Loving her...

1

Riya Sharma, 19 yrs old, about to turn 20 in a few months, was pursuing her post graduation. She was the daughter of one of the most successful business tycoons of the time Mr. Nishant Sharma, founder and owner of S. S. Group of Industries. Nishant Sharma was a calm, sincere, down to earth person and a totally self made man. He was married to the beautiful Sheena Sharma.

Sheena was a chirpy, naughty person full of life, stark opposite to her husband who was a man of few words. She was basically the life of their house and Nishant's and Riya's world. Nishant loved his wife and daughters like anything but was not very expressive about the same and always had this serious facade on. On the other hand his wife was so naughty that she didn't fail to steal a romantic moment or two with him whenever she found the appropriate time according to her, which otherwise could never be called 'appropriate'. They had always been like that, so different still inseparable.

Life, as her hobby is, had thrown many things at them which they have always tackled with grace only to emerge stronger than ever.

But this story is not really about them but their elder daughter, Riya. Riya was everything that any set of parents would ever wish for in a child. She was sincere, dutiful, disciplined, cultured, caring, soft-hearted yet confident besides being blessed with immense beauty of heart and physic just like her mother. Even more beautiful than her.

She had always been good in studies and very responsible with any work at hand. She had always wanted to become a successful business person like her father hence, had been studying business management. Apart from her studies she had also joined her father's business as an intern to learn about the practical aspects of running a conglomerate of various businesses.

She was a keen and hard-working girl and so was able to learn and understand the mechanics of business better than people of her age. Also, she was a polite and respectful person so everyone in the office loved and respected her as a person.

About 6 months back when her father had suffered a heart stroke and was advised to take a break from work related stress, Riya, as a representative of her father, to the surprise of all, had handled a few critical matters and deals at hand with the help and guidance of the senior experienced members of the company and her friend Aditi, even though they didn't hold any important post as such.

Her parents were not only surprised but also proud to hear the praises of their daughter from highly qualified and experienced members of the company and the clients as well. This had not only helped the company save its reputation in the market but had also indirectly made a name for Riya in the business world. Nishant was very happy, but he didn't express it. He had always been a strict but polite taskmaster for his employees and his daughters when it came to work. He had in his mind decided to handover the business to Riya in near future.

Sharmas had another daughter, Sana Sharma. She was 6 years younger than Riya and studied at London. She had been there from last 5 years. She was a lively, fun-loving and a very cool person who hardly took anything seriously. She sucked at studies too. She loved her sister like anything but hated her parents for being biased towards Riya. That is why she had declined to come back to India even after parents' insistance and had not even turned up even during vacations from last 2 years.

Aditi Thakur, Riya's best friend from school times, was her only support system. An introvert due to circumstances, Riya used to share her inner conflicts and voids only with Aditi. Only Aditi really understood her silence and to some extent her fears. Aditi was a mature girl, serious around other people but a child and sometimes a wise woman, as the situation demanded, in front of Riya. Though an extremely stubborn person, Riya seldom went against Aditi's advice because she knew Aditi understood what she never said. Such was their friendship.