A truce marriage

KAI

Once again, I woke up to that depressing sight of cum sticking to my body. As if that weren't bad enough, there were also stains on the floor, and my reading desk, which I could have sworn was by my table, was in front of my bed, as if I had sat there before retiring to bed. The worst? I couldn't freaking recall anything. The last thing I remembered was falling into bed and dozing off. The rest? I couldn't freaking tell. 

The only good thing about today, like yesterday, was the coffee on my desk waiting for me. That, right there, was the only good thing that happened. 

Dad showed up unannounced at the office. He must have asked my secretary not to ring my office. All I heard was a knock, then he was inside, filling my space with his eyes narrowed.

"Kai Blau Schwarz!" He bellowed, raising his walking stick to point at me. "You dare stand me up last night!"

"Dad!" I got up from my desk and forced a smile, even though I wanted to scream. How the hell did he have the time to torment my life? Why couldn't he stay in his office?

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming over?" I asked instead. "If you had done that, I wouldn't have let you take a trip so far to this place," I said, closing the distance between us, but mindful of his walking aid. 

The old man can be so mean with his stick if he wants. I'd felt that twenty years ago, when he had just started using it after an accident that nearly cost him his life. I lost my mum in the accident, and he lost his wife. He had been in the passenger seat when Schmidt's car slammed into us.  I was in the back, strapped in, and screaming as metal folded around us and Mum went silent in the driver's seat. That damned day took a lot from us, and I doubt we would ever recover from it. 

He narrowed his eyes. "So you'll stand me up again?"

I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. Father just knew me too well. If he had told me about this meeting, I would have slid away faster before he could get a hold of me. I wouldn't have gone to him like I claimed I would, if he had asked for me.

I knew what it was he wanted to talk about: marriage. He had been singing about that for a while now. 

"Nonsense," he snapped, slamming his stick against the marble floor. The sound cracked through my office like a gunshot. "You don't get to laugh this off, boy. Not this time."

He stepped closer, and I caught the smell of his cologne, the same one he'd worn since Mum died. He said it reminded him of her. "You missed dinner with Mr Schmidt last night. Do you know how that made me look? How did that make us look?"

My stomach dropped. He certainly isn't talking about that Schmidt, is he?

"Dad, I —" 

"Quiet." He raised his hand, and the stick trembled as his eyes narrowed. "I've let you play CEO long enough, Kai. You're 35 for crying out loud, and you can't keep being a playboy forever. That ends this week. We're having dinner on Friday at 7 PM at their house, and you'll attend. There's no getting away from it because it's about you, son. It's about your marriage with their —" 

I went cold. "A marriage meeting? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't curse at me," he growled, raising his stick. Knowing what he was about to do, I stepped back, just to avoid it. "You're marrying Stein Schmidt, his eldest son. It's arranged and finalised. The contracts are already being drawn."

It took me a while to form my words after hearing their name. It was Schmidt, the same one I had hoped he wasn't talking about. 

"Wait, let me get this right. You're talking about Mr Schmidt, right? The man who caused the accident, the man whose drunk driving took Mum and crippled you. The man we both swore we'd bury if he ever crossed our path." 

Dad winced, but nodded. "He's the one."

"You want me to marry his son?" I tried to keep my voice low, but the anger still seeped out. "After what he did to Mum? To us?"

Dad's jaw worked. For a second, I thought I saw shame, but then it was gone, replaced by that familiar, ruthless set to his mouth. 

"It's a truce marriage, Kai. Their company has the shipping lanes we need. We have the patents they can't operate without. All we need is one wedding that'll end a twenty-year blood feud and double Schwarz Holdings overnight." 

He leaned on his stick, knuckles white. "I don't want this, just as much as you don't, but we have no choice. We need their connections. This marriage isn't about love. It's about the profit."

Of course, it was fucking about the profit. That was all he ever cared about. The man who had vowed to take revenge changed his mind after being tossed a bone like a dog. 

"He's his son," I said, and my voice shook. "His father killed Mum. And you want me to—"

"I want you to help the family! We can't keep staying afloat with what we have been doing for years. We need a change, and this is the only way we can get it. You don't need to love his son. You only need to have your name and his in ink." He drew a deep breath before he continued, "Your mother is gone, Kai. Crying over her grave won't bring her back. This will secure the family's future and the Schwarz's name."

He turned for the door, then paused without looking back. "Remember, it's Friday by 7 PM. Don't embarrass me again. The Schmidts will be there, and so will your future partner."

The door clicked shut.