Humesha A MaNan FF (COMPLETED)

Another Little One

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Chapter 2 – New Destinies, Old Wounds

The Murthy Mansion glowed softly under the night lamps of New York. It was grand yet warm, a place where laughter lived despite scars.

In Nandini’s room, silence lingered until her phone buzzed. A message from Maddy:

> Some people are arriving tomorrow. Five in total. They’ll be staying with you all in the mansion.

She read it twice, her heart strangely restless. She had grown used to changes, but something about this message stirred unease. Still, she pressed a calm smile as she turned to her son.

“Arhaam, tomorrow some people will come and stay here. Promise me, you won’t misbehave with them?”

The boy looked up from his coloring book, eyes shining with innocence. “Okay, Mom. You know I’m a good boy.”

Nandini chuckled softly. “Yeah, a very good boy. That’s why you beat up that kid in your class.”

Her voice was teasing, but Arhaam’s serious nod surprised her.

“He said I don’t have a father,” Arhaam said firmly, his little fists curling. “He said you’re a bad girl. So I beat him.”

Nandini froze. Her throat tightened, but she forced calm into her voice. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. Because I don’t need a father,” he declared. “I have my mom. I have Madhowala Bestie. I have Mamu. And that’s enough. You guys are my family.”

Her eyes burned with tears, but she smiled through them. She cupped his small face. “My boy… you’ve grown up too soon. You understand things better than me sometimes.”

Arhaam shook his head stubbornly. “I don’t understand anything, Mumma. You make me understand. You always say: think positive, beta. So I do.”

Unable to hold back, she hugged him tight—so tight that one cheek turned red.

“Mom! I’m fine,” Arhaam laughed. “Don’t crush me.”

She kissed his forehead and whispered, “Why don’t you want to know about your father? Don’t you want to ask me where he is? Why he isn’t with us?”

Arhaam paused, his eyes unusually wise for his age. “Because I know God cares. He won’t let me be sad forever. You said, na, God tests us? Maybe this is our test. And when it’s over, my father will come to me himself.”

Her tears spilled silently. She nodded, but deep inside she knew the truth—there were reasons, painful and sharp, that she could never explain to a child. Not yet.

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A knock interrupted the moment. Navya entered, holding her son’s hand.

“Guess who’s here?” she smiled.

“Zyaaaan!” Arhaam squealed, running forward.

Zyaan Mehra, Navya’s little boy, beamed. The two hugged instantly—brothers from different mothers, bound not by blood but by fate.

“I’m sorry, bro,” Zyaan said sheepishly. “Didn’t see you first.”

Arhaam grinned. “It’s okay. Hi, Madhowala!”

Navya groaned. “Arhaam! How many times—Masi! I’m your Masi!”

Arhaam smirked mischievously. “Nope. You’re Madhowala. Black and white Madhowala.”

“Arhaam…” Nandini’s tone warned him.

But Navya laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t scold him. It’s our game. Sometimes he calls me Masi, sometimes Madhowala. I don’t mind.”

Nandini huffed in mock defeat, but her eyes softened at the sight—two kids giggling, two friends teasing.

The four of them sat together. The kids whispered and plotted in one corner while the women caught up on old memories.

Hours later, when the house was quiet, Nandini walked Navya to her room. But Navya’s voice was strangely thoughtful tonight.

“You know,” she began softly, “Zyaan isn’t just my son. He’s my sister’s son. My sister… she and her husband died in that accident. Since then, I’ve raised him like my own. He calls me Maa, but sometimes… sometimes, I still hear him whisper Mumma in his sleep.”

Nandini’s heart clenched. She pulled Navya into a hug. “You’re the best mother he could ever have. Blood doesn’t define love, Navya. You do.”

Navya smiled faintly, her eyes glistening. “And maybe… destiny wants to give him more. That’s why…” She hesitated, biting her lip.

“That’s why what?” Nandini asked gently.

Navya looked down, twisting her fingers. “Cabir and I… we’re getting married.”

The words slammed into Nandini like a storm. Her breath caught. Cabir. Of all people—Cabir. The one who once laughed the loudest in Fab 5, the one who had stood by her during the worst fights, the one who had known the truth of her silence.

She forced her lips into a smile. “That’s… good, Navya. Really good.”

Navya studied her face, concern in her eyes. “You knew, didn’t you? Maddy told you?”

Nandini nodded faintly. “Yes. I knew.”

But what she didn’t say—what burned inside her chest—was that this truth wasn’t just about Navya and Cabir. It was about Fab 5. About the life she had left behind. About a bond she once thought unbreakable.

She closed her eyes, and in that moment, the walls of Murthy Mansion seemed to whisper of the storm about to come.

Because tomorrow, five familiar shadows would step into her home.

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