Chapter One

Isaac was in his room, lying on his bed with his eyes open wide. He hugged his gray duvet tightly as he chewed on his bottom lip in nervousness. 

Sleep was not his friend tonight. The lights in the house were off due to the very heavy storm that just started to fall outside. The flashes of lightning were so bright that they lit up his room, and the roaring of the thunder made his breath hitch each time the mighty sound boomed.

He could hear his parents arguing loudly, and his heart beat hard against his chest. He knew what was coming next. He knew his mother would throw something at his dad. It was how it went almost every single night.

The last time they had argued, it was about him. He had to break up with a girl because of his dad. His dad liked the girl but did not like that she was not of a certain class. The girl Isaac had dated was considered a ‘commoner’; in the very words of his dad.

His mom was okay with this but his dad was not; hence the thundering argument that they had at the time. Isaac’s father won, of course, so he had to break up with the girl.

For a very long time, Isaac had craved a sense of independence; not being tied down to the standards and rules that his family and society had set for him. But it drew farther and farther from him each day. He had always wanted the freedom to just do things that normal people did, but he was denied that.

Isaac had thought about standing up to his father many times, but fear held him back. And the times that he actually tried to do that, he was very bad at it and ended up humiliated.

“You think that I want to be in this marriage?!” Isaac heard his mother yell. They must have been in the living room because he could hear them very clearly. His room was not very far from there.

“Ava, you walked yourself into this marriage! No one dragged you, so don’t put the goddamn blame on me!!” Issac heard his dad reply in anger. In a quick second, he heard a loud crash; as if one of the many vases they had in the living room had been thrown and destroyed.

Isaac wanted to intervene but he knew very well that that won’t do any good; not for his parents, or for him. The last time he tried that, his dad hit him so hard across the face that he blackout. 

Never again was he going to try to intervene or help them out!

“Our marriage was doomed from the very beginning; from the moment that you had another man's son in your belly at the altar when you said I do!” He heard his dad again, followed by more crashes. 

Isaac removed the duvet from over his body and dragged himself off of the bed. He was getting a bit worried. He could hear his mother crying loudly now. But he knew that his dad would never hurt her.

No matter how hard they argued, his dad would never even raise a hand at his mom. But he was more than ready to beat Isaac to a pulp. 

This was comical in a sad way to Isaac. The fact that his parents had it all; had all that life had to offer and yet their lives were still filled with misery, and their marriage was stale and loveless.

His parents were literal billionaires; royalty at its finest! But it was all at the cost of their happiness. 

He had always known that his dad did not quite like him, but it all made more sense when his mom told him years ago that the man he had called ‘dad’ for as long he could remember was not really his father. 

His real father had bailed on his mom when he found out that she was pregnant with him; too much of a coward to take care of the son he had helped bring into this evil world. 

That was one of the many reasons that his mom was shoved into the marriage with Mr. Robert, the man that Isaac now called his dad. 

“You’re a monster, Robert! You’re a damn monster!!” Isaac flinched when he heard another crash as his mom yelled at his ‘dad’. “If you think I am going to just sit and let Lisa Keating blackmail my son, then you’re out of your damn mind!”

What was she talking about? Lisa Keating was the CEO of the second biggest company in the country: Keating Travel. She was married happily and had a daughter a few years younger than Isaac. 

Isaac knew Lisa but had not had a conversation that lasted more than a minute with the lady before. He was very oblivious to the blackmail that his mother spoke about.

“Lisa’s daughter is a fine young lady, all he has to do is marry her!” He heard his father argue loudly. “You heard what Lisa said, and the consequences are not something that I’d like to consider.”

“No. No, that’s not happening. My son would not be like us. I will not let him be sucked into a loveless marriage. Lisa can go f*ck herself!” His mom replied.

“Yeah, walk away! Walk away and find one of the guards to suck off!” His mom continued, and Isaac knew that he had to do something. It was going too far; but what could he do?

He did not want to get beaten by Mr. Robert again.

His grandparents from his father’s side knew that their son was gay, and they were ashamed of it. They thought that it would smear their reputation and make them look weak. So that was why they pushed their son into an arranged marriage with Isaac’s mom.

His mom was not exactly poor, but at the time, her family needed the money, plus she had been abandoned by her lover while pregnant. She needed the marriage just as much as the family of Mr. Robert needed it.

Isaac bravely opened the door of his room and stepped out slowly. 

“What did you just say to me?” He heard his dad. His tone was tense and filled with venom. The voices were much louder now that Isaac was out of his room. 

Isaac strolled, trying his best to be as quiet as possible. He was now almost in the living room and could see his parents clearly.

“You heard me, Robert. But I would gladly say it again for you to hear. Walk away and find one of the guards to su–,” His mom was cut off when his dad grabbed her by her neck and began to choke her.

“Say that sh*t again, Ava!” His father’s voice boomed through the house as he continued to squeeze the neck of Isaac’s mom. 

He knew that this had gone too far, he had to do something, and he did not care whether he got beaten for it or not. He would not watch his dad choke the life out of his mother!

He entered the living room and picked up one of the shards from the broken vase that was on the floor; holding it in his hand to defend himself if it came to that.

“Let my mom go,” His voice was shaky and filled with fear.

Mr. Robert released the neck of his wife and turned in the direction of Isaac. He was mildly surprised to see his bastard son, especially after he had disciplined him many times; telling him to never interfere with whatever went on between him and Ava.

“You little sh*t,” Mr. Robert laughed deeply. “After all that I have done for you, you’re out here pretending that you’re her savior,” He gestures to Issac’s mom.

“You have no right to choke her, and I swear if you touch her again, I will gut you.” Isaac’s voice was much stronger now, filled with a form of rage.

Mr. Robert chuckled and began to bravely walk toward Isaac. The flash of lightning brightened the room for a second, followed by heavy thunder. 

Isaac’s heart was beating so hard that he thought it was going to explode. He clutched onto the shard in his hand, causing the sharp object to break his skin. Blood mixed with pain tainted his hand but he was focused on Mr. Robert.

“Leave him alone!” His mother said loudly but began to cough violently again. She was still reeling from almost being choked to death. 

“Oh, I’m going to do more than that,” A laugh erupted from the throat of the man Isaac called dad.

He backed away until his back hit a wall, he had no choice but to fight now. His eyes suddenly widened as Mr. Robert sprung into action; rushing towards him with great speed. 

Isaac was afraid but the adrenaline coursing through his body was overflowing. He dodged his father but it was too late because the man grabbed both of his hands. 

“Isn’t this fun, Isaac?!” Mr. Robert laughed like a madman.

“Leave him alone, Robert,” Isaac’s mother was on her feet and heading towards them. She was still coughing but not as much now.

“No, I want to play with the little bastard,” He replied to her.

His strength was remarkable and whatever Isaac did, he could not set himself free from the hold of his dad.

“F*ck you!” Isaac spat the words in the man’s face as tears trickled down his face. He hated his life, but most of all, he hated Mr. Robert with every part of him.

“Oh, that is no way to talk to daddy,” Mr. Robert’s voice was mocking. He then slammed his son to the floor of shattered vases, causing him to groan loudly in pain as he let go of the shard that was in his hand.

“Robert, I said let him go!” Isaac’s mother cried. She tried to pull her husband off of her son but it was not working. She was not strong enough.

Mr. Robert's weight was evident as he sat on top of Isaac while holding him down. Isaac could feel the pieces of the broken vases poking his back. He was in immense pain.

He continued to struggle, refusing to give up. His breathing was labored and he could tell that if this continued for another minute, he would blackout, if not die.

Mr. Robert let go of one of Isaac’s arms and reached for a shard quickly.

“No, no, no,” Isaac cried when he saw his dad take the shard. The man brought the sharp object close to Isaac’s neck and he stopped fighting immediately; afraid that he might be hurt if he continued.

“Help! Somebody help us!” Isaac's mother cried for help while trying to pry her husband off of her son.

“Shhh!” Mr. Robert said in response and then pushed the shard closer to his son’s neck, causing him to wince as more tears flowed from his eyes. 

Isaac could feel the skin of his neck tearing and the pain was instant. It was right then that he knew that he was going to die.