Book 1 of the Love and Duty Series
Anirudh Roy, the steadfast and disciplined army officer, had always lived by a set of principles, none of which involved love. His life revolved around duty, honor, and the pursuit of his ambitions. Marriage, child...
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Anirudh
Looking at the white ceiling of my room, I smile mindlessly. I can't shake away the thoughts of Dhairya, my Dhairya. She looked so beautiful today, just like a flower. The way she giggled, her voice and her flowing hair are keeping me off bay. I never thought I would find myself falling for someone like her. She brings the best out of me. But when she cried remembering her father and that incident, I felt the need to kill that stalker with my own hands. Because of that little shit, my Dhairya had to cry and she strained her relationship with her father. Her father wasn't wrong, if I were in his place, I would have done the same. I wouldn't like my daughter getting harassed by a stupid boy.
"Ani! Open the door, I am knocking from the past ten minutes. Are you alright?" I hear my mother yell and I nearly fall from the bed. With eyes widened, I scramble out and open the door. I find my mother with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised. She sceptically looks at me, before asking, "Now will you tell me what is going on with you? You are acting so weird, not like my son".
I scrunch my eyebrows and stammer, "W-weird? How am I acting weird to be precise?"
She takes steps towards me with that scary look on her face, trying to intimidate me. I step back a little when she asserts, "Like you never took leave but now suddenly, you took a leave. Second, you didn't even sit for a minute and went out saying you have to meet a friend. After you returned, you were smiling like crazy. At breakfast today, you had no idea what was going on. Shob theek ache?"
(Is everything alright?)
I gulp at her. How does she notice everything I do? And what should I answer now?
"Mumma everything is alright, you are overthinking", I calmly say, holding her shoulders. Her glare intensifies at me as I give her my biggest smile. I am telling you, these Indian mothers have super powers. Even though I hide my emotions so skillfully, she always looks through them.
She whispers, "Who is the girl?"
For a second, I am thrown apart with her subtle question. How does she know that it's about a girl? Am I making it obvious that almost everyone knows that it's a girl who has brought a smile to my face? Can't it be my friends or something else?
"Ha, your expression says I am right. Now tell me about her", my mother claps out on her victory and I blink my eyes. Did she just guess and I responded like she wanted?
She pinches my arm when I don't answer. Gasping, I blabber, "It's not what you are thinking. There is no such thing".
She rolls her eyes and sits on the bed. Urging me to sit beside her, she says, "Then? Why are you so lost?"
I try to think of an answer when my mother says, "You and your father can't lie to me. Come on, tell me about my daughter in law". My mouth parts and I gulp. Sighing, I tell her, "Fine but first thing, we just agreed to start dating. Neither of us aren't sure if this is gonna be permanent."
