It was just like every year of Meerab's birthday. She, with her parents Waqas Ahmed and Anila Ahmed came to Hyderabad to celebrate this special occasion. Salma Shahnawaz Khan, the Khanum of Khan Family of Hyderabad and her brother-in-law Anwar Khan considered Meerab Waqas Ahmed as the daughter of this family God knows why and they insisted that she celebrated this day with them. Murtasim Shahnawaz Khan, son of Salma Begum and Late Shahnawaz Khan, now the head of this family after his father's untimely demise, never really understood as to why his mother and uncle considered her as family. She was his father's best friend Waqas Ahmed's daughter. However, he has already accepted this and didn't really want to think about this.

The night was going really well until his mother dropped a bomb. She literally announced his marriage with Meerab which he had no idea about. To say he was angry would be an understatement. He was furious. How could she do that without even asking him? He was, for God's sake, head of this family. When confronted, his mother had told him that she wouldn't be taking her decision back.

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Meerab Waqas Ahmed, daughter of Waqas Ahmed and Anila Ahmed, was the light of her parent's life. They had raised a lovely, free-spirited, lively lady who always spoke her heart, helped the poor and needy and stood with truth. She was grateful to the Almighty for giving her such loving, caring and understanding parents. But the one thing she didn't like was the Khan mansion and it's people. They were rigid, believed in age old traditions which didn't support freedom of women and that was what made her furious. Specially that Murtasim Khan, what did he even think of himself? He always irritated her, got on her nerves and yet, her baba always urged her to go to Hyderabad to celebrate her birthday. Every year she made plans with her friends but ultimately had to give in to her father's wish.

She accepted all that but what happened today was beyond her imagination. Maa begum had just announced her marriage with Murtasim. Were they blind? Couldn't they see that they dislike each other to such an extent that they literally avoided any possible chance of being in the same room? She didn't even think of him as a friend and here they were thinking about their marriage. Huh! delusional people. She will talk to her father first thing in the morning.

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He really never understood why they despised each other so much. No, he didn't hate her; he just couldn't stand her stubbornness, her rebellious nature, her questioning of every tradition that they follow. But she, well, she definitely hated him and there was no doubt about it. However, in his opinion there was no reason to hate him. He never did anything which would harm her in any way. He just wanted her to follow the traditions that they were a part of. It's as simple as that. But she was no less. She always annoyed the hell out of him, didn't listen to him for once, always went against his orders. That's not how a woman of this family should behave. And yet he couldn't help admiring these features of her. In fact, those were the qualities that he admired about her in the first place. One reason could be that he had the same attitude in him. His self respect mattered most to him which was the first priority in her too. But that didn't mean he would marry her.

He was pondering over these thoughts when suddenly a growl took him out of his reverie. The sound was from his own stomach indicating he hasn't eaten anything since the morning. At first for all the birthday preparation for that Ziddi Ladki and afterwards what his mother had conspired against him made him lose his appetite. His brain told him to go to the kitchen and eat something but his heart didn't want to leave the confines of him room. He was not ready for any confrontation which he knew he had to face after the way he denied to marry her. Okay, he would do that tomorrow morning but not now. At times like these, he hoped that his mother would just become his mother and not the Khanum of the house, to come to him and feed him with her hands or caress his hair so that he could find solace for some time and got the much needed energy to stand against all in the morning as the mighty Khan Murtasim Khan. But he knew that can't be possible. Not even his sister came here. Had anyone really cared for him? He exhaled a long sigh and headed to the washroom to get changed and ready for bed.

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Meerab tried to talk to her parents as soon as she saw the morning sun but all her efforts went in vein. Instead a big revelation about her real parentage crushed her, broken her heart into million pieces. She couldn't believe that the Khan's whom she despised so much was actually her own family. Anwer chacha was her real father, who gave her away to his best friend Waqas Ahmed as he held his tiny little daughter responsible for his wife's death. And Waqas Ahmed whom she thought her role model, her strength, her baba, has abandoned her so easily just because she denied marrying that Murtasim. She couldn't take it anymore. She locked herself in her room and cried her heart out. She burnt everything around herself, all the pictures of her perfect family, all things that could possibly remind her of those beautiful moments. Slowly the smoke engulfed her and she fainted. She could hear faint voices and understood that she was being taken out of her room by her baba...sorry Mr. Waqas Ahmed and Mr. Anwar Khan. If it was not enough, the next day her foster parents Waqas Ahmed & Anila Ahmed told her that they were leaving for Karachi abandoning her among these strangers. She couldn't believe her ears. She begged them not to leave her with these people but they paid no heed to her pleadings. And suddenly she spilled out something that no one had believed to be heard anytime soon. "Main Murtasim se shadi karne k liye tayyar hun".

To say that Murtasim was shocked would be an understatement. He hadn't thought in his worst nightmare that Meerab would agree to marry him. What was wrong with her? Had she lost her mind? But again, all that happened from last 2 days were not easy for her to handle. He decided he had to talk to her, to know what was going on in her tiny little rebellious brain.

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It's been two week since she came to Karachi with her foster parents. Yes, they finally agreed to take her back with them but wait! They hadn't agreed to refuse the proposal. They just made a deal with her. So according to their deal, today was her marriage with Murtasim, the one man she disliked the most. She tried every possible means to deny the proposal but all her efforts went in vein. She still couldn't believe what her parents, no no...her foster parents told her the previous night of their departure from the Khan Mansion.

Flashback:

"Meerab", she heard her father's voice coming from the doorstep. She slowly opened her eyes and started at them blankly. Her eyes were devoid of any emotions. She saw her father came towards her bed and gently sat beside her. She wanted to cry, to hug him and complain to him for causing her so much pain but she couldn't move her body.

"Meerab, meri bachchi, how are you? Thoda behtar lag raha hai?" Anila, her mother asked with concern evident in her voice. She just nodded her head not knowing what to say to them. Out of desperation to stop this marriage, she suddenly thought of something extreme. But before she could utter a single word, she again heard her father's pleading voice, "Meerab, please apne baba ki baat maan lo beta. Shadi ke liye haan kar do."

"Par kyun baba? Agar aap log ye chahte hain ke main law na padhu to aisa hi hoga. But please don't force me to marry him," her voiced cracked at the last part.

"That's not the point, Meerab. This was the last wish of Shahnawaz Bhai & you know very well how much he meant to me". Her father's voice had a hint of helplessness.

"What about my wish? Doesn't it matter to you even a bit?" She tried to argue logically.

"It's not about only his wish. It's my wish too. Mujhe bhi tumhare liye Murtasim hi sahi lagta hai and I want you to marry him. Don't you have faith in your father's choice?"

"Of course I do, baba. I have full faith in you. But I don't trust the people of this family. You don't understand, baba. I can never be happy here." She tried to make them understand her point of view.

"You know I can't deny them. They have given us our sole reason to live and that's you. You had become the center of our lives. We couldn't be parents for years. Your mother always blamed herself for not being able to give birth to a child. She used to cry at night and there was nothing I could do or say to ease her pain. Then you came into our lives and everything changed. We became the happiest persons in this world and all that had been possible because of this family." Her father tried to make her understand.

"They didn't do any favour, Baba. In fact, you guys did them the biggest favour. Your best friend didn't want his new born daughter that's why they gave me to you. I am no one to them." She didn't try to sound rude but her voice betrayed her.

"Meerab, agar zindagi mein tumne kabhi bhi humein apna ma baap samjha hai, kabhi bhi humse sachcha pyar kiya hai to tumhe usi pyar ka vaasta, tum is rishte ke liye mana nahi karogi." His father gave her ultimatum.

"Waqas, aap aise kaise..." Anila was cut off by her husband who showed her his hand indicating that this conversation ended here. "Aur haan, if you want to be called our daughter then you will agree to marry him. Nahi to main yehi samajh lunga ke tumhare liye humare faisle ki koi ahmiyat hi nahi hai. Tum humare bare mein nahi sirf apne bare mein sochti ho and that's final." With that his father left her room shattering her even more.

Her mother tried to console her but couldn't master up the courage so she silently followed her husband.

Meerab couldn't believe her ears. Her father, who never raised his voice on her, never stopped her from doing anything, who was her role model, was now questioning her love for them. Did she hear it right or it was just a nightmare? She wanted to scream but no sound came out of her throat yet she found tears flowing from her eyes continuously. Before she could realize sleep engulfed her due to tiredness and constant crying.

The next morning when she found out that her parents were leaving for Karachi without her she understood that her conversation with her father at night was not a nightmare but a sad reality. She instantly decided what she had to do. She declared in front of everyone that she agreed to marry Murtasim but with one condition.

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