Insatiable Desires

Bonus Chapter-1

Aahan looked behind him as he tried to climb the stairs and fastened his speed, giggling as he watched his mother coming after him. He screeched as Nandini picked him, eating her cheek in revenge before laughing as Nandini tickled his tummy while carrying him.

She walked along with him to the kitchen, preparing the milk to feed him before his brothers came home. As she carried him to their room, Aahan whined while she sat with him in her lap, holding out the feeder towards his mouth. He turned his face to the side, crying out, "Duddu."

"Duddu hi toh hai ye," Nandini replied, sighing as he shoved his face towards her bosom while looking at her with those puppy eyes and tugging at her clothes. Shaking her head, she breastfed him, her hand moving over his head gently.

At a year and half, she wanted to introduce him to solid foods and although she did make him eat them, he still refused to leave breastfeeding. Moreover, Nandini didn't really force, knowing it will happen on its own with time. She had fed Agastya for nearly an year and then one day he just stopped. It was a bittersweet moment for Nandini as she was reminded of how fast these moments pass away.

She stared at Aahan, smiling as she took him in. He totally took after his father. As if it wasn't enough that he looked like Manik, he had to take after him in behaviour too. He was possessive about his mother, so much so that he wouldn't allow anyone to have her attention when he was around and let's not talk about the night. He would refuse to sleep a wink nor let her, waking her up every hour with his cries. He truly was his father's son.

However, what surprised Nandini was that Manik and Aahan got along the most. As if they had a pact of being born to trouble her. She sighed when he fell back asleep even though he had woken up a few minutes prior, no doubt he wouldn't sleep at night.

~~~~~

"Mahir, kya hua mere bache," Nandini asked with a frown, concerned as he continued crying in her lap while hugging her midriff. Nandini sometimes felt guilty as she realized that the older he was growing, the more the bond they shared was breaking despite her efforts to avoid it.

Wherever he went, people didn't leave a single chance to remind him that Nandini wasn't his mother. After Agastya and Aahan were born, he distanced himself more from her. But, despite whatever was happened, the nearly six year old boy remembered the words his father had said when he was three. To never make his mother cry.

"Mumma, aapke paas," Mahir hiccuped, referring to sleeping beside her since he had been having nightmares the past few nights. Since Aahan had to be fed at night, Nandini slept on one side with him and she did made her three sons sleep in middle, but Mahir mostly had to compromise being the eldest as Agastya used to come and sleep another side.

"Haan toh soh jaungi, mere bache. Roh kyu rahe ho," Nandini assured her son, wiping his tears, pressing a kiss on his head and calming his anxious heart that she might refuse because she was not his real mother.

~~~~~

As Nandini walked inside the room after finishing off her chores, she freshed and laid in the middle of Agastya and Mahir. Aahan was laying on his father's chest, both of them ignoring the three of them as Manik was whispering something to Aahan, while the baby curiously heard him.

Soon, Aahan looked towards his mother as she animatedly narrated a story to her brothers to make them sleep. He started to whine for her as she wasn't giving him the attention. She looked towards him, smiling while he was pouting and forwarded her hand to his face.

His small hands grabbed her hand, lying his head on it as he looked at Manik and said, "Papa." Manik looked towards him, as Aahan demanded, "Kahani."

Manik sighed while Nandini was relieved that he may handle Aahan till she made both of them asleep. But, she groaned inwardly as Manik narrated, "Ek baar ek raja hota hai. Uski ek Rani hoti hain. Dono mar jaate hain. Kahani khatam," Manik said, looking at him as Aahan looked up from his chest, frowning at how soon it ended even though he couldn't comprehend much of whatever his father said.