Be-panah

THIRTY FOUR

Tu azaad hai mujhe kaid karke
Main kaid hoon tujhe azaad karke.

▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️

Zaroon stared out of the window as the car drove past the streets of New Delhi. He felt Qirat's hand on top of his as she pressed it in a comforting manner. He gave her a small smile which she returned. The car entered the Zaidi Mansion. They both walked inside with Jahangir following them with a huge bouquet and sweets in his hand.

"Assalam alaikum," Qirat hugged Mehr warmly.

"Ammi wanted to come, but her fever has not gone down in two days." Qirat apologized for Mahad and Parishay not being there.

Mehr shrugged it off. "It is absolutely fine. I talked to her myself and told her to rest till she gets better."

A maid brought served water to them.

"What would you both have? Tea, coffee?" Mehr asked.

Before Qirat could reply, her attention was captured by another person who entered the room. It was Adab, and in her arms was her one month old baby.

A smile adorned Qirat's face as she got up to greet her. Adab came forward and both the girls side-hugged each other to not squish the baby.

"He's so cute." Qirat gushed at the child. "He has your eyes."

"Yeah, just the eyes. Apart from that, he's a carbon copy of his father." Adab commented, making Qirat chuckle.

"Adab, can I?" Qirat asked.

Adab nodded her head smilingly and passed her the infant.

"Did you guys name him yet?" Qirat asked while sitting on the couch with him.

"Mirhaan loved the name Arhaam." Adab replied.

"Arhaam," Qirat whispered, "I'm sure he'd grow up to become just like the meaning of his name, compassionate and kind."

Qirat then looked at Zaroon, who was sitting there, looking at the child. She raised her eyebrow at him, and he nodded. So she carefully put the baby in his arms.

"He is beautiful." He spoke after a few minutes of staring at him.

Adab smiled.

"Congratulations, Adab." Zaroon said, "I'm really happy for you and Mir."

Adab knew what Zaroon said was from his heart, and she mentally sighed. Finally things were getting normal.

"Where is Mirhaan?" Zaroon asked after a while.

"In my room. He had some work to finish." Adab answered.

He gave the baby back to Adab, stood up and went to Adab's room. There he found Mirhaan working.

"Congratulations, bro." Zaroon said to get Mirhaan's attention.

A surprised smile came on Mirhaan's lips. He got up and both the friends hugged each other.

"How have you been?" Mirhaan asked.

Ever since Adab and Mirhaan's marriage, Zaroon had stopped talking to Mirhaan. It wasn't like Mirhaan never tried to stay in touch, but when he saw Zaroon never replying, he understood his mental state and gave him his space. But today, after more than a year, the best friends were back to how they used to be together.

They both spent almost an hour talking about everything that had happened in the past year, before a maid came to call them for lunch.

As the lunch was being served, Adab went to feed Arhaam and put him to sleep. Mirhaan received a call from work, and Mehr and Arsalaan were talking about something.

Since Qirat and Zaroon were alone in the living room, she asked him, "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yes, I'm very much okay."

Her expressions showed uncertainty. Ever since they'd heard that Adab and Mirhaan had come to India after the birth, she had been stressed about how Zaroon would handle the news.

"Honestly, before coming here, I thought that it'd hurt me to see Adab like this, like a wife and mother, completing someone else's family. But surprisingly, I felt none of that. On the contrary, I'm really happy for her and Mir as well. Arhaam is a very cute baby and I'm sure he'd be very much loved and pampered by his parents."

Qirat smiled at him and pressed a kiss on his cheek. "You're a very strong man. And I love you."

"I love you too, meri jaan."

The lunch was served within a few minutes and everyone sat together to eat. After that, Qirat and Zaroon took their leave. But before that, Qirat pressed a kiss on Arhaam's forehead and hugged Adab. Zaroon also said bye to Mirhaan and planned to meet again before they leave for London. Then he turned towards Adab, and like an elder cousin, kept a hand on her head and wished her happiness.

________________

"I'm so happy today." Adab said while leaning on Mirhaan.

He kissed her forehead. "Me too. I'm so happy to have my best friend back."

"Qirat has had a very positive impact on him. I've never seen him this happy before. And their eyes show how much they love each other." Adab played with Mirhaan's fingers. "You know, all this while, I'd a little amount of guilt in me for breaking his heart. But today, all of it went away. The way she loves him, nobody else can."

"Yeah, and the way you love me, nobody else can." He commented while kissing her neck.

She raised her eyebrow. "Really?"

"Indeed, my love." He tried to kiss her lips, but she moved her head. He tried again, but she dodged it again. He was getting impatient, while she was having so much fun teasing him. Finally, he gripped her hair and crashed his lips on her. Nibbling her lower lip, he bit it lightly. She moaned into his mouth before he thrusted his tongue in her mouth. But before he could move forward, a loud cry echoed in the room. Arhaam was awake.

They both left each other and sighed tiredly. Becoming parents is a beautiful feeling, but it came with a few cons as well. And the biggest con was you hardly get some alone time with your partner.

She fell on the bed with a thud and poked him. "It's your turn."

"How is it my turn?" He gasped. "I was awake with him the whole night."

She gave him her best pout, and he went to pick up the crying baby in his arms. There was no point of discussing anything after Adab had given him her pout. She could make him dance naked in the middle of the city with that freaking cute pout of hers.

As Adab cuddled a pillow and took a nap, Mirhaan took Arhaam for their evening stroll. The little kid loved to go out every evening and he'd stay cranky if you miss the walk even one day. By the time they came back home, Mirhaan was tired and sleepy, but it was all worth it. Life had never been better for him.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

And that's a closure for Adab, Mir and little Arhaam.

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