~Devaditya~

It's been three weeks since returning from Varanasi. Dadaji always had a spiritual connection to that place. I guess he's now quite happy.

Quite happy that he won't have to see Devraj's face anymore.

He won't have to lecture him every day, nor will he call me a million times regarding him.

"Go check on your father's health. He's getting worse."

Of course, he's getting worse, and it's not that I care. I wish so fucking bad to see him die right in front of my eyes. I wish he has the most painful death possible. Or even better, I kill him with my own hands—stabbing him once, twice, thrice, a million times—and see his nasty blood flow.

The nasty blood which runs in my veins too. Devraj Singh Rathore might be the one I share my blood with, but he will never be my father.

All he cared about was feeding his addiction with more alcohol. God knows what would have happened if he had been introduced to drugs. Not that I care. He's always been a pain in the ass.

Dadaji's death certificate has words printed in black, listing the cause of death as: stroke.

Little do they know that wasn't the real cause. The real cause was Devraj, who had been dying to split the properties so that he could live with his girlfriend and afford his addiction, as his paycheck was disabled by Dadaji due to his carelessness at work, which caused great damage to his sector.

Dadaji died.

Because of Devraj.

My mother died.

Because of Devraj.

I was six, and the memories of those days are still crystal clear in my head. It haunts me. Day by day. I feel as if it's—

"Hukum, we are here." My driver snaps me out of my thoughts. I turn my head to the left to see the Rajmahal. The Rajmahal where I was supposed to grow up happily.

A bodyguard opens the gate from the outside and greets me. I nod and start walking towards the entrance.

Dadisa has been quiet the entire time during the funeral. She was a heart patient; news as strong as her husband's death might badly impact her health. Thus, I decided to let her know very softly, but when I stepped into her room, I saw her in a white saree, slowly removing the vermilion from her hair parting. She had thick tears around her wrinkled eyes. My heart pinched at that.

"Who told you?" I asked, maintaining a cool tone, to which she smiled weakly and replied, "Chandni."

The gatekeepers greet me as I walk through the entrance. As I enter, Chandni spots me.

Not again.

"Hey, Dev. What brings yo—"

I ignored her call and went straight to Dadisa's room. She was sitting there on her king-sized bed, staring at the floor. As soon as she sensed my arrival, she looked at me and gave the same soft, wrinkly smile.

I took her ashirwad, and she caressed my hair. I wonder what goes on in her head. Does she even recognize how her own daughter is so avaricious and blinded by money?

"Come with me, Dadisa. Live with me from now on," I tell her with a little hope that this time she agrees; but I was too optimistic.

"No, beta," she looked down, hiding her eyes. "I can't. I won't be able to live the rest of my days anywhere else—anywhere that doesn't have the memories of your Dadaji."

As expected. I take a look at her and ask her nurse about the meds and updates on her health. She gestures for me to wait outside the room. So I did. Dadisa's health was always a delicate topic; she had two operations before, and as of now, the last thing I want is to be in another situation that reminds me of my past.

As I wait, I see Anurag Pathak, Chandni's husband. He's in the same sector as Devraj. Before this, he used to be a startup businessman, but his businessman era ended as soon as it started. He was in great debt of 10 crores, including interest. Dadaji gave him this job since Chandni requested him to help and even convinced him to pay off the debt.

Anurag comes up to me and hands me a check, showing his yellow teeth. He eyes me to sign the check so he can have his bonus allowance from the sector. I wish he could use his eyes in a better way to notice he should brush his teeth. I sign the check without a word because the more I delay, the more the chances of him saying something—and I definitely don't want to smell his breath.

The nurse finally comes out. Anurag looks at the nurse and smiles flirtatiously. I hand him the signed check and he leaves without saying anything.

Huge relief.

"Ganga Devi is suffering from depression. Her symptoms are not that serious, but we should take measures regarding it; otherwise, it might influence her heart."

"Oh," is all I can muster.

I leave after seeing Dadisa one more time; she's still looking at the floor. The nurse heads back to her room, and I head downstairs when I hear Chandni murmur:

"Finally, the King is leaving. He doesn't even know how to respect his elders."

As if you know very well how to treat your juniors—or even your elders.

I glare at her. "Do you want me to cancel your paycheck for the next three months?" I say in a dangerous voice.

"No, no, she was just kidding. Chandni, apologize to Hukum," Anurag spits out hastily. Chandni glares at her husband while whispering, "Sorry," in a small voice.

I leave before any of them force me to commit something that would violate the law.

Damn effing idiots.

I get back to my car as the driver reverses and finally gets me out of the Rajmahal.

"Take me to the headquarters." I’ve already wasted so much of my time dealing with these dumbasses.

I need to get back to work; I have a lot of things to focus on. I’ve got to check on the company's overall performance this month and how it's dealing without the chairman—my grandfather. Also, I need to fix the date for the meeting regarding the next product of RC (Rathore Corporations).

~♡~

Gosh, today the roads are quite busy. After being stuck for 15 minutes midway, it's finally clearing up.

I tell the driver to speed up when a girl randomly comes in front of my car. The driver slams on the brakes. I almost felt like we drove over a pothole. She looks frightened. Her hair is blowing all over her face.

Panic was written all over her face. She started shouting and accusing the driver of driving recklessly. My driver looked at me with helpless eyes. I have had enough; never in my entire life have I been late for work, nor will I ever be. I open the window on my side.

"So you are the owner?" she snapped before I could say anything.

"Kaise log paal ke rakhe hai tumne? Dikhai nahi deta kaise bewde ki tarah gadi chalata hai? Woh toh acha hua bhagwan ji ki meher hai mujhpe, warna toh meri kisi se shaadi hone se pehle hi mera raam naam satya ho jaata. Gadhe kahike? Hello?"

She kept staring at me, while I was just stunned by her audacity. She even called me an idiot. Is she even aware that I can destroy her entire life in just a second?

"My driver isn't the one who's reckless; it's you who is careless. Who told you to cross the road when there's such heavy traffic?"

"Exqueeeseee me! How dare you talk to me like that? As if you own the entire road—"

Wrong.

I own the entire country.

"—And I have legs, so I can go wherever I want, and I will cross whenever I want to. I am an expert in crossing roads. Okay?" she ranted.

Poor girl. What shall I do with her to shut that pretty little mouth of hers?

"Ahh, great. Now I'm late because of you guys! Hey, driver uncle, will you pass 'Exquisite Events' too?" she asked, appearing comparatively calmer than before.

'Exquisite Events' is an event planning company which I'm referring to for a next project event. Hmm, so this girl works over there.

"Yes, ma'am," my driver hesitatingly replied while sharing glances with me.

"Great. Since you guys were about to kill me, I'm gonna give you a chance to repay me, 'cause your girlie is kind. Drop me at Exquisite Events. Open the door," she ordered.

The audacity.

"Move!"

She opens the door and gets in the car—in my car. My driver looks at me, waiting for my signal.

I say nothing and signal him to drive.

It's going to be fun.