Chapter 7

Restless Night

Veeresh returned to the Raisinghania mansion long after the city had quieted down. The gates opened automatically, the guards greeting him respectfully, but his mind was nowhere near the present moment.

Inside, the house was calm.

Inayat was sitting at the dining table, her little legs swinging as she ate her dinner, completely unaware of the storms adults create.

When she saw him, her eyes lit up. “Papa!”

Something in his chest softened instantly. He walked toward her and placed his hand gently on her head. “Finish your food.”

She nodded obediently.

He removed his coat and sat down. Without looking up, he said, “Mrs. Raisinghania… a tea.”

There was silence for a second.

Then his stepmother appeared from the hallway.

For a brief moment, she just stood there.

He had spoken to her.

Not instructions through staff. Not cold silence.

Directly.

Her eyes softened with quiet happiness. “Yes,” she replied gently and hurried to the kitchen herself.

She didn’t ask why.

She didn’t ask anything.

She made the tea with her own hands and brought it to him carefully, placing it near him without disturbing his thoughts.

“Tea,” she said softly.

He gave a small nod.

For her, that nod was enough.

She walked away with a faint smile — a mother satisfied with crumbs of attention.

Veeresh lifted the cup but didn’t drink immediately.

His mind wasn’t in the mansion.

It was somewhere on a railway track leading to Tumkur.

Did she reach?

Did she eat anything?

Was she alone in the compartment?

He didn’t know why he was thinking about it this much.

She wasn’t his responsibility.

She wasn’t his anything.

Yet the image of her standing alone at the platform kept replaying.

His phone rang.

Rayan.

“Sir, board meeting tomorrow morning. You need to address it.”

“Alright,” Veeresh replied mechanically and disconnected.

Business.

Always business.

But tonight, even ambition felt distant.

Inayat finished dinner and ran toward him. “Papa, I want to sleep with you.”

He looked down at her and couldn’t stop the small smile that appeared.

“Come.”

He carried her to his room. She curled beside him, holding his arm tightly as if claiming her place.

Within minutes, she fell asleep peacefully.

Veeresh stared at the ceiling.

The mansion was silent.

His daughter was safe.

Everything was under control.

Yet his mind refused to rest.

For the first time in years, he felt… unsettled.

He closed his eyes slowly, telling himself she would be fine.

She had reached safely.

She had to.

But sleep came with unease.

One line:
Even in his safest place, Veeresh felt something was about to go wrong.