" Mujh ko aksar udaas karti hai
Ek tasveer muskurati hui "

Zain had fallen asleep on the couch while noor lovingly caressed his face and hair.
He felt content after such a long time.
The feeling of being complete, the feeling of being with his other half and the blue blue doe eyes of his son looking back at him overwhelmed him but not in a bad way.
His heart felt at peace, his mind was empty from all the negative thoughts, the problems of this world long forgotten... Just his family... Their smiles and their love.

Noor stood up and decided to sleep on the bed to not make Zain feel uncomfortable but also because she couldn't carry daniyal to her room due to the fact that he was light sleeper and once he would wake up he wouldn't go to sleep that easily.

She went near the bed and laid next to Dani.
She kissed his forehead and pulled him to her chest.
She looked at his angelic face and remembered the time during her pregnancy when this little baby of hers was craving mango achaar but she couldn't find it in any shop near her college dorm.
That night she cried herself to sleep because she was hungry and she didn't have any groceries at home.
She cried because she didn't have anyone to take care of her.
She didn't have her husband and the father of her child beside her.

She was very proud of herself.
She was proud of herself because she managed to give birth alone.
She managed to pursue a career all the while looking after her son.
But most importantly she managed to stay strong.... She managed to not break.

Sleep consumed her as other thoughts kept coming back in her mind.

~next day~

She woke up the next morning with the sun rays hitting her face.
She groaned and slowly opened her eyes and tried getting up but she couldn't.
That's when She then noticed the heavy arm draped over her waist and the leg resting between hers.
She then looked at her right and her eyes softened looking at the scene before her.

Daniyaal was sleeping in the middle of both of them with his head resting on his father's shoulder and Zain's other arm engulfed both of them while his legs were tangled with Ain's.

She had missed this.
His cute face in the morning.
The sexy voice.
His bare chest.
It was giving her so much deja vu.

She gently caressed Zain and daniyaal's hair and pressed a kiss to both their foreheads.
She smile remembering the moments they shared yesterday and suddenly a pang of hurt hit her chest recalling the scene where HER husband had his arm wrapped around kinza.

She angrily got up and stormed out of her room leaving the father-son duo soundly sleeping.
She got dressed and headed back to his room to wake Dani up.
As she came out of the room Alia(one of the house helper) informed her that her ammi and baba were calling her in their room.

She sighed.

She knew what they wanted to discuss and she was so not ready.

She told Alia to inform them that she would be coming in Half an hour.

She opened the door and came across the cutest scene.

Zain was laying on the bed with daniyal on top of him as they laughed at something Dani said in his father's ear.

She cleared her throat to make her presence noticed.
And it worked.
The duo looked at her and both of them smiled.
Dani excitedly ran towards him mama and hugged her leg.
She smiled at her little cutie pie and picked him up.

Her eyes then looked ahead when zain's bare chest came in view.
He came closer and kissed her forehead lovingly.
She was about to drool on his bulging muscles and abs when she remembered that she was angry.
She just ignored him and thought 'huh...abhi to aise act kr rhy hain jesy kl kiza ki bcchy ko gly nhi lgaya Hua tha'

He frowned looking at the sour expression on her face and decided to talk to her later.
Afterall they had a lot to discuss.

"kaisy hai mere shehzady aaj" she asked at the little human resting on her hip.
"Dani slewp good mama, baba slewp with Dani" he enthusiastically explained to her.

"apki mama bhi apky saath so rhy thy Dani... Aapko apny baba ko mile ek din nhi Hua aur aap abhi sy hi bhul gy hain humain " she teased her son and faked a hurt expression.
Daniyaal immediately held her mama's face and said:
"no mama... Dani love mama" he said and she smiled looking at him.
"I know mama ki jaan. I love you more." she replied.

"And me?" came another voice very close to her.
Before ain could say anything daniyal said: "yeshhh baba, mama and Dani love baba Shoo much".
Shahzain grinned at his son and looked at ain expectedly.

"what?" she asked him and he grinned like an idiot seeing her not deny anything.

She was about to go back to her room when he stopped her by holding wrist and she looked at him.

"we need to talk...." he explained.
"I know..." she replied.
"I want to know everything ain..." he sighed.

"main Dani ko nichy api ky paas chor ky ati hun...."
"OK" he said with a fast beating heart.

Noor came back to his room as promised and saw him sitting on the bed waiting for her.
He had put on a light Grey shirt on but his hair was still messed up from before.

She took cautious steps towards him and sat beside him maintaining a little space between the two of them.

He kept looking ahead and spoke In a broken voice.
"please just tell me why you did all of this...." his eyes watering a little.
Her heart broke when he turned towards her and saw the unshed tears.
"I..." no words were coming out of her mouth, as if someone was choking her... Keeping her from opening her mouth...
Her eyes watered.

Zain wanted to know what happened.... Why she left and his patience was running out.

"just tell me goddammit!" he roared.

He feared to hear what he assumed was her reason.
He feared that she would tell him that he wasn't a good husband.
That the reason she left was because she dispised him.
That she didn't like him anymore.

Her sobs reached his ears and for a moment his eyes soften.

"f-four... Four years ago... The day Anaya api's birthday was celebrated..." she finally spoke.

He turned towards her and looked into her eyes, telling her to continue.

"kinza saw us in the hallway..."
She narrated him the whole incident.
How she threatened her... And how she succeeded.
Zain's blood boiled listening to what kinza had done and he ended up crying with Noor when she told him that she found out about her pregnancy.

" I'm so sorry Zain... Lekin apki izzat ky agy main majboor ho gy thy.... Mujhy maaf krdy..." she joined her hands in front of him.
"Maine apsy Dani ko dur rakha... Apko itna dhuk ponhchaya... Mujhy maaf krdy."

He took ahold of her hands and crushed her to his chest.
"main maafi mangta hu tumsy....main apni biwi ki takleef nhi smjh paya .... Tumhy accuse Kia...." he said while his head rested in the crook of her neck.

"aapny koi galati nhi ki hain.... Aur khabardar aghr aapny kbhi bhi apny baary main bura socha ya apny aap ko blame Kia." she said to him and massaged his scalp.

He kissed her head.... Her face and finally her lips.
She kissed him back shyly.
They were engaged in the kiss when noor suddenly remembered that mama and baba had called her.

She pulled away and chuckled when Zain tried following her lips, still with his eyes closed.

He opened his eyes when he heard her talking to him and telling him that she had to go to their parents room.

He asked her why and she told him that it was probably to talk about from where daniyal had popped out.

"let's go" he said surprising her.
"a-ap bhi a rhy hain?" she asked him
"baby.... I'm daniyal's father and your husband... It's my responsibility" he lovingly explained to her while caressing her cheek.

Her eyes watered and he wiped the tear that escaped her eye with his thumb.

They reached their parents door and knocked on hit.

They heard nafisa's faint come in and walked in.
"ASSALM O ALAIKUM" the both said and took a seat like their father had instructed them although both of them were looking at shahzain and giving him the what-the-hell-are-you-doing-here

"shahzain beta.... Apka Ana itna zroor nhi Tha.." mehmood told him because he wanted to talk privately with noor and she might not be comfortable talking with too many people in the room.

"zroori Tha baba..." he told them.
"baba hmy pta hai apny hmy... Daniyal ky bary main bulaya hai..."

"noor.... Hmy pta hai ky aap koi Esa wesa kaam nhi kr skty jis sy hmary ghr ki izzat py daagh LG sky.... Daniyal.... Daniyal aapka beta nhi hai na.." he asked fearful of her answer.

Ain looked at her lap and spoke..
"daniyal hmari aulaad hai baba... Hmara khoon hai.."

mehmoods face held anger but what she could see the most on her baba's face was disappointment.
It was that something she never wanted to see on her father's face.

"aur Kaun hain daniyal ky abbu?" he asked through gritted teeth but still with a calm voice.
A voice that scared her.
Zain tightened his hold on her hand that he was holding and said:
" main.... Mera beta hai Daniyal."
Mehmood got up and marched towards him.
Zain got up and pushed Ain behind himself just in time as a slap landed on zain's face.

Nafisa came and held mehmood's arm to draw him back from Zain but failed.

Ain came in front of her father and pleaded him to stop.
"baba... Baba aap hmary baat suney.
Hmny koi haram hrkt nhi ki hai... Aap khuda ka vastaa hai hmary baat sun Lyn pehly."

her father calmed down and got seated on his chair and ordered them to talk.

They both explained from the start till today's events.
After they had mehmood again stood up and came in front of Zain who's eyes where lowered to the ground.

*slap*
" yeh humsy itny bhary baat chup any ky lie."

Zain looked at him when another slap landed on his face.

"yeh thappar is lie kiun ky tum dono NY Itna tkh soch Lia ky aapky ma baap ki ankhon main unky bacchon ki khushi sy zyada bahir walon ki batein zyada ehmiat rkhty hain."

He then suddenly hugged him and said.
"yeh is lie kiun ky tumny meri bety
Hamesha khayal rkha... Aur usko itna pyaar krny ly lie."

Ain and Zain finally hugged both of them after understanding that they approved of their relationship.

"meri bety aur poty ka hamesha khayal rakhna shahzain.... Nhi to meri noor ul ain ka baap abhi zinda hai."

Kinza had finally been exposed and everyone had accepted the new couple although there were a few relatives who had bad mouthed them but Zain and noor didn't care because the ones they loved accepted them whole heartedly.

~three years later ~

"Daniyaal aap uth rhay hain ya main apky baba ko bulao" said a frustrated noor coming in her seven year old's room.

"mama main uth gya hun...ap baba sy shikayat nhi krna please..."
He jumped out of his bed and went into the bathroom while she returned into the kitchen with little baby hiba on her hip.

Hiba was born two years ago.
She was an unexpected arrival but when they had found out their joy knew no boundaries.

Especially Zain who was attached to his little princess more than anything else in the world.

He had cried when his wife told her that she was pregnant...he couldn't be there for his son but he was going to do anything for his little baby princess.

As she reached the kitchen she made her sit in her high chair and started arranging the food on the table.

As she was cutting a few fruits a body was  pressed against her back.
She picked up a piece of apple and turned around in the arms of the person caging her between the counter and his body.

"apna muhn kohly" she said forwarding the piece to his mouth.
He shook his head at her and she glared at him.
"I need something else."
She knew what he was asking for and said:
"sharam kryn bcchy samny bhety hain"
"Han to room main chlty hain na" he whined.
"kon kahy ky aap thirty two ky hai aur 2 bacchon ky baap."

"hai na.... Main hun hi itna handsome" he said
She laughed out loud and said.
"jayen apny shehzady ko ly ky aye... Breakfast ready hai."
"jo hukum mere aka" he rushed towards his son's bedroom not before covering his daughter's face with his kisses.

They had moved to a smaller apartment after Hiba was born so they could spend more time with their kids and concentrate more on the family.

They visited their parents every two or three day and as always nafisa and mehmood were ecstatic to see their grandchildren.

This was life for them... Filled with happiness... Filled with their love and their children's love.

-THE END-

____________
Hello!!!

Shahzain and noor's journey has come to an end.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading about them as much as I loveed writing.

Let me know if you guys want huda and daniyaal's story...🤭

I you guys do then I'll work on it after the next one for which I'm excited soo so much..

I hope you have a great morning /evening ❤️

Stay safe.