Chapter 1

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.