Her Dangerous Obsession

Chap 51 - The Inner Dilemma

Author's POV

Adhrit sat frozen, his body rigid, tears blurring his vision, and threatening to spill from his eyes. His hands, resting on his knees, were clenched tightly — not in fear, but from a piercing sense of pain.

The pain stemmed from realizing, that someone he had swiftly judged as stone-hearted and merciless carried a history so miserable and agonizing, that he could never have conceived it.

"I'm sorry!" Adhrit finally whispered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Pranay looked at him, slightly surprised — not by the apology itself, but by the profound sincerity, and genuine emotion conveyed by the young man.

"I am truly sorry, that you had to remember your painful past once again, just because of me." Adhrit continued, his words rushing out. "I never meant to hurt your feelings. I had no idea, there could be such a deep reason behind this. I asked that question only out of curiosity, but you didn't have to answer it. I know, it must have hurt you beyond limits, to open those wounds again — the ones, that are unhealable."

Pranay smiled faintly, listening to Adhrit’s heartfelt regret. "You are a very sensitive little kid!" he replied, his tone softening slightly. "But you need to know, that I am not weak at all. I chose to enter politics, despite having such a massive business empire, because that bastard, who killed my mother was entrenched in politics. I wanted to destroy him by beating him in his own field, and I did it. First, I snatched everything from him — his position, his property — and then, I killed him. I killed him with double the brutality, with which he killed my mother."

Listening to Pranay's chilling words, goosebumps rose all over Adhrit's body, and he looked at the older man with wide eyes. Yet, he didn't judge him, because he now understood, how difficult and painful it must have been for Pranay to witness his own mother's murder at such a tender age.

"Are you judging me, little boy?", Pranay asked, raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner.

Adhrit quickly shook his head repeatedly. "No, I am not."

"I just got a little... scared.", he confessed innocently, like a small child — a reply, that forced a brief, involuntary smile onto Pranay’s face.

"You're the first one in this house to ask me about the temple in all these years.", Pranay said, the smile fading. "Nobody else ever asked me that question."

Adhrit looked up at him, his eyes still glossy. "Because they knew, it hurts you." he started, then paused in confusion. "Or they don't...?"

Pranay understood he was referring to Jeet and Anaisha. "They do," he answered. "They know everything about their father, because I think, they should. So that, they don't get fooled like my father was, and suffer always. I don't want them to lose their everything, like I did."

Adhrit took a deep sigh, and bowed his head down, unsure of what to say next.

Then, he was surprised by a question from Pranay, who was looking intensely at him. "I asked a question downstairs. Do you believe in God? I am asking you that question once again, and this time, I want to know, after whatever happened with you and your family, why do you still believe in God? He wasn't there for you, when you needed him the most, so why do you still believe in him, and find peace with him?"

Adhrit looked at Pranay with surprise, not having realized the depth behind such a simple question.

He took a deep breath, offered a small smile, and replied, "I believe in him because I believe in destiny. Destiny is pre-written, which nobody can change. Not even God himself. Your destiny finds you, no matter how hard you try to escape it. One way or another, what is meant to happen, will happen for sure."