Few weeks later.....

Kyra

The incident which occurred a few weeks back was in my rear view mirror and I tried my best to suppress the memories which got me embroiled in the details of the traumatic incident which in turn haunted me. The aftermath of this 'alleged' robbery and assault was completely jarring.

My family's pride was wounded after the event, primarily my father was deeply enraged and took this incident on his ego. Especially, since the goons were nowhere to be found, it was almost as though they had disappeared from the face of the earth. Therefore to avoid any other future incidents, significant changes were made in our security measures and protocols. We had hired a new security company.

Though, what saddened me was my family, more than being worried for me, it seemed like they were offended that a member of the Oberoi empire was robbed and assaulted, that too in our city. Shortly, after I was sent to a resort cum rejuvenating centre to heal. I had to stay there, until all my bruises healed, because as per our family's motto - "Oberoi's are strong and will always remain invincible", was tarnished by me.

The motto was set by my grandfather and enforced by my grandmother (Dad's Mother - Dadi) who was the matriarch of our family and whose decisions were always set in stone and had to be obeyed, no matter the consequences and no questions asked.

According to her, my bruises depicted weakness and cast our family in a bad light and I had to be sent away, till I was deemed "Acceptable" to rejoin society and our family again.

I used this time to work on myself and get back to being the confident and strong "Kyra Oberoi" that everyone assumed, I was. But still the memories haunted me and made me jittery from time to time. Being engrossed in work was my only saving grace.

During this period of time, I extensively worked with Mr. Alexander (the important Billionaire client from the USA), he was extremely understanding of my predicament and was deeply sympathetic. He almost had a grandfatherly vibe when he spoke to me, which was very unlike his reputation and it warmed my heart.

We spent weeks working on the details of the agreement and after much negotiations the deal between our two vast empires was finalised.

I, also made sure that Amit (my driver) was receiving the best possible care, unfortunately the impact with which he hit the ground sent him into a coma from which he was yet to recover. I sent ample funds to his family and created a account that paid for the complete education of his little brother.

Despite being very busy, from time to time, the thoughts of my elusive, handsome and mysterious saviour, my knight in shining armour - Reyansh Alex Kapoor came to mind and the intimate moments and chemistry we shared. I was one of those pining from far sort of girl's and he had left a mark on me. He had become my current one sided crush and I don't think that he would leave that position for a while.

But surprisingly like the goons, there was almost next to nothing about him on the Internet, he had no online presence, it almost seemed like a deliberate and strategic move. But, I chalked it upto the fact that Reyansh must be a very reserved and private person as evidenced by our limited interaction.

Who knows if the universe willed it then I would him meet once again.

3 Months after the Incident....

A huge party was going to be thrown today in favour of the deal being finalised between the Oberoi and Alexander Empire's and the agreement was going to be signed today, in front of everyone. It was excessive and unnecessary but who cared about what I thought.

My grandmother 'liked' me again and was extremely proud and happy, because of the profits and international recognition that this deal would bring us. Shockingly, she gifted me a beautiful ruby set and a red gown which so elegant yet low cut and slightly revealing. Not something I would have chosen for my self.

She said that, "A special announcement is going to be made at the party, for which I need you to be dressed as though you are Miss Universe."

I rolled my eyes and politely agreed, arguing with her had never helped me before. Her dramatics never ceased to amaze and sometimes infuriate me.

I couldn't bring myself to care about her mysterious and vague statement. Her words always had some double meaning and hidden agenda, trying to figure them out was like trying to solve the mystery of the universe or the existence of aliens.

Therefore, I decided to focus on the positive, I was also looking forward to meeting Mr. Alexander in person and ensuring that the deal was signed without any delays or mishaps. I had worked too hard on it to let it anything go wrong.

While I was getting ready for the event, I received news that "Abhay Singhania", my childhood best friend was going to attend the celebrations today. Abhay was the son of the CEO of one of the largest Oil empires. Our families were initially acquainted through the business world, they were also billionaires like us.

Then, they became our neighbours, and over the course of time we were almost like extended family, before they moved to the UK when I was around 10 years old.

We used to be extremely close and hearing his name sent me down a very happy, nostalgic and joyful memory lane. There was only an age gap of 2 years between us, and we got along very well, we basically grew up together and would spend our childhood days playing together.

As very young children we would pretend to be husband and wife, he had even proposed marriage to me at the mere age of 7 and me being a small girl obsessed with him at the mere age of 5, couldn't be happier and I had gladly accepted his proposal.

Abhay was a "green flag" even before such a term existed. He was a sweet, kind, gentle and cute boy and he used to be the ideal husband material, according to a very naive and young me.

I remember crying inconsolably, when I found out that he was leaving India and I had begged him to stay (I was a dramatic pre-teen girl).

Before he left, he had vowed to me that I was his forever Valentine, his love and that we'd be together forever. (Spoiler alert - He lied)

We had promised to stay in touch, message and talk to each other daily, but as expected we grew apart and didn't maintain our bond, we both got busy in living our lives and accomplishing our goals.

Though, every now and then I read about Abhay Singhania - London's most eligible and handsome bachelor, he had become a playboy through and through. Every week various articles of his latest affairs and trysts with hot young and famous women were published in newspapers, his family's wealth had only increased with time and so had their celebrity status.

Abhay was no more the sweet and innocent boy I knew, but rather a devious flirt and 'manwhore' (that term was coined by the media). Despite all the news articles, rumour mills and his reputation, for old times sake I was very excited to meet Abhay after not having met each other, in more than a decade.

.........
(TBC)