Prologue
Four Years Ago, New Year’s Eve
Adorned in a couture saree and vintage jewellery, Siya looked like shebelongedamong the elites. The icy blue fabric shimmered with beads and sequins, rivalling the glint of diamonds around her neck, and her smile was at full force as she mingled with the guests. But the problem was that she knew she didn’t. Underneath her exquisite attire and practiced charm, Siya was suffocating—aching to be anywhere else.
She stood beside her father, a polite smile frozen on her face, as she listened to him talk to potential investors about his expansion plans for Kashyap Luxe in the UAE. Trust Kartik Kashyap to turn a New Year’s Eve party into a bidding war on business. She knew that conversations at such events were never about connection, but rather about acquisition.
As she took a sip of her wine, she scanned the crowd lazily. By now, she was well-versed in reading the velvet-clad elite sharks and investors, as she tried to size up who could add more zeros to the bottom of their balance sheets. After all, her father insisted she tag along to these events solely so he could secretly study the room through her observations.
Most of the guests wore bespoke Kashyap Luxe pieces. The earrings, cufflinks, and custom brooches were all Kashyapsignatures, parading under the chandeliers like trophies. Some were her designs, some were her late mother’s—but the credit for them all lay exclusively with her father, just as he liked it.
A group of investment bankers clad in tuxedos flocked around a young girl, who looked eerily like her younger sister Kashvi, showering her with attention. She was too young for their leery gazes, barely in her early twenties, and Siya had to restrain herself from pulling the girl away. She knew the mantra her father had taught her and the girl seemed to be a victim of it too. Charm, flatter, endure, and repeat until you get married to a business heir with a trust fund.
The countdown showed three hours to go till midnight. She sighed, hoping she could hold out until then on her skyscraper stilettos. Her mind wandered to her sister. Had Kashvi left for the party?
Siya felt a tap on her back as Kartik discreetly pulled her attention back to the group. She cleared her throat when she caught his displeased expression and remembered the script he had taught her before her first public event. Smile and make eye contact. Nod at investors and clients and laugh at their jokes. Be charming. Be obedient. Be enough.
‘I heard Agrawal Jewels bagged the auction bid on the rare sapphire from South Africa last month. Old age getting to you, Mr Kashyap?’ Ravindra Bhatt, one of the biggest textile tycoons, commented. Siya sensed her father becoming tense beside her.
Before Kartik could begin his rant against the Agrawals, Siya spoke up. ‘Hardly, Mr Bhatt. Kashyap Luxe is stronger than ever under my father’s vision, and we pride ourselves on our authenticity.’
Kartik continued. ‘We bowed out of the auction last minute due to the questionable source origin of the gemstone. Unfortunately, not everyone shares our moral beliefs. Agrawal Jewels is on top of that list,’ he sneered as he uttered their rival’s name.
‘So Kashyap Luxe is still going strong in the market?’ Bhatt asked. Siya had heard of his ruthless reputation. He was famous for his textile empire and infamous for acquiring other businesses and selling scraps of them for pleasure.
‘All thanks to Dad,’ Siya said, smiling up at her father. When Kartik gave a small nod in response, she knew she had said the right thing. Kartik wasn’t the kind of man to sing praises about himself, which is partially why he always kept Dhruv around to hype him up in front of investors and clients.
‘My kids spoil me with lavish praises, but it’s a team effort,’ Kartik said, feigning modesty so well that even Siya almost bought it.
‘That reminds me, where is Dhruv? I haven’t seen him around,’ Jay Kapoor, an angel investor, asked.
Speak of the devil. Dhruv sauntered over to their group, followed by a server holding a tray of whiskey and shot glasses. He stopped on Siya’s other side and put an arm over her shoulder like a doting brother. She immediately tensed up, but maintained the smile on her face, half a breath away from choking on pretence.
‘Good. You’re here. Jay was just asking about you. I’ll tell you gentlemen, ever since Dhruv joined our design team, we have received exceptional feedback from our clientele.’ Kartik beamed with such pride for her stepbrother that she felt an echo of envy in her chest.
‘You certainly lucked out in the offspring department, Kartik. With Dhruv being the talented designer he is, and now Siya growing up to be such a beautiful woman,’ Bhatt commented, openly appraising her from head to toe.
He was nearly her grandfather’s age. Siya could feel his slimy gaze on her, and fought the urge to knee him hard enough to make him choke on his words.
‘I’m still polishing her for the real world, but Siya will soon join the family business, right after she gets her practicing license next month,’ Kartik said flippantly, but Siya came alive at the announcement. The words shot through her like an electric jolt.
After countless nights and weekends that she’d spent pouring over new designs, maybe her portfolio finally proved it to her father that she has what it takes to design jewellery at Kashyap Luxe. Pride flared in her chest, warming her from the inside out. She couldn’t wait to reach home and share the news with her sister and her friends.
A sound of clinking glass echoed in the room, and everyone turned to the stage. Pritam, her father’s manager, held a glass up in toast. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. It’s a pleasure to celebrate the beginning of the new year with all of you. We start our celebrations with a celebrity performance by…’
Siya tuned him out and turned to Kartik. Before he could move away, she gently squeezed his hand and said, ‘Thank you for approving my designs, Dad. I will not disappoint you, I promise, and I will do my best to honour our family’s legacy.’
Kartik looked at her, a frown knitting his brows. ‘Legacy? You’re too young to even understand what that means. You willjoin the legal team back in Delhi, not the design department here.’
The floor seemed to tilt under her feet.
‘But I thought… Because of the portfolio I left on your desk, I thought you meant—’
‘You’re going to be a lawyer, Siya. That’s your place. We need your strong legal skills to back up the company. Don’t be another amateur playing with crayons.’
Her ears rang as her heart splintered into little pieces. Siya couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. She’d picked up law only because he had made it a point to tell her that he needed her well-versed in several areas if she wanted to take over the company one day, but her heart was in designing jewellery, like her mother used to.
‘But Dad, you’d said…’
