Scandalous Wedding

Chapter 1

"So, it is finally official folks. The famous fashion designer 'Miss Sangavi de Silva' is engaged to the hot and handsome business magnate 'Elijah McCoy'. This isn't the first time that an arranged marriage is happening to unite two powerful business empires, but but but.... This particular wedding is something different. The age old rivalry of De Silva's and McCoy's is not unknown to anyone, so what made them suddenly forget everything and shake hands in tuxedos? Is there an ulterior motive behind this union? Will the young couple survive this wedding? And by the way what about the super models whom Elijah dated all the while? Is Ms. de Silva kind enough to ignore them as well?

If so, then I am sure she wouldn't mind knowing that her fiancé Mr. McCoy was seen at the Plaza last night with the super model Katrina Wilmer. By the looks of this picture, they seem pretty close.

So, what about the wedding? Is Mr. McCoy not serious about this wedding? Or is....

Sangavi switched the television off before she broke it with her bare hands. "Sang!" her friend Kaya called her in a low voice. She never saw her friend lose her cool like this and she was scared that the target of her friend's wrath doesn't turn towards her.

"What?" Sang snapped.

"Nothing", Kaya whispered, "You seem upset" she added looking unsure,

"Upset?" Sang spat the word as if it was a ridiculous thing, "I am furious. I can actually kill someone right now", she said and got up from her bed hastily and walked out of her room.She knew he didn't give a damn about this marriage or her but could he not look at it from a woman's point of view and just forget the hatred he has for her. She was hurt but she didn't want to be.

Kaya sighed, she knew that this was gonna happen. She was an eye witness of Sang and Elijah's rivalry. She was in the same high school and knew them very well even though either of them weren't her friends. She was not popular like both of them, so she never got noticed by either of them, until one day she bumped into Sang at the library and they instantly clicked. Both having common Indian origins helped them to bond easily and soon they became best friends.

It was their combined idea to start a fashion line, and soon their line became one of the happening trends in the world. Sang's parents were pretty upset about her going into Fashion instead of joining the business, but nevertheless they supported her throughout the journey.

She didn't want to witness another fight between Sang and her parents but being the best friend, she had to support her friend. No matter what the world thinks, Elijah was an 'A' class jerk and a huge player. There was no way in this world, she would let her best friend get married to him. He may be drop dead gorgeous with a body of a s*x god and rich, but they were the only positive qualities. At the end of the day, Sang will have to live with the person, not with his looks or money. So, she reluctantly got up and trailed behind Sang to the lawn where her mom was having her evening tea.

"Why mom? Why? Am I really just a business deal to you, that you are marrying me off to this ass hole?" Sangavi asked throwing the newspapers on the table, almost on the verge of tears.

Alina de Silva, the woman known for her etiquette, glamour and elegance. If Damian de Silva is the king of Hotel Industry then Alina was his queen. Literally, they rule the Hotel Industry and everyone considered them royalty.

She picked up the newspapers where Elijah's photo was splattered across the headlines, where he was spotted with a model. Her brow crinkled for a minute, which she covered quickly masking a blank expression.

"Mom?" Sang cried impatiently, waiting to know why her mom and dad are doing this to her. As far as she remembered, they were the best parents in the world. Never denied her anything, even if it was something they didn't approve of. But now, they were her enemies. Not that she hated them, but yes, they disappointed her greatly.

"Yes Sangavi", there were very few people in the world, who could pronounce her name properly. That included her parents, her assistant Nimmy, her few Indian and Srilankan friends, and a few other business associates. She only let them call her by their full names. For the rest of the world, who had a terrible accent and couldn't pronounce her name properly, she was Sang. Sang de Silva.

"Tell me mom, why?" she cried once again. Alina lifted her eyes and cast a look towards Kaya who stood at a distance, but still within a hearing range, and she immediately picked the cue and left. Alina was a woman who could speak a million words through her eyes. People always said, Sang inherited her mother's expressive eyes, which was a huge compliment for her.

"Come here sweetheart", her mother gestured towards the path which led to the garden and they both started a slow paced walk. Sangavi was what you call an obedient daughter. She trusted her parent's blindly and believed in them. Though she expressed her views and opinions out loud, she always listened to her parents as well. That was her specialty, she listened. She listened to others not to be polite but because she liked to understand them, to empathize with their situation. This quality made her likeable and importantly a confidant to many people in her circle.

"Do you trust me?" her mother asked her, to which she nodded in positive. "Every individual in this world is born with a purpose. Some call is fate and others responsibility. Do you remember the story of Drishtadyumna, from Mahabharath?" Alina asked gently.

Sang grew up hearing the tales of mythology of all cultures. She did remember this story, "Yeah, vaguely", she replied as the story of a warrior replayed in her ears.

"Drishtadyumna was a warrior whose only purpose of life was to avenge his father's insult. He didn't have a childhood, he didn't have a life ambition of his own, all he ever thought, dreamt and wished was to avenge his father's insult. One day he asked his teacher 'Isn't it unfair that I don't have a childhood or a life of my own? What if I don't want to be a warrior? Why should I make such a sacrifice?' the teacher was stunned for a moment. Of course it was unfair, obviously it was unjust to thrust such a responsibility onto a child who was born as an adult, who yet was only an infant. He knew what Drishtadyumna was going through wasn't easy. The teacher took time and replied, "I know you feel you were born not out of love, but for a purpose and it hurts. But that is the truth. You are born to avenge your father's insult and there is no way of sugar coating it". Dristadhymna was shocked. He didn't expect this kind of a harsh reply from his teacher. He thought his teacher would console him in a gentler way. Seeing his shocked expression, the teacher smiled and said, 'I know I might sound harsh to you, but truth is always harsh. Every person is born with a purpose and is expected to sacrifice something of his own. A king is born with a purpose of succeeding the throne and protects the kingdom. Now what if he decides to abandon the kingdom and become a goldsmith? He might become a great goldsmith, but what about the people and the kingdom? It's the sacrifice a king has to make. A farmer is born to cultivate the crops and bring food to the people, what will happen if all the farmers in the world decide to quit their jobs and go on a trip around the world to have fun? They are accustomed to trips around the world and having fun too, aren't they? But who will bring food to us? And who will satisfy the hungry mouths if they aren't there to care for the farms? - It's the sacrifice a farmer has to make. No person is above anyone else, and no person is luckier than the other. There will be no land, if there is no king. And there will be no king, if there is no farmer. Likewise, there will be no world if there is no sacrifice""

There was a moment of silence as Alina recited the story shortly to her daughter. Sangavi was in deep thought as she heard the story. "Honey", Alina turned her daughter around to face her, "You might think that this is so unfair to you. Yes, it is. But you don't have a choice. Look, we aren't going to starve to death or go bankrupt if you decide not to show up on the altar. But remember, there is a purpose to everyone in this world. And your purpose is to bring an end to this age old rivalry. Now I won't lie to you, yes, we are thinking about the ulterior benefits of this wedding. But to look at the greater good, the cold war between the two families will come to an end with this wedding.

Yes, I hate Elijah McCoy. I don't like him a bit and neither does your dad. If he steps a foot in my house, I have to control myself to not poison his food. That is how much I despise him", Sang couldn't help the laughter that erupted from her. It was the first genuine laugh that came from her after a long time. Alina joined her daughter's laughter soon and the duo was having a fit. They discussed further on how they can torture the McCoy and Sang was actually having fun, planning her fiancé's torture.

After a good hour of humor, the laughter died down and Alina turned to face her daughter, "We hate ourselves for doing this to you. And we would do everything in our power to make sure that you are happy. But you have to get married to Elijah. The cold war, which has been nothing but a civil rivalry until now, is indeed becoming dirty", the change in her mother's tone snapped Sangavi to alert.

"What is it ma? You sound so grave?" she asked slowly,

Her mother gave her a reassuring smile, which didn't reach her eyes and this didn't go unnoticed by Sangavi, "Don't worry. Your father and I will take care of everything. All I am saying is, if it wasn't the only option, we would never ever force you to do this", and the forlorn look marred her features once again.

Guilt overwhelmed Sang for not taking an interest in her father's business. She had no clue what the business world was like, all she knew was clothes, trend, fashion, models, shows, and etcetera.

"I still need time to think", she sighed looking away.

"I know dear. I know. But think with an open mind and this..." she pointed to the long forgotten newspaper and said, "Tabloids are for gossip. I am not saying that they are always wrong. But you should know better than anyone what these news hungry gossip journalists are like. Don't base your decisions on these tabloids. They are shameless and definitely nonsense". Sang nodded in agreement.

She knew that the tabloids said and wrote things only to get a reaction from the people in that news. They were merciless like that and Sang knew well than not to believe them. But somewhere, her gut was screaming at her that Elijah indeed was having an affair with that model. She snorted, what was so new about it. Of course he did.

****

Elijah clenched his fist as he heard the Human resources department head go on and on about the tabloids article about his last night adventure. His jaw was taught and he was controlling himself to not pound his fist into the forty something bald brute, who dared to accuse Elijah of his inconsiderate and reckless behavior.

"...Mr. McCoy. You're now engaged to Ms. de Silva, you cannot afford to get into the headlines of the newspaper with anyone except her. This little adventure of yours can cost us our deal with the de Silva's..." and he went on and on.

Elijah shut his eyes close. Deal. Business. Profit. Loss. This is all they cared about. Of course he was one of them too. But now that a third person was looking at his wedding as a business deal, it made him feel cheap and despicable. Is this what it comes to, his entire life from now on, a business deal? He thought pitifully.

He won't be able to have those wild one night stands anymore. No more s*x with strangers in a night club. No exotic holidays with super models and no break up's followed by hot make up s*x with strippers. He groaned out loud, which sounded almost like a roar.

He snapped his eyes open and dark fury radiated from them. Elijah McCoy was mad. Everybody leaned back in their chairs, as an attempt to make some distance from the wild beast. Even the elder Mr. James McCoy looked startled at the angry look in his son's eyes. He never had to face his son's wrath. Yes, he heard a lot from people how dangerous he looked when he got angry, but since he retired from his work and made his son responsible for everything, he never got a chance to sit with him in such a meeting and therefore never saw this side of him.

A proud smile marred his face, as he looked at his dangerous looking son. 'That's my son, he thought.

"Do not tell me what I can do and what I can't. I pay you to deal with this kind of bull s**t, not to play my nanny. Deal with this or leave this company, I don't give a s**t what those f*****g tabloids say about me", he roared at the head of human resources.

He gulped and looked at the file in front of him, "Very well then Mr. McCoy. I will deal with this", he nodded and his entire team of H.R nodded in agreement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give us a moment", James McCoy addressed everyone.

"Have a nice day gentlemen", the bald man from H.R said and left the room in a hurry, followed by his team.

The angry look quickly dissolved into a blank face and he faced his father for what was to come.

"I know you still aren't over your bachelor life yet. And I know that you plan to keep your affairs and wild nights, whatever, going on even after marriage. But, son, just keep a low profile about it, will you. The de Silva's are not fools. I am sure they are well aware of your ways and behavior, yet they haven't called to wine about the tabloids issue. That's a very good thing; it means that the deal is still on. And if they overlook this then it might mean that... they don't have any problem with your affairs either", James McCoy shrugged.

A satisfied smile crossed Elijah's face, "Good then. They shouldn't expect anything less either. I will keep my wife happy and satisfied because I am not a heartless bastard. But, I need my space too. I am not promising a monogamous relationship", he said shooting a meaningful look to his father the one who sealed his fate, without asking his permission.

James sighed, "Of course", and gave a tight smile to his son. "This wedding is pure business. In fact you can make it clear to Ms. de Silva yourself", he shrugged.

"Oh I will", Elijah leaned forward to pick up the cordless. He dialed a number, "Kevin. Make an appointment with Ms. Sangavi de Silva for tomorrow", he said into the phone and hung up not waiting for a reply.

Little did they know that the entire conversation between the father and son got recorded.