Chapter Two: The revelation

"Mom, why did you call me here suddenly?" Charlotte asked in a severe tone, all traces of friendliness gone. 

"Come, let's discuss this in my room," Martha said, gesturing for Charlotte to follow her. 

Henry, Charlotte, and Martha all headed into her room, with Henry closing the door behind them. 

"Have a seat Charlotte," Henry said, making Charlotte feel more anxious. She did as her older brother told her to and sat down on her mom's bed. 

"Charlotte..." Her mom started. "What I am about to tell you will change your life forever." Martha walked over to her daughter and sat down beside her. 

"Before your father died, he had a best friend. They grew up together and did everything together. They were inseparable." Martha started. 

"Mom, why are you telling me this?" Charlotte asked in irritation. 

Talking about her father always made her sensitive as she never knew him before he died. Her mom was eight months pregnant with her when he died in a car accident. 

Charlotte had lived her whole life without her father, and she preferred not to talk about him. Her mother knew this, so why was she talking about him? 

Martha rubbed her thighs nervously and glanced at Henry, and the latter avoided her gaze. 

"Well, your father made a contract with his best friend before he died, and it involves you and your father's best friend's son." 

Seeing her mother nervous also made Charlotte nervous as she did not know what to expect. 

"Go on, mom; what does the contract say?" She asked her mom nervously. 

"Well..., " Martha paused, hesitant to say what she wanted to say. 

"Oh, for God's sake, mom, just tell me what the contract says!" Charlotte snapped irritably. 

"It says that you are to marry your father's best friend's son as soon as you turn twenty-four," Martha said quickly and breathed out deeply as if a heavy load had been lifted from her chest. 

It took a while for Charlotte to process what she had just heard, and it took even longer for her to understand it.

 Her mother was clearly joking. She could not possibly be serious about her father making such a contract. 

The world had significantly evolved, and young adults were allowed to make their own decisions.

They were supposed to choose their own partner, who they wanted to spend their lives with, and not their parents. 

Martha and Henry looked at themselves nervously. Charlotte had not said anything after Martha told her about Will's contract with his best friend. 

Charlotte suddenly started laughing, and this made the mother and son even more scared. She stopped laughing, and her expression turned even colder. 

"So you're telling me that my father made a contract that involves my life with his best friend, and you did not try and stop him? Charlotte asked in a low and dangerous tone. 

Martha wiped her forehead nervously. "I did not know anything about the contract until after he died when the lawyer told me about it." 

"If dad and this so-called best friend were so close, how come I have never met him or his family?" Charlotte asked her mom. 

"That was because I kept you away from them. After your father's death, I found out about the deal your father made," Martha answered. 

"Naturally, I was furious about Will making such a big decision without informing me, which is why I forbade your father's friend from coming here or ever meeting you." 

"He respected my decision, and I thought we had seen the last of him until yesterday when his lawyer came here, reminding me of the contract and saying that he was still planning to get you married to his son." 

Ok, maybe her mother didn't know what her father did, but that did not mean she was actually going to get married to someone she did not know. 

"I do not care if they want to go through with the contract, mom. I'm not getting married to someone I do not know!"

Charlotte got up to leave the room, but she was stopped by Henry. "What is it, Henry!" She snapped. 

"There is a consequence if you or the boy refuse to get married, Charlotte, and I do not want you to suffer the consequence," Henry said softly. 

"What happens if I refuse to get married?" Charlotte asked curiously. 

"You lose your inheritance according to the contract, and you could be kicked out of the family for backing out of the agreement if they decide to sue and knowing that family, they would definitely sue." 

"What kind of an agreement is this?! Dad basically sold his own daughter to his friend. 

How could he make such a big decision on my behalf? What was he thinking when he made such a decision?!" Charlotte asked angrily. 

Martha and Henry both gulped and jumped in fear. Charlotte was a nice and sweet person but one thing you should never do is get her angry. 

As nice as she was, she had a wave of terrible anger which was why she hardly got angry but once she did, all hell would be let loose. 

Charlotte could feel her emotions getting the best of her. She closed her eyes, trying to calm down. She would not get angry.

 "Who is this best friend?" She asked calmly as she realized she didn't even know who her father's best friend was. 

"Alexander Gerano," Henry answered. 

Charlotte's eyes widened in shock when she heard the name of her father's best friend. "So that means I am supposed to get married to Sebastian Gerano!" 

"Yes," Martha answered. 

Even If she was considering getting married, there was no way Charlotte would ever accept the contract, especially after she found out whom she was supposed to get married to. 

The Geranos were one of the most influential families in the world, just like the Brooks. 

They were the only families capable of taking on her family as they were of equal status. 

The Geranos had two sons; Sebastian, who was older, and Diego. Sebastian was known for being ruthless and cruel. 

She had never met him before, but she had heard about how horrible he was, and they were expecting her to get married to such a man. Never! 

"I am not getting married to that monster Sebastian Gerano!" 

Henry put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "I promise you, we will not force you to marry him, but at least we should meet them and hear what they have to say," he urged her.

"And I think you also need to talk with Sebastian to see how he feels about this. After all, it is about your lives. Don't you think so too?" 

Charlotte sighed in defeat. If she would reject this marriage, the least she could do was meet with Sebastian.

 She did not care if she would lose her inheritance or get kicked out of the family. 

There was no way she would ever get married to Sebastian. "Alright then, I will meet him once, but only because you asked me to." 

Henry smiled and hugged his younger sister. "Come, let's have lunch." He said and led Charlotte and Martha to the dining room. 

**** 

"What?!" Sebastian asked, shocked at what his parents had just revealed to him. 

He looked at his parents, hoping they were pulling some kind of prank on him, but their expressions showed that they were being serious. But they couldn't possibly be serious. 

He had arrived back home where his parents were waiting for him. They told him that they had something important to tell him and that it would change his life. 

His father then told him about the contract he had made with his best friend about getting him married to his daughter. 

"We agreed that we would get you both married after she turned twenty-four, which she did a month ago," Alexander said while looking at his son intently, waiting for him to react to what he had just revealed to him. 

"You do not actually intend to go through with the contract, do you?" Sebastian asked his father. 

Surely, there was no way his father actually wanted him to get married to a girl he had never met. 

This was the twenty-first century, and adults should decide who they want to get married to and not their parents. 

"As a matter of fact, we do, Sebastian! " His father answered firmly. "The Geranos always honor a promise, and you, of all people, should know this, Sebastian."

Sebastian was not going to listen to his father. 

"I am not going to get married to someone I have never met before, dad. You made the contract and not me, and therefore, I am not under any obligation to follow it." Sebastian said coldly.

 He was done with the conversation and got up, intending to walk out of the room. 

"If you refuse to get married, then you can consider yourself an outsider, Sebastian Gerano." His father threatened to make Sebastian stop in his tracks. 

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asked his father suspiciously. 

His father walked over to him and faced him. "If you refuse to get married to the girl I have chosen for you, then you will not get a dime of your inheritance," Alexander said, not wanting to lose to his son. 

Stubbornness was something that ran in the Gerano blood, and Alexander was not about to lose to his son. 

He wanted Charlotte to get married to Sebastian, and he was ready to go to any lengths to make sure that happened, even if that included threatening his son. 

"Decide what you want to happen to you. Get married or get disowned." Sebastian did not say anything. His father had played a good game by threatening to disown him. 

His father knew how much family meant to him, which was why he decided to use it against him. 'Well played, dad,' he muttered in his head. 

He turned to go, and so he opened the door, but he stopped suddenly as he realized he had no idea who the girl was. 

"Who is the girl I'm supposed to get married to?" He asked, not bothering to turn back. 

"Charlotte Brooks," Alexander replied. 

Sebastian was shocked to find out he was meant to marry Charlotte. He had just met her a few hours ago, and he was not able to stand her, and he was expected to spend the rest of his life with her. There was no way he would get married to her! 

"What if she refuses to marry me?" Sebastian asked, looking for a way to get out of marrying Charlotte. 

"That, my son, is not an option. If she refuses, then make her agree to marry you. After all, you know how to get what you want." Sebastian did not bother to say anything else and left the room. 

"What happened? Did you and dad get into a fight again?" Diego, Sebastian's younger brother, asked when he saw his elder brother storming out of their parent's room angrily. 

Sebastian glared at his brother and walked out on him without answering his question. This did not shock Diego in the slightest as his brother was always cold to him. 

Others may have thought Sebastian hated his brother, but Diego knew that his brother loved him a lot as his brother had done so many things for him. Being nice was, however, not one of them. 

He walked over to his parent's room, where he saw his mom and dad discussing something. It seemed to be important as they did not notice that he had come into the room. 

"Mom, dad, what is going on? I just saw Sebastian leaving angrily. Did he have a fight with you?" Diego asked, facing his father. 

"You could say that," Alexander answered. 

Diego frowned at what his father said. "What did you do this time to make him angry?" He asked accusingly, making Alexander laugh. 

"I arranged his marriage with Charlotte Brooks," Alexander answered directly. 

"What?!" Diego exclaimed, shocked at what his father had just said.