Bastard Child

Rim continued, her voice measured yet insistent. "I know this may not seem unusual or alarming to you, but trust me, it is. The girl Grandpa has chosen for your marriage is a senior high school student—just seventeen years old. Her family background is unremarkable."

Sharvik's gaze darkened, his eyes deepening with unspoken thoughts. A storm of questions brewed in his mind, yet he remained silent. He preferred to seek answers in his own way.

Rim pressed on, urgency lacing her words. "Brother, you need to come to Delhi immediately and put an end to this. If Grandpa pushes this any further, I fear you'll have no choice but to sacrifice yourself for the family's honor and marry a minor. I cannot bear the thought of people mistaking my sister-in-law for your daughter when you walk together."

She rarely spoke so candidly with Sharvik—his cold, composed nature made such conversations difficult. Yet, she deeply admired him.

She could not accept the idea of her brother marrying a girl who was not only underage but also from a background too fragile for their world.

Not out of arrogance—never that.

But in their world, weakness held no place. The weak were not protected; they were crushed.

Rim wanted her brother's wife to be his strength, not his vulnerability. And in her eyes, Surbhi was precisely that—a weakness. A minor girl, fatherless, from a modest business family that their society could wipe out with a mere breath.

Sharvik's silence was beginning to unnerve her. She had traveled all this way to convince him, yet he showed no reaction, no indication of what he thought.

Determined, she retrieved her phone, tapped on the screen, and then quietly held it out to him.

Sharvik glanced at it. Displayed before him was an image of a young girl, walking along the roadside in a Delhi Public School uniform—elegant in her simplicity.

Rim's voice was low but pointed. "This is the girl Grandpa has chosen for you. She is undeniably beautiful, but far too young. Tell me, will you really marry her?"

Sharvik studied the picture in silence. What ran through his mind was impossible to discern, but the intensity in his gaze unsettled Rim.

Never before had she seen him look at a woman's photograph for this long. Yet now, he lingered on Surbhi's image, his expression unreadable.

Then, finally, he looked away and spoke. "Go home."

His voice was calm, compelling—but laced with an icy detachment, like the frozen peaks of the Himalayas.

Rim nodded without protest and turned to leave. On her way out, she handed Sharvik's overcoat to Kapil. Defying her brother was not an option, nor did she have any interest in the business exhibition.

As she departed, high-profile politicians and business magnates began approaching Sharvik, offering greetings.

Without turning, he murmured to his assistant, Kapil, "I want every detail about her on my desk within two hours."

Kapil inclined his head. "Understood, Boss."

As Sharvik moved toward the playing area, effortlessly navigating the circle of elites around him, Kapil swiftly set to work.

He, too, was curious.

What was so extraordinary about this girl that the old fox, Anand Singhania, had chosen her for his formidable boss?

Delhi Public School,

The moment Surbhi stepped into the school, a hush fell over the students around her. Whispers spread like wildfire as curious eyes followed her every move.

Everyone had heard the news—Surbhi's marriage had been arranged with Sharvik Singhania. The mere association with his name was enough to make her the center of attention, and now, every student was stealing glances at her, murmuring among themselves.

Unbothered by the stares and hushed conversations, Surbhi walked toward her classroom with an air of quiet indifference.

Upon entering, she moved to the last row and settled into a corner seat. She placed her backpack on the desk, unzipped it, and retrieved a strip of sleeping pills. Without hesitation, she took out ten pills and chewed them dry, as if it were routine.

A few students watched her in fascination. Surbhi was unlike any other girl in the school—not just in demeanor but in the aura she carried. And now, being tied to the most powerful man in the world only added to her intrigue.

After taking the pills, she lowered her head, closed her eyes, and remained still, as though she had come to school not to study, but to escape into sleep.

Her behavior no longer surprised anyone. For the past three days, Surbhi had followed the same pattern—arriving at school, taking sleeping pills, and withdrawing into silence. She neither sought friendships nor entertained enmities. Even in a room full of people, her presence felt ghostly.

What baffled the students most was not just her detached demeanor but the fact that no teacher ever questioned her for sleeping through class. Even the principal remained indifferent to her actions.

Initially, her classmates found it odd, but soon, they began to believe that the special treatment she received was because of Sharvik Singhania's influence.

After a while, her deskmate, Riya, arrived. A quiet girl with thick glasses, Riya had a timid disposition yet a kind heart.

She hesitated before finally mustering the courage to gently tap Surbhi's shoulder.

"Surbhi, there's a weekly physics test today. Don't fall asleep. The paper will start soon."

Surbhi turned her gaze towards Riya—lethargic, yet observant. Unlike the rest of the class, who viewed her as arrogant and unapproachable, Riya always spoke to her with warmth.

In a languid tone, Surbhi murmured, "Let me know when it begins."

"Alright." Riya nodded.

Just then, a loud thud resonated across the desk as someone slammed their palm onto it. Riya flinched, startled, her book slipping from her hands and landing on the floor.

Surbhi lifted her heavy eyelids with a slow, measured gaze.

Standing before her was Vyoma—the notorious leader of the school's bullying clique. With her powerful family background, few dared to cross her.

Riya, however, was bewildered by the sudden confrontation. Why was Vyoma here, and why did she seem so furious?

Surbhi's voice, soft yet unsettling, broke the silence.

"I don't take kindly to anyone disturbing my sleep."

Vyoma's lips curled into a sneer as she folded her arms.

"So, you're the unfortunate girl everyone's talking about. Let me make one thing very clear, you low-class nobody—this school isn't your father's estate where you can waltz in and do as you please. And that man you think you're destined to marry? He belongs to my family. My aunt will be the one standing beside him, not you. So, do yourself a favor—go home and refuse this marriage. Otherwise, my family won't hesitate to erase the Mehta name from existence."

Surbhi didn't respond.

But something in her gaze shifted—her usual drowsiness dissipating, replaced by an eerie calm laced with something far more dangerous.

She was staring at Vyoma as if she were already envisioning her downfall.

Vyoma smirked at the lack of response, mistaking silence for submission. She leaned in slightly, voice laced with mockery.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Are you angry? Do you want to hit me?"

She paused, then let out a short laugh.

"Oh, I see. You're upset because I mentioned your father. My apologies—if this school did belong to your father, you wouldn't even recognize him. After all, how could a bastard child like you possibly know who her father is?"

A chilling stillness settled over the room.

In the next instant, Surbhi rose to her feet. The force of her movement sent her chair crashing to the ground.

For the first time, her classmates witnessed raw emotion on her face—one of cold, seething fury.

The lifeless eyes that had always appeared detached now burned with an intensity that made the entire room feel suffocating.

Surbhi's voice was firm as she commanded, "Move!"

Riya, gripping her wrist with both hands, implored, "Surbhi, please, calm down. She's from the Khurana family. If you harm her, the Khurana family won't spare yours. Please, control your anger. Don't get tangled with her..."

Surbhi cut her off, "I said, move aside."

Her icy tone echoed ominously throughout the classroom, sending a clear warning. Riya, without hesitation, released Surbhi's wrist, stepping back in fear. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Surbhi strode forward with the same determined intent as Vyoma, who stood with a mocking smile, seemingly toying with her.

Just as Surbhi neared Vyoma, an unseen force struck, sending Vyoma flying through the air like a kite, crashing violently into the wall. Her pained scream reverberated through the nearby classrooms, forcing students to rush to the scene.

In moments, a crowd of Class 12 students gathered outside, their attention fixed on Vyoma, who, wracked with pain, began to sob. Everyone's gaze shifted as one toward the source of the attack.

Through the haze of cigarette smoke, a handsome teenage boy appeared, walking leisurely into the crowd, a cigarette dangling from his lips. His eyes carried the ruthless cruelty of a tyrant, full of arrogance and disdain.

A girl, who had accompanied Vyoma, gathered her courage and confronted him, "Sumit, what is this behavior? How can you treat a girl like this? Don't you have any shame?"

Sumit, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air with a wicked grin, responded, "Shame? How can there be shame in eliminating a snake? I should be proud. I crushed a snake, and it couldn't even bite me back. Isn't that something to boast about? Besides, everyone at this school knows I don't differentiate between boys and girls. In my eyes, they are equal. I treat them both the same."

The crowd fell into stunned silence, and even the girl who had confronted him dared not speak further.

Sumit's family had notorious ties to the underworld, which explained why not just the students, but nearly every teacher at the school feared him. His reputation as a gangster stretched far beyond Delhi Public School, making him infamous throughout the entire city.

One could easily say Sumit was the most infamous boy in Delhi.

He pointed toward Vyoma and sneered, "Take this snake away. Just looking at her disgusts me. If she stays here, I might just puke on her."

Given Sumit's ruthless demeanor, the girls who had been with Vyoma quickly ushered her away to the dispensary. She needed medical attention, her body battered from the assault.

Sumit then turned his attention to Surbhi, who stood quietly beside Riya's seat.

"Three days," Sumit said, his tone cutting, "You've been here at Delhi Public School for three days, yet you didn't bother to tell me. That's not right. I never hide anything from you, but you've hidden so much from me."

____________________________

What will happen next?

How does Sumit know Surbhi?

Can Kapil unravel Surbhi's mystery?

What decision will Sharvik make?

To know...

To be continued...