In India, which is ruled by an assembly of Kings called Rajas and Nawabs, Nawab Arman Shah, a non-royal, is called the son of a Nawab. His father, Muhammad Arman Khan, has a royal lineage but made his success and fortune entirely through business. They currently own The Arman Group, named after his son, a conglomerate of more than a dozen multi-million dollar companies. Their current assets are estimated at around 200 million USD, making them one of the wealthiest and most influential families in West India and earning them their nickname of Nawabs.
Sitara Shah, CEO of a 50-million-dollar company, was not the most attractive proposition for their status. But her beauty is a legend in the West, and when she debuted in the world of business, she quickly became a sensation that hardly anyone could resist.
She rejected all her suitors with a cold face, and that stimulated him to take action. Initially, this was just a challenge for him, and later it became an addiction.
But getting closer to her, he understood about Dr Vikram, her fiancé, who handed over 10 million dollars for her to start a business. He was startled and confused. "Who could do such a thing?" he thought. His father warned him to leave her alone, " A man who parts 10 million on a woman at engagement could never be simple, leave that girl alone," he said, " It would be better for you and better for our family."
But he is never convinced, " How could someone be better than the Nawab of West?"
Now, in the icy silence of the northern mountains, those words echoed with a strange discomfort. As he gazed through the window, the snow-capped peaks seemed to mock him with their stillness. He felt, perhaps for the first time in his life, a flicker of inferiority.
His puzzling thoughts were halted by the question from Sitara's mother, "Are you sure to do this?"
He observed that the clarity and conviction he had found familiar in Sitara's face for the last two years had given way to an intricate complexity throughout this journey, and he felt afraid, too.
She returned her gaze from the towering peaks and scenic landscape with some effort. Looking at her mother with complex emotions, her eyes slowly travelled towards the faces of her sister and then of Arman and finally with some conviction, she said:
"There is no point in turning back, we have reached here, now let's do it."
The V-Class crept forward along the narrow mountain road, finally entering the monastery grounds.
There was a small temple, a few scattered outbuildings, and a wide open field, where a group of young men were practising martial arts movements both precise and powerful.