Chapter 80: Fisher and the Lockhart

Cole chuckled softly as he looked at his brother's speechless state.

He thought that his mother should be lonely that she started pressuring his brother to get married.

"Mom?!" Dylan was in disbelief.

"How old are you again? You're already twenty-six," then Aurora Lockhart turned her attention to her son and added, "You're no better, too. You're twenty-three yet you've been wandering outside for too long. When are you going to start pursuing Hope?"

Upon the mention of the woman he liked, Cole suddenly felt depressed. Dylan who knew about his brother's predicament sighed.

Dylan thought that his brother who was a hopeless romantic ended up being rejected by the girl he liked.

Then what about him? He was known to safely f*ck around women. Who could guarantee that he would have a better fortune when it came to love then?

It seems that among the three of them, Xavier was the most fortunate in romance.

"Hope's still young, Mom. I don't want to pressure her." He dared not to say about his rejection as he was sure his mother would be sad and might come to Hope to persuade her to take his son which was something he didn't want to happen.

He didn't want to pressure Hope.

Dylan decided not to snitch his brother to his mother.

"Okay. But you better hurry. Hope's an excellent lady. I know she'll have a lot of suitors lined up at her doorstep. Had it not been the fact that I have seen her grow and knew her true nature, I would not let you pursue her."

After all, she disliked the Fisher family, too.

"Don't worry, Mom. I got it covered. I'm not in a rush. You should convince brother Dylan instead. Perhaps start setting him on blind dates already."

Cole then looked at Dylan apologetically and touched his shoulder before he got out of the room.

'You traitor!' Dylan yelled at his brother inside his head.

As if Aurora Lockhart was being enlightened by her son's advice, she looked at Dylan and said, "Good idea. Let's start with that."

"No! Mother, that is a terrible idea!" Dylan strongly opposed it.

He loved his freedom more than ever. Marriage was something to be taken seriously and so he was not willing to commit.

Commitments were a source of headache for him.

Dylan was someone who disliked compromise in relationships which were why he followed the no strings attached rule.

His mother harrumphed in dissatisfaction, "Humph! Are you going to wait for the Old Master to arrange it for you, instead?"

Indeed, what Hope had told him one time might come true. Now that Xavier was married, he would be the next target for this arranged marriage thing.

He disliked it!

On a positive note, he didn't think it would be possible. He was not a direct descendant.

Both his father and grandfather's focus was on Xavier's wife because he was the heir, the successor of the patriarch title that they deemed very important.

"Don't be complacent. Marriage by convenience or political marriage was a common practice in our families even in this modern age."

"Then what's the difference between your arrangement from Grandfather's?", he refuted.

"I'm giving you the option to choose the woman you seemed compatible with. Whereas you have no other choice but to marry the woman your grandfather has chosen for you."

However, Aurora Lockhart's eyes widened when she thought of something. She then looked at her son up and down and then squinted her eyes and asked, "Tell me honestly Dylan Lockhart, are you sure you're a man?"

Then Aurora tried to reach out down there and Dylan stopped her arm before it could reach down there.

"Mom?! What kind of question is that?!" Dylan was annoyed, to say the least.

"I'm just trying to check if you still had it. Perhaps you're gay and wanted that to be cut off. That was why you're scared of marriage and commitment."

'What kind of logic is that?' Dylan asked himself in his mind.

"First of all, Mom, I'm not gay!", he strongly emphasized, "Second of all, I hated compromise and commitment!", he added, "Lastly, I don't think I would be so lucky in romance like my cousin."

Aurora Lockhart sighed in relief when finally her son confide his true feelings to her. It had been a long time since they had this mother-and-son talk.

Kids grew up so fast and they would fly off the nest in a blink of an eye leaving the parents lonely and sad.

"That's why I'm here, son. I'll help you. Perhaps you have someone in sight that you wished to pursue, then I would not arrange those dates."

"Really?"

"Yes. However, you have to make sure that there's love, or else it'd be unfair to the other party and you'd hurt my future daughter-in-law which I disliked."

"That's impossible, Mom."

"Then at least try. For starters, you should change your habits. Control yourself and don't let your hormones to sent you overdrive. Your messy background might discourage my future daughter-in-law to date you." She advised him seriously.

"As for love. It didn't have to be love at first sight. Love could develop. Love, at first sight, was like the icing on the cake. Building a deep connection and trust over time was important, too," she continued.

Mrs. Lockhart was hoping that Xavier could influence Dylan about his perception of romance and marriage.

"I'll give it a thought, Mom. But it might take time," he expressed meaningfully.

Yes, he already had a woman in mind. However, he knew that wooing that woman might be hard.

Meanwhile, Joseph Lockhart entered the drawing room with a heavy heart. He knew that the news he was going to say would anger his father.

However, he did not expect that the Fisher would also be present.

"Greetings, Father!"

Chairman Lockhart nodded in recognition.

Then, he turned his attention to the middle-aged man wearing a suit and an aloof demeanor. And then to the beautiful lady beside him.

"Jacob!" this time, he greeted his old friend warmly with a hug.

Jacob Fisher and Joseph Lockhart were good friends.

Looking up close, Hope resembled this man a lot. She was the female version of her father. Whereas her sister resembled her mother.

"Joseph!" the latter greeted back.

"Hello, Uncle Joseph!" the young lady beside Jacob greeted Joseph and he only hummed in response.

Then they settled down on their seats. Joseph Lockhart sat beside Chairman Lockhart.

"I've heard that you went overseas."

"Yes! I did. I went to check on my nephew."

"How was he?"

"He's doing fine," he said.

"Dad, is that nephew you're talking about the cripple Lockhart?" his daughter, Felicity Fisher asked.

As soon as she said that, the two men's expressions turned cold. They would never accept someone speaking ill of Xavier's condition.

And besides, Xavier was no longer a cripple.

However, because of their intervention, no media nor any reports about what Xavier was doing abroad had reached Sterlington. This was to prevent those who were against Xavier as the next patriarch to plot against him.

And besides, Xavier's physical appearance had changed and he was beyond recognizable. Even Joseph and Timothy were shocked to see his transformation.

If not for the fact that Xavier resembled his mother a lot, the father and son would doubt that the photo shown by Dylan was Xavier himself.

"Mind your language, Felicity!" Jacob scolded his daughter and then apologized to the two Lockhart, "Please pardon my daughter, Chairman Lockhart, Jacob. She has no idea what she was talking about."

Felicity felt that she was being wronged. However, faced with her father's stern warning, she decided to keep quiet.

The father and daughter visited the mansion to discuss the marriage between his daughter and the future Patriarch of the family.

"Although Dylan's a playboy I don't think he's bad. I believe he can change for the better after they got married." Jacob Fisher said.

Ah! That was right. No one knew who Xavier was other than Hope, a few trusted aides, and other members of the branch families.

However, since Xavier was a cripple in their eyes, they never take his presence seriously. They even dared to ridicule his condition when he was young.

For outsiders, they thought that Xavier was a relative or was Joseph's illegitimate child. They never cleared this rumor and let other people speculate until they got tired of it.

That was why Jacob thought that his daughter would be marrying either Dylan or Cole.

Being the topic of their discussion, Dylan sneezed inside his room. He checked the heater if it was functioning and frowned when it was working just fine.

Chairman Timothy cleared his throat as he thought it was now time to clear the misunderstanding.

"Ahm, I think there's a misunderstanding here, Jacob," he said which in return caused the latter to frown, "What do you mean there's a misunderstanding Chairman Lockhart? Aren't we here to discuss your grandson and my daughter's marriage?"

"Indeed! We're here to plan for their marriage. However, it's not Dylan whom she's going to marry but my other grandson."

"Is it Cole?"

Cole was not a bad choice either. However, he would unlikely become the future patriarch since he was the second son.

"It's not my son Cole, either," this time Joseph chimed in.

"Then who?" Just then, his eyes widened in realization.

"Xavier?"

"That's right!" Chairman Timothy Lockhart confirmed.

"No!" Felicity screamed in horror. She would never agree to marry the cripple Lockhart!

She had seen him a couple of times in the past and she paid little attention to him.

He looked ghostly as he was skinny and pale. He looked so sick and often stared into oblivion.

That was why she never dared to approach him.

She instead tried to please Dylan and Cole. However, the latter chose to pay more attention to Hope. Dylan, her main target would give him a cold shoulder.

However, she was confident that no matter how hard Dylan tried to ignore her, the time would come when he could no longer run.

She was aware of the agreement between their families since she was young. And it got inside her head that she would become the most envied woman in the entire Country A when that time arrived.

But now she was going to marry a cripple?! What would her friends say to this? She was sure that instead of admiration, she would become the laughingstock instead.

Impossible!

"No! I'll never agree to this!" Felicity got up and left the room in a fit of rage. Something that didn't go well with the two Lockhart in the room.

"My apologies, Jacob, Chairman Lockhart. Can we postpone this to another time? Perhaps next week?"

Chairman Lockhart felt conflicted and so he asked, "Do you agree with your daughter, Jacob?"

"It's not that I agree with her behavior, Chairman. However, as a father, I should consider my daughter's well-being after marriage."

Yes, they were extremely rich. However, he was more concerned about their family image.

"I don't think you understand well enough, Jacob. Xavier, my grandnephew is the future patriarch of this family. I am only holding the position temporarily for him."

What Chairman Lockhart said shocked Jacob Fisher.

"Isn't Xavier your son?"

"Silly! He's my late cousin's son." Joseph Lockhart explained.

He hadn't met this woman in the past but he knew she was supposed to be his fiancée. Yet, she ran away and married overseas. The last thing he heard from her was she died. The family didn't disclose much.

Well, it did make sense as, after the news of her death, the young Xavier was spotted inside the Lockhart Family Mansion.

"Then, I'll go talk to my daughter." Jacob Fisher said before he stood up and excused himself.

This turn of events somehow sent the father and son into contemplation.

Was it still right to honor that old age agreement?

They had already heard about Felicity Fisher's spoiled and entitled attitude but never did they experience it firsthand.

Somehow, the seed of doubt started to sprout in their hearts.

"By the way, Dad. I'm sorry that I failed."

"Failed? What do you mean?" the old man asked with a frown.

"Xavier had married that woman right under my nose," he confessed.

"What?!"

Perhaps because of the shocking news, Chairman Lockhart clenched his chest, and seconds later, he passed out.

No! He was having a heart attack!

"Dad!" Joseph Lockhart exclaimed which caused Butler Cho who was waiting outside to rush in.

"What happened Master Joseph?!"

"Go and prepare the car! We need to bring him to the hospital!"

"Right away, Master!"

Meanwhile...

Joseph entered the car where Felicity was waiting patiently.

"Drive." Jacob Lockhart told the chauffeur and then looked at his daughter.

He could only sigh inwardly.

She was mad that her years of expectations were crashed today.

"I know you're upset. But think about it. You'll be the future matriarch of this family should you agree to this marriage," he tried to convince his daughter.

This marriage would gain them a lot of benefits.

Although they were a wealthy and reputable family in Sterlington City, their status faded in comparison when compared to the Lockhart Family.

Jacob was an ambitious man and so there was no way he would let this chance pass by.

"No! I will never let myself be the center of ridicule! Ask Hope to marry on my behalf!"

As he thought of his second daughter, he felt conflicted.

"Hope is still so young for marriage," he sincerely said. And besides, they were on bad terms. How could he convince Hope to do it on behalf of her sister?

"Then your third daughter!"

"Felicity!" the topic of his other daughter was taboo for him.

Mentioning it was banned in their household since Felicity was very young.

As he thought of this, Jacob frowned and looked at his daughter.

"How did you know that you have another sister?"

Felicity smirked and then sneered.

"Do you think I didn't know? I heard my mother talking about it with her friend when I was five."

As he heard his daughter's explanation, his expression darkened.

"I heard that Hope left to look for that missing sister. Good luck to her!"

The relationship between Hope and her sister was worse than with strangers.

Being a narcissist, Felicity wanted all the attention on her. Yet when Hope arrived, the servants and their nanny liked Hope more because she was sensible and kind which was in contrast to her attitude.

"I also know that Hope is your bastard child," Felicity added.

***