Chapter 3

Alan's mother, Sasha, led him to the living room and helped him sit. His grandfather and father were also in the room with his elder sister, Harley.

Harley moved closer to him and waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"This is bad. How come the doctors couldn’t do anything about this? It’s really not good at all," she said and sat down beside him.

"Harley, you don’t have to rub it in on your brother’s injury," Sasha said.

Their grandfather hit the staff in his hand lightly on the floor, and everyone kept quiet, turning their attention to him.

"I didn’t call you here to talk about what happened to Alan; I’m here for something more important. It’s about your engagement with the Miners. You cut off the engagement back then with a lie, but now you have no excuse at all. Also, if you want to stabilize your position, you need a wife," he said.

"Grandfather, are you serious? What girl will want to marry a blind man?" Harley mocked.

"Harley! How could you refer to your brother as a blind man? My son is not blind; his vision is partially impaired and temporary. He will soon regain his sight," Sasha snapped at her angrily.

"But you have to face it, Mom. He is really blind," she shrugged.

"How about your husband?" Grandfather asked, staring at Harley.

She immediately kept quiet at the mention of her husband, and her face dampened.

"You should go back home now. You’ve already spent more than a week here. You are still married to him, and remember what I said: no divorce. So you’d better settle with him," he warned.

"Dad, Harley’s marriage is like this because it was an arranged marriage. I don’t think it’s a good idea to also let Alan get married to someone against his will," Alan’s father, Williams, said for the first time.

"Yes, Father, I agree with him. Also, why do you have to marry both of them off to people below our standard?" their mother chimed in.

"That’s why I told both of them to bring me someone they love. If she had brought home the right man back then, and not that gold digger, then I wouldn’t have asked her to marry him," the old man said angrily and exhaled.

"Also, your dear son brought a fake girlfriend to me to break off his engagement, and now she is with someone else. How do you think that looks on our family?" he continued, upset and glaring at Alan even though he couldn’t see him.

"You must get married now, or you can forget about becoming the next patriarch. And also, given your condition, it is very compulsory," he replied angrily.

"Father, the Miner family went into ruin three years ago, and even Miner himself is still in prison. Forming a bond with them is just like staining our name," Sasha said again to convince him.

"He is the one who ruined the relationship back then and caused this mess. Let him fix it now," Grandfather insisted and stood up to leave.

Sasha turned to her husband impatiently, knowing her father-in-law was pushing the Miners on them because of Alan’s condition.

"Are you not going to say something?" Sasha asked, turning to her husband.

Williams sighed, rubbing his temple.

"On this matter, I will let Alan decide on his own," Williams replied and faced Alan, who had been quiet since the beginning of their discussion.

"If you really agree with your grandfather, then make sure to bring her home by this weekend. Then we will discuss further. If not, I won’t force you," he said and also left.

Without a word in response, Alan signaled to one of the servants to help him and went back inside the house to his study.

"Mom, I think you should just let this matter be. And personally, I think this is a good idea. Look at it like this: which rich young lady will want to marry him the way he is?" Harley said, drawing closer to Sasha.

"It is better to choose her. Then we will have someone to take care of him, and also relieve you of your stress. And most importantly, we will be able to control her however we like," Harley said, and Sasha remained quiet, casting a skeptical eye at her.

"But still..."

"Mom, think of all the stress you had to go through taking care of him. All that’s important is ensuring Grandfather doesn’t make someone else his heir," Harley persuaded further, seeing Sasha was already giving in.

She was already ill-fated with the man she got married to; there was no reason for Alan not to suffer the same.

"Okay."

---

Alan sat down in his study with a cigarette in one hand and his phone in the other. Kellie, his assistant and older by a few years, knocked on the door and made her way in.

"Sir," Kellie said as she entered. Alan raised his hand to indicate that he was listening.

"I tracked the location of Miss Vienna and her family. She is living in the countryside with her sister and mother, and also a man called Nisan who lives together with them," she reported.

Alan’s interest was pricked at hearing a familiar name, and he raised his brows with curiosity.

Kellie nodded in understanding and went on to explain.

"He is the illegitimate son of Brook. He was banished from the house."

Alan looked away, pulling out the cigarette, and Kellie waited for a few seconds before she continued.

"Mrs. Miner is in the hospital, and they need a lot of money to take care of her and bring her to the city," she said, indicating that was all, and waited.

Alan remained quiet after listening to her.

"Set up a meeting with her. I don’t want to hear no for an answer. Give her a condition she won’t be able to resist," he instructed.

"Sir, is the contract really necessary? I fear Miss Vienna might be upset and refuse. After all, what happened..."

"Then make sure she doesn’t," he snapped, and Kellie immediately apologized.

"Okay, sir. Is there anything else you would like me to do for you?"

"What about Karen?"

"Just news about his engagement to Miss Benita, and a lot of public appearances."

"You can go for now, and take those files with you. They are not for any other eyes to see," he said, and she picked up the files and left.