Chapter 23

The Fear of Being Replaced

That evening, the mansion was unusually quiet when finally walked down from his penthouse.

It had been days since he came downstairs at this hour.

Inayat was sitting beside Poornima, drawing something with crayons, her small head resting occasionally against Poornima’s shoulder. They were laughing about something simple — a crooked sun in her drawing.

“Papa!” Inayat suddenly shouted, her face lighting up the moment she saw him.

Veeresh paused.

For a second — just one second — something softened in his eyes.

Then it hardened again.

“Don’t call me that,” he said flatly, walking past them.

The room froze.

Inayat blinked, confused. Then she dropped her crayons and ran behind him.

“Papa, please!” she called, her voice trembling.

He stopped near the staircase but didn’t turn immediately.

“Why are you crying?” he asked without looking at her. “You never came upstairs to see me. You never called me. You’re enjoying with her.” He pointed toward , who stood frozen in shock.

His voice lowered, but the hurt slipped through.
“I’m upset, Inayat. You forgot me. I don’t think you need me anymore.”

It wasn’t anger.

It was fear.

Inayat’s lips trembled. She ran forward and hugged his leg tightly.

“Papa, no… I love you lots. Very lots,” she cried. “I didn’t forget you. I was waiting for you to come.”

Her tiny fingers clutched his trousers as if afraid he would disappear.

For a moment, his hand hovered above her head.

He wanted to lift her.
He wanted to hold her.

But instead, he gently freed himself.

“Go inside,” he said quietly.

And he walked away.

Inayat stood there, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Papa…” she whispered again.

Poornima rushed forward immediately, kneeling down and pulling Inayat into her arms. The child cried uncontrollably against her chest.

“It’s okay,” Poornima whispered, though her own heart ached. “He loves you. He is just… upset.”

But she understood something deeper in that moment.

Veeresh wasn’t angry that Inayat loved her.

He was afraid that she loved her more.

And a man who had built his entire life on control did not know how to handle the fear of losing the only person who belonged completely to him.

Upstairs, Veeresh stood alone in the dark corridor, fists clenched, eyes burning.

He had just hurt the one person he would die for.

And he hated himself for it.

One line:
He feared being replaced, not realizing love was multiplying — not dividing.