Page 18 of Wicked Trap

“You haven’t even met him,” her father said angrily. “How can you say no?”

“I don’t have to meet him to know I won’t ever marry a stranger.”

“He’s not a stranger. I know his father very well.”

“He’s a stranger to me,” she said. “And if I want to get married, I will introduce you to that man rather than the other way around.”

There was an ominous pause.

“Who is the man you want to marry?” her father demanded.

“No one. I’m telling you that I will let you know when I am ready to marry someone.”

Her father gritted his teeth.

“Fine,” he said. “Let’s talk about this later. I need your signatures on a few documents.”

Her eyes fell on the papers. She saw the trust name on the top.

“What are they for?” she asked.

Her father frowned in irritation at her questioning. He wasn’t a man who got questioned by anyone. She hadn’t questioned him too for the first two decades of her life. It was only the last few years that she began asking him for an explanation for everything.

“These are documents granting me permission to use one of our properties as collateral. The trust board has already agreed.”

“Which properties?” she asked.

His jaw clenched at her questioning. “The lands surrounding the Vardhaman Estate.”

The estate had belonged to the same family whose city house her father had purchased.

“Collateral for what?” she asked.

Her father let out an angry breath. “You are my only child! All the properties and the money I earn will eventually belong to you. This is for your future. So stop questioning me as though I have some ulterior motive!”

She didn’t respond to his statements. “I will speak with Mr. Munshi and sign these papers.” Mr. Munshi was the lawyer in charge of the trust.

Her father opened his mouth to argue, but there was a knock on the door. It was his secretary.

“Mr. Bhoopal Yadav has arrived.”

Frowning, her father nodded. “Ask him to come inside.”

Tanvi got up from the chair. Her father thrived on politics. Anything that would help push him towards winning the top seat, he wouldn’t let the smallest of opportunities go. He would also not let anything distract him. Not even his only daughter.

Bidding him good night, she left her father’s home.

***

Later that night, Tanvi went straight home. She didn’t bother picking up any food for dinner. And neither did she want to place an order for dinner to be delivered. The confrontation with her father left her with a heavy heart, killing her appetite.

With a sigh, she slowed down at her apartment mail boxes of to check her mail.

“Hi, Tanvi.”

It was Sameer, the cute neighbor guy. Tanvi wasn’t in the mood to chat with anyone, so she stepped away from the mail boxes, deciding to check it later. But not wanting to be rude, she pasted a polite smile. “Hello, Sameer,” she greeted before continuing to walk towards the lifts.

Briefly, she wondered what her father would do if she dated someone like Sameer.

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