Epilogue
"She's my jaan, Shery." Rehaan looked at the tiny little boy who sat next to him exactly like he was seated.
"But she's my jaan." He said with a smile and nod just like his mother's.
"She's your mum, call her mum, she's my jaan.
" Rehaan tried to reason with his four year old son who was the exact replica of his wife.
He was Shahwar in every aspect. Appearance and even nature.
The only thing Shehriyar had that was like his father was his eye color, golden-brown, everything else was his mother, the way he looked, the way he spoke, the way he smiled, the way he wouldn't complain about anything, the way he was extremely polite and would always listen to whatever he was told except for right now.
"She's my jaan." He repeated softly again and the car stopped at the cafe.
Shehriyar got out of the car excitedly to run inside the cafe to his mother. "Baba, je m'en vais."
(Dad, I'm going.)
Rehaan walked inside following at his own pace. When he spotted Shahwar, the mother and son were both engulfed in their own lovey dovey hug and conversation as Shahwar kept on kissing her son after every word that Shery said.
"Can I get the cookies jaan?" Shery pointed to the jar placed on the glass shelf for the customers of the place that he always wanted after coming back from school.
"Of course." She pecked his hair and moved to take the jar in her free hand holding her son in the arm of the second one.
Before she could twist the lid of the jar Rehaan reached and took it from her hands to open it, "Here." He took out just a single piece and gave it to his son.
"Thank you." He said taking it and Shahwar put him down for him to move around the place like he loved to every afternoon.
"I wasn't late for picking him up from school." Rehaan pulled his wife to hug her and wrapped his arms around her waist, he always remembered about their first meet every time he went to pick his son from school, about him being late and making their kids cry for not being picked up by him on time.
"Did you talk to him?" She referred to the conversation he had said he'd have with his son about calling Shahwar 'jaan'.
Shery had always called Shahwar 'jaan' instead of mum.
The reason was Rehaan. His father called her jaan and he did whatever his father did.
He liked to do everything that his father did.
But it bothered Rehaan like a petty man, after all Shahwar was only his jaan and no one else's.
"Yes but he isn't listening." Rehaan kissed his wife's head and then closed his eyes resting his chin over her head.
"He will listen, but you know he only likes being like you Rehaan." She pulled back a little holding his face in her hand.
"He's becoming more and more like these French people.
He speaks French more than anything else.
I don't want my son to turn into a firangi.
" Shahwar giggled and pursed her lips at her husband's annoyed expression.
Shehriyar was the most gorgeous child amongst all his classmates, and them being French it made them all feel intimidated whenever he stood next to them, only until he had not spoken, because the moment he would speak be it kids his own age or others, they would melt at his politeness and soft spoken attitude.
He was only in his early years, playgroup at school but he was a Kazmi and the impact was very evident even then.
The first day of his school had been the toughest for Shahwar and him both, but mostly for Rehaan, as the two people who were his entire life had shed too many tears.
He was terrified seeing the two crying like they were conjugated twins and had to part ways.
Shery may have stopped crying, but Shahwar cried the whole day after sending him there.
Rehaan Kazmi had to leave his meetings and come to see her at her cafe right after thirty minutes he had dropped her where he found her sobbing with hiccups, and told him that she didn't want to send her son, and she feared that bullies would try to go near him at school.
He then revealed that he had already dealt with the matter as the principal had allowed him to have access to their cctv cameras.
It had left Shahwar in a shock instead of relief.
Her husband was just maalik, he could never be a normal father, she knew, though he was the best for Shery, he would take his son to see cats that he loved and Rehaan himself hated, quite a lot, every evening around the parks.
"Jaan? Can I have one more cookie?" Shery came after taking his small trip to roam around the place.
"She's not your jaan." Rehaan argued with his son like he was not a four year old but in fact a fully grown man.
Shahwar kept looking at the two in silence with a pout, how would she explain to either of them to give up?
"But she's my jaan." Shery said with a soft and adorable expression.
"He doesn't understand anything." Rehaan sighed with irritation.
Shehriyar was just like his mother. Extremely sensitive, he'd pick his father's emotions too fast and react exactly like his mother.
"Sorry baba." He had tears in his eyes already as he looked down at the floor.
And with that Rehaan lost the color on his own face and then saw his wife with the same expression as his son as she looked at him. He was going to lose his mind. They both were a mirror to each other.
At once he ran to Shery and lifted him in his arms, "Why are you saying sorry? Did baba ask you to?" Shery blinked like Shahwar and Rehaan kissed his cheeks.
"Don't be upset with me. I won't call her jaan. I love you baba." Rehaan kissed his cheeks again multiple times.
"She is your jaan. You will call her jaan. Who will baba argue with if you don't call her jaan? I love you so much, you know you're my jaan too. Don't ever say sorry." He held him tightly to his chest.
"Jaan says it's good to say sorry when you're wrong." He told his father, who now smiled at last.
"But you're not wrong Shery." Shehriyar looked at his father with a big smile finally.
"I'm not?"
"You're not." He kissed his head before putting him back down. "I'll give you another cookie if you go and kiss your jaan."
Shery hurried towards his mother and extended his hands for her to bend down to him for a kiss. The moment he kissed her cheeks Shahwar smiled and Rehaan passed a cookie to him as he went back to take his stroll around the tables without disturbing any customers.
"You both really need to stop with the crying, I mean it Shahwar." He kissed her head again and again, "I'll get a heart attack one day."
"And you wanted a daughter, imagine how much more sensitive she would've been." She raised her brows at him.
"What if my daughter would've been like me?" He looked thoughtfully at his wife.
"No. I don't want another Rehaan Kazmi who will go and buy everything and become everyone's maalik." Shahwar narrowed her eyes at him, "I know you bought that place where I used to work, Ibaad told me two years back."
"I seriously need to get rid of Ibaad for good." He shook his head with a loud sigh.
"You've been saying that since years." She pointed out shrugging her shoulders.
"Because you never let me." He replied with an eye roll.
"Your mom called, they've called us next week for a visit." His parents had been requesting Rehaan every year to visit them as Rehaan would never avoid his work and do that. Whenever he'd refuse they'd come to Paris themselves to meet them.
"Shery's got school next week, we'll go during Eid celebrations." He told her indirectly to refuse his mother as it was never a problem for him to say it directly to his own parents.
"Rehaan." She held his hands as he moved her out of his embrace, "I uhm, want to say something."
When she stuttered Rehaan smirked, "We can go into the room that's at the back of the kitchen, Shery seems busy too, I'm always ready.
" He leaned forward and kissed the back of her neck while Shahwar's eyes widened and the waiters along with the rest of her staff passed smiles at each other looking at them.
"Chup hojayen aap!" She whispered, lightly slapping his chest, "Inteha hai besharmi ki Rehaan!" Her face was growing red as she looked around to see Shery who was standing near the huge glass window peeking outside glued to it.
(You be quiet! It's the height of shamelessness Rehaan!)
"I'm serious, we'll go home and you'll be with him then you'll be tired. Now is the right time to make the most of." There was no hesitation in his voice and it made Shahwar gasp and her cheeks heated up way too much.
"I'm not talking to you." She said stepping away.
"Okay, okay, sorry." He stopped her from moving away holding her wrist. "Sorry jaan, I'll be quiet."
"Can you take Shery home? I'll come late." She suddenly said. It was usually her who would come back till four in the evening with Shery from her cafe and Rehaan would go back to his office after dropping his son off to the cafe after school.
"Sure. Are you mad at me?" He was the one to be nervous now.
Shahwar met his eyes and then he held both her hands entwining them with his, "I'm not maalik, I'm not." She kissed his cheek.
He gave a sigh of relief, "Right, okay then, I'll get going." Rehaan dropped a small peck on her lips and walked to where his son was, the glass window.
"Shery come, jaan will come home later." He lifted him in his arms and went towards the door to leave.
"Okay." He quietly rested his head on his father's shoulder without any complains, like always.
"Rehaan!" She came out of the cafe hurrying behind them.
"Yes jaan?" He opened the car door and shifted Shery into the backseat then walked to her.
"I think, there is a possibility of another maalik coming in our lives." Rehaan stared at his wife with confusion at first not understanding anything.
"Jaan, I'm the only maalik—wait." He held her hands and squeezed them at the realization, "Shahwar?"
"Yes, we have to visit the doctor tomorrow, I booked an appointment." She smiled and pressed her lips together.
In a fraction of second she was taken by him in his arms as he lifted her in the air, "It'll be a girl this time, I know it."
"What if it's another boy." Shahwar moved her fingers back and forth on the back of his neck as he brought her back down.
"Then we will return him back and try again." He shrugged his shoulders.
"You wouldn't dare." She pouted with a huff.
"I love you." He pulled her into a tight hug.
Before she could respond Shery popped his head out of the car window, "I also love you jaan!"
"Of course he does, he always steals my moments." Rehaan muttered to himself.
"Don't yell at the doctors during the delivery this time." She pushed her head back from his shoulder to look at him.
"Don't worry, I'll only commit murder this time." He remembered how much pain she had been in but had not uttered a single complain during her labor when Shery was born while he was screaming out loud at the doctors in the labor room.
"I hope we don't get another maalik, we'll be doomed."
"There's only one maalik, that's you." He bent his face down and she giggled when he captured her lips with his.
My favourite book and my favourite couple. The end for them. I love these two sm. You will see them a little bit in Iraj's book, do give it a read if you want to. ??