That night Alex and Kavya shared their dinner together.

After escorting Kavya safely back to her home Alex proceeded to the supermarket to collect supplies and funding for his ancient world operations.

The Viper Syndicate had already seized control of the four major black markets in Ironhold covering the east, west, south and north territories.

The scale of business operations needed to grow larger and more ambitious. The profits earned needed to increase substantially.

The demand for goods and supplies was also increasing exponentially with each passing week.

Fortunately the security guard uniform had undergone a significant upgrade the previous day.

Its storage capacity had doubled completely allowing him to retrieve many more items to and fro from the ancient timeline during each trip. The efficiency was remarkable.

Just as Alex was shopping to support his ancient times time travel business, at the same time something was happening at Raghavan Villa far from the city. Events were unfolding that would soon intersect with his life.

This incident goes back to a few days ago.

---

Three Weeks Earlier

At the same time in the luxurious villa nestled against the dock and beside sparkling water Riya was contentedly knitting a scarf. Her needles clicked rhythmically.

Her father Mr. Raghavan could not help but feel secretly pleased with this scene.

Seeing his daughter so lost in concentration that she didn't even notice him standing there he couldn't help but speculate about certain things.

"Perhaps this scarf is being knitted for me as a gift?" he wondered hopefully.

"Now that she has grown into a mature woman Riya knows how to demonstrate filial piety toward her father."

He sighed with joy blooming in his heart at this touching display.

But as time passed reality set in with brutal clarity.

One week had passed since the knitting began on that fine day.

Two weeks elapsed without change.

Three weeks went by with the scarf still unfinished and growing longer.

The scarf had not been presented to him!

Furthermore his daughter continued behaving perfectly normally while going about her daily routine.

There was absolutely no indication that the scarf would be gifted to him. No hints whatsoever.

"So that scarf was not being made for me after all?"

Mr. Raghavan felt genuinely hurt after realizing the truth.

Damn it! It turned out that Father was just being presumptuous and making foolish assumptions!

How tragic and disappointing!

If that scarf was not intended as a gift for me then who was the intended recipient?

It absolutely must be intended for someone else entirely!

Mr. Raghavan felt a sharp pang of jealousy pierce his heart like a knife.

His wife had passed away many years ago. Now all he had left was his daughter. But now could this girl be creating a gift for some sweetheart? Some boy he didn't even know?

Suddenly a disturbing thought rose unbidden in Mr. Raghavan's mind.

This realization was so horrific that it kept him awake the entire night that day. He tossed and turned until dawn.

The more he thought about it the more he noticed something was fundamentally wrong with Riya's recent behavior patterns!

Mr. Raghavan continued observing carefully over the following days.

He watched as Riya listened to romantic music while knitting her scarf with obvious care and attention. She was practically glowing.

The soft melody drifted through the house: "Can't help falling in love with you... Take my hand, take my whole life too... For I can't help falling in love with you..."

Riya was actually singing sweet romantic love songs while knitting the scarf.

She resembled a princess dwelling in some fairy tale castle. Her expression was dreamy and distant.

Mr. Raghavan was momentarily stunned by this discovery. His worst fears were confirmed.

"Something is definitely wrong here."

"Something has changed dramatically. What happened to my sweet daughter?"

Something significant must have occurred recently. No, I have to find out what!

Upon witnessing Riya's unusual behavior Mr. Raghavan frowned with growing concern with each passing day. The worry gnawed at him.

Although he remained usually busy with his own business affairs and spent limited quality time with Riya she was still his own daughter.

Seeing her behave this way naturally made him aware that she likely had someone she liked romantically.

That was correct!

She definitely had acquired a boyfriend!

"I arranged several blind dates for this girl but she rejected every single match. She claimed this one was not suitable and that one was not compatible. I was practically at my wit's end with frustration."

"The result was completely unexpected! She had already found a partner independently?"

Mr. Raghavan pondered this development carefully.

He wondered what kind of person his daughter's boyfriend would turn out to be. Was he worthy of her?

During this observation period Mr. Raghavan had frequently noticed Riya smiling at her phone. This clearly indicated she had developed feelings for some boy. The signs were unmistakable.

"We absolutely need to have someone investigate this person thoroughly."

While Mr. Raghavan felt natural curiosity he also maintained appropriate vigilance about this situation. He was a businessman after all.

His own marriage had been far from happy. In fact it could accurately be described as a complete failure. However through his own relentless hard work he had eventually built this multi-billion dollar business empire from nothing. He knew the value of careful decisions.

Therefore Mr. Raghavan attached tremendous importance to Riya's critical life event decisions!

"I simply do not know whether the person my daughter has chosen is truly suitable."

"Sometimes liking someone is one thing but genuine compatibility represents the most important factor."

As someone who had experienced life's harsh lessons Mr. Raghavan possessed his own firmly established viewpoints towards life. Experience had taught him well.

As a successful business executive he controlled his company with tremendous capability.

He would carefully screen and select even those sons from prominent wealthy families before arranging blind dates for Riya.

He would certainly not accept someone Riya found independently without thorough investigation. Standards had to be maintained.

"My daughter is inexperienced and has not worked in professional environments for many years. She could easily be deceived by unscrupulous opportunists."

Seeing Riya grinning foolishly at her phone again Mr. Raghavan's eyes narrowed with determination and concern.

"Damn it all! I absolutely must see which worthless guy is deceiving my daughter!" Mr. Raghavan ground his teeth together with barely suppressed fury.

His paternal intuition screamed that this man was definitely pursuing his family's substantial wealth! It had to be a gold digger.

All he required was a suitable opportunity and one such opportunity presented itself to him on a silver platter when the scarf got completed.

One day Riya announced cheerfully "Father I am going to grab a late-night snack. I will return shortly."

After saying this Riya picked up her handbag and skipped out of the house like a happy rabbit hopping through meadows. Her joy was almost tangible and irritating.

Mr. Raghavan's left eye twitched involuntarily as he watched this display.

"Let me discover who this mysterious man is!"

He immediately gave chase with every intention of following her discreetly.

However Riya ran far too quickly for a man of his age and build. Mr. Raghavan's pursuit proved utterly fruitless despite his best efforts. His knees complained.

By the time he rushed out through the main door Riya had already vanished completely into the Mumbai night.

---

"Brother Alex this scarf is for you."

At a popular restaurant Riya giggled with delight while helping Alex wrap the handmade scarf around his neck.

Her fingers lingered perhaps a moment longer than strictly necessary. She adjusted it carefully.

"Thank you very much. I appreciate the effort." Alex smiled warmly at her thoughtfulness. The scarf was actually quite well made.

Over these past few days Mr. Raghavan had not given up his investigative mission.

He had not visited his company offices at all and had been waiting at home for opportunities to follow Riya. His work was piling up.

Three long days had passed in this manner. His patience was wearing thin.

Finally Mr. Raghavan successfully seized a perfect opportunity when Riya left the house again.

He followed behind Riya while his personal driver trailed them both at a discreet distance in the car. The chase was on.

The truth emerged clearly!

Riya was genuinely on romantic dates!

That boy was Alex himself!

Mr. Raghavan witnessed everything with his own incredulous eyes. His daughter went to parks and shopping malls with that boy. They watched movies together and shared meals. They kissed and hugged and cuddled together like a sweet couple deeply in love. The intimacy was obvious.

Moreover this young man was extraordinarily handsome in appearance!

He possessed sharp eyebrows and bright intelligent eyes. He stood tall and handsome with a cheerful confident demeanor that radiated natural charm.

If this were a television movie production the casting for the male lead role would definitely prioritize someone with exactly these qualities. He looked like a movie star.

In this particular respect his daughter had not chosen poorly at all. The boy was handsome enough.

However as someone who had experienced life's harsh lessons extensively Mr. Raghavan knew perfectly well that the most important quality for a man was not mere handsomeness. True value lay in capability and the ability to generate wealth.

This represented a man's greatest source of genuine confidence!

If you possessed no money could you provide your child with the lifestyle they deserved and expected?

If there was no substantial wealth would his daughter suffer hardship in the future?

Could two people achieve genuine happiness if they lacked sufficient financial resources? Reality was not a fairy tale.

But what Mr. Raghavan didn't know was that the "poor boy" his daughter was dating owned more wealth than he could imagine. The truth would shock him beyond belief.

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