Kemora Archives

ZAVYAR

Dad’s been sitting there, all calm and collected in his oversized leather chair behind his serious desk in his serious office. He’s wearing his tailored suit and his gaze is boring into me like a drill.

Meanwhile, I’m practically wearing a path in the plush carpet, only stopping to slap my hands on the tabletop, stare at the papers, shake my head, and start pacing again.

“Water?” Adam offers from one of the guest chairs. “You really need to sit down, Zav.”

I shoot him a glare, but he just grins.

“Sit down, Zavyar.” Dad finally breaks his silence, leaning forward in his chair. “Let’s discuss this like adults.”

“It’s the twenty-first century, Dad.” I slump into a chair next to Adam, trying my best not to shout at either of them. “No one does this anymore.”

“Well, I just did.” Dad’s calm is unshakeable. “And I mean every word. Read the contract carefully before you sign.” He slides his fountain pen across the polished mahogany towards me.

I snatch the pen before it can fall off the edge. “I’m not doing this.”

“Then you leave me no choice,” he says, leaning back.

“Fine.” I stare at him. “Disinherit me. But I’m not marrying my way into getting what’s rightfully mine.”

“Nothing is rightfully anyone’s, Zavyar. You have to earn it.”

“I worked my ass off to be where I am today.” I can feel the heat creeping up my neck. “I never wanted to join the family business, but I did just to make you happy.

“I worked my ass off to earn every single promotion I got. Just like everyone else. I’ve brought in trillions in profits.”

“It’s never a one-man show, Zavyar. It’s teamwork.”

“Your biggest accounts for the past three years are all because of me.”

“The biggest scandals the family has ever faced in its history are also because of you. Not to mention the one we managed to squash yesterday.

“I shudder to think of the consequences if it ever got out.”

“That’s not fair.”

“The woman was lying, Dad. The baby wasn’t his.” Adam clears his throat and tries to defend me.

We both know it won’t work.

“I’m very careful. I’ve always been very careful,” I try to reason, forcing my temper to cool down. “I’m not even currently dating anyone. What more do you want?”

“Grandchildren.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

“Legitimate ones.”

“Dad.”

“It’s a perfectly good dying wish to have.”

“You’re not dying. You’re killing me.”

Adam tries to intervene. “If I may—”

“No, hold on.” I lift a finger to silence him and shift in my chair to a more confrontational position.

“If you are dying—and I love you, Dad; I wish for you to live to be a thousand—but really, when you eventually do go, all this would be ours, Adi’s and mine. So what’s with this contract?”

“I want you to settle down, and looking at your lifestyle, I don’t see you leaning toward it anytime soon. Hence the forced alliance.”

“Okay, fine.” I lift up my palms in a peace offering and sit back. “Give me one year. I promise I’ll find a girl and marry her, settle down, have children, the whole shebang.”

“Shebang.” Dad raises an eyebrow.

“Family life.”

“I don’t want just any girl.”

“A nice girl.”

“That’s a pretty nice promise, Zav.” Adam tries to help smooth things over. “Don’t you think so, Father?”

“No, I don’t, Adam. This isn’t you we’re talking about.”

He pins us both with a glare. “With his track record and history of the kind of ladies he likes to fraternize with, I’m not sure we’ll agree with his choice.”

“You can’t be that picky, Dad.” I can’t help frowning.

“I have the perfect girl for you.” He smiles.

I groan and get up, my head starting to throb with frustration. “No, I can’t.”

“Then say goodbye to all this luxury and money. Sign it all away and you can be free to do whatever you want with your life.

“Although I must warn you, most of the women you hang out with won’t even glance your way when you’re poor.”

“You’re a mean old man.”

Before Dad can scold me for my disrespect, Adam leans forward in his chair and engages him.

“Who is this girl?” he asks. “Someone we know?”

“Oh, Zavyar lucked out with this one.” Suddenly Dad’s eyes are sparkling as if he’s about to tell an exciting tale of how he found the world’s greatest treasure.

“When Saladin agreed to the entire prospect of giving his second daughter in marriage to—”

“You can’t be serious. Saladin Faramin?” I’m shocked. “His second daughter? Serena ~Faramin~?”

“She’s quite the catch,” Adam says.

“Yeah, if you’re fishing for ice.”

She’s a knockout, but she might as well be a statue. Overflowing with politeness and her “please” and “thank you” and “nice to meet you” till here.

Raised to obey and be agreeable, her beauty is totally wasted on me.

“Zavyar, she’s a beautiful and accomplished young woman,” Dad tells me, his tone stern. “This isn’t just about you marrying her. This alliance with the Faramins will benefit us in countless ways.”

“Great.” I can’t help the bitter smile that twists my lips. “So, I’m the one who has to make up for whatever To-Let screwed up? He messes up and I’m the one who has to pay the price?”

“That’s not it at all. We could recover from that business loss without this marriage. And don’t call your cousin that.”

He swivels in his chair, glancing at Adam before turning back to me. “Why do you boys insist on calling him that?”

“Because that’s exactly what he is,” I retort, laughing as I slam my hand down on the desk. “He’s a walking advertisement for insider trading and all sorts of shady dealings. He doesn’t know the first thing about banking or anything respectable.”

“Watch your language, Zavyar.” Dad points a finger at me. “Alijah knows more about decency and the values of the Velshi family than you do.”

“He’s a con artist, Dad,” Adam chimes in. “He doesn’t know the first thing about finance—or how to make an honest living. You really need to cut him loose.”

“That’s a conversation for another time.” Dad dismisses Adam with a wave of his hand. “Right now, we’re discussing Zavyar’s future and how I don’t cut him loose.”

I groan, letting my head fall back against my chair.

“I really want this for you, son.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll disinherit you.” He shrugs.

“Just like that.”

“Just like that.”

“And if I do?”

“I’ll give you your share, everything you believe is rightfully yours, the day you say ‘I do’.”

We’re talking about billions here. Shares, bonds, properties. All mine if I just do this one thing for him.

“Is marrying Serena the only condition?” I ask, eyeing him suspiciously.

I’ve read the contract. Three times. There’s no hidden fine print or extra conditions. I just have to marry her to claim my inheritance. There’s not even a clause saying I can’t cheat on her. Just saying.

But you never know. Crafty businessmen like my father always have a few tricks up their sleeves. I need to be sure. I know he wouldn’t lie to me if I asked directly.

“That’s all I want, son.” He leans back in his chair, looking relaxed. “I just want you to settle down.”

“Can I think about it?”

He nods, and even though there isn’t much to think about with the way he’s laid out the contract, I feel a wave of relief. He doesn’t want my signature right this second. And any delay is good.

Delay means I have time to come up with a plan to stall this. Maybe I won’t have to endure the icy chill of the Faramin princess after all.

“By the way, your mother and I have invited your soon-to-be in-laws to the farmhouse this weekend.” Dad grins, already certain of his victory. “I expect you to be there, Zavyar.”

Just great. I get to play host to Miss Serena Faramin. As if anyone could entertain an ice cube.