Oberon picked up his mug of the coffee and
carried it out to the terrace of his penthouse apartment, shivering slightly
when the crisp cool air hit his face. He thought, I should be happier than I
am. Strange thing to peruse in the morning but he could not help being
dissatisfied at the fact that he was not happy like all the other people who
were around him. The dawn was colder than the day and the sun was already
peeping over the horizon with its beautiful reddish orange hue casting and
mesmerizing glow all around the sky. Winter in Sydney was considerable better
and warmer than winter in London and he knew that since he had lived there for
almost five years before coming back to his own soil.
Oberon surveyed the panoramic view of the
city skyline coming alight all around him and it filled him with a strange
sensation. He told himself that a man would be fool to not be happy when he had
finally achieved every single thing that he had desired to achieve. He had
vowed to achieve them on his own feet and at thirty-four Oberon Hunter was no
fool.
It had been a very long time since he had
understood that he did not belong anywhere. He had been thrown in chaos and
everything had been burning up in flames. He was only seven years old when he
had felt that rejection coming to hit him hard and bad at full force. Neither
his mother did ever care for that nor the man he had known as his father since
birth was not his father. And most definitely, the man who was the reason of
his birth in the first place had mentioned that he was never going to be able
to get out anything from him at all.
A Rhodes scholar Oberon had become an
entrepreneur back in England over a decade earlier and he had gone into
partnership with two of his best friends and that too they were from Oxford. No
one had wanted to give them their money and no one was willing to invest in
some crazy stupid idea that they had but strange things happen when young men
take an oath to make things for the better and not worse. There was a
dilapidated old wine bar at the corner of Piccadilly which had lost its glory
but there was still an old school charm laden inside that wooden stools and the
grand piano at the corner which was open for anyone to play. Alex was the
pianist and prodigy of their group.
“Let’s take up this place,” he had said and
they had done just that. It should be demolished and under no circumstance they
were going to be able to achieve what they had plans. After all they had no
money but that was the first time that all of them had learnt that money was
not important when it came to values and capability. They had turned it out
into one of the most favourite wine bars in London and after that they had
opened the second in Cambridge and then another.
Then it had not taken two years to open ten
more and finally they had formed a franchise. There were two things that they
had never compromised upon, that was the quality of wine and the music. Every
single Knights’ bar had a piano in the corner still open for anyone to play for
the audience. And as they say, only the first million is the most difficult.
After that, it was easy. Definitely not what everyone thinks, but easier.
The intercom rang up suddenly making Oberon
look up at the bronze grandfather clock on the mantel piece and found that it
was still early in the morning for anyone to come and meet him. He picked up
the receiver and said,” Hello?”
“Sir, this is Jerry. There is a courier package
here for you. And they are telling that it needs to be delivered by hand,” said
the night guard of his apartment whose shift was probably ending at six in the
morning.
“Does he look armed or anyway dangerous?
Have you checked him?” asked Oberon as he was thinking that who might be the
person to send him something like this in the morning and it was not his
birthday as well that Alex or Charles would even pull a prank.
“Yes Sir. I have checked him thoroughly. He
seems to be carrying nothing except a box and an envelope,” said Jerry and
Oberon grunted and then sighed.
“Fine. Send him up Jerry,” said Oberon as
he placed the receiver back in its cradle.
Life always had found a new way to surprise
him every single day and today was probably going to be no different than that.
This might be anything at all. Except his mother and his multiple step-fathers
whose names he had not bothered to remember he did not have any such connection
at all with anyone which might lead anyone to kidnap and ask for ransom. But
why was he again thinking about some far-fetched things when the delivery man
was going to be up here any second!!
The brain also works in weird ways. And he
could not help it at all. So he finished his coffee and then kept the mug in
the sink for the housekeeper to clean them later on. And his doorbell buzzed.
Oberon went and opened the door to only find a smiling simple looking man who
was definitely not from this country.
“Good morning Sir. I have a delivery for
you and I am really sorry to bother you so early in the morning,” said the man
with a congenial smile on his face and Oberon smiled back and mumbled a good
morning.
“The package is from your father Sir Cedric
Hunter. I hope that it will find you in good health,” said the man and it took
all his control to not drop the package and envelope from his hands.
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