Kaizan is back #2
As if afraid that the slightest movement would shatter the vision before her.
"...K..."
Her lips parted, but no sound came.
Her breathing turned shallow.
For a heartbeat...
Neither of them moved.
The laughter around them faded.
The music disappeared.
Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
The world narrowed until there was only...
A mother.
And her son.
Devyani's eyes widened impossibly.
Tears gathered so quickly that they blurred her vision.
"...K..."
She tried again.
This time her voice cracked.
"...Ka..."
Her knees almost gave out beneath her.
"...Kaizan..."
The name escaped her lips like a prayer she had whispered every night for the last two years.
"My..."
Her hand instinctively lifted toward him.
"...my baby..."
Her voice broke completely.
Around them, the family fell silent.
One by one...
Heads turned toward the little boy standing beneath the lights.
No one spoke.
No one dared interrupt.
Because everyone understood...
They weren't witnessing an introduction.
Kaizan stood perfectly still.
He had grown taller.
Stronger.
His childish features had begun giving way to quiet maturity.
Yet in that moment...
He looked exactly like the boy who had once searched every room of the house calling for his mother.
His jaw tightened.
His eyes shimmered.
The tears were there.
Waiting.
Threatening.
But he refused to let them fall.
Not yet.
He had promised himself he would be brave.
He wouldn't cry.
He wouldn't run.
He wouldn't make it harder for her.
Yet...
The moment she whispered his name...
Something inside him shattered.
Mumma...(he thought mentally)
The word echoed through every corner of his heart.
Not as a thought.
Not as a memory.
But as a desperate longing he had buried for two endless years.
He had imagined this reunion countless times.
Sometimes she smiled.
Sometimes she hugged him.
Sometimes...
She never came at all.
And now that she was actually standing before him...
His feet refused to move.
His heart screamed at him to run.
To throw himself into her arms.
To tell her how much he had missed her.
He stood there.
Frozen.
Just like her.
Devyani took one hesitant step.
Then another.
Each movement felt impossibly heavy.
As though years of separation were wrapped around her ankles.
Her hands shook uncontrollably as she slowly bent her knees.
Not because she had to...
But because she wanted to meet her son at his height.
Her trembling arms stretched toward him.
Open.
Waiting.
Begging.
"Kaizaaaaan..."
The cry tore out of her chest.
Raw.
Broken.
Overflowing with every sleepless night...
Every birthday she had missed...
Every lullaby left unsung...
Every embrace stolen by fate.
The sound of her voice broke the last wall around Kaizan's heart.
His breath hitched violently.
A single tear rolled down his cheek.
Then another.
Then another.
"...Mumma..."
It escaped him as nothing more than a broken whisper.
Yet to Devyani...
It was louder than thunder.
She didn't wait another second.
With a sob that shook her entire body, she rushed forward.
The next instant...
She was there.
Her arms wrapped around him with desperate strength, pulling his growing frame tightly against her chest.
She held him as though she feared someone would take him away again.
Her fingers buried themselves in his hair.
She kissed his forehead.
His cheeks.
His temples.
Again and again.
"My baby..."
"My son..."
"My kaliyaaaaaa..."
"I missed you..."
"Oh God..."
"I missed you so much..."
Her words dissolved into uncontrollable sobs.
Kaizan finally stopped pretending to be strong.
His arms shot around her neck.
He clung to her with every ounce of strength he possessed.
"Mumma..."
His voice cracked against her shoulder.
Devyani immediately pulled back just enough to cup his face between her trembling palms.
She pressed frantic kisses across his forehead, tears falling onto his face.
He buried his face into her neck and cried without restraint.
They were the cries of a child who had finally found his mother again.
And Devyani...
She simply held him.
Rocking him gently in her arms.
As though trying to soothe not only his pain...
But the two years they had both lost.
Around them, no one tried to stop their own tears.
Virendra quietly looked away, blinking rapidly.
Rivan stood a few steps away.
Watching.
Silent.
His own eyes glistened as he looked at the two people he loved most in the world finally becoming whole again.
For the first time in years...
The emptiness inside that family no longer felt quite so endless.
A mother had found her son.
And a son...
Had finally come home.
Devyani remained wrapped around Kaizan for what felt like an eternity.
She kissed his forehead over and over again, unable to stop touching him, as though reassuring herself that he was truly there.
That he wasn't another dream she would wake up from.
Finally, she cupped his face once more and smiled through her tears.
"Stay here for one minute, okay?"
Kaizan nodded obediently, though his little hand refused to leave hers until the very last second.
The moment she let go...
She turned.
Her tear-filled eyes searched only for one person.
Rivan.
He stood a few feet away, quietly watching the reunion unfold. There wasn't pride on his face.
Only relief.
Seeing her smile after so long was enough for him.
The next second
Devyani ran.
Not caring about her heavy gown.
Not caring about the people watching.
Not caring about anything.
She ran straight toward him.
Rivan barely had time to react before she crashed into him.
"Oof—"
She wrapped both her arms tightly around his neck and almost knocked him backward with the force of the hug.
Rivan laughed softly, instinctively circling his arms around her waist to steady her.
She buried her face against his shoulder.
He could feel warm tears soaking into his suit again.
But this time...
They weren't tears of heartbreak.
They were tears of overwhelming happiness.
"Thank you..."
Her voice came out muffled against his shoulder.
"So much..."
She squeezed him even tighter.
"I..."
Another sob escaped her.
"I missed Kaizan so much."
Rivan closed his eyes for a brief moment, resting his cheek against her hair.
"I know."
She shook her head.
"No..."
"You don't."
"My arms..."
She laughed and cried at the same time.
"They felt empty without him."
"I used to wake up thinking I heard him calling me."
"I used to buy little things for him..."
"...and then remember he wasn't with me."
Her grip tightened around him.
"I missed my baby so much."
Rivan slowly rubbed comforting circles over her back.
"I know, Kitten."
"I know."
She pulled back just enough to look at him.
Her eyes were red.
Her cheeks were wet.
Yet she had never looked more beautiful.
She cupped his face with both hands.
"You..."
She laughed through her tears.
"You gave him back to me."
Rivan gently shook his head.
"No."
"I simply brought him where he always belonged."
Her lips quivered into a smile.
Without thinking, she stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
Then another.
Then one on his forehead.
Rivan blinked in surprise.
She looked straight into his eyes.
Her smile widened.
"I love you."
The words slipped out naturally.
Without hesitation.
Without fear.
Then, as if realizing what she had just confessed, she laughed shyly and added,
"...And..."
Rivan raised an amused eyebrow.
"And?"
She smiled so brightly that it lit up her entire face.
"I love you..."
She paused dramatically.
"...more than ice cream."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Rivan stared at her.
"...More..."
"...than ice cream?"
She nodded very seriously.
"Hmm."
"I thought that was impossible."
"So did I."
The family standing nearby burst into loud laughter.
Payal dramatically clutched her chest.
"This is true love."
Aradhya nodded solemnly.
"If she's ranking him above ice cream..."
"It's permanent."
Aditya looked at Rivan.
"Bhaiyy."
"You've achieved what no man has achieved before."
Virendra laughed heartily.
"You defeated ice cream."
Even Yashodha couldn't stop smiling.
Reyansh folded his arms, pretending to wipe imaginary tears.
"I'm emotional."
"Our brother has reached first position."
He looked at Devyani.
"So..."
"Ice cream is second now?"
She thought for a moment.
Everyone waited.
Then she answered honestly,
"No."
Everyone blinked.
Rivan narrowed his eyes.
"No?"
She smiled innocently.
"They're both first."
Rivan looked offended.
"What?"
"You just said—"
She quickly hugged him again before he could complain.
"You are my emotional first."
She pointed toward the dessert table.
"And ice cream is my food first."
The entire family exploded with laughter.
Rivan sighed dramatically.
"I got compared to frozen dairy."
She looked up at him with the sweetest smile.
"No..."
"You won."
He looked hopeful.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"I can live without ice cream."
He smiled proudly.
"But..."
she continued.
"I can't live without you."
Everything around them seemed to disappear.
Rivan's teasing smile slowly faded into something softer.
Something deeper.
He gently rested his forehead against hers.
"And that's the best gift..."
he whispered.
"...I've ever received."
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head with quiet tenderness.
Behind them, Kaizan smiled as he watched his parents together.
For the first time in years...
His family finally looked complete.
The heavy weight of the engagement gown finally pooled around Devyani's ankles, and with it, the suffocating tension of the evening seemed to lift.
She stepped out of the silk and tulle, sighing in relief as the cool night air hit her skin. Standing in just her inner garments, she finally felt like she could breathe.
Then, she caught the silhouette in the doorway.