I couldn't get to all the comments, but several of you mentioned your theories and they're quite impressive, you are asking the right questions :P The characters themselves are determining the complete picture, so if it's a little confusing, it's meant to be at this stage.

Just wanted to encourage you guys that you're on the right track so don't stop guessing, things will become clearer in just a bit when two or more brains come together :") 

MaNan is coming up next chapter so I didn't want to leave our side characters hanging without their arcs, which will influence MaNan in theirs (I promise I'll make up for their delay, with interest ;) :P )

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Amidst a series of incessant laughs and chuckles, a distinct guffaw coming from a toddler stood out. It spiralled the others into another sequence of chortles as they nearly teared up from laughing for so long.

Only moments ago, Adira had newly unboxed one of her toy cars. Cabir had always wanted one as a child, so he had bought it for her as a birthday gift when the baby turned three a couple months ago as an excuse to play with it alongside her. The gift along with some others however had been hidden in a cupboard by Mukti, as exposing the child to all of them at once would overly pamper and smother her.

Anyhow, Adira had taken it out of its packaging today and had crawled with it all around the living room as she steered it in every direction on Cabir's command. Soon after the other adults came into the room, it had been forgotten. Until Cabir had accidentally stepped on the car, wheeling one foot away and had fallen on his bum in the middle of the room!

While the loud thud had horrified the child whose hair was being neatly combed into two ponytails by Alia, Manik maama and her Alia aunty had broken into hysterics, pointing at their friend and falling to the floor holding their own stomachs. Fortunately, the situation was not as scary as the baby had imagined; otherwise, why would all the adults be enjoying themselves? Adira too sheepishly smiled at Cabir and it wasn't long until she knelt next to Manik, and she too contributed to the hilarity of Cabir's great fall.

Mukti had entered the scene after having put hers and Adira's clothes out to dry, when the child had innocently joked that Cabir had been like Humpty Dumpty and toppled in thin air. Despite finding the scene humorous herself, she controlled her smile and reprimanded the child for her scattered toys which caused his fall, and asked her to instead put her toys away neatly. Her daughter, under the protection of her dearest Maama, adamantly and boldly said 'NO', because of which she was banned from having candy.

What followed was a wailing toddler plopped on the floor, kicking and begging for candy – a habit Mukti had trained herself to ignore.

Manik's heart ached for the crying child, and even though Mukti glared not to encourage her tantrum, he sprung to his knees and gently appeased, "Acchha, chalo, I'll help you clean up, come." He extended a hand to her as she ceased her cries. The baby sadly brushed her tears with her chubby hands and smeared on her leggings, contemplating fitting her tiny hand into his.

"You will not help her, Manik, Cabir ko lag gayi thi because of her mess. She has to clean it up on her own, tabhi usse candy milega." Mukti said, crossing her arms and standing firm to her earlier comment. Her baby was three years old now, and society – especially theirs – was not forgiving of females; her duty as a parent was to appropriately equip her child to face it bravely.

One step in that direction was establishing boundaries, showing her child how to use them, and put her own foot down when necessary.

Finding some security in her Maama's affection, the child rebelled with renewed energy. "NO, I WANT CANDYYYY NOW!"

"Adira!" Mukti intoned as a threat, "Behave!" Her baby lips wobbled and she tumbled into Manik's arms, screaming and bawling.

"Chodd na, Mukti, bacchhi hai woh." He said, shuffling the baby in his arms and bobbing her as he stood up, adjusting her shirt hem protectively to keep her covered. "Main laa dunga tumhaare liye, hmm, big babies aise nahi rote!" A firm yet calloused thumb swiped half her face in one go. From the closeness they shared, it appeared that they routinely spent a significant portion of time together, but how was that possible?

Manik too had been busy with work, just like Mukti was... there was no possible way he could have been around Adira much longer than Mukti had been!

Yet, the way her little one almost immediately had been comforted by his hold had taken Mukti by surprise; she had been paying attention to their growing bond over the last three or so months and had often felt grateful for it, but to see her baby regulating her own emotions in just a split-second – in the arms of someone who wasn't her – made her oddly insecure.

How had she missed out on it?

Holding his forearm tightly, Mukti grunted, "Manik, no means no!" Then she looked at her kid who was nuzzling into the crook of her friend's neck, starved for some warmth that Mukti barely offered. Her guilt mercilessly kicked her gut. Why did she have Adira in the first place if she wasn't prepared for the emotional responsibilities that entailed being a parent, an inner mind voice quipped away?

Why had she made only a halfway commitment to raising her child?

It was true that she didn't stand a chance against death, and in their line of work it was a plausible outcome any day now, but was she really doing the right thing – resisting the purest form of love? Would she ever be forgiven for punishing an innocent soul for the sole mistake of being born to her?

Overpowered by the anxieties she could not voice out loud, she held her baby's hand dejectedly and shook it. "Idhar dekho. What do we do when someone is hurt because of us?" Though her stern tone had not changed, her daughter had started calming down with Manik's gentle pats. Now fuming at her mother for revoking her treats, she swiftly turned away, looking over Manik's shoulder.

Mukti helplessly eyed Manik, who was unaware of how to help the situation. Then again, what could he do? He hadn't raised a child before either.

Feeling thoroughly incompetent as a parent, she bit her lip to keep her own composure. In times like those, she wished she had a supportive partner to go through her firsts with her; then perhaps she wouldn't feel so alone.

Being a parent was no joke, especially when it came to discipline and teaching her baby good manners in a world surrounded by cruel people; but she would not break.

Wiggling the baby's hand still clutching hers, she said, "Adira... When I'm talking to you, I need you to look at me." Reluctantly, the baby turned to her, her bright little eyes welling up again. A maternal instinct told her exactly what her child must be thinking: no darling, Mumma is not angry at you baby, Mumma just wants you to know how to be responsible for your actions and fix your mistakes.

She hadn't said it out aloud. Lectures barely worked on adults who comprehended them. With children as young as Adira, she wanted to influence her through example. She decided she wouldn't cave until her baby thought for herself and made her own decision. Mukti would only point her in the right direction, over and over, for as long as Adira needed.

The consistent eye contact as those thoughts crossed her mind melted some of the ice between her and her baby. This time, she softly asked her child, "Tell me now, what do we do?"

In a little babble, the toddler said, "We say sorry."

She tried to push away the bubbling warmth in her heart. "And who got hurt?" A small chubby finger pointed at the injured man, who was on his feet but awkwardly rubbing his lower back which had become sore from the hit. "Words baby,"

"Cabi," She said out of habit, reminiscent of the days when pronouncing R had been particularly hard for her and she resorted to her own version of his name.

Mukti rephrased, "Cabir Maama."

Cabir joined his palms as he desperately pleaded, "Nahi mujhe maama nahi banna hai kisi ka, main Cool Cah-bir hi theek hoon."

An annoyed Mukti chimed in, "Tu chup bait! Tujhe lagi tha?" Fearing her deadly wrath, he nodded for Adira's sake. "Pain ho raha hai na?" He nodded sadly, maintaining his act. She pressed her smile and looked at her baby in Manik's arms for her next move.

Adira twisted in his direction and hooked a finger on her lower lip guiltily, "I'm sorry Cabi,"

Beyond satisfied by the apology, Mukti rubbed the tiny hand she was holding and kissed it twice. "Good girl hai mera bacchha..." She twirled Adira's ponytails playfully between her fingers, while the baby whined for her to stop touching her hair, slowly feeling delighted in the approval of her dearest mother.

Mukti shifted her focus to her indecent friend. "Aur tu, manners kahan hai tere? My baby just told you she's sorry, kya bolna chahiye tumhe waapis?"

Cabir bit his tongue and grit his teeth at the embarrassing lecture while he mumbled, "It's okay my little tomato!" Manik passed him a disinterested look. "What? I love tomatoes!"

"Of course, khaane ki cheez hai na, tujhse bachega kaise!" Alia who had mutely spectated the whole show giggled at Manik's retort.

Having no interest in the conversation between the two men, the little one stretched out her arms to be gleefully embraced by her mother and was showered with a series of short, wet kisses as Adira clung to her mother like a little monkey, heartily laughing, nagging and resisting the unexpected outpour. "Why, only your Maama has the right to all your huggies and jhappis, hmm? Not your Mumma?" Mukti continued her affectionate assault.

The baby squealed while in her mother's arms, "I love you the most, Mumma!"

Mukti lowered the child, unexpectedly tugged by the genuine sensitivity in her baby's phrase. The little one was not resentful, and had not held her mother's actions against her... instead, she had been warmly accepting of her mother's flaws and had openly expressed her love regardless – with no reservations, and no barriers.

That realisation made Mukti's eyes water.

Finally sitting on her knees to match heights with her child, she rapidly blinked. "Now go, keep all your toys acchese, aur agar Manik Maama se help liya toh one less candy for you,"

The baby nodded and stood in front of Manik with a finger out, commanding in a similar fashion to Mukti, "You will not help me, okay." She ordered so politely that the little girl looked like a two-foot-tall version of her mother, mimicking some mannerisms out of pure observation.

Mukti rejoiced in having achieved what she set out to.

Controlling his smile at the little photocopy version of his close friend, Manik nudged the baby towards her toys.

"But I wanted to –" Manik said as he approached her.

Standing back on her feet, Mukti rigidly stated, "Consider it your punishment for disrespecting me in front of my child."

While Mukti walked away and Alia followed her, Cabir pursed his lips in amusement and used Manik's shoulder as an armrest. It would have been utterly embarrassing if Cabir was the only candidate who got told off by the mother figure of the group, but having a partner in crime who shared his moment had been a blessing.

Cabir dramatically sighed. "Damn bro, you've got a long way to go. Tch, I feel so sorry for Nandini..." His extreme sympathy was met with Mr. Hulk's chalky indifference. Cabir dropped his arm and corrected himself. "I mean acchhi hi baat hai, abhi se teri parenting training chaalu hai toh jab tak teri aur Nandini ke –"

Manik faked a smile, throwing his arm around Cabir's neck and squeezing it in a chokehold. "I think I have something that can hurt you more effectively than Adira's car, dekhega?" Cabir screeched and panted for his life, hitting Manik's arm away but to no avail.

Struggling for air, Cabir breathlessly said, "Dara kyoon... raha hai? Main toh bas... aise hi... keh raha tha!"

"Accha... yeh sab acchese yaad rehta hai tujhe but when I ask you uss Navya ke letter ke andhar exactly kya likha tha, tab toh pata nahi kya ho jata hai!"

Cabir rolled his eyes, not realising the significance of why Manik wanted the specifics of it so badly. It was borderline irritating for him to over and over repeat the same thing, but if that was what Manik wanted...

"I already told you, it said something about destiny and her 'Matarani' and their pure love, I don't know... I don't remember, itne mahino baad kaun yaad rakhta hai yeh sab?"

"God! You're so useless Cabir!" Manik slapped his bicep.

"If you wanted to know so badly, you should have come inside the house then, instead of cowering in fear and running miles away from anything remotely relevant to Nandini."

"Keep it down!" He hissed, eyeing Adira, and the surroundings and then leaning into his friend, "Photo nahi le sakte the?"

"Itna dimaag chalaana aata hai tujhe, toh phir why are you seizing every opportunity to kill yourself?"

Manik blinked irritably. "What? As usual, you're not making any sense. Main Navya ki baat kar raha hoon!"

"Aur main Nandini ki!"

"Nan – God... Cabir, seriously... tu kuch zyaada obsessed nahi ho raha hai usko lekar?"

"Because someone has to, and you aren't thinking about her at all! Her life... her future... your future..."

Nudging his head upwards in an interrogative tone, Manik chipped in, "What future-future, huh? Tujhe kya lagta hai, main usse ghar le aaunga, sabse introduce karwaunga, uske saath date pe jaaunga, shaadi karunga... hmm... yeh wali future ki baat kar raha hai? Don't you know, these are luxuries we criminals can't afford?" As Cabir was about to retort, Manik's fingers clicked before him. "Not one more word about her."

Cabir's mouth opened once more but Manik's hands gripped his collar, pulling him in an intimidating mood.

"One word, and be rest assured... I will snap your neck!"

Smirking, Cabir shrugged his shirt off saying he only bought the T-shirt yesterday and smoothened the crumples. Then, he eyed his arrogant friend. "I'll take the chances... for the sake of your unborn child." He rushed the words to save himself from Manik's wrath. Deciding the coast was clear for another interview, he chimed, "So, what are you going to do, just let her go and live a life without you?"

Manik remained silent. What better opportunity than now to stir the pot?

"So... say tomorrow Nandini finds someone else, and –"

"No," came a command from the stone-cold figure beside Cabir.

Appalled by the strong reaction of someone who thought there was 'no future' with her, Cabir wanted to grin but held his stance. It was much more fun this way, getting confessions out of his friend without outright accusing him. "You're saying no as if you can control her life,"

Manik gave him a death stare, the kind Nawab was infamous for silencing his enemies with. Again, other people might have been taken aback by it. To Cabir, it was a daily scene to witness. Riling Manik up was one of his new hobbies.

"There will be nobody else, got it?" Cabir lifted his eyebrows to Manik's comment and let them fall too, while Manik's temper came back with more ferociousness. "Have you deduced my character enough? If you deem this interrogation sufficient, can we move on to less significant things, like work and of course Harshad, only if you please?" He spat sarcastically.

Remaining quiet, Cabir took a seat at the dining table just beside them.

"Coming back to the love letter," Manik sat on the table itself, letting one leg dangle in the air as the other partially supported his weight. "I suspect Navya already has something he needs, that's why he didn't send anything apart from the letter. From the days we've studied him, I can guess how he thinks. What could Navya have that he needs? Hmm... I mean, he doesn't love Navya, that's for sure, he's just using her... oh, was there like a code or something obvious you could decipher that could –?"

"Manik... you've ruined her whole life because of your simple desire to impress her." He seemed to not believe it as he said it, but it was the truth and Manik too froze at the remark. When he met Cabir's gaze, he saw a blank stare.

"You could have left it at that, that one date. Why did you pursue her, Manik? Why did you show her how beautiful love could be, and then snatch it away from her without warning? You can't be that heartless to let her suffer for the rest of her life for her one mistake – falling for you." Cabir was shaking his head as he spoke, but that was the reality.

Refusing to meet his gaze, Manik looked down to a side.

Cabir blinked, extending a hand between them. "Promise me..."

"What?"

"Once this Harshad thing falls over, you will find her. Be it in this city, another city, or any other country for that matter – you will find her and you will confess to her. You will right your wrongs, bhale hi not for love but on humanitarian grounds... imagine not having a choice in her own life, that pain must feel like dying a thousand deaths every day while simultaneously being tortured to relinquish every moment of it." Manik, who had been biting his lip until that point, gaped at Cabir with scorched eyes, almost feeling every bit of the ache himself.

Cabir could not even think of being put through circumstances like those. "Liberate her from it. Promise me this, and I promise I'll never hound you about Nandini again."

Distantly, Manik uttered, "For that clause to hold, we need to learn the truth about Harshad, right?"

Gritting his teeth, thoroughly upset at his friend, Cabir spat, "Matarani will protect our bond. Does that phrase mean anything to you? No na, that's what I thought! Now can you promise me?"

Matarani ka toh pata nahi, but Nawab certainly would protect their bond.

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The highlight for me of this update is Mukti wanting affection from her daughter after resisting it for sooo long :")

Harr ek character mein value hai, our show has taught me this.

In this story, be it Adira who stokes the clan's soft side, Alia who has her own battle to fight now that Harshad's her brother, or Cabir who understands the value of love and empathises with Nandini – they all have their purpose in the story, and each one has a lesson to share with the readers.

How, when, and what will happen as a result is up to them to decide... not me :P

Please don't forget to vote and drop comments. Another update is underway, can we hit 25 stars before that? Let's see :P