“Are you still here with me?” Wilson asked as he tapped the desk, making Ethan to jerk up.
He had been lost in thoughts that for a moment, he forgot that Wilson was sitting right at his front.
“What is the problem Wilson, I’m certain you know that my father asked me to marry just to satisfy the society. What else would be the reason?” Ethan asked tiredly as he glared at Wilson, who shifted his gaze to the newspaper.
Ethan let out a sigh of frustration and picked up the newspaper.
He jerked up immediately the moment his eyes caught something on the headline.
“Popular billionaire “Thompson Hopper” said to have another son and heir”, the headline read, causing Ethan to freeze in shock.
“What the hell!” He mouthed as sweats broke out on his forehead.
Wilson chuckled and glared at him intently, watching how he suddenly became restless at the sight of a headline.
“This isn’t true, is it?” He asked angrily and flung the newspaper away, panting heavily and jerking to his feet.
All his life, his greatest nightmare came whenever he thought of what would happen if he is suddenly informed about a brother who has somewhere in the world.
Usually, he chuckled once he had thoughts like this. He always shoved it aside and termed it as “impossible”.
“Again, I ask you, why do you think your father wanted you to take a wife?” Wilson asked again as he stood to his feet and trudged towards the door.
“If I were you, I would do two things, fix another wedding date, and then, meet your father for answers”, Wilson noted and walked out of the office, leaving Ethan who had frozen on the spot.
“What the hell!” Ethan muttered as his breath suddenly became unsteady.
He swallowed hard and sank back to his seat, trying to make sense out of the situation.
“Is this a kind of plan?” He asked himself as he walked to pick up the newspaper again.
“Sources say that the young man has sworn to come public himself if his father doesn’t take him in as his son that he is”, Ethan read a line from the newspaper and flung it across the room again.
“Bullshit!” He gritted his teeth angrily as his blood boiled in anger.
All his life, he had done whatever his father asked him to. His father had cut him off from some of his friends who lived in the street when he was much younger. He limited the amount of time he watched television and also, didn’t allow him to mingle with numerous people as a young child and youth.
He had done these diligently, all in a bid to please his father.
The same happened when he asked him to take a wife. He had quickly asked Carissa to marry him, just because he wanted to please his father.
He never loved any woman and all his life, he flirted around and broke up with each lady once he was tired of them.
He had only taken a step ahead with Carissa because that was what his father wanted.
“Bullshit!” Ethan screamed on top of his voice as he slammed his hand on the desk in rage.
***
“Hey Dad!” Kiara yelped excitedly as she pulled her father into a warm hug.
Stan stood by the corner as he watched the father and daughter moments that didn’t seem to please him.
His mind was encircled on Carissa and with each minute that passed, the thoughts of her became worse.
He had thought that she would wait for him a little longer, just for some more time. He needed to lay his hands on a huge amount of money, and that would have never happened if he didn’t do what he did.
For the first time since the day he walked away from Carissa, he felt a sting of regret.
“Babe!” Kiara called out as she gestured for him to walk closer.
Stan slowly trudged towards them, flashing a wide
smile on his face and trying so hard to pretend.
“You appeared quite odd a minute ago, is everything okay?” Mr. White asked with a slight frown on his face.
“Yes sir, I’m great”, Stan replied and smiled again, with Kiara clinging to him as though she were a baby.
“We should go in, dinner is served”, Mr. white said as he led the way to the living room.
Stan nodded his head and slowly sauntered behind him, with Kiara holding his arms firmly.
“Do you think everything is okay? He only invites us for dinner whenever he has something important to discuss”, Kiara chimed in while Stan smiled at her.
They got to the exquisite dining hall that had different meals set on the table.
“Make yourself comfortable”, Mr. white said as he sat down directly opposite Stan.
Stan nodded his head in understanding as he stretched his hands and placed it on that of Kiara.
His heart ached the moment he did that, but it was the one thing he needed to do at that moment.
“How are things going with you and the company”, Mr. White asked as he placed some chicken on a plate.
“The number of investors has increased and everything is moving forward. There have been no issue or anything of such and as a matter of fact, we keep receiving mails of companies who want to work with us”, Stan explained while Mr. White nodded his head in understanding.
He needed no one to tell him that Stan was doing great in the company, and the only thing he needed was to make him his son-in-law.
“So, how about your relationship with my daughter?” He asked with a smile.
He was so sensitive with matters that concerned his daughter. No doubt, he provided her with everything she ever wanted and all her life, she lacked nothing, except love.
Different young men have shown up in Kiara’s life, with talks of how they love her and want to get married to her. However, none of them were capable of keeping up with her behavior and as such, they left without looking back.
When Stan came into the picture, he saw hope and for the first time in a long time, he saw the possibility of his daughter getting married to someone who loved her.
“We are doing very fine, sir”, Stan stammered as he stared at Kiara, who nodded her head in affirmation.
“When would you take the next step in the relationship?” Mr. White dropped.