The Molki Bride: The Fight For Existence-An Indian Mafia Romance

Chapter 4: Shivil

The sun was shining brightly as I walked into my office at 8. The last week had been very hectic and important for me. Months of planning and hard work has culminated into the successful acquisition of Kaushik Holdings with Johnson LLC and the success party ad ended late last night. I should have stayed in bed, especially since today is Sunday and one might say I had earned a well-deserved break.

But I was too jacked up, agitated. My brain which had worked in overdrive since the so many days I can't even count had refused to keep asleep, take the necessary break that it needed. Because of which I had found myself awake 5 in the morning even without the alarm.

There was no point in staying in bed after that. After a rigorous swim to wake me up properly, I had showered and got ready for office. Although it was going to be empty except the tech guys who worked in shifts, I decided to put in some time. I wanted some alone time in the tower I had built myself brick by brick over the last 10 years.

My mother had kicked me out at the age of nineteen. Although at that time it was disguised as going abroad for study. I had boarded with my mother's sister's family in Wembley. And I had hated it there. It had been like a mini India which had constantly reminded me of the horrors I had run from. But I will always be grateful to my mother for forcing me out that tiny village of my birth.

I hadn't studied in some prestigious college. Neither had I been too brilliant in studies nor my family rich enough to donate my way into one. I had worked odd jobs to supplement my income and to help the family I was staying with.

A soon I had completed my degree I had moved out. Because you see, although I wasn't good at studies, I had discovered that I had a very useful skill. And that was People Skill. I could charm the pants off the most hard- hitting men.

I had started small, joining as an unpaid intern in a brokerage house where I had learnt the ropes of the business. I had been hungry, both for money and knowledge. I had used every businessman, individual, broker I had come in contact with. Used them for knowledge, for making some extra bucks. And that phase had opened a wonderful avenue for people like me. Corporate Raid.

I hadn't been alone. My partner had been Edward. Edward was senior than me and was older than me in the business but he had lacked the extra zing to shine as an entrepreneur. Which I was glad to provide.

My Midas touch had meant that within five years out little partnership firm had affected half a dozen mid-level corporate mergers with five more years' worth of project in the pipeline, which the firm had been unable to achieve in its past 12 years' of life.

At that point, a lucky break had come in my life. Edward had suffered a cerebral stroke which had rendered him paralytic and effectively made it impossible for him to continue work. He had been more than relieved to sell off his share of the business, making me the sole owner.

But I had not been content with the current business. I had dabbled in side ventures, something which I had wanted to do on my own. And thus Kaushik Holdings had started.

At thirty-four now, I had a prominent place in the European business scene. With branches in over 10 countries, stretching from Seoul to Washington, I had a lot of jobs depending on me.

I am proud of myself, even if I say so myself. I believed in hard work and that nothing beats the power of persuasion. I had been handed nothing, I have had no backup. Everything I had achieved had been the fruits of my own labour.

I took my coffee and went over to the floor to ceiling glass window covering one wall of my office and looked down. The street below was empty, reflecting the mood of Sunday morning in the financial district.

My mother's visit had been an about three weeks ago and it still bothered me. She had been nonstop in her persuasion even after she had returned home to India. But I had the evasion technique down to an art in the last decade. I employed it every time she had been after me to return home or to get married.

Speaking of the latter, I really don't understand why people got married. Why do people get desperate for progeny which often turn into their enemies or emulate their parents' worst characters?

Am I not the best example of that?

Why does my mother still hope for my redemption?

Sexual relationships though, had a very prominent place in my life, since I had been very young. I had discovered my typical taste at the tender age of fifteen, which has suited me very well till now and once I had escaped the confines of my home, I had ensured I never had to resort to pretences of romance to get what I need.

Maybe that is what I need. A release. Maybe sitting at my office at nine in the morning on a Sunday was not the answer. Having made my decision, I picked up my phone to call Elise, Lady Elise.

A sultry voice answered on the third ring, "Good morning Shivil."

"Good morning." I cut to the chase, "Lunch today?"

"Sure."

Elise was a woman who knew her mind. We have been each other's partners of a year now. I trusted her to know her place as she did the same. I enjoyed her because we had the same taste and we were both averse to intimacy. We were respectful of each other and never demanded anything more than what the other was comfortable with. I didn't expect her or wanted her exclusivity and neither did she. And that was perfect, that was exactly what I needed in my life.

So lost was I in my fantasy of what was to come after lunch today, I missed the first two calls. But the ringing was incessant and I finally took my phone out. Focusing on the screen, I frowned. It was my mother's landline. She usually never called from landline, preferring her mobile phone.
I accepted the call, "Hello."

A high pitched wail cut through the line and hit my eardrums. It was almost a minute before I registered it was not my mother on the other side but her maid. It took me another minute to figure out what she was yelling, for she was using the dehati language which I have largely forgotten. What I understood made me stop on my tracks and blanch.

My mother has been shot last night and she was in a coma right now!