Chapter Four

“I think you heard me very well, Robert,” Mrs. Ford spoke with boldness. Even though she was almost choked by Robert last night, she was still not scared of him in the least. She had never been.

She headed towards one of the chairs in front of his fancy desk and sat down, waiting for him to respond.

Robert scoffed and then stared at his wife for a few seconds. “You have to be joking, Ava. The boy is my heir.” He reminded her.

“Yes, I know that. But sometimes, from the way you treat him, it makes me wonder if you know that.” Mrs. Ford flipped her hair gently and kept looking into the hard eyes of her husband. 

“It’s complicated,” Robert looked away from his wife. He really did not want to get into a yelling match with her and hoped to God that she would drop this. There was no way he would just let Isaac fly across the world when he was being groomed to take over the family businesses and fortune.

“It’s really not. Isaac can still be the heir of the Ford fortune whether he’s here in South Africa or in America.” Mrs. Ford argued. “When the time is right, he could just come back.”

“No,” Robert made his decision. “The boy is not leaving.” He spoke with authority as he went back to working on his computer. 

“Robert…” Mrs. Ford said in a warning tone, catching his full attention once again. “This is happening. Isaac’s leaving.”

“No, he’s f*cking not, so why don’t you just drop this and get out of my office,” Robert replied as he rose from his comfortable seat. His voice was strong and threatening, but Mrs. Ford did not even flinch, neither did she move a muscle.

“You evil bastard,” Mrs. Ford laughed dryly. 

“Oh, I’m the bastard? That’s really funny coming from the woman whose son is one,” Robert replied, folding his arms on his chest as he smirked.

Mrs. Ford could not contain her emotions anymore, she rose from the chair she was sitting in and pushed the entire computer from the desk in a swift motion. The sound echoed in the large office. 

“Call my son a bastard one more time and I swear I would ruin this whole f*cking arranged marriage bullcrap!” She dared him. “I would tell the whole world the real reason we’re married and even throw in the fact that you’re abusive!”

Robert started to laugh as he studied the look of rage on his wife’s face. From being with her for so many years, he knew just the right buttons to press to trigger her. 

Robert sat back in his chair and breathed out a sigh. He glanced at the broken computer on the marble tiles and then looked back at his wife. 

He knew that she was crazy enough to do what she was saying and she had never pulled this card before, so if she was pulling it, then that meant that this was really important to her.

“Fine,” Robert surrendered. “Have the boy meet me before his flight.” 

“No, after what you did to him last night, I won’t allow you to be in the same room as him.” 

“Well, that’s my condition. Either that or if he tries to leave, I would make sure that I use every ounce of my power to ruin his life,” Robert told his wife. 

Mrs. Ford knew that this was the only way. She clenched her jaw and then turned around to walk out of the office. 

“Tell him to wear the suit that I bought him last year for his birthday, he has never worn that before,” Robert added as he watched his wife walk out. He knew that she had heard him and he was glad.

But he was now going to use the time alone to really think about what he had just agreed to. 

Mrs. Ford used the elevator and it took her from the top floor of the highly impressive building to the lobby. As she walked toward the exit, most of the employees stared at her, amazed to see the wife of Mr. Ford in the flesh. 

“Is the car ready?” She asked the guard that always escorted her when she went places. 

“Yes, ma’am,” The man wearing dark shades and a suit replied to Mrs. Ford. “I have informed the driver that we are heading back to the hospital. Let me know if I should tell him to reroute.”

Mrs. Ford did not reply, and that was all the guard needed to know that the plans to go back to the hospital had not changed.

When she entered the car, the guard closed the door and she was driven right back to the hospital. This hospital was the same one that her mother died in when she was sick, but instead of sad memories, it brought comforting ones.

Mrs. Ford, Isaac, and her father spent more time with her mother when she was admitted than they ever did before she got sick. So in a way, the sickness brought them closer. 

“Ma’am…” The guard called for her attention and she noticed that the door of the car was already opened and she had been lost in her thoughts.

“Thank you, Bill,” She rarely called the guard by his name, but whenever she did, he was very happy about it. She got out of the car and in a few minutes, she was back in her son’s room.

“You’re back,” Isaac said when his mother entered the room. She had a proud look on her face, and that let him know that she came bearing good news.

“Your dad was a d*ck as always but he agreed to let you go to America for college.”

Isaac was shocked that Mr. Robert even agreed. Mr. Robert never failed to remind him every chance that he got that he was the heir and so he needed to work harder than everyone he knew combined together. 

When it came to showing Isaac love, Mr. Ford was lacking, but with everything else, he was perfect. He made sure to teach Isaac a business tip every single day even when they had argued, which they did a lot.

The teaching was either in person at the mansion, at the company, or sent via text messages. 

“He had one condition though. That you see him before the flight.” Mrs. Ford added.

“Why?” Isaac asked in disgust. After last night, if he was in the same room with that man, he did not know what he would do. He had so much anger in his heart. Mr. Robert not only went too far last night, but he crossed a line.

In fact, maybe he did have to have a talk with Mr. Robert. That way Isaac could let him know that he could do all the yelling he wanted at his mom, but if he found out that he touched her like he did last night, hell would break loose.

Isaac knew that he held back last night, he could have done more but he was just crippled by fear and by the fact that he respected Mr. Robert too much.

“I don’t know why Isaac. I honestly don’t.” Mrs. Ford answered honestly. She was just happy that her husband agreed. She was not surprised when they started yelling at each other at the office, they almost always did.

He was just a bitter and sour man with a quick temper. Mrs. Ford felt like there were issues in his life that he did not work out, and she had tried to get him to talk to her like a normal human being but it was impossible. 

She even hired a private therapist one time but it was useless. Robert literally spat in the therapist’s face during their first session and dared the lady to come back if she was brave enough.

Mrs. Ford approached the chair next to her son’s bed and sat down. The guard, Bill, was outside, standing at the door. 

The door suddenly opened, grabbing Mrs. Ford and Isaac’s attention. It was the doctor, he was a bit aged than the last time Isaac had seen him. He walked in with a binder in his hand and a comforting smile on his face.

“I have good news!” The doctor’s words made Mrs. Ford’s heart dance with glee. “Isaac is now free to go home.”

Isaac smiled. He remembered this man. He was the same doctor that treated his grandmother when she was sick. “I don’t need some kind of expensive surgery?” Isaac joked, and the doctor laughed, followed by Mrs. Ford.

“No, young man. You have a few tears and busies on your back, the cut to your neck is pretty mild, and you were a bit dehydrated. But we have taken care of all of that. You just need to take it easy,” The doctor flashed his adoring smile at his patient.

Isaac was happy that he could go home and that he was okay, but his flight was tomorrow and his dad had demanded to see him before then. That meant that he and his father would be in the same room tonight.

After being discharged, Isaac sat in the back of the fancy car with his mother as they were driven home. His heart beat hard against his chest and adrenaline was rising in his body as they got closer to the mansion. He kept balling his hand into a fist as a way to soothe the anger he felt.

When they had reached it, they got out and headed into the house. Isaac led the way and his mother followed behind him. She was trying to act calm but she was slightly nervous.

Last night, her husband had come home drunk. What if he did it again tonight when he was supposed to talk with Isaac?

When the two of them reached the living room, they met Mr. Robert sitting on one of the couches, staring at the wall. He then turned his attention to them when he noticed their presence. His facial expression was hard and the smell of liquor swirled lightly in the living room.

Mrs. Ford and Isaac could tell that Mr. Robert had been drinking. 

“I’d like to be alone with my son,” Mr. Robert said firmly while looking at Isaac. Mrs. Ford’s heart skipped a beat and she gulped as she reminded herself that this was the only way her son would be free from all this.

She knew that his flight was tomorrow and that after this talk, he would not have to talk to Robert for a very long time again. But she was nervous, not just for Isaac, but for Robert.

When they were in the car, she noticed how Isaac kept balling his hands into fists. He was filled with anger that was pregnant with rage. Isaac was a ticking bomb and if Robert even slightly raised his voice at him, she knew that there would be an explosion.

“Goodbye, Ava,” Mr. Robert said when he realized that his wife was still standing there. He knew that he shouldn’t have drunk before meeting with Isaac tonight but he had no choice, the sadness in his heart was just too loud.