Chapter 4 Abducted

Soon, Zacharias' social media account made it to top trending. The guy had millions of followers. He put up a photo of himself holding hands with Rachel. They were sharing a passionate kiss. The caption read, "The perfect day. I'm in my snug suit, holding my lover's hand, and attending a concert I love."

Then, tons of content creators found out about the confession post I uploaded. They compared it to Zacharias' post and grilled me openly.

Rachel liked the most trending comparison video. That excited the Internet. They made a meme out of me and called me a simp.

My face went dark. I deleted my account and told PR to do something about this. Less than ten minutes later, all the searches were deleted from the Internet.

It was a day before the engagement. I was going to work that morning, but the Osbornes' bodyguards took me to their villa against my will.

I was met with Zacharias looking out of it the moment I went inside. Rachel was trying to cheer him up gently, but when she saw me, her face fell.

"You're unbelievable, Sieghart! All Zacharias did was post something, but you told your men to ban all his socials! He's a content creator! You're destroying him!"

I was confused. "All I did was ask them to delete everything that had ties to me. I did not tell them to do anything else."

"Bullshit! No one else could've done that! You're jealous of Zacharias!" Rachel hissed.

"It wasn't me—"

Someone cut me off. A voice of disdain echoed from the second floor. "You're going against your wife even before you're married? This is how your family brought you up?"

Rachel's mother took her seat haughtily. She looked at me like I was beneath her. Rachel's father, a man who was nothing short of a sycophant a while ago, was putting one leg over the other.

"Sieghart, we don't recognize a spoiled rich boy like you, but since you insist on marrying my daughter, then we have to respect that. On some conditions. Your wedding gift must amount to half of your family's assets or more."

I sneered and was about to say no, but the bodyguard punched my knees. I gasped and fell to the ground face-first.

Rachel's mother asked her maid to bring us something hot. They came back with the thing she wanted. "You're going to be a part of the family, anyway. Serving me is your job, so pass me that cup of coffee."

The moment I touched the cup, I pulled my hand back, and it fell to the ground, smashing into pieces.

Rachel roared, "You can't even respect your elders? What are you, uneducated?"

I rubbed my reddened fingertips and shook my head. "I will never marry you, and they will never become my elders."

I tried to leave, but the bodyguards clamped down on my arms. I thrashed and struggled. "What are you doing? I'm the Shaws' heir! How dare you manhandle me!"

Furious, Rachel's mother strode ahead and slapped me across my face. Ah, I remembered this slap. It was one of the dozens she gave me in my past life. That made me freeze.

"The engagement is tomorrow, and yet you act so insolent! Rachel, this is the man you're marrying? He disrespects his elders and acts no better than a baboon!"

Rachel refused to look at me. "Hey, he insisted on marrying me. I'd rather marry Zacharias instead."

Zacharias sighed. "I'd love to marry you, Rachel. It's my dream. But my family is not even influential. We cannot cross the Shaws, or else…" Then, he turned to me. "I'm sorry, Mr. Shaw. Please, spare me. I worked hard to get my fans."

The guy started crying, and that made Rachel feel for him more. She approached me and looked at me like I was a stain on her house.