Prologue
"No Grandpa!
How can you do this to me?
The whole point of selecting a 'faraway' college is to be on my own. Come on, it's such a reputed institute. Not everyone gets to secure a seat on their own". I was literally shouting my lungs out, putting all my emotions in this conversation with my grandfather.
"But darling, I could have easily secured a seat for you if you had not kept this a secret from me. How can you study so far away leaving your aging grandpa alone?" my grandfather countered. What makes it worse is him using such words to emotionally blackmail me with such a cute pout on his face. aww... I would have given up if this was not about my dream and future.
"Really, such melodrama!" and "I clearly said, securing a seat on my own" It's just 2 hr's drive from my home. So much for calling it 'faraway'. The main problem here is, I want to move out and stay on my own, hiding my identity as the heiress of KPM group. He is not OK with the idea because I am his pampered princess and, after the accidental death of my parents when I was 13, the only close relative who mattered to him.
I want to experience life as a commoner, make friends, live on my own, fall in love and have a happy college life. So I am not giving up on this argument.
"I am going and please don't stop me, grandpa. This is so important for me. How can you expect me to run such a huge company if you don't trust me to be on my own for a few years till my graduation?" Now this hit the right cord, his facial expression changed, he seemed to be thinking deep into it.
" OK, I will allow you, but I have a few conditions. If you accept all of them, you can complete graduation away from home."
What! Is he agreeing to this? Really? OMG!
" Of course, what are the conditions? I accept". I was so excited that I immediately agreed.
"You will stay in my mansion with my bodyguards around."
"But you don't have one there." that's one of the reasons I zeroed down on the college in Lonavala.
"I will buy one." He simply put.
"No, I will stay in the hostel and no bodyguards please. Remember I want to be independent, hiding my identity", I countered. He frowned but agreed.
"Come home on the alternate day". He put forth his second condition, which I again refused.
"No, I will come once every month and may be on holidays."
"OK, let me talk to the principal and see if he can provide me with live monitoring of their CCTV cameras." My eyes went wide at this condition.
"What! Don't be ridiculous! Am I a toddler and is he running a daycare or something?" Arrgghhh oh this man can sometimes really get on my nerves. Monitoring college CCTV? I would become a joke to my fellow students if I accepted this one.
"I will ask Xavier to finalize the hostel room for you". Oh this one sounds reasonable. I was about to accept this when he continued.
"So we can get it furnished before you move. We can also merge a few rooms together if the space seems smaller". I gulped my words of acceptance. Now I am really angry. What are these nonsensical conditions? How did he come up with them?
"Enough grandpa, I want to live independently like a normal college student on limited pocket money, nothing extravagant."
"Kyra, Princess, you said you agreed with all my conditions. But you did not agree with a single one. How can I agree with yours then?"
"But they are all contradictory to what I want to do. I want to complete graduation like a normal student without additional benefits due to background. Live away from home like a normal student and learn to be independent. Take my own decisions, make my own mistakes and learn from them, grow as a person." I said it all in a single breath. Indicating my eagerness for him to understand my point of view.
"OK princess, since you rejected all my conditions stating they contradict your objective to achieve a certain experience, but I need to know you are safe and ensure your future is secured. So this is my final offer. You agree to a single condition and you are free to have your way". This time I don't trust him with his condition, so I take a deep breath ready to hear out what he wants me to do.
"Get engaged before you start your college."
