Chapter 5

When Love Wasn't Part of His Plan

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The instruction was simple and straightforward:

"Head straight to the family villa and make sure you're presentable when you get there. Wear your best clothes."

But Eric, known for being so stubborn, did the exact opposite.

He showed up wearing just a plain white turtleneck shirt and a black jacket—a simple, understated outfit, definitely not what his father would consider presentable.

Why?

Well, first of all, he didn't have time to change. Second, he had zero interest in whatever drama was waiting for him at the villa. And third (and probably the most important), it was his little act of rebellion against his dad. It was his way of saying, "I'm not your puppet, Dad," without actually saying it out loud.

But despite his outward, rebellious act against his father, Eric wasn't entirely angry with him. No, he didn't hate him either. Their relationship had just always been that way ever since his parents split up.

And yeah, it's a long story.

Eric had seen how his parents could never agree on anything, even about simple things, and how those endless (and sometimes nonsensical) arguments eventually led to their separation. That could be where he got his strange lack of interest in romance. But that didn't mean he was incapable of love. Actually, he does feel love, it's just that his way of loving isn't like everyone else's.

Sure, he might be a zero when it comes to love, but deep down, Eric still wanted to experience the real thing, not in a way that would be forced on him. Because if there's one thing Eric couldn't stand, it's the idea of being forced into something that he never wanted in the first place.

So, heading to the villa wasn't just about following his father's orders; it was also his way of protesting in the hope that his father would at least listen to him, once and for all.

"Dad!" Eric's voice echoed significantly through the vast entrance of the villa. "Where are you?!"

Then, a calm voice suddenly responded from the staircase and reminded Eric gently, "Master Eric, you don't need to shout". It was Emil, his father's ever-composed assistant and their family's head butler. He's also the one who had texted him earlier at the cafe to come to the villa immediately.

"I'm not shouting, Emil." Eric corrected him, though obviously he was shouting earlier, the moment he came, "I'm just making sure my father hears me. You know for a fact how big this place is, right? Wait—where is he, anyway? Where's dad? I need to talk to him, now!"

"He'll be downstairs soon," Emil said, then he gave Eric a quick glance over, from the turtleneck shirt and plain black jacket down to the young man's plain black shoes. Although in reality, Eric looks good. But by their family's standards, he doesn't. "Didn't I tell you to wear your best clothes?" His polite smile faltered the moment he met Eric's eyes again, as if to point out what was wrong.

Eric crossed his arms to protest and said, "I just came from a meeting, Emil, and it's a two-hour drive from where I came from to here. Do you expect me to magically change outfits the second your boss ordered me to come here?"

Emil sighed as he adjusted his reading glasses. It was the kind of sigh that says, I knew it. He's done this too many times before. So, without another word, he gestured simply toward the nearby stewards who had been waiting on the side and said, "Please, bring the set I prepared for Master Eric earlier."

"Wait—what?!" Eric's eyes widened in disbelief. "You planned this?"

"Of course," Emil simply confessed, though he wasn't bothered if Eric was annoyed by the trick he played by using his father's name just to make the young man go to the villa. "Whether it's your father's order or not, I refuse to let you face him looking like a college intern. It's like all those years of etiquette lessons I taught you since you were a kid never happened, huh."

"Don't I have the right to face my own father dressed naturally?" Eric immediately protested with a slightly sour pout on his lips. "Do I really need to wear a tie just to talk to him?"

"He's not the only one you'll be facing later, Eric..." While Emil was saying this, the steward arrived just in time to give Eric the clothes he had prepared.

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Your fiancée, Lady Annette, will be here soon, so get ready."

"I knew it!" Eric groaned as he dragged a hand down his face. "I know that this has to do with the engagement! Didn't you just give me her profile? Isn't that enough for us to get to know each other? Why do we need to meet?"

"Eric, listen..." Emil replied patiently, "...I know you've never dated anyone, but I know that you know these are just basics if you want to get along with someone. How can you get to know your future wife if you never talk face-to-face?"

Eric scoffed. "Emil, it's like you don't even know me. You said it yourself that I've never been interested in dating any woman!"

Emil tilted his head and asked him bluntly. "Why, are you gay?"

Which Eric immediately denied.

"What?! No! Of course not!"

"Then go meet Lady Annette," Emil said as he handed Eric the clothes. "This might be your only chance to have a love life before your father decides to pick another one for you."

Eric looked at the clothes and sighed heavily in defeat, "Unbelievable."

The young man wasn't sure what he hated most about his situation: the fact that he was being forced to meet a woman he barely knew but was expected to marry, or the cruel realization that his life no longer felt like his own to control.

Nevertheless, he took the clothes anyway. Right now, he knew that arguing was pointless, and partly because a part of him wanted it to be over.

So Eric turned toward the guest room with a fiery determination in his eyes to continue sabotaging this arranged marriage until everyone gets tired of him fucking his own life and just let him be a free man...

"Okay, let's just get this over with..."