ETERNAL MONARCH (FATHER-SON SAGA)

4| Consequences

It was only when they got inside the car and Prithviraj ordered his chauffeur to drive home, informing his bodyguard that they found Shivansh, the boy realized what brought his father here. He came here unannounced. He didn't have his phone with him. His father must have gotten scared. He wanted to apologize and say how he didn't think much before deciding to explore the city on his own but couldn't gather enough courage to do so. 

Prithviraj looked like a ticking bomb. Just a poke and the explosion would be destructive. Not wanting to get yelled at in front of their driver, Shivansh didn't speak anything. The man sitting beside him was his father, no doubt, but it was a deadlier version of his sweet father. This man didn't let his misbehavior slide this morning, how would he let his reckless behavior slide? 

The journey from the beach to their mansion felt too long. Prithviraj was not speaking, afraid of lashing out at him in front of strangers. He was livid but he didn't want to humiliate his child. Shivansh was a teenager. Getting yelled at in front of strangers is embarrassing. And Shivansh was quiet because he didn't know how to address his father without angering him. 

When they reached home, the servants had a hunch about what might have happened. The news of Prithviraj frantically roaming on streets was not missed by the news channels. And one look at the kid, and they knew the boy was at fault. They felt bad for the little kid. Prithviraj had a scary temper. His anger scared almost everyone, and the boy was still a naïve kid. How would he take his father's anger? 

"Did you eat anything?" Prithviraj asked the boy as soon as they walked inside the house. It was almost five in the evening when they reached. 

Shivansh's lips failed to co-operate. They were sealed in fear. When the boy did not answer, verbally or in actions, his jaw ticked. He reminded himself that he couldn't shout at a child. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before taking a step forward towards the boy. 

"Did you or did you not eat anything outside, Shivansh?" He asked him again, and this time the boy nodded his head quickly. His father sounded too angry for his liking. 

"What?" Prithviraj asked him again, and Shivansh looked up before looking away immediately. No matter how much he tried, his father's dark, angry eyes were too intense for him to hold his gaze. 

"Dosa." Shivansh answered in a small voice and Prithviraj nodded his head. 

"Go to our room." Prithviraj demanded him, looking at him with such seriousness that Shivansh didn't have the bravery to question his father and immediately scurried away. 

It was only when Shivansh ran upstairs, like literally ran upstairs, that he ran his fingers through his hair angrily. He didn't want to deal with the kid in anger. So he took his time. He waited for half an hour, at least, before going up to his room. 

Shivansh was sitting on the bed silently. His eyes held guilt and slight fear. Though the fear didn't settle with him, he knows kids are supposed to get scared after making mistakes. It was still better to fear consequences than not care about it at all. 

When Prithviraj walked inside the room, Shivansh gulped immediately. This was a new side of his father and was quite daunting. The way he commanded presence without even uttering a word, and the way he walked and conversed with him, everything was just too different. And now that he was in trouble, he didn't know what to expect from him. That scared him a bit. 

"I'm sorry, Baba." Shivansh apologized genuinely. 

He was genuinely very sorry for scaring his father. This was not happening for the first time. But unlike every other time, he honestly didn't mean to cause trouble this time. This was just how he used to live. He never informed anyone. He never cared enough to inform his father. But today when he saw his father in distress, he realized how stupid he was being. The majority of the time, his father was oblivious to his adventures.