Chapter 32
The auditorium fractured into a blur of noise and questions. Siya could hear the sharp hiss of camera shutters, and the bright, staccato bursts of flashes momentarily blinded her. But more than that, she felt how beside her, Kartik had gone very still.
His shoulders were locked, and the smile looked frozen on his face. And now, with every camera on him, with the weight of every eye in the room suddenly focused on the woman he’d dismissed, he looked like he was being pulled under a high tide.
Kartik covered her hand with his and gripped it like a vice. The pressure was punishing and his manicured fingernail pressed against her joint bone. She gritted her teeth but maintained the regal smile on her face because of the practice she’d had over the years.
With her other hand, she gestured for the journalists who had their hands raised, and chairs scraped loudly as they shifted closer.
‘Ma’am, this is a shock. This collection was marketed everywhere as a Kashyap-Agrawal merger but now it’s under your new brand. Was that only a marketing tactic?’
Siya chuckled and said, ‘Since you’re present here to cover this event, I’m sure you know my name, right?’
The journalist was surprised to be put on the spot and mumbled, ‘Yes, ma’am. You’re Siya Kashyap.’
‘Great. Now, like you said, we marketed it as a Kashyap-Agrawal merger and it was intentional. We meant to keep this new brand under wraps until today, so we did a cheeky thing and never specified that it was a Siya Kashyap and Abhay Agrawal merger.’
The journalist had an oh face and then nodded in understanding. Subsequently, a few raised hands went down.
Siya had to thank Vihaan for that. That loophole was a masterstroke.
‘But why go to such lengths to hide it?’ one of the media personnel asked from the back.
‘Because timing matters,’ Siya answered smoothly. ‘We did it this way because we knew that revealing a new brand before it was ready would dilute its impact.’
‘This is certainly unprecedented, ma’am,’ someone called out, and a hum of agreement went through the crowd.
‘Siya has always had a hyperactive mind,’ Kartik taunted, and squeezed her palm under his. It had been a gesture to tell her to shut up since they began attending events together, but this time, silence was no longer her obligation.
‘Well, you’ve raised me to think for myself,’ she replied, her voice so pleasant that only someone who truly knew her would catch the steel beneath it. ‘I just didn’t realise I’d be using it this way.’
His nostril flared when he caught her meaning, before smoothing back into composure. The cameras would never catch it but she did.
‘How long has Karielle been in the works? How has Kartik sir helped you in achieving this dream?’
Siya felt Kartik’s thumb dig into her pulse at her wrist and a sharp sting of pain shot up her arm. She had to swallow the wince with some effort. She’d had enough.
She turned fully to face Kartik, her tone syrup-smooth when she asked loud enough for everyone to hear. ‘Dad, what do you think? Should I tell them the real story?’
His eyes widened, and finally, the crushing pressure on her wrist eased enough that her posture relaxed.
She let go of his elbow altogether and answered the question.
‘When Abhay and I got married, my father gave us my late mother’s will.
In it, my mother stated her wish that upon my marriage, all the copyright and license along with ownership of the entire Kashyap Luxe jewellery archive would pass down to me. ’
‘How have we never heard about this before?’ a woman in the front asked, shifting close enough that the press badge around her neck rubbed against the stage.
‘Because while my mother left me a foundation, my father chose to teach me humility before inheriting this legacy. I’m proud to have learned from that kind of fire.’
‘And do you have full support for this decision from Kartik sir?’
‘Of course, my father supports this decision completely. After all, he’s the one who handed me the envelope that day.’
She saw the moment it struck him that she’d found the will he’d tried to destroy. For the first time, Siya saw genuine fear in her father’s eyes—fear of her. She didn’t feel triumph or even vindication, but she revelled in the clarity of no longer being afraid of him.
‘So, it’s House of Karielle and not Kashyap Luxe who owns the exclusive rights to the jewellery collection showcased tonight?’
‘Yes,’ Siya answered.
‘So what’s the future for Kashyap Luxe?’
He lifted his hand toward the mic, but she answered, ‘My father has always been a Sharma by blood. He took my mother’s last name Kashyap and wore it with pride as a tribute to her love. But now, he’s chosen to return to his roots.’
Kartik went rigid as fury simmered beneath the surface of civility. His eyes darted to the cameras, then back to her, like he was calculating how much of this he could refute without destroying what little image he still had.
‘Kashyap Luxe will be dissolved. Dad will be leading a new chapter of his life with a new company with a new vision, and new collections as Kartik Sharma.’
‘That’s not—’ Kartik began and Siya pushed the mic down and pinned him with a smile.
‘Remember, Dad. The cameras are still rolling,’ she said, with just as much venom in her tone. For the cameras, he was still the proud father, but she felt the tremor of his bubbling anger in the subtle shifts of his body.
‘You think you can get away with this, you bitch? I’ll fucking ruin you,’ he whispered in her ear.
Siya threw her head back and spoke in a hushed tone. ‘Aw, you are angry. If you want to speak to the media, go ahead, but do it knowing that I will answer you. This time, Dad, I won’t be quiet and you won’t like what comes out.’
She wasn’t bluffing and he heard the threat loud and clear. She looked at him as the man who had shaped her, hurt her, silenced her, and saw him looking back at her with something like recognition. A faint sheen of sweat was forming at his temple, glaringly obvious under the harsh stage lights.
He leaned closer and murmured, ‘You don’t have to do this. We can fix it—’
She cut him off with a soft laugh that to the press would sound like affection. ‘You destroyed my mother’s will, denied me my birth right, neglected my medical care. So no Dad, you can’t fix shit.’
‘Enough now,’ he warned her. ‘You’ve made your fucking point.’
‘I’m not making a point. I’m simply taking back what you thought you could take from me.’
She faced the room again, and gestured for the next question.
The same journalist asked, ‘Will your stepbrother Dhruv be joining your new company or will he stay with Kashyap Luxe?’
Siya knew exactly where he sat. She didn’t look toward him, but repeated the offer she’d given him a day ago. ‘It’s up to Dhruv, but there will always be a seat for him at my table.’
‘Mr Kashyap, you’ve been silent this entire time. Don’t you want to say anything about this new direction?’ he asked, extending the mic toward Kartik.
‘Oh, he’s a little emotional today,’ Siya cooed, wrapping an arm around his back. ‘He is bidding goodbye to this company and in many ways, his daughter too, so it’s a monumental day for us. You’re seeing a vulnerable side of Kartik Sharma the world doesn’t get to see often.’
There was a soft, sympathetic hum from the crowd.
Siya gently patted his back as she said, ‘It’s okay, Dad. You’ve done your part and brought me here. Now, I’ll keep it going, I promise.’
Suddenly, the press no longer wanted to question him. They wanted to protect him.
Kartik knew he had lost. His shoulders hunched as the weight of this moment suddenly crashed on him. His collapse wasn’t visible to anyone, but Siya saw it in his sunken posture as he gave a nod to the press cluttered around and walked off stage.
A man raised his hand for another question. When Siya nodded, he asked,
‘What role has Abhay sir played in launching this new phase of your life?’
Siya could feel him watching her, and had felt it as soon as she came on stage. It had been a struggle to not look at him, to not rush into his arms, but she had to do this first.
‘I’m glad you asked. Frankly, I wouldn’t be here if not for him,’ she said, and finally met his eyes.
His posture was straight, arms folded loosely over his chest, but Abhay was watching her with awe.
More hands were thrust up into the air but Siya gestured them to wait. ‘I know there is a lot of curiosity about my marriage with Abhay, and it’s partly my fault. So, on this happy occasion, I want to share our story.’
His dark eyes were fixed on her, intent and searching. She held his gaze as she said, ‘Abhay is the best partner I could have ever deserved, not just because he loves me, but also because he sees me, even the parts I don’t always want to show.’
Someone in the crowd cooed at what she said, and a flush rose up her neck. How could he do it, make grand romantic statements in a room full of people like it was his second nature?
‘We met at a New Year’s party a couple of years ago, in one of those crowded rooms where everyone is pretending to be someone they’re not. But not him. He came up to me, swept me off my feet with his sweet nothings and we ran away together to a roadside fair.’
Memories of that night surfaced in her mind and she smiled, feeling nostalgic when she remembered their first kiss on the top of the Ferris wheel. ‘I didn’t know it at the time, but that night changed my life. But love isn’t so simple, right?’
Her breath hitched and she cleared her throat to push down the tears.
‘There was history, family rivalry, and then there were the mistakes we made that became our obstacles. But even on the worst nights, even when we were apart, he was still the only one I thought of,’ she said, and watched his eyes turn misty.