Authors POV

The Singhania mansion didn't look like the Singhania mansion anymore. The laughter was gone. The warmth was gone. Every corner felt heavy, silent, almost unfamiliar.

Saanvi Singhania was no more.

Her body lay in a glass coffin at the center of the hall, the first daughter in law of the younger generation, the one who held everyone together, the sunshine of the house... now lying still, cold.

The elders were shattered. Even the walls felt like they were crying.

Devansh and Shivangi broke down again and again, unable to believe they were seeing this day. Rajeev, Aman, Abhimanyu, and Arjun stood frozen, four strong brothers, now shaken to the core. Losing a daughter in law who was nothing less than a daughter.

Shivangi whispered, her voice trembling "I never thought we would see this day..." She clutched Sandhya tightly and cried like a mother who lost her child.

Near the coffin, Nandini held Akriti as both sobbed. "Akriti... now what will happen to Jay? What about the children? Ariv is just four... Kiara is only two. They don't even know their mother is gone."

On the other side, Kabir wrapped an arm around a devastated Shourya.

"Kabir... go and bring Jay. It's time." Said Abhimanyu

Kabir nodded "Yes, Papa."

He climbed the stairs slowly, his heart thudding. Jay's room door was half open.

Inside, Jay was standing rigidly near the window  shoulders tense, eyes blank, face pale. Like a man who had forgotten how to breathe.

Kabir stepped closer and placed a hand on his elder brother's shoulder. "Bhaiya... let's go. It's time."

Jay finally turned to look at him, and the moment he saw Kabir, his voice cracked.

"Kabir... what do I do now? My family is shattered. How do I handle our kids? One is four... one is just two..."

Kabir didn't flinch. He held his brother by the shoulders.

"Bhaiya, don't worry. We're all here. I swear to you, Ariv and Kiara will be loved even more now  and forever. Nobody can take Saanvi Bhabhi's place but we'll stand with you. We have to accept it, Bhaiya. We have to face it. And you are not alone."

Jay broke. Completely.

He clutched Kabir and cried into his shoulder, shaking.

"Kabir... in this situation also, you're so strong... so wise..."

Kabir exhaled shakily. "I have to be strong, Bhaiya. When my elder brother, my niece, my nephew, my grandparents, Bade Papa, Badi Maa everyone needs a shoulder, then my shoulders have to be strong enough to hold them."

He wiped Jay's tears like an elder brother would even though he was the younger one.

Jay sniffed, nodded, and whispered "Kabir... we have to take Ariv and Kiara to see Saanvi. They need to see their mother... one last time."

Kabir nodded immediately. He didn't trust his voice to speak. And they went to the children's room

Kabir lifted four year old Ariv into his arms, who was playing with his cars, Kabir said "Ariv let's go down beta" Ariv didnt questioned his chachu, the child instantly resting his cheek on Kabir's shoulder, unaware of the storm around him. Jay picked up little Kiara, just two years old, holding her tiny hand and pressing her gently to his chest.

Together, they walked downstairs. And for the last time the Singhania family walked their youngest mother toward her final goodbye.

Jay and Kabir walked toward the glass coffin slowly, each step heavier than the last. The room went silent the moment they appeared with the children.

Everyone turned. And everyone broke again.

Shivangi covered her mouth and sobbed. Akriti wrapped her arms around Nandini, holding her up when her knees almost gave out. Shourya leaned into Abhimanyu for support, trembling like he couldn't breathe. Sanaya and Ishika cried like she'd lost her own sister.

The Gen Z kids stood in a corner, all of them crying and holding each other their usual mischief replaced by a silence that hurt. Paridhi and Piyali clung to one another. They weren't just crying they were breaking.

Paridhi's voice shook as she whispered, "Piyali we're alone now who'll hold us together the way she did?" Piyali's tears fell harder. "She was the one who never left my side... when I panicked after getting married into this house, she was the one who sat with me, cooked with me made me feel at home"

Before their grief swallowed them whole, Riaan and Raiansh reached them.

Riaan cupped Paridhi's face gently. "Pari... don't shatter like this. Look at Jay bhaiya... look at the kids. They just lost their mother. They need us, they need you both now more than ever especially Ariv and Kiara."

Raiansh placed a steady hand on Piyali's shoulder. "Piyu, I know you shared a deep bond with bhabhi all of you did. But falling apart today when those two little kids have lost their entire world and bhaiya has lost the love of his life we can't, Piyu. Not today."

Their words steadied the two women. Paridhi wiped her face, nodding shakily. Piyali breathed deep and held her husband's hand tightly.

Nearby, Naksh wrapped his arms around Jeevika, trying to hold together the mother who always held everyone else.

Yug stood with Devansh, supporting his grandfather as the old man cried silently, staring at the glass coffin like he still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Saanvi's parents stood on one side, shattered beyond words.

Jay's grip on Kiara tightened.

Kabir knelt down and gently placed Ariv on his feet. The little boy blinked around, confused by all the crying, holding Kabir's kurta tightly.

Jay crouched and took Ariv's small hand, his voice trembling.

"Ariv... baby... say bye to Mumma."

Ariv looked up at his father, not understanding. He looked at the glass coffin then back at Jay.

"Mumma sleeping?" Asked Ariv

Jay's throat closed. His eyes filled up instantly. "...Haan... Mumma is sleeping, beta."

Ariv reached his tiny hand toward the coffin, touching the cold glass. "Mumma... get up... I want chocolate..."

That one line shattered the entire family.

Rajiv collapsed into Shourya's arms.
Nandini turned away and cried.
Ishika and  Sanaya, both shaking.

Jay bent his head, tears falling on Ariv's shoulder.

Kabir closed his eyes tightly and placed a hand on Jay's back, silently steadying him.

Kiara, still confused, touched Saanvi's photo placed near the coffin and mumbled,
"Mumma... mumma..."

Her soft voice echoed like a stab.

Jay wiped his face quickly and pulled both kids close, one on each side. His voice broke as he whispered, "Mumma loves you... always."

Ariv asked again, innocent "Papa... Mumma come home?"

Jay couldn't answer.

So Kabir answered for him, his voice low, steady, yet cracking at the edges "Beta... Mumma will always be with you. Here."

He touched Ariv's chest.

Ariv nodded like he understood something.

Kiara reached out and hugged Jay's neck.

The hall filled again with cries  not loud, but the painful kind that squeezes your heart.

Jay stood up slowly, holding both children, staring at Saanvi one last time, the love of his life., the woman he'd built everything with...Gone. And for the first time in years, Jay Singhania the strong, grumpy, respected man looked small, Broken and  Human.

And just like that... the last rites began.

The Singhania brothers stood beside Jay, holding him up the way pillars hold a collapsing roof.

The women stayed back at the mansion, their own grief rippling through the halls like a quiet storm. Paridhi held Kiara close, rocking the little girl who didn't understand why the whole house smelled of flowers and sadness. Piyali sat on the sofa with Ariv curled against her chest, his small fists holding her tightly, like he was scared she'd disappear too.

At first, Ariv stayed quiet.

Then the tears came.

Big, heavy, confused sobs.

He looked up at Piyali with swollen eyes "Piyu chachi..." his voice cracked, "I've seen in films... this is how people go to God... right?"

Piyali froze.

Ariv wiped his own tears with his tiny hand "Mumma went to God... and she won't come back... right?"

The room broke.

Paridhi covered Kiara's ears and started crying.
Nandini and Shivangi turned away as tears streamed down.
Even the Gen Z kids (Ivaan, Yatharth, Arohi, Alia) who were trying to act strong, burst into silent sobs.

Piyali couldn't speak. She only hugged Ariv tighter, pressing his head into her shoulder as tears dripped onto his hair.

Because the child had understood something no one wanted him to.

Something no one at that age should ever have to understand

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[Pristi Scrolls]