Veiled Secrets

0.7

He looked at his grandfather's portrait that was hung on the walls of chairman's cabin, now his. It had been a few months since he was declared as the chairman, it had led a huge fight, and surprisingly this time the fight wasn't between his mother and bade papa instead, it was between Om and Tej.

Tej had expressed his disappointment in his son in yet another remarkable way, pushing him away further.

Shivaay winced when he heard the glass crashing, he was about to interfere when Om stopped him and stepped up.

"It's between Mr. Oberoi and I." He has spoken.

"Had you been more passionate about your studies and considerate of our wishes, YOU would have been sitting there at the post of chairman's instead of your brother. The rightful heir." Tej bellowed.

"This. Do you see this Shivaay?" Om turned to look at Shivaay. "This is the man that you idolized. This is his true face." Tej had gone quiet.

"I am not like you, Mr. Oberoi. For me relations matter more than this, this post that you are racing after. I know how to be happy in my brother's achievement."

Tej scoffed, "then be ready for that your whole life. Watch how he discards you once his purpose is done." He has said that pointing at Shivaay.

Shivaay felt lost. He didn't know what he had done that his bade papa had grown to hate him till this extent that he had started instigating his brothers against him.

"Do not drag my sons here, Jeth Ji." His mother took over, he watched as his father tried to hold her back.

"You have seen what my son had done for yours he had spent his nights nurturing when you and Jethani Ji——"

"—enough, Pinky." His badi maa stepped up. His eyes fell on his dadi who was looking around helplessly. Why didn't she say anything?

"You will regret, Omkara" Tej turned to look at him, his eyes full of hatred and malice. Shivaay's eyes narrowed when Tej's hand pointed in his direction, "That——" he pointed at him as if he was something wretched thing "he will use you up to his advantage." And he stormed away.

He stopped his mother who was about to follow him hurling arguments of her own. He have had enough for today. "Mom, calm down." He said softly in controlled voice before he turned towards his brother who was standing in the middle of the hall his eyes downcast.

"Om." Shivaay spoke sternly, "I am fine, Shivaay. I hope you had seen the man's true colours." He spoke before he too stormed away to his room. His eyes turned to his badi maa who looked away guilty. He didn't say anything.

He has seen the man who he considered as his father instigating his brother, whom Shivaay loved as his own, against him.

His bade papa was the one who celebrated his achievements more than himself.

"Everyone look!" The seven years old Shivaay grinned excitedly. He stopped short when he noticed the tensed environment around the house. He blinked curiously, he watched as the elders masked away their expressions before putting up a smile for him, and that assured the child.

"I have to show something." He said as he placed his bag on the ground and rummaged around to fish out a bundle of neatly kept papers.

Everyone arched an eyebrow.

"What is it?" Tej asked as Shivaay perched on the seat beside his excitedly handing him report card. It was his first written exam and he had done remarkably well in the test. He was happy.

Tej looked at the messy scrawl that were supposed to be his checked answer sheets, he looked up at the red mark on the paper, he acquired the maximum marks.

"Haaye mera bachha" Pinky cooed as she kissed his cheeks. Though the elders didn't interact as much. They all were happy for the child.

And so was he. For he loved seeing his family happy, instead of the fights that he had now gotten used to.

Tej picked him up, "Now, tell me what do you want as reward?" He asked. Shivaay grinned but the grin soon turned into a frown as he tried to figure out what he had wanted for himself.

Shivaay frowned. "I don't know, I have all the things that I wanted." The child shook his head.

The elders chuckled at that.

"How about hot chocolate?" Tej asked, Shivaay's eyes lit up with joy. He loved sweets.

"Yes." He nodded vigorously.

"Then shall we venture in the chamber that is known as the kitchen?" Tej asked playfully.

"Aye aye!" Shivaay high-fived him.

Pinky smiled at the interaction, though her gaze averted when her eyes met Jhanvi's. They were never on the best terms———courtesy their different backgrounds, though they have tried to put it past but the times like this made the distances prominent.

And moments like these showed how much they mattered to their family.

Shivaay's eyes strayed on his grandfather's portrait.

"Your grandfather was a great man."  Almost all the sentences started with this statement, whenever his grandmother narrated the story of how his grandfather established such a big empire. As a child he used to view the man as a hero, he still respects him. A lot.

Shivaay looked at his grandmother in wonder. She nodded, Shivaay could see tears in her eyes but she was smiling, that didn't quite sit well with him. How can she cry and laugh at the same time?

Where children grew up hearing fairytales from their grandparents, he grew up hearing how great Oberois were, and how his grandfather had started it all from scratch. And how much of a great business man he was.

And he grew up believing the same.

Though it was not so, there were too many questions and too many loop holes in the finances that made him question all the tales that his grandmother had told him.

.

[ Well till now, it had been a teaser of sorts. The real chapters will begin now onwards

Story contains: family secrets + violence + and other strong themes warnings will be mentioned in the chapter prior.

The idea was to deal with how Shivaay rose up in power and how deep he plunged into the secrets that his family had kept away from the world.]