse. Humesha maine sirf khud par taras khaya aur tumpe apna saraa gussa utaara. Main itni toot gayi thi us waqt, ki mujhe samajh hi nahi aaya kaun mera hai. Tumne fir bhi mera har mod pe saath diya. Tumne is rishte ko mehfoos rakha aur iski aur meri dono ki hifaazat ki. Tumne mere liya apni soch ko bhi badla, meri har zidd, har nadaangi ko bhi nazar andaaz kiya, aur bas mera haath thaam kar isko akele nibhaate gaye. I am sorry, maine na aitbaar kiya, na pyaar jataya na humare rishte ki izzat ki. Jab tumse door huyi, tab mujhe ehsaas hua ki tumhari meri zindagi mein kya mayne hai."

"I am sorry maine kabhi tumhein ye nahi mehsoos karwaya na kabhi tumse ye baat kahi, par main maanti hoon is rishte ko. Mujhe nahi pata ke kab tum meri liye khaas ban gaye, mere shohar ban gaye, aur kab main tumse mohabbat kar ne lagi. Mujhe darr bhi laga, hum itne alag hain ek dusre se, phir ye pyaar aur rishta kaise nibhayenge. Main bahut waqt tak apne aap se maan ne se darr rahi thi... par aaj main kehna chahti hoon - Main tumse bintehaa mohabbat karti hoon Murtasim. Main tumhein ab kabhi nahi khona chahti aur puri zindagi tumhare saath guzaarna chahti hoon."

"Meerub....I love you. I am sorry, for all that I have done in the past. I promise to work on our marriage, on myself, together with you. I want to be the best version of myself with you. You make me a better person. You give me and my life meaning. Tumhare siva na koi tha, na koi hai aur kabhi nahi hoga meri zindagi mein. Tum mere liye sabse zyada aziz ho. Maine humesha tum pe bahut faqr kiya hai- tumhara jazbaa aur zidd apni aur dusro ki zindagi behtar kar ne ke liye, tumhara sab ke liye itna sochna, tumhari masoomiyat, tumhara saaf aur sachha dil, tumhari niyat, har cheez se mujhe pyaar hai. Maine bhi is rishte mein bahut galtiyan ki hai, aur tumhein bahut hurt bhi kiya hai. Maine kahin na kahin apne aap ko bhi kusurwaar thehraya tumhari is bandgi ki zindagi ke liye. Par aaj main tumhein kehna chahta hoon ki tum azaad ho. Meri mohabbat tumhein kaid nahi kar sakti. Maine tumse mohabbat ki hai, aur tumhari har aadat, har cheez, har khasiyat se ki hai. Main tumhein badalna nahi chahta. Can we start over?"

Meerub smiles at his innocence and his pure heartedness. She cannot believe that she was about to let this man slip away. He was her man, her Khan Murtasim Khan. The daunting feudal lord. Yet, for her, he was a puddle of mush. His softness, his poetry, his dreams, his vulnerability, all shone in front of her. This was the man she had given her heart and soul to. And even in a world where men thrust their choices upon their women, where shohar ka haq was the main plot line in marriage, where a wife's only duty was to abide by her husband's wishes, here he was. Her Khan, who slept on a sofa without complains for a year, who has tears in his eyes while professing his love for her, who will give her, his dheet and ziddi khaani all the freedom that no other woman in his family has had, will fight the world for her rights. Here is her husband.

"Murtasim, agar main kahoon ki mujhe tumhare saath is room mein band hona hai, toh kya ye baat tum sunoge?" She pulls his hand towards her and suddenly realizes his gaze on her and blushes. She thought she could be alpha, but in front of his intense gaze, she is nothing but a melting candle. He can feel his heart beat out of his chest as he hugs her in a tight embrace and realizes in that instant that she is his forever. She feels his strong arms around her and feels like she has found her home.