Chapter 7

Guess what, Dad—I'm Gay!

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Sometimes, Eric wondered if there had been a mix-up at the hospital when he was born.

Why did he think that? It's Simple—he and his father couldn't be more different.

People often said they shared a few traits, like their stubbornness or their need to prove a point. But when it came to their values and beliefs, they were the embodiment of complete opposites. At times, Eric even felt like he wasn't really his father's son, especially when his "Father" preferred to be called "sir " and offered almost no support for anything outside his rigid expectations.

Take acting, for example.

You read it right. Eric secretly loved performing on stage. 

His father had no idea that Eric often slipped out of the office despite being one of the company's top executives just to attend drama classes. Ever since he was a child, he'd been fascinated by plays and operas. Unfortunately, passion didn't always come with equal talent, and Eric had faced his fair share of rejections at auditions under his fake name, Oliver Green.

Even so, he never gave up on the dream of performing on stage, even just once. But given his current situation, like having a father who disapproved of his passions and was determined to marry him off to the daughter of a deceased friend, Eric knew his chances of being understood were slim.

"I'm not particularly pleased with the news I've been hearing, Eric." Mr. Vale said calmly but with a hint of disappointment. The man slowly set his teacup down on its saucer before fixing his firm, authoritative gaze on Eric. "It seems you've decided to ignore my wishes regarding your marriage to Annette."

Eric didn't respond right away. Instead, he sat in the chair opposite his father. Seconds later, a steward appeared and bowed politely before pouring a steaming, freshly brewed tea into the delicate porcelain teacup in front of him.

"Thank you", Eric said to the steward before lazily stirring his tea. He didn't even bother to meet his father's sharp gaze because he could already feel his intimidating presence penetrating into the top of his head.

After a long, tension-filled pause, Mr. Vale finally said to Eric, "So, what exactly are you planning to do?"

Eric leaned back and smiled casually.

"Glad you asked, Dad. I'm planning to call off the engagement."

Robert didn't even blink when he responded to his son's remark.

"No, you're not."

"I just did, Dad. I said it. I'm calling off the engagement."

"You can't."

"I can."

"You won't."

Eric put his tea cup down with a sharp click and replied angrily, "Then, don't ask me what I am planning to do if you're not going to even consider it!"

Robert's thick brow twitched. "Are you raising your voice at your own father?!"

"No, I'm not! But if you keep pushing me, then I definitely will!" Eric stopped himself from getting so heated before saying something he'd regret. Instead, he crossed his arms tightly, leaning back in his chair with an angry huff. "You know what? I'm not going to argue with you, because I know you're not listening to me, and you never will!"

Robert shot back without missing a beat, "And you know I won't listen to you, so why do you keep on insisting on your point to me?!"

"Because that's what normal fathers do, Dad—they listen!"

"I am listening!"

"Oh, really? Then repeat what I just said!"

Mr. Vale crossed his arms tightly, almost mirroring Eric's, "...You said you're calling off the engagement."

"Exactly!"

"And I said no."

Eric groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "You're so unbelievable, Dad! You could win an award for being so impossible!"

"And if they gave out medals for disobedience, you'd have a whole collection on display by now!" Mr. Vale shot back coolly.

For almost a minute, the two of them glared at each other with annoyance and disgust, and neither was willing to back down. That's when Mr. Vale decided to pull out his last straw. He knew his son well enough to realize that reasoning (or arguing) would get him nowhere. If Eric was going to obey, it had to be by force of circumstance. And fortunately for Mr. Vale, he held the perfect ace up his sleeve, the one thing that could make his rebellious son finally fall in line.

"You're really forcing me to do this to you, Eric..." Mr. Vale straightened his posture before he continued, "Just so we're clear, I won't allow you to call off your engagement with Annette. In fact, she's already on her way here, and you're going to meet her. And if you don't…"

He leaned forward, his eyes giving him a perilous look. "… I'll make sure you never see these again."

He snapped his fingers, and Emil, who had been standing silently in the corner, suddenly stepped forward. In his hands was a sleek tablet, which he presented to Eric as if it were a holy relic.

On the screen were the rows upon rows of photos of his most prized possessions: theater tickets and receipts from every country he'd ever visited. West End, Broadway, small indie plays—all those years of sneaking around to watch stage plays and musicals, all carefully cataloged in an album in secret.

Eric froze the moment he recognized the photos.

"Wait—how did you—?" He blinked, then he gasped in panic and disbelief. "That was in my vault! You broke into my vault?!"

"It wasn't difficult." Mr. Vale said confidently, "You use your birthday as your password."

"Damn it, Dad!" Eric finally burst out despite his effort to stay calm. "You're being unfair, you know that? Are you really this desperate to get me married to someone I don't even like?!"

"That's exactly why I set you up with Annette," Mr. Vale shot back, almost matching his son's rising tone as he spoke, "...so you could meet and learn to like her!"

Eric threw up his hands in desperation to counter his father's argument. "It's not that easy, Dad! You can't just force those kinds of feelings on someone! I can't force her to like me? And it's no different from you and Mom!"

That last line hit Mr. Vale harder than Eric meant it, to the point that he himself immediately stopped speaking and withdrew from further arguing. However, he did not apologize, even if he had wanted to. His irritation prevented him from apologizing for what he had said, but deep down, he knew he was wrong to have dragged his mother into this heated conversation with his father.

Eric clenched his fist. He knew his father's decisions were like iron walls, and he knew he wouldn't be able to break them. If he wanted to stand a chance against his father, he needed something huge, something his father couldn't make his way around or crush into submission.

And that's when the ridiculous idea hit him.

"…Alright," Eric said suddenly, straightening in his chair, as if he was preparing himself for a big revelation. "There's another reason I can't marry Annette."

Robert's gaze sharpened with a hint of curiosity, but he said nothing and let his son speak this time. However, Eric hesitated for half a second before he took a deep breath and said, "It's because... I'm already seeing someone, and it's with a man!"

And, surprisingly, it worked!

Eric's father blinked. And for the first time, he showed a real sign of surprise since their father-and-son conversation began. 

"You're...what?"

"You heard me right, Dad! I'm already in a relationship," Eric said as he tried to force a confident smile even as his heart pounded in his chest like crazy. "So...yeah. Guess what? I’m gay!”