Chapter 15
The room went silent as Chris pondered his request to his brother.
"Damon, I need your help," Chris finally said as he turned towards his eldest brother. "Yes Chris? What do you need?" Damon asked, intrigued by his younger sibling's enquiry.
"We need to help Lily out of that hell hole," Chris said through gritted teeth, his mind going towards his amazing girlfriend and truly her horrible situation.
"Chris, I already tried. I did all I could do, nothing I offered to do worked," Damon admitted, once again discouraged at the memory. "When did you try this, and why didn't I know about your plans?" Chris asked, surprised and annoyed at his brother's secret actions.
"A few months after we found out about her situation. I offered her a place to live and to pay some of her bills, but you know that stubborn girlfriend of yours, she didn't allow me to do any of it and she was also the one who asked me to keep it quiet. She loves you too much to accept your pity. She doesn't want to feel like a charity case, and that's one of the things that I like the most about her. If she believes in something, there is nothing that can change her mind. That's why she has always stuck with you. Despite your many flaws, she always sees the good in you, in us, and she never once believed that we were bad, not even when everything and everyone was against us, but I don't think I need to tell you about that," Damon finished his explanation to his brother.
Chris was astonished at how deep Lily's love for them was. Despite her struggles, she always made time for him and tried to help where she could.
Even though she was dirt poor, being overworked by her witch of a stepmother and emotionally and sometimes even physically abused by her good-for-nothing brothers, she never gave up hope that her life would turn out better in the future.
She never gave up on the people in her life, but that caused her to lose herself in the process.
She had no time to take care of herself, but that didn't mean she was poorly kept, she was beautiful by nature and it came out best when she was bare-faced, not having the time nor the money to buy or do makeup.
It was time that she learned how to stand up for herself and take better care of her body and Chris was going to help her with that. But firstly, he was going to have to get her out of that hell hole of a house.
"I didn't even know you did that, thank you. You didn't have to do that, she is my girl and it was my job to help her. But I haven't given up yet, I still got a few tricks up my sleeve," Chris said with a cheeky smile.
"What are you planning?" Austin asked curiously.
"Well, I'm going to do something I should have done ages ago," Chris replied to his younger brother.
It was the next day and Chris was waiting for Lily to show up for their coffee date. As he was scrolling through his Instagram, he heard the front door open, his excitement level spiking as the male jumped up to go greet his girlfriend.
He quickly made his way towards the front door but his smile faltered at the lack of Lily's beautiful face. Instead, he was greeted by a wrinkly old man and a girl looking like a starved-out model.
"Christopher, I'm glad I caught you. This-", He motioned towards the beautiful woman, "-is Miss Jade Song. Miss Song, this is my son Christopher, he is the one I've been telling you about," The old man said as he introduced the two young people, as Chris held out a professional handshake towards the young woman with his friendly dimpled smile.
"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Song.
I apologize for being rude but I was actually on my way out, and I won't be back until later tonight," Chris said apologetically, awkwardly looking at the stranger.
"Nonsense! You will stay here and entertain Miss Song," His father said with a stern voice. "But father, I already made plans. It would be rude to cancel at the last minute," Chris tried to say in a hushed tone as to reason with his father.
"It's final, you are staying here!" His father said, his tone stern and final. "Okay Father, let me just cancel my plans then," Chris said with a sigh, as he took out his phone, and messaged Lily to tell her that he couldn't make their date anymore.
She texted back immediately and of course, just like the amazing person she was, she understood and reassured him that things were fine between them. He felt incredibly guilty, however, and could only think of Lily while he was in the company of Miss Song.
"So, Christopher tell me a little about yourself," Miss Song asked the male, as she snapped him out of his thoughts of Lily.
"Oh, well I like to produce music in my free time as well as write a lot of songs. My friend Jay produced some of my music, but I didn't end up releasing it. I also like to go to the gym and read. I also sing although I prefer rapping. What about you Miss Song, what are some of your interests?" Chris politely asked the female, after he told her a little bit about himself.
"Christopher please, call me Jade. Well, I'm a part-time model, I have my clothing line and I am a designer in training. I also love music, although I'm afraid I'm more into classical music than Hip Hop. I also enjoy long walks on the beach and shopping. So tell me, what is your position in your family company?" Jade asks curiously.
Chris furrowed his brows. Why did she want to know about his job in the company? He found it odd that a woman such as her would be interested in business talk, so why was she so adamant about knowing his position? He couldn't seem to figure it out so he just took it as a curiosity or a way to start a conversation.
"I'm next in line to become CEO of our company, as I stand to inherit the business from my father," He said plainly, without elaborating.
"Wow, that's so impressive! A young man like you, becoming the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company must be super exciting!" Jade said as her eyes started to sparkle at the mention of his future inheritance.
"Yes, I guess it is..." Chris said as a feeling of uneasiness spilled over him like a bucket of cold water. The truth was, he dreaded the moment when he was supposed to take over the reins from his father and run the family business.
He didn't want to even be in the company!
He wanted to make music like Jay, but his father always opposed the idea, telling him that, a business-savvy brain like Chris' would be a waste in an industry like the music business.
And sadly, Chris believed his father, regardless of his brothers' warning to stay away from the company. Especially Damon. He knew what their father did with his business and none of them wanted part in it, much less run the damn thing in the first place.
But he couldn't deny his father, in fear of what he might do if Chris did disobey him. His father was very persuasive, and Chris had gotten that much from him.
Sometimes it was a curse.
His father reminded himself of his father.
The man he never wanted to become, the man he feared to become.
His opinions never mattered to his father anyway, it was always either Chris does what his father says, or suffer the consequences, and you did not want to suffer the consequences, that much everyone knew.
He was his father's puppet and he hated it. If only he knew how much it would come to haunt him in his not so distant future. His father was going to get his way, even if it meant that Chris would lose everything that he lived for.