𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓𝟕

ARZO

[Four Months Later]

"He's late." I blurt out.

"He's probably stuck in traffic. He'll be here," Api reassures me while holding her three month old son, Zain.

"What if something happened?" I ask

"Nothing happened, Arzo. Calm down." She rubs my arm. Zain lets out a laugh.

"Do you think I'm overreacting?" I ask him. All I earn is a giggle, "yeah, he thinks I'm crazy."

She chuckles, "no, he doesn't."

I kiss his cheeks. Babies are so cute.

Today is the day my debut painting gets showcased in an art gallery.

I had a meeting with Nancy- the art curator- four months ago where she expressed how much she loved my portrait and wanted to showcase it in her art gallery.

I have been nervous and excited about this since Nancy gave me the date. I ate Faizan's ear off talking about how nervous and excited I was. As perfect as he is, he never complained once.

Everyone is here today- almost- ammi, abbu, mama, baba, api, Zahid bhai, their cute little son, Rose, Bree, Finn, Ryan and Jack.

Bree has recently started dating a guy named Jay. No one likes him. I heard Ryan talk about how much he disapproves of him but he can't threaten him because Bree made him promise not to interfere.

I am almost sure that Farhan and Jack are planning something so that Bree leaves him.

The guy isn't even good looking and he stares at everyone.

Gross.

"Shukar," I breathe out as I spot Faizan and Farhan walk in.

"See? He's fine." Api says.

"Yeah."

I excuse myself from her and hurry towards him.

"You're late." I say as soon as I reach him.

"Not my fault!" Farhan quickly says.

Faizan and I look at him.

He nervously laughs, "I'm gonna go play with Zayn." He says then leaves.

"It's his fault," Faizan says.

"Everything alright?"

"Yes." He says then kisses my forehead, "you look beautiful, amar,"

I smile, "thank you."

I didn't want to overdress but also wear my traditional clothes. So I decided to wear a simple but beautiful gray kurti and trousers. The kurti and the trousers' ends are decorated with white beats. I paired a gray hijab with it, my necklace, silver rings and silver slippers.

Our attention turns to the massive stage when Nancy steps on it, her voice echoing in the hall as she greets everyone.

Faizan interlocks our fingers together as we walk towards the stage.

Nancy greets and thanks everyone for attending the event before she starts talking about the showcased paintings.

"Allow me to introduce Arzo Saeed, a gifted painter who recently graduated from SVA." Nancy starts my introduction, gesturing towards me in the crowd which earns me the attention of almost everyone. I smile as she continues, "Arzo Saeed draws inspiration from nature and emotions she feels when surrounded by her loved ones, which is evident in her evocative and thought-provoking work. Tonight, we are proud to showcase Arzo Saeed's debut painting, titled 'The Moon and its Shadow'..." she continues to explain the theme of my portrait exactly as I envisioned it.

My heart flutters with happiness as I look around and catch approval on people's faces. I squeeze Faizan's hand in excitement.

The whole description of the painting goes well. Then in the end, Nancy asks all the painters to come up on the stage as the crowd erupts in cheer for the recognition of the artists.

Few people come on to congratulate and tell me how they liked the painting and the meaning behind it. One of those people ends up being a very successful art agent and gives me her card to call her so I can call her to discuss my future projects.

I almost let out a squeal when she walks away.

Someone taps on my shoulder. I turn around and my smile widens when I find Faizan holding a huge bouquet of lilies.

"Congratulations, amar," he says as I take the bouquet and kisses my cheeks, "everything went great."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"An agent reached out," I show him the card, "my dreams are coming true."

He smiles, "I am so proud of you, amar."

"Thank you." I say then kiss his cheeks.

Faizan's wound has perfectly healed now. Although the scene that happened 4 months ago is still etched into my brain.

During the first few weeks, I got nightmares of Faizan dying and woke up sobbing and panicking. Faizan would wake up with me too and hold me as I cried on his chest. He'd rub my back, recite Surahs and blow it on me to calm my nerves.

I still have a habit of signing so I started volunteering at schools to help mute and deaf kids learn sign language.

Faizan and I sometimes sign to each other as well when we're far away from each other in a room and have to communicate or when we want to point out something someone doesn't want to know.

Sign language has easily become one of our love languages now.

"Arzo?"

I turn around at Bree's voice to find her, Rose and Jay.

Bree and Rose hand me bouquets of flowers, saying, "congratulations."

"Thank you so much. And thank you for coming." I say.

"Of course. We wouldn't have missed it." Bree says with a weak smile. She has been looking tired for a long time now. I know Rose is worried and so am I. Bree doesn't easily open up.

"Your piece is beautiful." Rose tells me.

"Aww, I'm so happy you guys liked it."

Faizan wraps a protective arm around my waist and that's when I notice that Jay has been staring at me, weirdly. My smile starts to flatter but I force it as I step closer to Faizan.

Thankfully, he leaves when Bree and Rose excuse themselves.

I catch Finn throwing darts at Jay's back through his eyes before he turns away and takes a big chug of his champagne.

"I don't think Finn likes Jay." I absently say.

"Nobody does." Faizan says, earning my attention.

"It's too bad Finn and Bree aren't dating. They would be such a cute couple." I say, looking up at Faizan.

Faizan stares at me for a while then says, "it's better if you don't mention that in front of them."

"Why?"

"Ryan trusts Finn. Finn can't risk that." I frown, "Don't worry about them, amar." He kisses my head.

"Okay," I trail off then remember something, "oh! I have something to tell you!"

"Yes?" He places his hands on my waist.

"I'm pregnant."

He freezes, blinks, then says, "what?"

"I have a baby growing in my stomach-"

"I know what pregnant means, amar- how long?"

"Ten weeks."

"Ten weeks?- amar, you've been standing for almost an hour."

"Oh,"

He quickly takes the bouquets from me, holds my hand and takes me to the table filled with treats and drinks. He pulls out a chair and tells me to sit. I do.

"Ya Allah. How long have you been standing?" he asks, his voice etched with concern.

"I don't know.." I trail off, "I wasn't expecting you to freak out like this...I thought you'd be happy."

He kneels so that we're face to face. He kisses my cheeks and holds my hand, "I am happy, amar."

"Last I checked, freaking out didn't mean being happy."

He chuckles, "I was worried. You're not supposed to be on your feet this long."

"I'm fine," I argue.

"Alright. Alright." he kisses my hand, "when did you find out?"

"Today. I went to my doctor because I realized my cycle had been out of order and that I had missed my period."

"Is the baby healthy?"

I nod, "yes. Everything's okay. I have another appointment next week."

"Okay," he says, then chuckles, "you're pregnant."

I smile, "Yup,"

He leans in and captures my lips in a quick but soft kiss. No one notices.

"Are you happy?" I ask, "we didn't properly discuss if we wanted children."

"Do you want children?" he asks.

"Yes... do you?"

"I want everything and anything you give me." He says and kisses my cheeks,

"You're not just saying that, are you? Are you actually happy?"

"Yes, amar. I am so happy." he kisses my cheeks, "you're going to be an amazing mother."

"You're going to be an amazing father." I tell him, earning a smile. I kiss his cheek, "I love you, Faizan Malik."

"I love you, amar"

I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him in a hug. His arms wrap around my middle and he places a kiss on my shoulder.

We're going to have a child.

I couldn't have asked for anything better.

ᯓᡣ𐭩

[Author's Note]

Hello beautiful people, here concludes Faizan's and Arzo's journey (for now)

I will update their bonus chapters and epilogue in the upcoming months while I write the other books of this series.

The next book will be of Finn and Bree, I will start updating it in a few weeks.

Thank you so much for reading this book and showering my characters with so much love. I love you all so so much <3 mwah!

If you guys want to contact me, feel free to dm me on my instagram (username: authorariashah) you can also stay updated about when I post a new chapter and get sneak peeks of my books <3

Talk to you all soon! Take care <3