‘He is the exact reason we don’t want to live there,’ Siya said, not doing the least bit to hide the bitterness in her voice. She didn’t need to elaborate on the matter. He knew about the tense dynamic between the step-siblings, but chose to pretend it didn’t exist.
As she’d expected, he disregarded her comment with a swat of his hand and sat down on the leather couch. ‘Let’s talk about tonight.’
Siya crossed her arms and leaned against the wall across from him. ‘You already made your point, Dad, but I am not changing my mind.’
Kartik raised a hand to stop her, and an unprecedented emotion coloured his expression. Regret. ‘Listen to me. I shouldn’t have brought up this topic in front of the Agrawals.’
Siya froze where she stood, unable to comprehend his words. Her father’s vocabulary never consisted of “I shouldn’t have” and she didn’t know what to do with this new development.
His tone was softer than she’d ever heard from him before, and it made her pause. She’d given up hoping for affection from him, and it took her decades to make peace with it. But now?
‘I… understand. If you don’t want to marry for the business’s sake, we’ll let it go,’ he added, his tone gentle.
She blinked, and hope bloomed in her chest again. Maybe he’d finally come around and was choosing his daughter first.
‘Really? Are you serious, Dad?’ she asked, searching his face for a lie, but there was no hint of deceit.
Kartik met her eyes and nodded once as he said, ‘I am. I mean it.’
She didn’t trust it entirely, but the tension melted from her shoulders, and she leaned against the wall in relief. Tears sprang to her eyes and she took a deep breath to stop them from falling.
‘Where’s Kashvi tonight? Is she not home?’ Kartik enquired, looking around once again.
‘Volunteer trip to Uttarakhand. She’ll be back in a couple of days. Why?’
‘I had some news for her, and was hoping to talk to her about it.’
A vine of unease pierced through her heart. When was the last time he’d asked about Kashvi? A long time ago. If a person didn’t know her family tree, they’d think Kartik Kashyap had a son and one daughter, not two.
His sudden interest in Kashvi’s whereabouts made her gut tighten with worry. ‘What news, Dad?’
‘Speaking of it, I’d love your opinion on it too.’ He pulled out his phone out of his jacket pocket and began scrolling through it.
Kashvi’s debut in the family business? She’d made plans to talk to their father about involving Kashvi in the upcoming exhibition, and it warmed her heart to think it wouldn’t be necessary anymore. Maybe with time, he’d warm up to them more, and they’d finally have a father figure in their lives.
He got up and walked over to her and turned the phone toward her to see. A photograph filled his screen.
It was of a well-dressed older man, with a round face and a balding look, smiling straight at the camera.
Ravindra Bhatt. He was one of the leading textile business tycoons and made regular appearances on the covers of business magazines. She remembered him from the New Year’s party four years ago. He had been practically drooling around her, and she could still feel his slimy gaze.
Kartik asked, ‘What do you think of him?’
Siya frowned, trying to catch up. ‘As in… an investor or business collab?’
‘As in a match for Kashvi,’ he clarified with a straight face.
A beat passed as Siya processed what he meant, and then her blood turned to ice in her veins. ‘You mean—what?’
‘As a matrimonial match for Kashvi,’ he spoke slowly, reiterating every word as if speaking to a child. He spoke of it as casually as if he were discussing the weather. ‘Ravindra has been looking to remarry for a while, and he’s interested in Kashvi.’
Her breath rushed out in a harsh exhale, and she took a step back. ‘Are youinsane?’
Kartik raised an eyebrow. ‘Don’t raise your voice. I’ve taught you better than that.’
Siya couldn’t forgethowhe’d taught her that even if she wanted to. Years later, she still couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge the emotional trauma he’d caused her. But she’d succeeded in keeping Kashvi away from that environment, only to fail now.
‘She’s twenty-four, he’s sixty, and you’re thinking of setting them up?!’
