Chapter 1

God! Why do I have to work so much? Why couldn't I just quit this job?

Let me introduce myself. My name is Tanvi, I'm currently 24. My height is 5'5 and I'm not fat but not thin too, I have long hazel hair that reaches below my hips. I have a brother, Sanjay, who is 11 months older than me and he's already married to my best friend, Yashvi. They're happily married. My mother hates me for some reason but I've come to terms with it over these years.

My brother is the youngest self-made billionaire. He became a billionaire at the age of 18 and was working ever since he turned 16. For my mother, I'm a disappointment.

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Four years ago:

So I've been studying at the London School of Business for my bachelor's in entrepreneurship and I've been studying with my millionaire brother, who dropped out two years later because he wanted to focus on his business and also his fiancée who happens to be my best friend. I don't usually make many friends. I also have a boyfriend and he is everything I could've asked for.

So for my fees, because my parents, more specifically my mother didn't want me to go abroad, away from my family because then I would be a spoilt brat well more like she didn't want to waste money on me, I made a deal to which my father had agreed. I would pay 75% of my fees and the other they would pay but in the third year my father stopped sending me money but I still managed to pay all of my tuition fees. Funny thing is my mother has actually been paying for my best friend. No hard feelings though, Yashvi is a sweetheart.

My brother and I also have a sour relationship. I have no idea why he stopped talking to me, and it's been 2 years since he stopped.

Speaking of my boyfriend I was reluctant at first, fearing that maybe he wasn't my caste and so I didn't even speak to him but when I found out that he is my caste I gave in, the cherry on the cake was that he was my dad's friends' son.

Funny thing, I still have to care about caste and stuff like that because my family is an orthodox family, most of the families in India are.

I had finally finished my four-year course and had my graduation tomorrow. I was the first Indian to be the university top scorer. I was happy, Yashvi was happy but the rest didn't seem to bother.

It was around 1 in the afternoon when my mother had called Yashvi. She was very engrossed in the phone call and after my mother hung up, she came towards me with a guilty look.

"We have to go back, she's called you urgently, the jet is already waiting for us, she's told you not to tell anyone about us moving back", she said while avoiding eye contact. I felt like the breath was knocked out of my lungs.

"But..."

"We only have two hours, so we better hurry up", and then she left to pack her bags.

I had to move back which meant I'll have to leave him.

Feeling guilty for not telling him and going I just thought I'll write something but every time I held the pen, I would tear up so I wrote only a few words.

I'm sorry, hope you can forgive me. I hope you move on. I stuck the note on my door and left for the airport with Yashvi.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I had finally landed. I was in no mood to talk to anyone and Yashvi respected my decision. My mother ran towards us, well more specifically towards her future daughter-in-law and hugged her. It's not like I didn't feel anything. There was a pang in my heart but I chose to ignore it and I stared blankly at my mother.

My phone started ringing and I knew who it was so I chose to switch it off. I'm gonna change my SIM card anyways. My mother looked at me and narrowed her eyes.

When we had returned home, Yashvi had gone to her place, my mother finally came towards me and slapped me. Not something I wasn't used to already. She slaps me whenever she wants to. I look at her blankly.

"What were you thinking? When you thought it would be ok to date someone!?", She screams.

"I-I"

"You've put us to shame, and that too with a guy who isn't from our caste?", I whip my head up and look at her.

"He's from our caste!", I tried to tell her. She took out her phone and showed me a picture. While she was showing me my father was there too, looking at me sadly.

It was a picture of me hugging my friend Brent. But they couldn't have taken the picture. And that's when everything clicked and I realized someone had hired a spy and only clicked a picture with Brent when I was clearly not with him. No one actually knew about my boyfriend except Yahsvi.

I felt betrayed and looking at her with teary eyes before she slapped me again.

"I knew it! I knew that you would get spoilt. You couldn't even successfully run a business and wasted our money, now all you do is the household chores and work in your brother's company!"

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That's how I landed up where I actually am today. Currently, I'm sitting in my office with my other co-workers as we worked on a project. So, I actually wake up, cook, eat, come to the office, go home, wash everyone's vessels, finish my work from office because my boss loves to give me extra work and then sleep.

I stare at my locket that's clasped around my neck. It was given by him. I still feel so guilty about leaving him. Maybe he's moved on and settled already. I mean he sure was rich and handsome. He could get girls.

"Earth to Tanvi!", A voice snapped at me.

"You better finish this work! You're already lagging behind!", My manager says. You see, being the sister of the boss, I still am a normal worker, not that I care because I am self-employed and earn a lot from that job.

"Gee! Thanks, manager! If I was a stranger, people could surely tell that we are cousins", well meet Anuradha, my cousin. A bitch. And my manager. She has it in her to insult me or to humiliate me every chance she gets. Again like my mother, I've come to terms with it. Honestly, like this bitch here thinks I'm a robot.

"Whatever, just concentrate on your work!", She said before walking out of the office and I could already tell what looks my co-workers held on their faces. Sympathy and pity. They were nice people, always cheering me up but when they sympathized with me I hated it.

Today's Saturday, the day I'll be making dinner for everyone, I so immediately finish my work and go home and start cooking while Yashvi did the other work. She then sets the table and I start putting the dishes on the dinner table.

I generally prefer eating after everyone eats, because a) things get pretty awkward when we all gather at the dining table and b) with the way she's gonna insult me and humiliate me, I know I'm gonna lose my appetite.

Just as she takes her first bite, her face scrunches up and my father looks at me. He knows what's about to come my way. My dad's never been that bad to me. He never raises his hand. Never shouts at me. Better yet, doesn't talk to me much. He's mostly silent.

She makes her way towards me and slap! There she goes! Giving me my much-needed slap. It's like my daily quota, I have to get slapped once a day. It doesn't bother me at all though.

She narrows her eyes before telling me how bad the biryani I made is. My brother glanced at me before looking at his plate and looking back at me. His eyes said it all. Even though we didn't talk, our gestures showed it all. His eyes seemed to say as if he liked the food. Action speaks louder than words!

I stayed silent after the slap. My cheek stung but not much. I was used to the pain. I consider myself lucky, it's not like she's beating me blue and purple.

After they're done, I enter the kitchen to find Yashvi with her arms crossed and she had a look on her face. I knew the look. Too well.

"Why won't you do as I say?", She asks. I hated it when she did that.

"Yash, please...", I tell her. I call her Yash because Yashvi is too long.

"You don't get it, I feel bad when she slaps you, Tan, bloody just speak up to her once", she says throwing her hands in the air.

"She's my mother", I whisper

"I don't give a flying fuck about it because I can clearly see how much of a caring mother she's been over these years", she says before leaving the kitchen. I hated being the reason that Yash would get frustrated with her mother-in-law. I mean mom is kind to her, almost like a mother for her.

You might be wondering if she cares so much, why doesn't she help me with my work? Well, if she helps me, it means I'm lazy as per my mother and that earns me another slap. Yash would rather slap her own self rather than seeing me getting slapped because of her.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Currently, it was 2:30 a.m. and I was still doing my presentation. My boss is gonna be making a contract with an important person tomorrow so he wants all of the workers from the designing section to make designs and me specifically to make a presentation that he'll be presenting. All of the people who have contributed to the project will be present, which means I'll be there too.

After finally finishing my work at 3:30 a.m. I sleep but not before setting my alarm for 5:30 because that's when I actually have to wake up and start cooking breakfast. You see boss wakes up around 6:30 and leaves early for work that's why I have to make breakfast a little early.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Wow! It's time to wake up so fast! Today's Sunday meaning its half day for us, but because my manager and boss love me a lot, I guess I'll be staying in the office until 4 or 5 to finish my work.

After I'm done with all my household chores, I quickly change and rush to the office. Once I'm in the meeting room, I sit and wait for the boss to finish presenting and by the smile on the other guys' faces I can tell the deal is final.

"Wow! What a presentation, if you don't mind me asking who actually made it?", This was a question almost everyone asked. They all were impressed and may e that is the reason I get to make the presentation.

He looks over at me and then looks over at the guy, Mr. Mehta.

"I made it", he says. He always has to take credits because apparently otherwise, they could lose a really nice person who would make presentations. As if I'd be allowed to leave the job because my mother would surely kill me if I do.

Finally, the deal was done and we all were in the office, the others were leaving but I was still completing my work. After working for two hours, I leave my office at the same time as my boss leaves his office and we make our way towards the lift. Cue to awkwardness.

The lift dings and he walks out first, getting inside his car and leaving me to wait for a rickshaw or better yet Uber.

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Hi guys,

I hope you liked the first chapter. I've tried to keep stuff as neutral as possible.

In the future there may be words or some Indian stuff that you may not understand, but you don't need to Google it or anything, in my author's note I'll always write about the stuff so you are well aware.

Anyways, thank you for reading. I love y'all.

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