Chapter 2

The young heir stood in shock, refusing to believe what he had just heard. "Haha." He attempted to laugh, but as Nicholas saw that his father wasn't smiling, he quickly sobered up. "What the hell, dad?"

"Language." Sebastian chided sternly, his face contorting to form a frown.

"Sorry dad. But I beg to disagree. You can't just send me off to get married. That is forced marriage." Nicholas protested. The last thing he had in mind was getting married; he was still young and had a lot of things to experience. Marriage would fuck all that.

"I wish I could, Nik. But I won't tolerate this nonsense from you anymore, and I think a wife would just be what you need." Sebastian has been thinking of ways to get his son grounded. He was the only child, and he couldn't let him continue at the rate he was going. At this point, the company would collapse under his reign.

He had decided to seek help from some of his close friends. They were both business associates who grew their multi-million-dollar empires from scratch, so if anyone knows about his worries, it would be Tom (as his friend was called).

It was Tom who had also advised him that Nicholas needed to get married.

"Are you sure? Isn't that like forced marriage?" Sebastian was aghast. He was never forced to marry anyone, so he wanted his son to have the same choice.

"Of course not," Tom said casually, waving him off. "I did that for Ian, and he turned out great; he is even thanking me for the choice. Trust me, that will be the best decision for him."

Sebastian was getting tempted; it sounded like something he really needed at this point. "But how do you do it? It isn't like there is a place I can just get a girl."

His friend laughed, his chest vibrating from the force: "Actually, there is; I just happened to know a place, and that was where I got a wife for my son."

"Where?" Sebastian shifted closer to him, and his ears perked up, eager to hear about this place.

"It is a convent, and before you say anything, the girls have been well trained, and they are just the perfect match for your son."

"The convent? Like where the sisters stay? Catholics?" The frown returned to his face. "I am not so sure of this old friend."

"Trust me, you will like this place; the girls are well behaved, and fuck, they are beautiful. If I wasn't so old, I would have gotten one for myself."

"You old hag. Like that has ever stopped you." Sebastian grimaced, and they both laughed it off. His friend, although a good businessman, had a knack for going after younger women. He would always say it was his secret to staying young.

"Alright." Tom handed him a little card, and on it was the address of the place.

"Just go in there and ask for Sister Martha. She would attend to you. I would inform her of your coming so she could prepare something."

Sebastian had followed the advice of his friend and decided to check the place out; there was no harm in trying.

He had driven there alone, not wanting the driver to know his whereabouts. He didn't want news to be flying around if it eventually worked out, and he was sure the convent would appreciate the gesture.

Sebastian was able to meet the sister, and he was blown away. Tom was right. The convent had girls of all ages, and very beautiful ones at that.

He left the convent that day smiling; he was very sure his son would thank him when everything worked out.

"Hello? Earth to you?" Nicholas waved his hands in front of his father's face, trying to get his attention.

"I am not changing my mind, Nik. If at the end of this week you haven't announced your engagement to that lady, then you can kiss your shares in the company bye-bye." With that, the angry man stomped out of the office, leaving his son short of words.

"When did he become so grumpy?" Nicholas grumbled under his breath. "Old age must be catching up with him."

Wild curls of brown hair peeped inside his office. "Are you alright? It seemed like you had a showdown with your dad." Charlotle commented, her eyebrow knitted in worry. She had no doubt that the father was nagging him about the article.

"Well, you know how Pops is. He is just angry; he will get over it very soon."

"Uhmm... I don't think so; he sounded quite serious." Charlotte couldn't tell what exactly, but there was something in her boss that made her believe that he wasn't going to let this one slide.

"Thank you, Charlotte, but I think I can handle this. Just get back to your work."

"Yes sir." Charlotte shut the door behind her and returned to work. While her boss picked up his phone, his best friend was on speed dial.

"Cam?"

"Bro, what the fuck? I saw your face splattered everywhere on the news. How are you holding up?" Cameron, Nik's best friend, asked as soon as Nicholas received the call. They have both known each other since they were in the womb, as their fathers were good friends.

"I know, it is fucked up." Nicholas sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. It was already becoming long; he needed to trim it.

"Does your pops know about it? What is he saying about it?"

"Of course he knows; he literally woke me up, and I got my sh*t handed to me."

"Sucks to be you."

"As if that isn't enough, he is forcing me to go to work everyday. As if that would take me." Nicholas snarled, throwing the pen he had been twirling. The more he thought about it, the more it got him riled up.

"Oh shit. That is fucked up."

The young heir sighed, "I know. You know what? I will call you back. I need to figure this shit out." He ended the call before the man on the other line could reply. "Shit." Nicholas yelled again. How was he going to cope? He wasn't ready to be married at all, at least not right now. He was still young—just a little over 23 years old.

Nichols's eyes widened by half a fraction as an idea came to him. He just needed to play his cards right and be on his best behaviour this week. His dad was a pushover, and he was sure he would forgive him.

The next day came, and Nicholas was up as early as 5 a.m., quite unlike him. He rode in his Gwagon this time, opting for a more formal car.

He smiled as the car revved up, zooming smoothly through the paved compound outside. "Operation Impress Daddy, Dearest" was on, and he wasn't going to lose.

"Good morning." Nicholas sang happily as he climbed into the hallway leading to his office.

"Good morning, sir." The chorus came from the lips of curious employees. And then something remarkable happened: he was sharing coffee with them.

He took a sip of the creamy latte and sighed, "Hmm, don't you think coffee is the right way to start a day?" He got no response and didn't bother. "Meeting is at 10, and you all had better get all your shit together and give me a good proposal." He barked at the surprised employees before he entered his office.

Nicholas spent the rest of the day with his team, trying to brainstorm the direction they wanted the new ad to go. He wanted something that would bring more sales and exposure to the brand, and maybe his dad would let him off the hook.

His hard work hasn't gone unnoticed by his father, but Sebastian wasn't having a change of heart anytime soon. His selfish desire was also included; he wanted a grandson too; his friend already had one, and he didn't want to be left out.

"Dad." Nicholas called out to him as he entered his father's office. Sebastian quickly hid the picture he was looking at and sat up.

"What is wrong?" His heart tugged as he looked at his son; he looked every bit of... No, he wasn't going to think of that.

"So... I am sure you must have noticed the progress my team and I have been making in the company, and well, I don't think I will have such time if I get married. You know, a wife comes with a lot of responsibility."

"If you are trying to get me to change my mind, just forget about it; I have already made my decision."

"But dad. That is unfair. You can't do that to your only son?" Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at his only child.

"Watch me."

On a Sunday afternoon, while he should have been out chilling on his yacht, Nicholas found himself driving towards the convent to meet his would-be wife.