He descended the stairs, still in deep contemplation, as he thought of his decision over and over again. She was young, naive and full of life. She was not ready for the responsibility that marriage brings along.
Yet, as he clutched on the reports, he knew he had no other way apart from what he had been thinking. He married her mother, a woman below their class, without the approval of the family. After marriage, his whole family broke all ties with him. Two years later, they had their beautiful daughter.
His wife couldn't make it through childbirth. She died the instant. Twenty-three and a half years had passed through. His daughter grew up to be beautiful. She was the exact replica of her mother with the exception of her eyes that mirrored his. Not only physical beauty, but sensibility, intelligence, mindfulness, and independence added to her attributions.
She was the daughter every father would want. And being the only, she would be the heir to his company and the vast amount of property he owned. The only thing that worried him judging his current situation was that she was immature, she was not ready for responsibilities and definitely not for marriage.
He passed by the shelf with all his businessman of the year trophies lined up. Harsh Vardhan Kabeer. Years of hard work gained him the position of being the richest businessman in India. His eyes glowed with pride as he glanced through the trophy case boasting his accomplishment. The last row of the shelf contained some business magazines. His eye fell on one in particular that said 'The Rising Entrepreneur'.
Grabbing it, he looked at the front cover with feelings of amusement present in his eyes. The young man on the cover held ocean blue eyes, sharp jaw muscles, well-gelled hair, and the charisma. His face along with his name screamed richness.
***
"Shivaay Singh Oberoi can never marry a middle-class girl with no knowledge of her name, blood or lineage," the blue-eyed man shot those words that hit her like a dagger.
Mallika was in love with this man who denied her of the same privilege on the basis of her class. His whole family, especially his grandma, loved her. Yet, he was the one who was aloof.
Mallika walked out of the mansion, known as the Oberoi Mansion, with a broken heart. She wanted his heart, and he won't give it to anyone but a rich girl from a well-reputed family. She wondered if he would ever give his heart to any girl at all.
Little did she know that she was partially wrong.
***
Miles away, a girl was jumping in the air, partying with her friends with no sense of the world. The music was loud as she danced the night away with her friends in London. Being twenty-three and daughter of a rich man, she was as crazy as it was expected for her to be. She was not a spoilt brat, she was rather a fun-loving person who wanted to live life to its fullest.
"Annika, your phone is ringing" her friend, Madison made her aware of the fact.
Annika looked at her friend with the brown doe shaped eyes she had and stopped dancing to attend the call. It was her father, Harshvardhan Kabeer. She was proud of him. For her and her only, he lived. The man loved her mother to such extent that he spent more than twenty-three years being a widower when he could remarry whomever he wished. As their daughter, she very much appreciated and cherished the fact.
"Yes, Dad" she spoke.
"How are you, Annika?" he asked.
"I am great. We are having our graduation party tonight. Can you believe that I just got my Bachelor's in Business Management?" Annika asked being excited as ever.
"That's good, but Annika, I want you to come here as soon as possible," Harshvardhan replied.
Annika's excitement leveled down as it got exchanged with curiosity to learn the reason her father wanted her in India.
"But why?" she asked.
"You just come here. I will explain later."
"Okay, but can I wait some more? Actually, I am still waiting to hear back from graduate school if they would admit me to their master's program." she reasoned.
"You are completing your masters here in India. No more questions. I want you here sometime this week." he stated shutting her mouth.
***
The thought bothered her about what made her father behave so strict, yet Annika couldn't say no to her dad. She cut the call and prepared herself to return to her home country.
In India, Harshvardhan Kabeer was marveling at Shivaay Singh Oberoi's picture with all the business magazines, that talked about the young man, in his hand. At the age of thirty, he was a renowned entrepreneur. Harshvardhan saw his reflection in Shivaay. The way he settled in the business world was really appreciative. He was handsome, filthy rich for a young man of his age and most desirably, still single.
His maturity could complement Annika's fun-loving nature and her innocence would tame his shrewd capabilities.
With that thought, he dialed the number for Oberoi Industries. Shivaay Singh Oberoi, the owner of the rapidly growing tech industry in India, picked up the call. He was delighted by the thought that Mr. Harshvardhan Kabeer, the best of the best, himself wanted to meet him. He welcomed Mr. Kabeer to Oberoi Industries.
"No, I want you here, at my home" Harsh responded.
As stubborn as he was, Harsh got his way with Shivaay.
"It would be great. My daughter is also coming in two days." Harsh ended.
Shivaay reflected upon the conversation to ponder why had Harsh repeatedly mentioned of his daughter. He had enough girls around him. The girls would try to get into his pants while their Dads would love to wipe their hands with his money.
Yet here Harshvardhan Kabeer, the best businessman, was hinting regarding his daughter. Could this be a potential marriage proposal? As far as he knew, she was way younger than him and not of age to settle in marriage.
Needless to say, he was eager to meet his idol. Orphaned at a young age, he had no guidance in the business world. Once he became of age, he took over his late father's company and started anew. In the field, he was new and inexperienced. Harshvardhan's ethics and ideas were followed by him as a student who follows his favorite teacher. And so, the invitation made him curious and excited.
***
Two days later, he was present at the beautiful Kabeer Mansion. It was bigger than his Oberoi Mansion. He knew that Mrs. Kabeer died of childbirth. That meant he and his daughter alone lived in the palace like home.
He stepped on the stairs, reached the front of the mansion, and rang the bell.
A house maid opened the door and let him in.
"Shivaay Singh Oberoi," he introduced himself.
"Let him in," a voice came.
Shivaay smirked. He could never fail to recognize the voice of the man he idolized in the business world.
Shivaay stepped inside the study room Mr. Kabeer was currently sitting in.
"Take a seat," he asked, or rather ordered. Shivaay's eyes lightened up as he realized that the older man shared his level of strictness.
"It's really nice to meet you, Mr. Kabeer," Shivaay answered modestly.
"Same here, Oberoi," Harsh replied.
Shivaay's eyes traveled around the room. The walls were filled with pictures of a girl he assumed to be Annika's, the daughter of Mr. Kabeer.
His eyes fixed on one of them specifically the one of her high school graduation. She was beautiful. His mouth was left open as he continued to stare at her pictures.
"My daughter is beautiful, right?" Harsh asked.
"Indeed," Shivaay replied in a trance.
A while later, he realized what he said and cleared his throat.
"I mean, she is a pretty young lady" he corrected himself. She was beautiful, but there was no way he would drool over her in front of her father.
"Will you marry her?" Harsh got straight to the point.
"Huh?" he asked, lost to find the meaning in Harsh's previous sentence.
"I asked, will you marry her?" Harsh repeated his words.
Shivaay thought for a second. She was the daughter of the richest businessman in India. Marrying her would only help his business more. As delightful as the proposal was, he was yet to know why such a sudden proposal for marriage.
Annika was the heir to Harsh's business. Wasn't she supposed to get her master's degree, establish herself in the business world, then settle down in a marriage with an equally wealthy partner? He was wealthy, but not of her age. Then why her father wanted this marriage?
"Isn't she twenty-three or something?" Shivaay opened his mouth.
"Twenty-three and a half," Harsh replied, being precise.
"Why do you want to marry her off so early?" he asked, curious.
"I have my reasons. Yes or no?" Harsh asked.
"But-"
"I have a lucrative offer for a deal with your company. We work together on the same project for a year and your company reaches the same position as mine." Harsh offered.
"Are you selling your daughter to me for a mere deal?" Shivaay asked.
Harsh's eyes raged with anger when he yelled, " I am not a bastard to do something of that sort."
The ground underneath Shivaay froze. He was shaken by the older man's declaration.
"I have my own reasons that are better kept a secret" Harsh announced.
Shivaay nodded staring at Annika's pictures once again.
"Will she agree?" was Shivaay's next question.
Harsh nodded, "That's my responsibility. You tell me if you want to marry her or not?"
Shivaay thought for a second. This was the best opportunity for him to rise and shine. Definitely, he won't let it go.
"Yes, I will," Shivaay agreed.
Harsh smiled. Shivaay was done. Annika was yet to be told.
"I am sure it will be proved to be the best decision of your life" Harsh commented.
"I hope so, Mr. Kabeer" Shivaay nodded in affirmation.
"Dad will do," Harsh corrected him.
The two men shook hands. They discussed everything while the bride herself was yet to know. Both Shivaay and Harsh were anxious about Annika's decision. Shivaay wanted to meet Annika. He heard of her many times, but now that they were to marry, he wanted to meet her, to know her, to talk to the person he would spend his whole life with.
Hours later, Shivaay bid bye to Harsh and was about to leave when the doorbell rang.
In came, the most beautiful girl Shivaay had ever seen. It was Annika. Her brown, doe shaped eyes enticed his soul, her lips drowned him to lust for one kiss, her innocent face calmed the demons lurking inside him while he thought of her beauty.
Annika's eyes caught his. He was no less handsome than the princes whose stories she grew up hearing about. His stubble attracted her to feel them under her open palm, his eyes constantly invited her to drown in them.
Both were attracted to each other at the first sight. Shivaay was already imagining about their married life. He was lucky to get all in one: smart, beautiful and insanely rich as she was.
On the other hand, she still wondered what the famous industrialist Shivaay Singh Oberoi was doing at her house.
a/n:
I realized I could have written Mending His Thoughts a thousand times better if I put much thought into it. While the previous version is still up(link will be provided as an inline comment), this new book "Falling In Love" is a retelling of Mending His Thoughts. The story will be slightly different as we progress further. Here the focus is more on the falling in love phase than the changing him phase. I hope you chose to read this one as well. :D
Cast
Precap: Shivaay and Annika on an arranged date.