Her Dangerous Obsession

Chap 13 - "Do I Like Her?"

Author’s POV

After yesterday’s incident Jeet had been restless. He didn’t sleep well; even when he did, his phone never left his hand.

The men Jeet trusted with his life — those who executed orders before they had completed saying them — had been given a single instruction: follow Adhrit Mishra, map his days, note his contacts, and report.

A list of mundane details, they said. But for Jeet, it wasn’t mundane. It was a lifeline.

Pranay noticed the change in behaviour in his son. Jeet, usually measured and composed, had become hurried and curt.

He answered questions in fragments and returned to his phone with a look of barely contained urgency.

At first, Pranay assumed, it was politics or a corporate tangle Jeet preferred to keep from the family’s anxiety. Men like Jeet held many burdens, and fathers allowed sons to shoulder them.

Yet, there was something different in Jeet’s silence — a softness, that suggested his thoughts were not about policy or profit, but about something more fragile.

"You’ve been on your phone all the night.", Pranay said lightly one morning, leaning back in the study chair. His voice had the firmness of a leader, but the warmth of a father. "Is there some work trouble?"

Jeet’s fingers tightened around the mug, he had been pretending to sip. He had rehearsed the conversation a dozen times in his head, and failed each one. The truth was blunt, complicated, and yet, it demanded to be told.

When he finally spoke it, the room seemed to hold its breath. "Maybe... Anaisha loves a boy, Dad."

The words landed softly, and then thundered. For a slow second, Pranay’s expression registered nothing. Then, to Jeet’s surprise, a quiet smile appeared — an amused, slightly wistful crease, that softened the hard lines on his face.

"So, she likes someone.", Pranay said. His tone was almost indulgent. He pictured his daughter’s wedding dress, the jasmine strands, the sound of laughter.

For a man tied to public image, and protocol, a personal note of happiness was not unwelcome. "Isn’t that the best news? I was thinking of settling her anyways — this makes things simpler, if the boy is of her choice."

Jeet’s face shadowed over. This was not, what worried him. "Dad, it’s not about her liking someone. It’s about, who she likes. He’s from a middle-class background. He isn’t from our circles. I’m not saying, that’s wrong, but people with agendas use charm and status as camouflage. He could be trapping her for her money or status. Anaisha hasn’t told us any of us about him. She’s kept it to herself. Or maybe, that boy manipulated her to do so. I am unable to be sure about anything right now."

At the mention of his daughter keeping secrets, that too, about a boy, the light in Pranay’s eyes cooled.

A father’s instincts do not distinguish between social networks and security — they feel danger as a single pulse.

A steel edge edged Pranay’s voice. "If anyone even dares to play with my daughter, I will not hesitate before even killing him. Money, status — none of that will protect him, if he crosses a line. Make no mistake, Jeet. My princess is mine to defend."

Pranay growled, "I’ll throw whatever money he dares to dream of at his face and drag him away from our daughter."

Jeet took in a breath and met his father’s gaze. "But Dad… I’ve never seen Anaisha so much happy before. Happier than she’s ever been with us. She was glowing, when she was around him. I’ve kept an eye on him, but… I didn’t find anything suspicious about him. Still, I can’t shake this doubt. Maybe, this is because, I am over protective of her."