Page 12 of Temptation
“We’re here,” Keya said in between laughs.
Janak looked at Sheena, and she rolled her eyes. “They’re behaving crazy. And ganging up on me.”
“We are so not ganging up on you,” Raashi said loudly.
Sheena followed her grandfather to the dining room. Her friends got up and went to hug him. He greeted them the same way he’d greeted her. Her heart warmed as she watched her grandfather interact with her closest friends. The three of them were his angels. Janak’s Angels, he called them. Sheena was well aware that he was as fond of her friends as he was of her. Both her friends were now orphaned with younger siblings to protect. Keya had a younger brother, Akash, studying in London, and Raashi had a younger sister, Jiya, studying in New York. Her grandfather had been a constant in both Keya and Raashi’s lives for years now. He’d been there for them, protecting them and guiding them just like he did for her. He was their backbone—for all three of them. They each went to him whenever they needed advice or ran into a problem. He always asked the right questions and helped them come up with a solution on their own.
She sat on her chair and watched as he filled his plate with chocolate cake and ice cream before taking a seat beside her. She studied him as he chatted with Keya and Raashi. He was tall, with high cheekbones and a fair complexion that was now weathered by age. His once dark hair was now sprinkled with an abundance of grey. Her grandfather was a dashing man, and fit as a fiddle.
Janak Sehgal was the reason the Sehgals were considered India’s premier business family. They had a foothold in several businesses—real estate, hotels, automobiles, telecom and media, and IT. They also had a presence in several countries. Not only was he a successful businessman, he was also a visionary. For the last couple of years, he’d been training her brother, Kabier, and her cousins, Sameer and Rishi, to individually take up different verticals of their vast business portfolio. Her grandfather had a plan for everyone, even Sameer and Rishi’s younger sisters, Rhea and Shauna, who were still studying. It was just her he had failed with. Familiar despair washed over her, but she curbed it and smiled at her grandfather.
He helped himself to some cake and looked at her. “So, what’s going on with you?”
“Nothing much. I just came from Mom’s annual July soiree,” Sheena slanted him a glance, “which you so conveniently avoided.”
“Please,” he shook his head. “Your mom’s parties are boring. All those gossipy people, judging everyone and everything. No, thank you.”
Sheena laughed, “Don’t let her hear you say that.”
“Mina knows my opinion about Mumbai’selitecrowd. She and your aunt Rita enjoy these events. They’re happy doing what they like. That’s enough for me.”
Sheena nodded. Her grandfather was the reason she, her brother Kabier, and all her cousins had such a pleasant and happy environment growing up. He gave everyone their space and supported them all, while not being overbearing at all.
“Anything interesting happened at the party?” he asked her. “Rather, did you meetanyoneinteresting?”
Keya opened her mouth, but Sheena kicked her under the table, silencing her.
Raashi, however, had no qualms in telling him everything about her encounter with Rajiv.
Her grandfather looked at her. “Hmm, so Rajiv Mehra? You liked him?”
Sheena rolled her eyes. “Why do you have to believe her? I did not like him. It was a stupid encounter, and I will never meet him again. We are changing this subject right now.”
He shrugged and continued digging into his dessert plate, relishing the cake.
Something else came to her mind. “Did you know Mom was going to introduce me to all those men?”
“I did.”
Her throat tightened as pain struck her chest. First her mom, and now him? Did he also feel she was wasting her life because she had no direction?
“Sheena…” Raashi sputtered. “You didn’t tell us that your mom is husband hunting for you?”
“That is not something I expected you to keep from me,” Sheena told her grandfather in a quiet voice. “Do you also think that I’ve stopped living and need a man to get a reboot in my life?”
Her grandfather leaned forward and held her hand. “Hey. Don’t get mad, okay? We just want what’s best for you.”
She removed her hand from under his, feeling burdened by her own failures. “I know I’m a disappointment, okay? I know that of all your grandkids, I’m the only one you haven’t been able to give direction to. You’ve always taught all of us, including Keya and Raashi, to be on our feet, study, get a job, and to have a dream for a future. I have a Master’s degree in Psychology and an MBA in HR, yet I’ve never put them to use and worked a single day in my life. Instead, now I’ve decided to study for a PhD, for which I don’t even have a mentor because I haven’t looked hard enough. I ought to be earning my own living by now, but here I am, living off of my family’s wealth. I know it sucks. That doesn’t mean you just marry me off and wipe your hands off me.”
Pin drop silence followed her outburst. Her friends looked shell-shocked, but her grandfather… He looked…he looked devastated.
She shut her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him. It wasn’t his fault that she was a mess and unable to take control of her life.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” she said.
“I didn’t know this was how you felt, Sheena,” he sounded stricken. “And for that, I am sorry. When your mom recommended introducing some of the eligible men to you, it wasn’t because of any of the reasons you just mentioned. We only want you to find yourself again. Perhaps we went about it the wrong way. I’ll ensure this doesn’t happen again if that’s not what you want in life right now.”
“I don’t,” Sheena admitted.
