Haya was fifteen and newly orphaned when she first came to live with her rich aunt.

She had visited the palace like house that her aunt ruled over before but that was the first time her aunt had asked her to consider it her home.

Unfortunately, her wounds still fresh from loosing her parents weren't yet ready to close.

Haya hated the haveli. She hated how filthy rich these people were, how happily they lived without any pain or struggle.

She hated how she had to call her aunt Maa Begum instead of her own mother.

She hated Maryam who tried to be sweet to her. She despised how the girl wouldn't just leave her alone.

Appearently, her childhood playmate- some neighbour called Meerab had recently moved to Karachi. So now that clingy girl was determined to make Haya a substitute.

Worst thing about the situation was that Haya couldn't be mean to anyone, she couldn't lash out, she couldn't scream at these people.

They were doing a favour on her. They pitied her. By taking her in, they felt good about themselves.

Haya knew they looked down on her. Everyone did. All the servents. Even her uncle, Shahnewaz.

Haya felt suffocated in that house.

Well, she did, until he came back from college.

Murtasim - strong, responsible and handsome Murtasim was the only son and the future lord of the house.

But he was nothing like her uncle, Shahnewaz!

He smiled at Haya, he gave her space, he talked to her with respect. And above all, he didn't pity Haya.

He saw her as a member of his family, not some poor orphan. Murtasim never excluded her from anything.

Haya remembers the exact moment she wanted Murtasim to like her forever, to continue to smile at her, to love her.

It was when he bought her the churi she had been eyeing since they had gone to the fair. She had been too embarrassed to ask her aunt for them, still uncomfortable about her place in the family.

Yet Murtasim had noticed and had handed it to her along with another identical set- one for Maryam and one for Haya.

She remembers clearly how her eyes had teared up at the unexpected yet subtle kindness from a boy so above her station.

Murtasim was kind like that. He helped people without ever expecting anything in return.

He was simply a good person if one ever existed.

And Haya wanted this good person to like her.

So she tried to mold herself into what he might like. She listened to everything her aunt and uncle said. She tried to make herself look pretty. She slowly became Maryam's friend.

And it worked like magic!

Her uncle started to pay attention to her. They praised her. Maryam even loved her.

And Murtasim? He smiled at her!

She felt like she was at the top of the world.

So she tried harder and harder. She tried to become Murtasim's confident. She became Maryam's roommate. She took care of her uncle's health.

Slowly but steadily everything in the family involved her. She was now family!

Except for the ever enigmatic Uncle Anwar who kept to himself most of the time, everyone loved her.

For the first time in her life, Haya felt like the world revolved around her.

But just like everything else in the world, this happiness of hers was short lived too.

Because as Ramadan came, it brought a curse with itself.

A curse called Meerab.

Meerab, the girl Maryam had chatted her ears off for days, was appearently the only child of her uncle's best friend.
Murtasim and Maryam considered her their cousin.

Haya didn't think much of the girl at first.

And that was her first mistake.

Because as soon as the girl got out from the back seat of her father's luxurious car, she had managed to steal the attention of every single person present.

Maryam had run off to hug her. Her aunt had the biggest smile. And her uncle who rarely even looked at her went out to place a kiss on Meerab's forehead.

Even the ever reserved uncle Anwar looked like he would tear up any moment if he didn't hug the newly arrived girl.

And Murtasim?

He didn't smile. Instead he kept scowling at her from the doorway to which the girl responded with a dramatic roll of her eyes. This earned her a fierce glare from Murtasim.

Haya was suddenly happy that atleast one person, her favourite person, didn't fall at this snotty looking girl's feet.

Yet, for some reason, Haya's young heart felt heavy when she looked back only to see Murtasim's eyes still on Meerab.

It slowly got worse. Like a nightmare.

Turns out, not only family members but servents loved this Meerab too. Starting from the kitchen lady to the gardener's wife- everyone lined up to get a glimps of their dearest Meerab Bibi.

The same servents who whispered behind Haya's back had adored that Meerab.

But Meerab, that ungrateful brat, lived in her own world of fantasy. All she did was complain about how she wanted to go back to Karachi.

Meerab constantly picked fights with Murtasim, went outside with Maryam alone, talked back to the elders and threw tantrums over the smallest things.

What made it worse was how everyone in the house gave in to her stubbornness ! Everybody always tried so hard to cater to her choices as if she was some princess!

Where Haya forced the food she hated down her throat in order to not offend anyone, Meerab only had to complain a bit and Uncle Anwar would order everything she loved.

Where Haya hesitated to even look at the stuff in the jewelery stores, Maa Begum would call the jeweler directly into the house if Meerab wanted something that matches her new Eid outfits.

Where Haya was terrified to enter Uncle Anwar and Uncle Shahnewaz's office, their boisterous laughter mixed with Meerab's could be heard from inside every evening she was here.

Where Haya worked extra hard to get a drop of Murtasim's attention, Meerab was the centre of it without even trying.

Where Haya got his smiles, Meerab got his anger, frustration, sarcasm, shouts and many more emotions Haya didn't even know Murtasim had.

Meerab was loved. The same way Maryam and Murtasim were.

But for some reason, that girl refused to appreciate everything that she had.

In Haya's eyes, Meerab was stubborn, spoilt and head strong- everything the people in the house hated.

Yet for some reason, they let her get away with all of it.

Yet for some reason, their world revolved around her.

Those were the days Haya had realized that Meerab was above her too.

Meerab was equal to Murtasim and Maryam.

Meerab was someone whom these people considered their own. No matter what she did, they would tolerate it just like they would for Murtasim and Maryam. Her mistakes would be forgiven.

But not Haya's. Haya will have to continue to work harder to please them.

Haya will have to survive in a world that seemed to revolve around Meerab.

And for Haya to do so, she had to climb above Meerab.

If Meerab was the princess, then Haya will be the queen of this kingdom.

She will be the Queen whom the King wants.

And the King was none other than Murtasim.

But all her hard work continued to fail. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't outshine Meerab.

As they got older, Meerab got prettier and prettier to the point where sometimes Haya would catch even Murtasim staring at her in awe.

Meerab was far more academically inclined too. She topped every exam, brought medals in every competition.

Meerab had that effortless elegance, that self confidence that drew everyone to her.

Wherever Meerab went, all eyes were on her.

It humiliated her even more how Meerab didn't even bother to try. She never even payed attention to Haya.

Meerab was just simply perfect. And Haya was not.

So she gave up and instead focused on getting only Murtasim to look at her.

But Alas, Murtasim dreamt a dream beyond the walls of the Haweli and got it crushed in one go. The broken pieces only cut him at the end.

He had gone from crying in self pity to barking orders like the Lord he was meant to be.

He didn't cry anymore nor did he smile. He was just....angry.

At the world. At his father. At himself.

He reminded Haya of herself.

So again Haya tried. She tried to make him happy. To get him to smile like he used to.

She learnt to cook his favourite meals, she learnt to make tea the way he likes, she learnt to predict how his mood changed too.

And yet when she finally told him her heart's desire, he rejected them!

He never even bothered with them!

As if, as if Haya was so beneath him that her feelings cannot even reach the heights Murtasim sat on.

But Haya persisted. She still tried. Clutched onto any crumb of hope he threw her way.

Because Haya had loved Murtasim. If their world revolved around Meerab, then Haya's was around Murtasim.

But Murtasim never looked. Never.

And to make things even worse, Meerab made her come back too.

Adulthood hadn't done anything for Meerab's stubborn nature. She was still rude and head strong.

As if that wasn't enough, Meerab had become a trouble maker too.

On top of that, for some weird reason Uncle Anwar's concern for that unrelated girl was unchanged throughout the years. He still worried about her constantly.

And it fell on Murtasim to ease his uncle's worries.

So there he was, doing his role as Meerab's unofficial bodyguard, getting her out of every trouble. All while fighting with her.

The only thing unchanged was Murtasim and Meerab's cat and mouse game. Which wouldn't usually bother Haya because at the end if the day, Murtasim had disapproved of Meerab.

But it did bother her.

It bothered her how Murtasim's eyes never left Meerab, how he complained but still did stuff for Meerab, how he seemed to go through a whole spectrum of emotions when it comes to Meerab.

It bothered her how Murtasim wasn't gentle or kind towards Meerab. He was equally rude and sarcastic with her. Like a child.

Haya didn't know why Meerab and Murtasim's relationship bothered her when all they did was hate each other. But it did.

And she would soon get to know why.

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Okay so as you can see I took some creative liberty because it was never stared how exactly Haya was related to Murtasim.

Also if she was Murtasim and Meerab's Paternal cousin then why would they never mention it? And if her mother was a daughter of the Khan family then wouldn't Haya also have rights to their ancestral properties like Meerab, Maryam and Murtasim?

Maybe she is their maternal cousin. That would explain why Meerab is always a priority over her.

So I made her Murtasim's maternal cousin. Also I decided she should be a teenager when she arrived at Shahnewaz haveli since she didn't have the childhood connection to Meerab that Maryam and Murtasim shares...

So anyways, how did you like it?

Pls leave comments and feedback.