Chapter Four
Kian
Singhania Sons’ headquarters may have changed in terms of its interior, but the atmosphere remains the same.
Claustrophobic. Unwelcoming. Unyielding.
I almost turn around and leave.
Immune to the ever-present invasive gaze of people wherever I go, I ignore them and walk up to the reception area. The girl behind the desk looks up, her eyes going comically wide as she recognizes me. “Mr. Singhania!”
“Tell Nathan I’m here to meet him.”
There will be enough gossip floating around that I showed up here. I don’t need to make a scene by barging into his office. I maintain my composure and watch the assistant call upstairs and inform Nathan of my presence.
He won’t turn me away today.
I’m counting it.
I had an ulterior motive in asking Iris to stay at home. Had she come to work, she would’ve seen my calendar and known I lied about having meetings in the city all day. I didn’t want to tell her I’m meeting Nathan and upset her.
The reason I didn’t stop her from talking to Nathan by herself the other night was because a part of me hoped he’d do the right thing. Not for me, but for the woman who was willing to sacrifice her future to help him for whatever reason.
The state I found her in will forever haunt me.
It sealed Nathan’s fate.
I hate that every premonition I had about their relationship and the events leading up to this point came true in the worst way possible.
It seems our father has succeeded in teaching him to play underhanded cards.
I’m no longer proud of my brother. I pity the manipulative man he’s become.
“He’s waiting for you upstairs,” the receptionist says after hanging up. Standing up, she rounds the desk. “If you’d please come with me, I will show you to his office.”
A few minutes later, I’m standing outside his door. The privacy shutters are drawn in his office. Without knocking, I step inside.
“What a surprise, big brother,” Nathan taunts from behind his desk as soon as the door swings shut behind me. “I’ve seen you more this week than in the last eighteen years.”
“I’ve tried several times reaching out to you,” I point out, strolling in and surveying his office. All his degrees from prestigious universities are proudly displayed. Every man in the family has the same. Well, except for me.
“Is that what this is? Another attempt?” He quirks a brow and flicks his chin toward the door. “You may as well show yourself out.”
The glint in his eye tells me he’s well aware I’m not here for reconciliation.
His actions eviscerated those chances.
Making my sunny girl break down into tears is one thing I will never tolerate—a punishable offense of the worst degree.
I stop before his desk, looking him square in the eyes. He stays leaning back against his chair, foolishly believing he has the upper hand. “Call off the wedding, Nathan.”
“I’m sensing an ‘or’ here.”
“ Or I will destroy everything you hold dear.”
He leans forward, steepling his hands. “How exactly will you accomplish that?”
“The will.” His face pales. “The girl must be in her early twenties. She must come from a middle-class family with no connection to a high-class society. Must be financially independent and hold family values.”
Nathan remains stoic, shoulders bunched tight as I recite the clause from our late grandfather’s will that was read four years ago. As soon as I learned about it, I instantly recognized it as my dadu’s attempt to rectify the errors of the past.
“The son who marries first as per the above clause will inherit the Singhania Sons’ legacy and receive his inheritance worth a hundred million dollars,” I finish, regarding a silently seething Nathan. “I’ve always known about the will, Nathan.”
He recovers fast. “Who told you?”
“I have my resources.”
“Is that why you seduced my fiancée?”
I rein in my temper, and say lowly, “Iris is a pawn to you. One you fed some bullshit story to manipulate into marrying you. To me, she’s a queen.
Worth more than some company or money. And I’m willing to kill anyone who means her harm, including you.
I’m giving you one chance to fix your mistake before I take matters into my own hands. ”
“Fix by serving her on a silver platter to you?” he taunts. “I’m not that stupid.”
“I just told you I’m not interested in what the stupid will has to offer,” I grumble. “You’re also forgetting one crucial detail. The marriage has to be real. It gets out that you’re both faking it, you’ll get nothing.”
“No one will take your word for it,” he retorts arrogantly. “And Iris will never admit it to the public. Coming from anyone else, it will be a rumor to sabotage our relationship.”
“What makes you so sure Iris won’t come forward?”
“It’s not her that I’m sure about, it’s you.”
“Me?”
“A king will never let his queen’s reputation be tarnished,” he says quietly, making me go rigid. “The minute she declares she was pretending to be my girlfriend, that’s what will happen. And when they hear she jumped straight into bed with you, well, I don’t need to tell you what nam—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” I threaten, seething.
He smirks. “I’m doing your girl a favor by not calling off the wedding. You want to be with her, wait until she fulfils her end of the deal.”
More than furious, I’m disappointed as I listen to him.
Is this the brother I was trying to fix my relationship with over the years?
As soon as I had heard about our grandfather’s will, which my father had tried very hard to keep buried, I reached out to Nathan privately to tell him he had nothing to worry about.
I walked away from everything eighteen years ago and I have no intention of ever returning. Had he given me a chance, I would’ve told him the truth about what happened the night I left our home, so his fears would have been eradicated. We wouldn’t be standing here right now.
It’s too late.
Because there’s no sign of my brother. Only a cold-hearted and vicious man digging his own grave.
A war between us was inevitable.
“It’s disheartening to see the person you’ve become. Jaded and deceitful. I don’t know why I ever bothered reaching out to you.”
“You were trying to wash away your guilt on your terms,” he growls. A cloudy swirl of anguish and anger meets me as he pins me with a derisive look. “The world doesn’t revolve around you, Kian. You had your chance to explain when I came to you.”
“Believe it or not, I stayed away to protect you.”
“Walking away was for my benefit?” He laughs, the sound hollow. “Well, brother, you sure did a banging job of it.”
“Considering you’ve turned out just like our father, I obviously didn’t.”
An imperceptible flinch crosses his face. “You don’t know me at all to make that judgment.”
“You’re right. Same goes for you because you’re underestimating the lengths I’ll go to protect Iris,” I tell him. “As far as I’m concerned, she’s no longer your fiancée. If you won’t tell her the truth, then I will.”
“You will lose her, too, once she knows of the will.”
“Then you don’t know her as well as you think you do.”
He pushes to his feet, taunting, “You think you do?”
“Yes,” I say in a heartbeat.
That seems to irk him. A vindictive look darkens his eyes. “Did she tell you why she stayed with me for three years?”
I sense his attempt to cause a rift between Iris and me, which I will not let happen. She told me everything there is to know and I trust her.
“It’s between me and her,” I answer Nathan. “I don’t care what you have to say.”
I turn around to leave when he lands the final blow.
“Your precious Iris is a liar.”