Nothing much to say, it's double update day! :") I hope this doesn't plummet response on this chappie, I'm posting the next one right after this so you could just consider it as payback for what's to come in this part!

Will you still vote and support? :")

Thank you again for the love!

𓆩𓆪

Half the freshly washed dress was sprawled on the floor as two little hands held the garment's shoulders and placed it over her torso, wiggling with it. "How am I looking?" Her bright beautiful eyes gawked at Alia, who was steam-ironing another one of her dresses. 

Cabir took a seat at the dining table. Adira's abandoned almonds were chilling in a plastic animal bowl, basically begging to be eaten. How could Cabir deprive them of their wish? He unapologetically munched away, basking in the presence of his adorable niece who was swallowed by the hot pink frock.

Alia giggled at the precious sight and tapped the girl's chin. "Like a princess, my darling!"

The little one jabbed a finger between her teeth and grinned. It was only a few weeks ago that Adira had learned that word. From an animated movie, that she watched with the three overly-protective men in the household while her mother and Alia aunty went out somewhere, she found out that princes from fairytales usually came looking for princesses, chose one and took them away from their homes. She accurately remembered Cabir saying the words 'kidnap', which by their terrified reactions was a dangerous word.

The concept of being taken away had freaked the little girl out of her wits; she instantly decided she would never want to be a princess in her life and impulsively chucked away all her Barbies, tiaras and fairy costumes – anything that remotely resembled such pathetic dreams. She even promised to all three of them, amongst many sniffles, that she would never run away with a boy like that.

That evening when the women returned, they not only had to console the wailing child, but had to sit her down and explain to her that being a princess meant she got to choose the life she wanted, and that princesses willingly chose to be with their princes. Which idiot had scared her with the kidnapping message and ruined the little happiness left in her life?

Manik, Cabir and Dhruv were subsequently bombed with random kitchen utensils that reached Mukti's grip. "Which one of you was it? If you don't come clean, the consequences will be nasty!" Her threats were mildly ignored, so Alia jumped in and spewed them all an earful. That too had been insufficient in calming the toddler, who had found the physical battle mildly amusing but had not stopped crying.

As a final resort for Adira's forgiveness, the men complied to do anything she wished for. That day the baby ordered them to sit like Gandhi's three monkeys: Manik closing his eyes, Dhruv palming his ears and Cabir covering his mouth. Today, the word 'princess' made Adira happy

She twirled, mystified by the flying frills that surrounded her, but it was not sufficient that just one woman in the house had complimented her. What were all the uncles in the house doing instead of paying attention to her? Most of all, where was her favourite one? He was never away from home for that long.

For the dozenth time that evening, Adira enquired about Manik and frowned as Alia said something rather unconvincing. Each time she had posed the question, she had gotten a unique response. One time he was out to get some food but that was suspicious because the baby saw her Mumma stirring a pot of curry in the kitchen. The next time he was supposedly out shopping but all the cars in the garage had been intact, then how? 

Cabir twitched his lips. The child had remarkable memory, very uncharacteristic of Mukti's blood. If he hadn't been in the same house while Adira was being delivered, he would have sworn she was not Mukti's child!

Speaking of Mukti, the woman had not been herself all afternoon. She appeared to have shed at least one tear, by the looks of her smudged kajal when she returned home with Adira from the market. He remembered how shortly after that, Manik had come home and was completely out of it himself. Putting two and two together, he acknowledged that the only interaction involving the two of them had to be their afternoon lolly shopping for Adira.

What must have happened in the market that had them both feeling unsettled?   

There was a way to find out...

He extended his hands in front of his bent knees. "Adira, come here, I wanted to show you something outside..."

Outside!

Adira swept the floor with Alia's dress as she scampered into Cabir's arms, the dress dropping in her trail while she was promptly swooshed out of the premises.

They trampled into the backyard, admiring dusk as they were blessed by the fragrance of night-blooming jasmine. He took an exaggerated sniff. "Do you smell that sweet scent?" As he did it again, the girl imitated him and nodded. "That's jasmine. That's the flower right there." Cabir pinched one of the blossoms from the shrub and handed it to her.

Elated by the small present, she took a long deep breath of the flower and then cupped it in one of her palms. When she opened it, it still contained the fresh scent. She pushed it to Cabir's nose. "Here. For you."

Cabir brimmed with delight. "Aw, thank you!"

"Can I have one more? I want to give it to Manik maama,"

Wanting to put an end to her curiosity, Cabir urged, "You remember that secret I told you?" The little one's eyes widened at him. She instantly scanned her surroundings to make sure they were secluded. 

Approximately two months ago...

Adira was on a mini roller-coaster ride. Caged between Cabir's arms and legs, she was loving the cosplay version of virtual reality racing! An X-box controller was in her uncle's hands, and she latched on for support as she swerved and jolted each time the car turned or braked in the game, all thanks to Cabir who was hellbent on making the experience as realistic as possible for her.

A melodious chime at the door nipped Adira's attention from the car game and crouching in the gap of his legs, she slipped out of his grip. "Adira, wait!" He warned at the little Usain Bolt who twisted and turned around the legs of the dining table to reach her destination. Cabir paused the game and set the controller to a side, running behind her.

"Let me see who it is, first." He jumped between her and the door. She paused in a statue state.

Scrutinising into the door eye, he mumbled, "It's a mailman, turn around and stay behind the door until I say otherwise,"

Adira turned around and closed her eyes with her palms as instructed, as if following customary orders. Cabir grabbed a gun from one of the top drawers of the shoerack, and opened and shut a few cabinets successively to mask the sound of his gun cocking.

One suspicious move and he would fire at the oncomer without a second thought! Anything to protect their territory.

It was only when the door finally shut again that Adira was allowed to speak, still with her back to him. "Is it a present?" came her curious voice.

Cabir tucked the gun back in the rack, repeating a routine of sounds to avoid suspicion from the kid. 

"It's a letter for Manik,"

She turned around and bounced on her bare little feet, unable to contain her excitement. "I wanna see!"

Panicked at the unexpected spin and what could have happened had she caught a glimpse of the gun, Cabir's face twisted, displeased. "Now now, you're not supposed to turn like that before I say you can."

"But I wanna see..." She whined, ignoring a pang of pain that stemmed from a scolding from one of her uncles. Scoldings from her mother were a common occurrence, but all three of her uncles doted on her enough to offset it. This time, the scales were tipping. 

"I don't think it's a good idea, doosron ke personal cheezon par haath nahi lagaana chahiye."

Adira's face visibly drooped at the remark. She was never told 'no' for anything by any of the men... in a way, she could say he never took 'no' for an answer from them – very much like one of her heavy-headed uncles. What always followed was a loud tantrum to have her ways, because how dare anyone say 'no' to her?

Clutching her outfit at the sides with her fists, she ran towards the stairs, wailing as if her favourite toy had been snatched.

He had raised his voice at the child that was dearest to his heart. That guilt chewed his insides. He hurried behind her and modified, "But but... I'll allow it this time if you promise you'll keep it a secret."

Her cries instantly subsided, and a wobbly lip was stabilised by her teeth clutching them in place. There was not a trace of a teardrop in her eyes, Cabir regarded, mildly discomfited at the master manipulator. Was he doing the right thing by staking her in his plan, in his curiosity to know what Manik was upto? 

If there was even a hint of something dangerous in the parcel, he would instantly intervene and hide the item from Adira without entertaining any questions on that matter. He was good at changing topics in a way that she would not fixate on her curiosity. He could handle it.

"Shh... see, I won't tell anyone, pinky promise." She firmly extended a pinky, taking the pinky-promise very seriously.

Cabir pressed his grin, negotiating further. "Not even Mumma,"

"Okay, I won't tell Mumma."

He swept her body under one arm, and she guffawed as she flew across the room and onto the couch with him... beside him. As a placating measure, she pointed at the envelope and herself, asking if she could rip it.  Cabir emphasised to only tear off the edge. Her small hand slipped into the gaping packet and pulled a single large glossy sheet to her lap.

There was a long moment of silence.

Unable to believe his eyes, Cabir squinted at it, blinked and then rubbed his eyes again, his amusement growing with every second.

It was a glorious full-sized picture of Ms. Nandini Murthy wearing a simple salwar kameez, adequately adorned with jewellery and seated in a temple with her hands joined in prayer.

How and when had Manik managed to receive the photograph, especially without Cabir's knowledge? 

Adira stroked the shiny surface, looking utterly confused. "Who is that?"

Cabir licked his lips and pulled them into his mouth, compressing his grin. Huh, so much for wanting nothing to do with her! But he could not hold composure, he broke into explosions of laughter, scaring the toddler. Adira was collected into his arms while he nearly cried from the hilarity of the situation.

"Are you laughing at her?" The kid asked innocently.

"Oh God! No. I..." Another series of his chuckles got her smiling too. She didn't know what was funny, but if it made him happy, that was sufficient. "She's... she's Manik's girlfriend," He flashed his teeth and panted as he explained.

Until he got a confession out of his friend's mouth, he would hold the photograph hostage. As he tugged it, the picture went into a death grip as the baby threw one hand to her mouth and gasped loudly. Girlfriend? "Haw!"

As far as she knew, boyfriends and girlfriends were only for big people. When she was about two, she heard the word from somewhere and asked her Mumma about it. Her mother had said girlfriends are a type of best friend adults choose for themselves when they become big. Finding the concept fascinating, she enquired if her Mumma could be her girlfriend once she grew up, but her mother chuckled at her and said it wasn't possible, which confused her. 

Some months after that, she had stumbled into Alia and Manik kissing on the lips and as she shyly giggled, they explained to her that being boyfriend and girlfriend meant they don't kiss other people on the lips. They were not necessarily best friends, but to be boyfriend and girlfriend, two people had to be big... very big.

It would take Adira lots of years to be that big.  

Cheekily, Adira touched Nandini's glowing cheek. That meant Manik and Nandini would be kissing each other on the lips! She palmed her own mouth again. 

"But, but... don't tell him I said that, he becomes Hulk whenever I mention anything about Nandini."

Adira's fascination for the woman suddenly knew no bounds. She had very long black hair, like the kind Adira wanted to have and would often pin a dupatta over her head to achieve. On top of that, the lady was at peace, glowing as she prayed. Staring at the woman in the photo, her lips wobbled as if to repeat the name she just heard. Then she went silent for a few moments, merely feeling the picture.

Cabir witnessed several expressions on the baby and wondered what was crossing her mind, because the only thought on his mind was pride.

What reason did Manik have now for claiming her picture? Didn't he say there was no future for them and that nothing could ever happen between them?

He smirked at those thoughts. Hadn't he been right about love, and its inability to be controlled?

Iska matlab yahi hai ki inki kahaani aage badh rahi hai.

After some deep contemplation, the baby turned to Cabir and softly asked, "Will she like me?"

"Aw, she's going to love you, there's no doubt about it!" He pulled her cheeks tight and puckered the hand that pinched her, shooing away all the worries the baby had about not being liked by a very important person in her Maama's life.

It's your Maama I'm worried about her liking, he thought to himself.

"The real question is do you like her?"

She nodded quickly, admiring the woman in the picture and then innocently probed, "Cabi, when can I get a girlfriend?" He smiled at the question, certain that this wasn't the first time she was asking. Only now, she was slightly older and that meant a better response than what she was given a year ago.

"When you're old enough, you'll automatically know who you like. You might like girls, might like boys, or maybe both, the options are endless."

"Then how do you know whom to pick?"

"You listen to this thing right here. This... this knows you best." He touched his own heart, as Adira mimicked him and touched hers, silently agreeing to listen to it when she could hear what it said... the way Cabir said it will.

While she remained distracted by the photo, Cabir glanced at the envelope for a clue about where Manik must've retrieved the packet from. The sender's address was one in Gujarat, and attached to it was a name: Pandit Trilok Chaurasia, along with a phone number.

Later that same day, Cabir thoughtfully dialled the number, had impersonated a post man working at the post office and conveyed that the dispatched envelope had been tampered with. Therefore, a case had to be filed and investigations were to take place regarding the mail. Cabir threw in the FBI tag.

Such a call frightened Pandit to his guts, who was eyeing SPACE Academy. He needed the deal to happen under-the-table if he wanted to benefit out of it. If the police or any federal institutions got involved, his name would be dragged through the mud and things could turn out very ugly for him. Court was the last place he wanted to visit. Worried about the consequences, Pandit blurted that he was being blackmailed by a crazy goon for a picture of a woman.

Impressive... that was impressive, that a girl could make Manik crazy enough to cold-call and threaten someone.

Apparently, if Pandit didn't comply to the goon's wishes, his whole family was at risk, the psycho had apparently plotted a murder plan for each of his closest ones. Cabir scoffed; there was no way in hell Nawab would ever lay a finger on someone's family, not even if that someone was a conman, but others did not need to know that. It was good that Nawab's threat was taken seriously in that regard.

Unknowingly, Pandit had confided in his weakness with Cabir. Using that as leverage, on further probing, Cabir learned about an inkling of a deal involving lots of money, and some deed signatures...

The timelines of it matched that of when SPACE Academy went through a major restructure, around the same time when donations and transactions were being frozen into the institution. As far as Cabir could remember, SPACE's financial team had no intel regarding any external breaches to the institution or its transactions – nothing big enough to warrant an account freeze.

Unless it was Manik, a member of the clan, who initiated it...

Why would he do that? What motive did Manik have to sabotage his own clan? No, it just did not make sense. He was in fact the last person who would even think of doing such a thing. Besides, he did not have singlehanded ownership on that property: it was the whole clan's.

It was a far thought, even for speculation purposes.

What if it was the drugs that made him that way? They pushed him to many questionable decisions in the past... but this could not be one of them, that was for sure. Cabir's instinct said so.

Instinct? Was he sure of that?

"Do you remember?" Cabir reiterated. Adira playfully nodded. "Manik has gone to find his princess, his Nandini, and bring her here." Adira beamed with joy at the thought of finally seeing Nandini. "Yes, he's doing okay, and he's going to come back and introduce Nandini to you. Does that make you feel better?" She aggressively nodded, unable to contain her smile.

"Now can you tell me exactly what happened at the market?"

𓆩𓆪

Until now, everyone within the clan somehow either suspects Manik or is separated from him by choice. Cabir is the only person who trusts him unconditionally. Let's see how this fares out for them as a group.

Yeh one for all, all for one intact rahega ki nahi?

This was a MaNan-less part, but needed for the plot (issliye double update day :P)

I hope you still keep your love flowing because it keeps me going <3 Please don't forget to vote, comment and share with your friends.

Next update: now!