Chapter Three

Isaac’s eyes fluttered open as the light of the room he was in started to flood his dark world. He was now slipping out of unconsciousness and coming back to the real world. His vision was at first blurry and then after blinking a few times, it cleared.

Where was he? 

His mind was a bit foggy but with each passing second, his memories were returning. He now remembered everything; the loud argument that his parents had, and his trying to intervene when it went too far.

Isaac had almost died. He could still imagine how very afraid he felt. It was like he looked death in its eyes!

He never wanted to feel that way again. And if that meant putting his foot down for the first time in years, then that was what he was going to do.

He realized that he was laying on a bed in a room that looked like the hospital room that his grandmother from his mother's side used to be in when he was only nine. She was very ill; a disease that was too aggressive to let her see his tenth birthday which was just in days at the time.

Isaac remembered crying so hard when he came the next day to see his grandmother’s bed empty. It was a day he would never forget. He loved her, more than his mind could comprehend, and now he missed her.

“Oh, you’re awake,” A voice startled Isaac and he looked to the other side of his bed for the first time, only to see his mother. Her eyes looked drained and weary. It was clear that she had just woken up from sleeping but also clear that she had been crying.

“Mom…” Isaac tried to speak but his voice came out weak and raspy. His body was still in pain but not as before. The pain was now just dull, only awakened when he moved much.

“Don’t speak, you need to rest,” Mrs. Ford woke up from the chair she was sitting in and walked closer to her son. Seeing him lying on the bed, all frail and hurt pained her heart. She could not stop herself from sobbing quietly as she approached him.

This was all her fault. If she had not agreed to enter into the arranged marriage with Robert, her son wouldn’t be in this state. But again, if she had not entered into this marriage, her life would have been over.

Her parents were poor and being pregnant with Isaac didn’t make things any easier. She had two choices: abort her baby boy, or keep him. She chose the latter and she has never regretted her decision. 

But choosing Isaac came with consequences. Things became much harder for her and her family until the Ford family approached them. They wanted her to marry their son and be saved from a life of poverty and at that time, especially being pregnant, that was a miracle.

She took the deal. Robert was willing to take care of the baby in her belly and even willing to accept the child as his own. He was going to give him all life had to offer, except his love.

“It’s all going to be over very soon,” Mrs. Ford touched her son’s face gently, as a way to comfort him. She could see that her once-little boy was all grown now. His eyes reminded her of his real father, and though that triggered her a lot of time; it brought her comfort.

“Why? Did you finally report that piece of crap to the police?” Isaac asked his mother, his voice filled with hope. He was talking about Mr. Robert, that man deserved to rot in prison! He was evil!

Mrs. Ford shook her head slowly and Isaac frowned. “Mom, he’s a monster.” He reminded her.

“Yeah, but he’s the monster that has given us all that we have. The money, the fame, the respect; all of it.” She reminded her son.

Isaac scoffed and looked away from his mother. He could not believe that she was willing to still be in the arranged marriage with Mr. Robert. Yes, her reasons obviously made sense but it was not like she did not have enough money now to leave him.

The only thing was that leaving the marriage would bring repercussions from Mr. Robert’s parents, very harsh ones. It was the only reason Isaac was not going to argue with his mother too much about the matter. He somehow understood her.

“Where is he now?” Isaac asked about Mr. Robert, and his mother withdrew her hand from his face and sat down next to him on the bed. 

“He should be back at the mansion, but I’m not sure. It’s either that or he’s at Ford Technologies.” She replied to him.

Ford Technologies was the biggest tech company in South Africa. Its net worth was about a billion dollars, and it had over a thousand employees. The CEO of this giant company was Robert Ford, and the man next in line was Isaac. 

Isaac was the one who would take over the company and other family businesses when the time was right. He did not know when that was but frankly did not care much. 

“Listen, sweetheart. I have booked a flight for you for tomorrow morning. A flight to the United States Of America. I think it’s time that you started college,” Mrs. Ford informed her son.

She knew that this was not just about sending Isaac off to college in another country, it really was about him escaping the life that he had here. Mrs. Ford knew that it was a good life, but it was also a miserable one.

And she knew that they had a huge problem. Lisa Keating, CEO of Keating Travel, approached her and Robert some days ago about Isaac. She wanted Isaac to marry her daughter and that triggered Mrs. Ford. 

It reminded Mrs. Ford of her own experience and she did not want that for her only son. She did not want Isaac to walk into a marriage just because it would make him more respected and rich. She wanted her son to get married to a girl that he truly loved. And Isaac barely knew Lisa’s daughter.

Even Robert was not okay with this and agreed with Mrs. Ford that they were not even going to bring it up with their son. But Lisa was really desperate because she then did something that caused the Fords to be in awe. 

She decided to blackmail them. Lisa had a senior partner at her company that was openly gay, and this man had slept with Mr. Robert Ford just two nights ago. The man told Lisa and even provided proof. 

Revealing this to the world would be a huge blow to the Fords. Everyone would then know that the Fords are dishonest and wouldn’t want to do business with them. Because if they were willing to fabricate a marriage just to hide who they truly were, then what else were they willing to do, or are already doing?

Mr. Ford was very ashamed and knew that this was his fault, which is why he was willing to entertain the idea of Isaac marrying Lisa’s daughter; he wanted all this to go away. 

But Mrs. Ford did not give a damn. This was more reason not to let her son do this. This was the cause of the huge argument that they had in which Robert almost killed Isaac.

“What? You’re kidding, right? Dad is becoming more aggressive and you want to send me away? I’m not leaving you with that monster,” Isaac looked at his mother as he spoke to her confidently. His voice was gaining its strength back.

“I would be fine,” Mrs. Ford replied to him as a tear escaped her eye without her permission. “Don’t think of it as leaving me, but rather as finally getting the chance at true happiness and freedom.” 

“He freaking choked you, mom! How are you so calm about this?” Isaac could not wrap his head around this. Wasn’t his mother nervous to be alone with that man in the mansion? He was impulsive and unpredictable! 

Even with Isaac present, Mr. Robert had assaulted his mother verbally many times. Last night was the first time he hit her, who knows how far he would take it if Isaac left? 

“Isaac, I need this. I need you to do this for me. This is all I’m asking of you. Leave the country and go and live a fulfilled life. It would be one of the most thrilling things that have happened in my life for years,” Mrs. Ford explained.

“You leaving for America would help heal my wounded soul. Please, my son…” She added.

His mother begging him like this broke Isaac’s heart. If she wanted this so bad, he would be more than happy to do it for her. But he just could not stop thinking of how alone she would be. 

“I–” Isaac tried to speak but no words came out.

“Don’t overthink it, just say yes,” His mother gave him a smile that tugged at his emotions. 

He had a choice to make, either say yes to his mother and leave the country, or say no and stay stuck in the life that he was starting to deeply hate. 

“Yes,” He finally agreed and Mrs. Ford gave him a hug as she sobbed happily. 

Mrs. Ford was beyond happy. This was her biggest desire, to see her son happy and not held down by the restraints of the Ford family. The call she made earlier in the ambulance was to the chancellor of one of the most respected and competitive universities in America.

She pulled the necessary strings needed to get Isaac admission without even having him submit an application. Now he only needed to get on the flight to America and start school.

Convincing Isaac was difficult but convincing Mr. Robert to let his heir leave the country would be like trying to mop the ocean. She knew what she needed to do though, and that would not happen if she was still in this hospital room with her son.

“I have to leave. I would be back very soon, okay?” Mrs. Ford gave her son a kiss on his forehead and then left. 

An expensive car took her straight to Ford Technologies, and when she reached it, she marched right into the office of her husband.

“I need to talk to you, Robert,” Mrs. Ford demanded. Her husband sat behind his large desk with his face buried in his computer.

“If this is about Isaac and what happened last night, then I really don’t have the time to argue,” Robert replied without looking at his wife. “But if you persist, then I’m sorry for how I behaved.” He added, his voice robotic and nonchalant.

“Isaac is leaving for America tomorrow morning, for college,” Mrs. Ford ripped the bandage off boldly. 

“What did you just say to me?” Robert finally looked at his wife for the first time since she entered his office. His tone was daring and filled with authority.