Chapter 26: A Mother's Promise

The room was dim, moonlight streaming softly through the curtains. Poornima walked in quietly, her eyes immediately drawn to the small figure curled up on the bed.

Ayan was holding his old teddy bear—the one she had gifted him the day he called her "Amma" for the first time.

His little hands clutched it tightly, and she noticed the dried trails of tears on his cheeks. Her heart clenched.

Without a word, she lay down beside him, slowly wrapping her arms around his small frame.

He stirred at first, then turned and hugged her tightly, as if afraid she’d slip away.

Poornima gently kissed his head.

“What happened, Ayan? Amma is here... won’t you tell me? You always tell Amma everything, don’t you?”

There was a pause. A silence so delicate it threatened to shatter with a single breath.

Then, in a trembling voice, Ayan whispered:

“Sahana amma came to school today… she told me you don’t love me. She said… you only love Appa, Aradhya and Arjun, Ira… because they’re yours. She said I’m not your real son…”

The words cut through Poornima’s heart like a blade.

Her arms instinctively tightened around him. She gently pulled his face up, so he could look into her eyes.

“Ayan, listen to me, my son… you are mine. You are my pride, my first child. You are the reason I learned what a mother’s love truly is.”

Tears welled up in Ayan’s eyes again.

“You won’t send me away? Not even when the babies grow up? You won’t stop loving me?”

Poornima’s voice was firm yet filled with warmth as she cupped his cheeks.

“Never. You are my son. You live in my heart. Not for a day, not for a few years—forever. No one can ever take you away from me. Not Sahana. Not anyone.”

Ayan looked at her for a long moment. Then slowly, a smile crept onto his face—a soft, trusting smile.

He hugged her again, this time tighter, resting his head against her heart.

“I love you, Amma. You’re my favorite person.”

Poornima kissed his forehead and whispered,

“And you’ll always be mine, Ayan. My boy. My first heartbeat. My strength.”

And that night, wrapped in the warmth of her love, Ayan drifted into peaceful sleep—safe, cherished, and complete.

Poornima lay awake for a while, brushing his hair back softly. In her heart, she made a silent vow:

> “No one… no one will ever break my child’s heart again. I will protect this bond with everything I have.”