A glimpse of Aditya Oberoi when he first came to Oberoi Mansion [Naam Swati Sandeep]

His father died! 15-year-old Aditya could not think anything past it. His father died leaving him an orphan. His world shattered in a minute. “Orphan”, the word should have terrified him, but it did not. For 15 years, he felt like an orphan. That became his identity. 

He closed his eyes and leaned against the bed. The past 24 hours had changed his life completely. He no longer had a home to call it his own. He did not have a penny to his name. He was the ‘Oberoi Heir’, the only successor of the late Sushant Oberoi. He had millions of dollars to his name, but he could not touch that money. His father's final will turned Oberoi Mansion into his prison. The last place he wanted to be.

Tears threatened but he refused to shed them. Being unwanted was nothing new to him. He was the unwanted child of Sushant Oberoi. His illegitimate child. Yet another burden he carried. His father divorced the late Mrs. Oberoi to give him a home, breaking up a beautiful family.

The knock on the door startled him from his reprieve. He looked up and saw Arnav’s wife at the door. Her warm smile soothed his heart, but he refused to take comfort. She did not want him there, none of the Oberoi’s wanted him there. They hated him with good reason.

“What?” He glared at her to hide his insecurities.

"Chalo, dinner ke liye sab wait kar rahe hain," Her voice was gentle and kind. Aditya felt guilty for taking the tone with her, but he could not let his guard down.

“I am not hungry” He told her without making eye contact. The truth was that he was starving. He had not eaten anything since the moment he had stepped into the Oberoi Mansion. First, he was occupied with his father's final rites, and once he returned home, he found himself unable to face the crowd downstairs. He knew everyone knew about him. "The Illegitimate Child" who was forced upon Arnav Oberoi. He could not take their taunts or their insults. He was too vulnerable, so he kept himself confined to the room. The maid got his lunch, but he was too exhausted to eat and sent her away. That was seven hours ago. He realized with a start that he had not eaten for 24 hours.

"You haven't eaten anything, Aditya." Priya lovingly persuaded him, "Come, please. You need to eat something.”

Aditya looked away.

“If you do not go down, Arnav will come looking for you. You do not want to upset your bhaiya…..”

“He is not my bhaiya,” Aditya protested immediately.

“Bade bhai ko 'bhaiya' kehte hain, Aditya.”

“Mene kaha na, woh mere bhaiya nahi hain. Koi rishta nahi hai mera unke saath. He is not my bhaiya. Just because we share a father does not mean we are brothers. I am not his brother, Mrs. Oberoi. I am just his father’s illegitimate son.”

Priya gasped.

“Priya?” A warm male voice interrupted them both. Priya and Aditya looked at the man standing at the door. Aditya stiffened. Priya smiled.

“Anirudh, go down for dinner. We will join you soon”

“What are you doing in his room?” Anirudh’s tone was devoid of emotion. He made it a point to not look at Aditya. The boy turned his face away. Priya called Arnav his bhaiya, that made Anirudh his bhaiya too. In fact, he had three older brothers. Arnav, Anirudh and Ayushmaan, and yet he never knew the warmth of his siblings. The Oberoi brothers broke off all contact with his father after the divorce. They refused to acknowledge his existence. He could not blame them. No one could accept a boy who effectively destroyed their mother's happiness. He was not expecting them to. He did not understand why his father had to force his responsibility on Arnav. It was unfair to all of them.

“I came to call him for dinner.” Priya spoke with a smile. “Why don’t you go down. We will be right there.”

“Bhaiya is waiting for you, Priya. We have dinner together in this house. You are family now. You should know the rules. Let him do what he wants.” Anirudh spoke coldly, “Let’s go for dinner.”

“Aditya is also a part of our family, Anirudh.”

“I am not/ No he is not” Aditya and Anirudh said together and looked at each other. Anirudh saw his own amber eyes staring back at him and looked away. Some truths were hard to ignore.

“If the kid is smart he will starve himself, and if he is dumb, there is nothing you can do for him. Come down for dinner. We are all waiting. ” Anirudh spoke in a hurry and walked away.

Priya sighed and looked at the boy. He looked equally frazzled.

“Chale?”

Aditya got down from the bed. After what Anirudh had said, he could not stay back. If he did, the man would conclude he was dumb! He did not want Anirudh Oberoi thinking of him as dumb. They were not brothers, they were not even family, but he wanted them to take him seriously. He was no doormat. They could never get away with mistreating him. He refused to become a victim again. The Oberoi brothers would give him one thing that he deserved-RESPECT. He was determined to fight for it. They did not know what was coming for them. He hoped they were prepared for a storm called ADITYA SUSHANT OBEROI, because he was not going down without a fight.