Chapter 4 Daughter of Singhanias

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Kiara's father asked in a gentle tone, caressing her hair.

Mattress dipped beside her and she groaned internally knowing he won't leave until he finds the answers.

"Nothing you should worry about dad" Kiara sighed, burying her face deeper in the pillow, trying to control her tears.

She grabbed the sheets in her fists, trying to breathe through the heartache which was making it impossible for her to even cry in peace.

"If anything happened, please let me know. I don't like seeing you hurt, love" Rajveer, Kiara's dad pleaded, running his fingers through her hair gently, his own heart aching to see his little princess cry.

With a defeated exhale, she turned around on her bed, to face her father, from whom she had been hiding for three days despite living in the same mansion.

Seeing her swollen face with red nose and cheeks broke something inside him.

"I missed you" he whispered, leaning down and kissed her forehead, palming her cheek carefully like she's the most precious doll to ever exist.

"I missed you too, dad. But you're busy with the office-" Rajveer cut her off immediately.

"And you are busy avoiding me" he cut to the chase without missing a beat.

She lowered her eyes in embarrassment, not knowing what to say. She had been a mess since she broke up with Enzo, avoiding all the human contact she could, mainly her father knowing she'd burst into tears if he so much as looked at her with love in his eyes that would be enough to make every orphan in the whole world feel most loved.

"You need to let me know if someone hurted you, Princess. I will take care of it" Rajveer's italian accent was so clear that it made Kiara smile.

"I know mom was Indian, but you are a complete Italian. Why is your name Rajveer? It's Indian" Kiara narrowed her eyes playfully at her father, diverting the topic smoothly.

"When your mom died, I promised myself that I'll keep you closer to her roots. Other than you, being Indian is the only thing that keeps me closer to her. That's why I changed my name to Rajveer." Her father recognised the way she smoothly changed the topic, but said nothing, understanding she won't say anything right now.

"We are Moretti's initially right?" Kiara asked curiously, completely involved in the topic.

"Yeah, that's why all of your cousins and everyone else of our family are Moretti's other than us" Rajveer chuckled, glancing at his watch.

"What's your original name then? Before you met mom or before this accident. What 'Moretti' are you?" Kiara asked the question that she always had on her mind, the question that no one answered until now, like it's a quiet forbidden topic to discuss about.

Rajveer's smile immediately vanished from his face as soon as he heard that question.

Kiara mimicked his expression, feeling the air around them shift immediately.

"Do I have an Italian name?" She asked, trying to divert the topic again.

"What did I say when questioned about Italian things?" Rajveer squinted his eyes, chiding at her like she was a toddler, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, ready to get up and leave.

"What are you guys talking about?" A man in his mid twenties entered Kiara's bedroom, noticing how she laid lazily while her dad was sitting beside her, coercing her into talking.

"Nothing, she's asking things she wasn't supposed to ask" Rajveer replied, sounding annoyed at her persistence, forgetting that she gets it from him.

"Why don't we get her married instead so that she'll be someone else's trouble?" Ishaan teased her, plopping his elbow on the pillow, resting his head in his palm while wiggling his eyebrows playfully at her, knowing how much it pisses her off.

"You piece of shit" Kiara exclaimed, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling them, knowing how much he hates getting his hair messed up.

"Ow, you little devil, let my hair go, if you so much as break a single strand on my head, I'll kill you" Ishaan shrieked, grabbing Kiara by her wrist and tried to pull her hand away without hurting himself.

"Princess let him go" Rajveer said in a stern yet loving tone, relaxing now that things seemed to bounce back to normal.

"Fine" Kiara let Ishaan's hair go, grudgingly, only because her father smiled. She's fine as long as he's not angry at her.

With irritation flashing across his face, Ishaan sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, setting them up as usual.

"Did you spray cologne or drown in one?" Kiara asked, annoyed at him as the scent seemed to dominate all the lavender candles in her room, rubbing her nose in irritation dramatically.

"Whatever it is, if it keeps you away, the job is done" Ishaan smirked at her, rolling his eyes at her theatrics.

"But you are right, we do have to get her married" It was Rajveer's turn to shift the topic now.

"You didn't mean that," Kiara exclaimed, sitting up abruptly. Why does every topic come back to her marriage?

"We've gone over this conversation like ten times" Rajveer pointed out, standing up on his feet and adjusting his blazer, sounding all serious and done with the whining now.

"And my answer changed in none of those" Kiara snapped, glaring at him.

"Mine didn't either, princess. You are getting married" Rajveer said in a final tone, ready to walk out of that room. Arguing is useless when it comes to his daughter. He always folded when she cried, which was all the reason they had to discuss it ten times and he never won even once.

"I don't need to get married for protection" Kiara trailed off, taking a deep breath.

Shouting gets her nowhere when her dad is involved anyways.

"You do. You are the daughter of Singhanias. Only princess of the household. Attacks can happen at anytime" Rajveer replied blankly.

"I am 21, so I am not getting married, I am going to finish my masters, and I have a boyfriend anyways" Kiara blurted out, lying her way through it.