‘Your presence was requested,’ he replied.
‘At my father’s will reading! Does that make any sense to you, Neel?’
‘Let’s just get it over and done with,’ he said.
She didn’t reply and looked out the window. Neel also couldn’t understand why she’d been invited. From what he’d gathered yesterday, her father was a monster. Who monitored their family’s every move? Who sold their daughter’s horse because she’d cut her hair?
He parked the car and got out to open her door, but she was already out. He wore well-fitted jeans with a grey striped button-down shirt. He removed his sunglasses and held them out to her.
She looked at them and laughed.
‘Force of habit,’ he shrugged.
But Kaavi still took them and deposited them in her bag.
‘So for the last two years you’ve had to keep your own sunglasses, wallet and car keys whenever you went out?’
‘Why do you think I wanted you back? I needed you and your handbag,’ he teased.
She chuckled.
He held out his hand. She took it.
‘Let’s do this,’ he said as they walked towards the office.
The boardroom wasn’t what Neel expected. A massive mahogany table dominated the centre, surrounded by high-backed leather chairs. Everything from the carpet to the state-of-the-art technology hinted at the success and wealth of the law firm. He wondered how Kaavi’s father could afford to hire this lawyer on a cop’s salary. Sen, his father and Kaavi’s mother were already there when they arrived. Sen was representing Kaavi and her mother and his father was just sitting in.
An elderly lawyer and his assistant walked in.
‘Mr Joubert, I expected you to be dead by now,’ Kaavi said.
‘Kaavi!’ Her mother scolded.
‘Well, I at least hoped so,’ Kaavi responded, winking at hercousin, who smiled back.
‘Miss Archary, we meet again,’ the lawyer said as he took his seat.
‘It’s actually Mrs Naran now,’ she replied.
The lawyer didn’t respond. Instead, he opened a file.
‘Right, let’s get on with it,’ he said, retrieving two pages out of the file.
‘I, Jay Archary, being of sound mind and body, do hereby declare this to be my Last Will and Testament. I revoke all previous wills and codicils made by me. To Yanam Archary I leave the sum of five million rand. To Kaavi Naran, I leave my house, its contents and everything else on the property.’
Kaavi jumped up from her seat.
‘You said Naran. Does it say Naran there?’ She pointed to the document.
The lawyer pushed the document towards her.
‘How did he know I was married?’ she demanded. ‘This will is dated six months ago,’
Neel sat back. Yes, a reality show about a dysfunctional family.
‘Is there any more in the will?’ Sen asked.
The other lawyer handed the file to Sen.
