And that was another six, for India to win the series with an unassailable lead.

You jumped up from your seat in the VIP stand, cheering, plus effectively scaring Shubman's manager and the people near you.

"Mumma," your daughter held your hand, trying to make you sit again.

"Okay, I know," you told her before carefully settling back on the couch. "No jumping."

The smile never left your face as you side hugged your five year old, watching as ICT gathered on the pitch to celebrate.

Assuring people that you weren't going to jump again, you kissed Nini's head and walked towards the window.

Shubman looked in your direction, blowing you a kiss with his bat.

You sent him one back while your daughter followed, standing beside you.

Making sure her face wouldn't be visible to any camera, you stood by the edge of the window, holding her close.

"Don't look at me like I'm going to jump out the window," you told Shubman's manager who stood a few feet behind.

"At this point," he replied. "I think you will."

"I'm careful and jumping doesn't-"

"Jumping causes bleeding, contractions and preterm labor," Shahneel said, moving to join you near the window. "Jerky, bouncing movements are not recommended while pregnant."

"Tell that to your brother," you mumbled, voice low so that Nini didn't hear you.

"Too much information," Shahneel mumbled back, shaking her head as a 'no.' "I'm good, not knowing anything."

You stared out the window again, a hand over your baby bump, as the team celebrated the victory, one of them also being your neighbor.

Cricket can be cruel at times. But it's so beautiful, seeing the smile on everyone's face, as if it were preaching.

You wanted to stop time, freeze yourself at this point of life, and never let go.

Four years together, including two years of being married, Shubman still felt like he was falling in love with you all over again every day.

Speaking of your neighbor, a year back, your job brought you to London and to settle down for a relatively private life beside a certain Virat Kohli's house.

Two backyards combined definitely sounded great for cricket practice.

"This gel might feel-"

"Might feel cold," you finished the doctor's sentence, all too familiar with it by now.

"I'm going to move the-"

"Move the probe over my stomach," you finished again, lying comfortably on the hospital bed.

"I need to apply-"

"Need to apply slight pressure to my stomach to get the best view," you finished yet again.

Shubman was confused about what he was supposed to do. Laugh or make sure the sonographer didn't resign.

"I remember them all," you said as he held your hand, sitting on the chair beside the bed. "Can we skip to the best part?"

"Of course," your usual sonographer smiled, accustomed to your and Shubman's excitement.

The probe was moved in various positions for some time, until you got a clearer view.

"And there's your baby," her eyes focused on the screen. "Thirty weeks, a healthy mother and baby boy."

The middle aged woman noticed you both visibly freeze, and wondered if she should've asked if you wanted to know first.

She hadn't said anything earlier because the accuracy increases only as the pregnancy progresses.

"Oh, lord," she mumbled to herself, a hand in her layered bob. "I'm guessing I shouldn't have revealed it."

"No, it's not a problem," you replied. "We weren't planning on surprise reveals."

"All that matters is Y/n and our baby is healthy," Shubman leaned forward, resting his head beside yours on the pillow.

"Sappy but I like it," she said before proceeding to get the ultrasound printed for you.

You were entering your third and final trimester.

And Shubman, all the way, made sure to be a hands-on expecting-for-the-second-time dad.

He'd missed all the moments when you were pregnant with Nini, which you both have talked about, wasn't easy for you, in physical and emotional terms.

So he made sure to miss none during this pregnancy, staying by your side the entire time.

"Look, your mom's here," Anushka, who accompanied you to the scan along with Vamika and Shahneel, pointed to you.

"I want to see!" Nini ran from her sworn aunt to her father's arms, repeating her words until she was handed the ultrasound.

Children are usually not allowed to attend ultrasound scans, but she loved to accompany you anyway, so that she could have a look at her baby sibling sooner.

"That's your baby brother," Shubman said and she gasped so cutely that he wanted to do nothing but squish her cheeks, which he did.

"How are you three?" Anushka asked, helping you with your jacket.

"All healthy and Virat bhai is helping me keep calm," he answered. "I believe, in his words, he was more nervous than I was."

"He was," she recalled their first time being pregnant. "And the reservation was just confirmed. He's waiting at the restaurant with Akaay."

"Hélène Darroze?" Shahneel asked and she nodded.

"Hélène Darroze it is," you said and looked at Shubman, who was carrying Nini as you all made your way out of the hospital.

"Anish said that he'll be visiting next week with Ishu," he started. "And Ara with my parents and yours before the due date. We might have a barbecue when they visit, don't you think?"

Like the first time he saw you.

You turned to look at him while his eyes were on your daughter.

His lovely serene face, his smile that radiated unadulterated joy through his dimples, then his eyes. You just couldn't stop yourself.

Damn, he's beautiful.

And all heads turned to look at you.

You stared at them for a few seconds as you continued to walk. "What? It's true," you stated, feeling an arm wrap around you.

"Likewise," Shubman replied with the same smile you fell in love with.

As your daughter rested her head on his shoulder, you bumped your head slightly with the other.

"I love you," you mouthed and felt the reciprocating answer as a kiss to your cheek.

"I love you more," he whispered back.

"No, I love you more than that," you spoke in a normal tone.

"Nah, me," Shubman said, making Nini raise her head up from his shoulder.

"It's me," she let you both know before returning her head back to its previous position.

Every end is a chance to begin again.

One paints the beginning of a certain end. The other, the end of a sure beginning.

So what better way to conclude a book than the most cliché line used in endings?

A/n

This book was always supposed to be a short story. Rent Free was more of a series of oneshots in my mind, and I'd just found the time and flow to complete it. The scene on the beach, in the fifteenth chapter, was inspired by the climax of the movie Kalyana Samayal Saadham. I hope this was a feel-good story, with a plot I might've not written on elaborately, and that you all loved your time reading it. More than all, thank you so much for reading my work, and for all the support towards Rent Free ❣