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•where we sign a contract that binds us for a lifetime•
To this day, I haven't been entirely successful in decoding my father's thought process. Though following his lead, career wise, has often proved to be quite advantageous in my case, but why one would want to invite their arch nemesis to their retirement party-which was supposed to be a surprise to begin with- was beyond my understanding.
"Don't you wish to enjoy just one relaxing day in your life, Papa?" I cradled my phone between my ear and shoulder, handing my boarding pass to the flight attendant with one hand and holding my bag with the other. "Aapki retirement ki age hai, jo kaam hai mujhe bolo, I will get it done."
Smiling at me, the flight attendant ushered me to my seat while my father replied, "Mazey sirf tum hi utthaogi kya? Party mere naam ka hai, mujhe uski bigdi huyi shakl dekhni hai. Agar tumse nahi hoga I will tell Jolly to invite him."
"Fine," I said, giving in, pulling out my laptop from my bag before sliding it into the overhead cabin. "Mai kar lungi baat Raman Oberoi se. But at least yeh to bolo what exactly is it that you're planning?"
My father scoffed on the other end of the line, "Beti kiski ho, Vika?"
It was a rhetorical question, and a joke my father was very proud of creating, and often cracked it wherever my step father was concerned. Even though the contract marriage between my mother and Mr. Oberoi worked like a charm, they had been walking on a rocky trail for the past few years. With them not being able to conceive a child together, and Aryan Oberoi, their nephew, opting to be a psychological therapist instead of taking over the family business , the Oberoi's had no proper, eligible heir to their conglomerate.
Except me, his step daughter, of course.
And my father, an equally shrewd man, was very interested in working this to our advantage.
"It's not funny anymore, Papa," I shook my head, pulling up the shutter of the window. Two other planes were lined up beside ours. "Mumma se baat hui meri. They might be going for adoption."
"Raman bewakoof hoga agar is umar me adoption ki soch raha hai, woh bhi sirf ek varis ke liye. Leave it to me, Vika," I could picture him shrugging nonchalantly. "Udaipur me kuchh din bita ke ao, and get Oberoi to attend my party. Goodbye."
Shaking my head, I pulled out the desk in front of me to set my laptop. If he had set his mind on taking over the Oberoi's, no one could stop him. Even though acquiring another group of companies sounded very pleasant, I did not want to help them out. Watching them crumble to the ground was a prospect that had a ring to it. The fact that it involved my mother too, stopped me from going to that extreme.
