Author's POV
" Breaking news! The richest self-made billionaire of the country Abhimanyu Yuvraj was seen with an unknown girl in his arms yesterday night."
" What the hell is that?", Prithviraj's voice boomed in the manor, startling everyone present in the hall watching the news.
" The young and dynamic billionaire, Abhimanyu Yuvraj, who is known for his outstanding achievements and sharp business strategies in such a young age, was seen with an unknown girl in his arms yesterday night. The pictures of the most desirable bachelor walking with a little girl in his arms inside his penthouse has gone viral, creating a havoc between his female admirers. Sources reveal that the mystery girl was his illegitimate daughter. Stay tuned for the latest news---"
The screen was immediately turned off by Mihir, causing the curious family members to turn their attention towards Adhiraj, who was staring at the screen blankly.
" Who is that!?", Prithviraj yelled at Adhiraj, causing the latter's expression turn cold.
" How would I know?", he asked coldly.
" Who should know then? You're his father!", Prithviraj bellowed, clearly outraged by Adhiraj's tone.
" Just because he is his father doesn't mean he should know everything concerning his son. Prithviraj! Do you hear yourself?", Radhika said sternly.
" No Radhika! He's clearly making me angry now. He's the one who is supposed to correct his stupid mistakes and bring my eldest grandson back. But instead of that he chose to keep believing that bitch!", everyone gasped as they heard Prithviraj cussing. He never cussed. Never.
" Dad, this is clearly going out of line. We should sit silently and talk like mature people instead of fighting like that.", Shyam, the peacemaker, said calmly, trying to handle the situation.
Prithviraj took deep breaths, calming himself, as he sat down on the massive couch in the living room.
" Call Rowan, he was the one to drive him there, he should certainly know something. ", Mihir ordered Karan, as he nodded and dialled the said person's number.
" Good evening sir!", they heard Rowan say, as the call was connected.
" I want to know something Rowan.", Mihir ordered in a cold voice.
" Yes sir!", Rowan spoke.
" Who was the girl with Abhimanyu yesterday and how old was she. I want to know the complete truth.", Mihir ordered him.
" Umm..."
" I don't know who she was sir, but I picked them up from the Rajput mansion. She was maybe ten years old, I'm not sure. Young master Abhimanyu is very strict about his privacy so...", they heard him say.
" What the hell do you mean by Rajput mansion!?", Dhruv yelled.
It was the time of the evening, after the little encounter he had with Abhimanyu in the morning, he along with Vikram came back to the manor, trying to seek Prithviraj's help, before they caught the sight of the news.
" Y-Yes sir I picked them up from the Rajput mansion.", with a little pause Rowan said hesitantly.
" Young master was... very different with that girl. And I heard him addressing her as Meera.", he finished nervously.
Gasps of shock filled the air causing Adhiraj go pale. Mihir himself was startled and was as white as a ghost.
" O-Okay, thank you Rowan. ", he muttered as he disconnected the call.
" I told you Abhimanyu bhai took her, but you didn't listen to me!", Vikram exclaimed, pointing to Dhruv.
" Shut up!", Dhruv muttered, annoyed by his accusations.
" Who was he talking about?", Prithviraj's stern voice filled their ears. Anyone who knew him can clearly hear the little crack in his voice.
" I've had enough of this! Abhimanyu has to answer me now.", Adhiraj stated furiously. He wanted to know if what he thought was right. He admits he was at fault, he made a grave mistake, but if it was something concerning his daughter, he had every right to know.
He dialled Abhimanyu, as he waited for him to receive the call.
---
" What do you mean she's back?", Lorenzo spoke, as if heard pigs could fly.
Abhimanyu raised his eyebrow, " She's back, that's what I meant. Which part of it did you not understand?", he asked him.
" Really!?", Lorenzo exclaimed in surprise, clearly excited.
Abhimanyu nodded, " Yeah, I found her yesterday at the Rajput mansion."
Lorenzo squinted his eyes, " Rajput mansion?", he spoke suspiciously.
Abhimanyu sighed, as he recalled the memories. Looks like he was in for a long talk. And from there, he explained him everything, as he watched Lorenzo widen his eyes.
" So you mean, that little girl was tortured?", Lorenzo repeated, as Abhimanyu let out a warning growl.
" I will kill that bastard---", his words were cut off by his phone blaring. He fished out his phone from his pocket, as he saw the caller ID.
Father
Abhimanyu narrowed his eyes at the screen, and finally received the call with a sigh.
" Father.", he greeted him.
" Who was that girl with you yesterday?", the question took him off guard, as his eyes widened a little.
Composing himself, he bit back calmly, "How do you know?"
" Did you check the news young man? You should think before bringing a plaything to your place.", Adhiraj's reply caused Lorenzo to widen his eyes.
A ferocious growl broke out of Abhimanyu as his eyes were filled with rage.
" Mind your tongue father! It's none of your business who I bring to my place. Remember that you disowned me, I no longer bare you surname, so it shouldn't concern you.", he snapped sharply.
He inhaled sharply as he continued, " I know you must have done your research. I warn you, do not speak about my sister like that.", he threatened him and disconnected the call.
Lorenzo chided, " Why the hell did you confirm it?", Abhimanyu gave him a stink eye.
" Do you think they won't know? They were about to find out sooner or later. ", he shrugged carelessly.
" Still---", he was cut off by Abhimanyu, " Mom is coming back this Sunday, she has suffered enough, I want her to have her daughter back."
Lorenzo nodded teasingly, " Yeah, it's not because you wanted uncle Adhiraj to get her daughter back too, yeah, definitely. ", he spoke, causing Abhimanyu to glare at him.
" I want my sister to have the family she deserves, just because I am not a part of the family anymore, I won't deprive her of the family she has.", he told sharply.
" Abhi you are---"
" No! I'm not their family! Don't even try!", Abhimanyu spat.
After a long silence, Lorenzo spoke again, " So you are ready to leave her there?"
" Of course not! I will never leave her alone. She's mine, and she will always be with me. I can't trust those people to look after my baby, now can I? You just wait and watch, it's time to play some games.", a smirk graced Abhimanyu's lips as he spoke menacingly.
Author's POV
" Father.", Abhimanyu's solemn voice reached their ears, as Adhiraj put the phone on speaker.
" Who was that girl with you yesterday?", Adhiraj asked, without beating around the bush.
"How do you know?", Abhimanyu said calmly, clearly not surprised.
" Did you check the news young man? You should think before bringing a plaything to your place.", Adhiraj decided to confirm his suspicions. If this was her daughter, he was hundred percent sure Abhimanyu won't like to hear something so vicious about her. He grimaced as he realized that the girl he was talking about so indignantly could be his daughter.
A ferocious, deathly growl was heard from the other side of the phone.
" Mind your tongue father! It's none of your business who I bring to my place. Remember that you disowned me, I no longer bare you surname, so it shouldn't concern you.", he heard Abhimanyu snap sharply. It was painful for Adhiraj to hear those words from his son.
" I know you must have done your research. I warn you, do not speak about my sister like that.", Abhimanyu threatened him and disconnected the call.
A painful silence filled the atmosphere as everyone tried to grasp what they heard.
" So it really was Amayra. ", Swati spoke silently.
" How dare you speak about my grand-daughter like that!?", Prithviraj spoke furiously. Listening his words, Adhiraj felt an immense amount of guilt suffocating him.
" I didn't mean to. ", he told quietly.
" You never mean anything Adhiraj, it just happens by chance isn't it?", Prithviraj taunted, causing Adhiraj to bow his head down in defeat.
A long silence fell across the room, as Prithviraj decided to break it, " I want my grand daughter back, any how, along with my grandson. It's high time you repent your mistakes Adhiraj, and I want both of them back."
After a long moment of silence, Adhiraj took a deep breath as he announced in a stern voice, " Mihir and Shyam make arrangements for the grand welcome of the eldest daughter-in-law of the Singhania family, my sons Arhaan, Ahaan and Armaan, along with the return of my eldest son Abhimanyu and my youngest child and only daughter Amayra on the 150th anniversary of the Singhania Groups."
" I'm not going to wait for my family to be back altogether any longer. Karan, give the tip to the media, that this year on our 150th anniversary celebration, I'm going to declare the heir of the Singhania Empire. I'm going to introduce Abhimanyu to the business world as my heir and my eldest son.", Adhiraj spoke with finality in his tone, as he saw Mihir, Shyam and Karan nodding, happiness reflecting their faces.
Ever since they were young, the children of the Singhania family were kept out of the public eye. Any news regarding them was immediately wiped off their existence to keep them safe.
It was decided that once Aarav turned eighteen, they were going to introduce everyone of them to the media. But Abhimanyu was banished from the family before that, so the world never came to know of him.
They just knew him as the young mighty self made billionaire, known for his twisted ways and dangerous personality, who mysteriously was way too powerful than the whole Singhania family combined.
Prithviraj may be the eldest one out of them, but the power to take any decision regarding the company remains in the hands of the president, in the absence of the chairperson, who without a doubt Adhiraj was.
Loud cheers erupted across the halls, as everyone beamed in joy of their whole family being reunited. Admist all this, they didn't notice Adhiraj, who was smirking with an evil glint in his eyes.
" You snatched my son away from me. It's time to pay you back. The game's on! "
---
Abhimanyu was driving back to his penthouse.
After the call with Adhiraj, he was clearly not in the mood to go anywhere. He left Amayra on her own, and it was worrying him more than he thought.
His hands clenched around the steering wheel as he recalled Vikram's words. She was tortured, and harassed. He should be there with her, but he was busy taking out his frustration. He was afraid by the way he was melting for her. He accepts that she is his soft spot, but he didn't want him to be soft for her, with her. Even if all he wants is to keep her with himself for the rest of their lives, he didn't want to be soft.
She must have been hungry. You even missed her lunch!
Worry filled his mind as he thought about her being hungry. She needs food to recover fast. Taking out his phone, he dialled a number.
" Andrew make a healthy vegetable soup ready in 20 minutes and make sure you use the backdoor to enter the kitchen. Don't make any noise, I don't want the person in there to be scared.", he spoke coldly to the person, who was his chef.
After hearing an okay from the other side, he disconnected the call.
He stopped by a candy shop and stepped out of the car. Walking towards the shop, he went inside, as the smell of sweets reached his nose. He scrunched his nose a little; he is not a fan of sweets at all.
" Hey there! How can I help you?", he heard a sweet lady say, probably in her mid fifties.
" I want something which kids would like. Look, I'm not sure, but something sweet, that would make her happy. It should not be hard, something soft. You get it?", he grumbled.
He was not good with sweets at all. At the same time, he wanted to apologize for not being there for her and forgetting about her lunch. He heard kids like sweets, so maybe she would like it too.
The lady offered him a genuine smile," Of course young man, maybe I have something for you, here.", she said, handing him a basket full of cotton candies and marshmallows. It was packed so beautifully, in different flavors.
By the looks of Abhimanyu, no one could tell what he was thinking, but the pleased glint in his eyes said it all.
He liked it.
" How much?", he asked her, as he gave her his card.
After he paid the amount, he placed the basket in his car, and went to the driving seat. Starting his engine, he drove towards his penthouse, where his sister was.
---
Punching the code in the padlock, he went inside the penthouse. Placing the sweet basket over the table, he took off his coat and placed it next to it. He went inside the guest bedroom and took a relaxing shower, calming his nerves.
After the shower, he went inside the kitchen and placed the bowl of soup present on a tray and headed towards his bedroom.
As soon as he went inside, the sight of his sister sleeping greeted him, causing him to smile softly.
How does she manage to do that?
Placing the tray on the bedside table, he sat beside her on the bed and shook her lightly.
" Amayra! Wake up! You've got to eat now.", he tried to wake her up, keeping his voice gentle.
After knowing what she went through, he couldn't bring himself to be cold to her.
After a few moments, he noticed her eyes scrunching up and blinking lightly, as she opened her eyes.
" I missed your lunch, I didn't mean to, but I was caught up with some work. Can you finish it now?", he asked as she nodded lightly. Somehow, his voice still sounded cold.
He helped her in a sitting position, and placed the tray in front of her, watching as she drank her soup slowly. After a few spoonfuls, she dropped the spoon back into the bowl and looked at him fiddling her fingers.
" Have some more?", he asked her, seeing the little amount she had. Amayra shook her head.
" Are you sure you don't want more?", he asked her again and she shook her head furiously.
Abhimanyu sighed," Okay, here, have some water?", he moved the glass near her lips as she took a few sips.
Abhimanyu took a napkin and wiped her mouth clean. He placed the tray back in the kitchen and came inside the room with the basket in his hands.
---
Amayra Singhania's POV
I watched as he came back from the kitchen with a small basket in his arms. It was golden in color and a silver colored bow was tied around it. It was so cute.
I watched as he sat beside me on the bed and extended the basket towards me with a little nervousness in his eyes. I've never seen him nervous. That made me scared for a reason.
He scratched his neck, " Amayra, I wasn't here for the whole time to take care of you. I was so careless to forget about your lunch too. So, brought this for you, do you like it?", he said as if looking over his words.
His words somewhere struck a deep cord in me. I never had anyone around to take care of me. His actions somewhat warmed up my heart very much. I like this feeling, it felt like love. Like I have someone to care for me.
I took my notepad and wrote, thanking him with all my heart.
Thankyou! No one has ever done something so sweet for me.
I gave him the note. A small smile tugged at his lips, which somewhere made me happy too. He was giving me hope; hope to believe that I can be happy with him.
No one can ever love you.
I swear I felt my heart clench a little when I remembered those words.
With my shaky hands, I took the notepad back from him and wrote something again. When I gave it back to to him, the change in his expression left me wondering if I did something wrong.