Kyra

Today was my Haldi (Turmeric) function.

(For any of my foreign reader's, who maybe unaware of this Indian Hindu ritual, it is the tradition of putting turmeric paste on the bride, you can easily google it or if you have seen the show Bridgerton then in season 2, Kate had put Turmeric/Haldi on Edwina before her marriage to the Viscount.)

The festivities and the grandeur of this function was double that of the Mehendi (Henna) function. Double the celebration, double the people, double the music, food and drinks.

But Abhay was still not back.

I was sitting on the main stage and people kept coming turn by turn to put the Haldi paste on me.

Then I saw a tall handsome young guy step forward. He was at least 6.1 feet tall, with deep chocolate brown eyes, a big and bright smile on his handsome and charming face which was contagious and made me feel like smiling. He had an easy and chill presence around him, he seemed young, definitely younger than me. I had never seen him before for sure.

But I knew Reyansh's security system was foolproof and no one, who was not invited would be allowed to step foot into the Oberoi mansion. There was a strict guest policy.

He knelt before me to put Haldi on me, but I stopped him and asked hesitantly, "Who are you?"

He responded with a charming smile, "Hi Bhabhi (Sister in Law - that is bride of the elder brother), I'm your....Devar (brother in law - younger brother of the groom)."

I said, "Ohh, so you are Abhay's cousin? I apologise for not recognising you."

He said, "No please don't apologise Bhabhi, it's my fault. I should have introduced myself before, I attempted to put Haldi on you. I am Krish,......the younger and more handsome brother, as compared to the groom. Though please don't tell Bhaiya (Elder Brother) I said that."

I laughed and promised not to. It was surprising that this young charismatic guy was Abhay's brother, but I felt a lot better knowing that he was going to become my new family member. He had an easy going and happy go lucky nature about him that made me feel comfortable, around him.

The line was steadily increasing behind him, so he put Haldi on me and got up to leave when he said, "I look forward to getting to know you better. I'm so glad that you are marrying my brother and will be my Bhabhi."

I nodded and smiled at him as he left the stage.

Krish

Bhaiya had called me up yesterday and told me that, today I was to attend the Haldi function of his future wife, my bhabhi.

I was shocked to say the least but that was not all, when I enquired on where he was, I received a brief answer informing me that, he was finishing up the last minute formalities of the wedding.

He then told me that, "Your Bhabhi doesn't yet know that she is going to marry me. Everyone including her, thinks that she will marry Abhay Singhania in 2 days...therefo

I cut his sentence midway and practically screeched, "You are going to marry the Billionaire KYRA OBEROI?"

He said, "Yessss, the one and only Kyra Oberoi. Now listen carefully, I want you to go to the function and put Haldi on her. I think it's the right time for your Bhabhi to meet her Devar. But be evasive if she asks too many details, because your bhabhi is a very clever woman. Don't reveal my name, just say that you are a brother of the groom."

I said, "Bhaiya, how come Bhabhi doesn't know she is going to be your wife? Are you going to kidnap her or forcibly marry her, because I will not support you in that. I am a feminist and every woman has a right to choose her husband. Please don't do anything unethical or morally grey."

Reyansh heaved a sigh and said, "Krish there are a lot of things about our family history and your past that you are unaware about and I will reveal them to you shortly. But as your big brother, I am asking you to trust me and know that I am doing what is necessary. With time you will know why I did, what I did.  Also, Don't forget I am the one who taught you about feminism and respecting women. Now tell me do you trust your Bhaiya and will you support him unconditionally?"

Memories of the past flooded my mind and I remembered that Reyansh Bhaiya was my everything he was my mom, my dad, my friend, my brother, my protector all rolled into one single person. He raised me, fed me, clothed me, educated me and gave me everything that my heart desired, even when we had nothing. He saved us from complete poverty and he worked very hard to put a roof over our heads and he built his business from scratch, by himself.

He raised himself and me after our parents died at a very young age. In fact my earliest memories were all of Bhaiya taking care of me and if I didn't support him now then, I would be an insult to the word "brother" and all that brotherhood stood for.

I said, "Bhaiya, I'm with you 100%."

He said, "Good" and then cut the phone.

The next day I reached the function, met my bhabhi who was a gorgeous and smart woman who had a spunk and fire in her. She would definitely suit my Bhaiya and his domineering personality. She was someone who would not cower or be scared of him, but rather stand up to him. You could see that strength and fire in her eyes. They would be a match made in heaven, for sure.

Reyansh

The wedding was officially 3 days away, when I had landed on this island and I was still stuck at this godforsaken place.

After getting the agreement signed and getting a video of Abhay Singhania saying exactly what I needed him to and finally giving him the blackmail against his father, I was out of his room. Thankfully, because that guy had a serious crush on me, he couldn't stop ogling me and it seemed like he would pounce on me any second.

It made me wonder if this is how Women felt when they received unwanted male attention. It must be so nerve wracking and scary to be in a vulnerable position where you're physically weaker than the other person. Here in-fact I easily had the advantage against Abhay. But what must women feel and how would they handle such a difficult situation??

But let it be clear that I'm not a homophobic asshole, I have business dealing with people of all genders, colours, ethnicities and sexualities. It's just that I did not like any unwanted attention.

It seemed like the universe was conspiring against me.

A Tornado hit a nearby island causing there to be severe fog and heavy winds, due to which the helicopter would not be able to fly in to extract me from here and get me back home. No matter how much pressure I put on the pilot, he insisted that it would be impossible to safely land here, onboard me and reach our destination in one piece. Death would've been a certainty.

There weren't any signs of a tornado or a hurricane warning, well up till next month. I had thoroughly checked before coming here. This fucking tornado came out of nowhere.

Air was the only means of travel to get on and off the island. Because of how remote it's location was. There was a cruise which passed by this location occasionally on the way to their destination, but because of the dangerous weather and high waves, the once calm sea was agitated and extremely unsafe to travel on.

Hence any and all water transport would definitely be suspended for a good 50 miles radius at least.

A whole day passed and I eventually got a room in the rehabilitation centre to wait the tornado out. Willing it to settle post haste so that I could leave.

Two whole days had passed on this island.

Soon Worry started clawing it's way into my chest. A foreign feeling to be sure, because the only thing that mattered or made me worry was Krish. But here I was starting to take tension because Kyra's birthday was in a mere 3 day's now and the wedding was tomorrow.

If she was not married by then, she would lose the entire inheritance - the Oberoi Empire. If she didn't inherit it, then I wouldn't be able to take it from her and complete my revenge. My family's suffering would be left unavenged. The promise I had made on my mother's grave would be broken, our decades long struggle would be in vain, my endeavour to better Krish's life would be futile.

I then did something I never thought I would. I prayed to whoever was up there, that to help get me off this island and get back home in time to marry Kyra before the deadline.

Because there was no way to break her Grandfather's Will. I would never have chosen this route of marrying Kyra and taking the empire from her if there had been any other option.

Kyra had to be married to me before her birthday, which meant I had less than 2days to marry her and sign the contracts so that the terms and conditions of the Will could be fulfilled. Which included Transferring the Empire to Kyra and giving part control to her New husband. Once I had even a little control/stake in the business, I could easily manipulate and change the bylaws giving me complete control of the business.

The wedding day had officially started and I'm sure they would have long since realised that there was a massive tornado and Abhay may or may not be able to make it back in time for the wedding. Also, I had ordered Abhay to cease any communication with Kyra. But just before the tornado hit and all network connectivity was lost. I had told Abhay to call his father and let him know the wedding was off and that he would not be coming back now.

Seems like whoever was up there eventually heard me and the tornado eventually settled down after raging for over 3 days and the helicopter was finally on its way to pick me up and take me to the nearby city, where a private plane was waiting to take me back home.

For context today was her wedding night. I was flying back home today and would reach some time next morning.

The journey back home itself was 10 hours. The duration of the helicopter ride was 1 hour, then a 9 hour journey in the small private plane and finally I would reach home, on the last day on which Kyra could get married. That is the day just before her birthday.

Sitting in plane, I formulated my strategy on how to maximise efficiency and achieve my goal before the deadline tonight.

Reyansh Alex Kapoor was going to marry Kyra Oberoi today, by any means necessary.

...