MORTIFIED AND STUPIFIED 1

Two days came by quickly for Ethan. He was hooked up with his project development and planning.

He was all out to make FG Entertainment attain it's highest film production studio yet. It was all he ever dreamed of, and he would make it come true.

A call came in for him. "Yes, Troy. What is it?" He demanded from his nosy assistant.

"I just wanted to remind you that you have your family gathering for today by 4pm at the family mansion." Troy answered swiftly from the other end of the line.

Ethan ran his palms over his face and sighed deeply. "I remember that clearly. You don't need to pick me up, I'll drive home myself." He said to Troy and disconnected the call.

Troy was on cloud nine, seeing that he didn't have any more work for the day. He whistled cheerfully while clearing up his table and getting ready to go home.

Ethan on the other hand was in a dilemma of what to wear. He had been working from home for the past two days and he hadn't really prepared himself for the family gathering.

He paused the work he had on his laptop to get ready for this family reunion.

Ethan sluggishly walked into his bedroom. 

Anyone stepping into that room for the first time would immediately decipher that the room belonged to a man. The room was full of polished dark brown furniture and grey designs.

There was not a single picture or any sort of decoration except for shiny mirror like surfaces on the walls.

He moved into his walk-in closet and began scanning for the perfect outfit.

There were numerous designer shirts, trousers, shoes, socks, and accessories in so many colors and designs that made it difficult for him to choose from.

He collapsed on to the soft cushion in the middle of the closet and decided to send for his Butler.

A middle aged man came jogging into Ethan's closet. "Yes sir, you sent for me." He respectfully bowed to Ethan

Ethan chuckled lightly. "How many times have I told you to stop bowing to me, Arthur?" He questioned his Butler.

"I'll deal with that later." He continued without waiting for the man's response. "Help me pick what to wear this evening."

Arthur strolled into the room and took a close look at all the outfits hung on the racks. He passed and felt the material, mumbled something to himself and kept looking.

Ethan just sat relaxed, hoping Arthur would do justice to his dress sense…like he always did.

Finally Arthur spoke up. "You've been wearing too much of Ralph Lauren these days, so I suggest you take a break and choose this casual shirt." He pulled out a cream long sleeved shirt for Ethan to see. 

Ethan simply asked. "What brand is that?"

"Armani." Arthur replied.

Ethan plainly shrugged his shoulders. He was fine with whatever Arthur chose, as far as it was not last season or some hideous color.

After a few minutes, Arthur was done with his outfit pick for Ethan. He stepped to the side and waited for Ethan's approval.

"Thank you for your help." The clueless man said to his Butler.

Arthur bowed and left quickly before Ethan would make a fuss about him bowing.

'what was wrong in him bowing to the man that saved his life from a disastrous doom?' He felt he owed it to Ethan.

Ethan got into his bathroom for a quick shower and hurriedly got dressed.

He left his hair messy as she was too worn out to style it. 

Besides, it was just a family dinner. What was the need for styling his hair?

He headed for the living room after he was satisfied with how he looked.

He took a car key at random and took the elevator into his car park. 

He pressed the key to know what car he was riding with.

A car made a hoot and he walked towards it. It turned out to be one of his favorite collection, The Bentley Bacalur!

He smirked and got in. It has been quite a while since he drove around himself. Troy always did the driving as he was just too busy or tired to man the steering wheel.

Ethan drove on top speed, enjoying the therapeutic blast of the cool breeze on him. 

The soft jazz music playing in his car was also doing its job in relaxing his tense muscles.

Finally, he made it to their family mansion after driving for an hour. 

He halted at the gate and honked once. The security checked who it was and let him in seeing it was their young master.

Ethan continued driving on top speed since the main building was on the top of a hill. He took a brief look at the huge enclosed environment.

The whole space was more like an estate, a private estate. Trees of different types and heights adorned the surroundings. Little flowers danced around heartily, swaying to the cool evening breeze.

Not so many lights were turned on since it wasn't dark yet.

Living in such a house would seem like a dream come true for many, but for Ethan it was just normal. Nothing about the house fascinated him as he found it too luxurious.

He had adviced his parents severally, to purchase a smaller house and they could come back to this big one for the holidays, but they refused.

'The bigger, the better.' They thought

Ethan just didn't fancy large residential buildings.

He stopped directly at the entrance to their main mansion and turned the car engine off. He took deep breaths and stepped out of his car.

Ethan pressed the door bell twice before he got a response. A young woman opened the door for him and greeted him . "Good evening sir."

He nodded his head to acknowledge her greeting. He strolled to the mini living room and lay down on the couch to rest. He disliked driving for more than 30 minutes and now he drove for an hour. "this dinner better be worth it." He muttered to himself.

A second hadn't even passed when he heard a lady's squeal. "Brother!!!" the voice was as sharp as glass, piercing painfully into his ears.

Ethan sighed internally and got up. He pinched the space in between his brows and braced himself for impact.

The owner of the awful squeal jumped on him playfully. "Brother you're here!"

Ethan hugged her back and asked. "Laine, must you make that screeching sound every time you're excited? It's too disturbing."

Laine chuckled. "I can't help it. It just comes out."

Ethan laughed slightly. "Okay, alright. Get off me before you crush my bones with your heavy body." He teased his younger sister.

Laine got off Ethan in a split second a stared at him wide eyed. "I'm only 45kg! How can you say I weigh a lot?!" She pouted her lips in childish annoyance.

Ethan only shook his head and headed for the kitchen. "45kg is not healthy for a lady your age, Laine. How many times do you eat a day?" He inquired, still heading for the kitchen. Laine was walking behind him even though she was "annoyed". "I eat lightly once a day and I take a fruit before I sleep at night. It is essential I keep my weight as it is so I can still be attractive for my fans to adore." She stated. 

Ethan immediately paused and turned to face her in surprise. "What?! That is extremely unhealthy Laine. You still go to different movie sets, studios, attend various events and you eat once a day? Not even a heavy meal but a light one? 

What is wrong with you? Where is mom and dad?" He angrily demanded.

"They're out in the garden with grandpa and granny." She meekly replied him. 

"Please don't tell them." She pleaded, tugging his arm. "This is the only thing I want to do passionately and you know they won't allow me work or do anything outside of this house once they hear of this.

I'll do anything. Please brother."

Ethan looked at her and sighed. God knows how many times he would sigh today.

"We'll talk about this after dinner." He said and gently loosened her grip off his arm.

The two siblings went to the garden to greet their parents and grandparents.