Secret Affair

Home Coming

Richard was seated in his study, watching the large television screen with disinterest, as it broadcast something important. The same news had been on repeat for the past three days, it was published in every newspaper in town, and Richard planned to make the broadcast last for a few more days. He didn't think he had wronged his grandson in any way. He should have taking such drastic measures a long time ago. Now that he had already started, he had no intention of stopping anytime soon. His only hope was that the boy wouldn't hate him too much, but even if he did, Richard wouldn't mind. Once he found out he was never disinherited from the start, he would understand. He would live with his grandson's hatred happily, knowing he had done the right thing to steer him on the right path. The last thing he needed was for Ryan to make waves as a psychopathic billionaire heir. Richard would never be able to live with himself with such a grandson.

He always used to think that once the boy had everything he could possibly need, nothing would get in the way of his becoming successful in life. Richard had a rude awakening that his precious grandson could run his empire to the ground if not corrected on time. He always condemned such products of society. Why should he breed one of such? As Ryan grew older, Richard knew he had to do something but was always easily manipulated by his grandson. Richard had seen how his best friend's son treated the domestic staff in contrast with how his dear grandson treated them. It was worse because Ryan believed he was superior to everyone else and treated people like dirt, acting like he was better than everyone else. The people he saw as lesser humans were the same people who cleaned up after him and catered to his every need. Ryan was in the news for all the wrong reasons, and it got worse as he became an adolescent. He first appeared on the news when he was just fifteen. Although his face was blurred, everything in the news pretty much sums up who he was. Ryan doesn't know how to show pity or when to not flaunt money. He doesn't care if others are affected by his actions or not. Richard feared the boy might get worse if he didn't do something fast.

The reason Richard had spoiled the boy was because he felt apologetic towards his grandson, who lost his parents at a very young age. He thought giving the boy everything money could buy was the best way to help the boy cope with the absence of his parents, and this way, he wouldn't miss out on the good things in life. He found pride in boasting about how well-mannered his grandson was until he got the first report that his grandson was involved in a school fight among his peers. Richard didn't think too much about this and thought perhaps the boy needed more money and was acting out on purpose. With this conclusion, Richard made arrangements to increase the boy's daily allowance, an allowance that was already a lot of money. After spending a little time with the boy, he decided it was best to withdraw him from the old school and wipe his slate clean by finding him another school, a new environment that is possibly filled with rich children. Richard thought that was what the boy was demanding silently. He was pleased to know his grandson settled in nicely in the new school and, as a reward, got him a brand-new car and a driver to take him to school. Richard believed everything his grandson was doing was all part of the stress of being an adolescent and even termed it as a phase. He thought the boy would eventually outgrow it as he grew older. But Ryan never dropped his bad manners. If anything, he grew worse and became even more intolerable, only associating with people whose parents were fairly rich or on par with his grandfather. Not only was the boy the biggest bully at school, always making fun of anyone who made a mistake before him, calling them less privileged and all sorts of names. He especially loved to boast about his wealth and how he didn't need an education, since he was already so wealthy, thanks to his grandfather. Ryan announced to anyone who cared to listen that he was going to inherit everything his grandfather owned since he was the only heir.

The mobile phone sitting on the dest suddenly beeped, indicating the arrival of a new message, and the tired old man picked it up to check the message displayed.

'He is completely drenched, he is on his way to the manor. What should I do?' the man read and let out a long sigh before typing his reply 'Let him be, once he gets here, you can take a break,' he pressed the send button, but almost immediately another message came.

'Will you be okay sir?' Richard mused over this for a minute before typing his reply 'Yes.' He then placed the phone back on the desk and kept watching the news, as he had done since they began making the announcement. There was a different show on the television now, but he was going to wait for his grandson. He needed to keep busy until his arrival. After what seemed like hours, Richard heard the bell ring twice, and when he checked the control system of the door, he almost couldn't recognize the man standing outside looking like a homeless person. After granting him access, the boy walked in slowly, his tail between his legs as he approached the main building. He couldn't believe he was just returning after storming off two weeks ago. His grandfather hadn't even tried to find him or send anyone to him to beg him to return, they just lived on as if he didn't exist. This realization hurt Ryan more than he cared to accept. He was under the impression that once he returned, everyone would welcome him warmly and possibly apologize to him too, but as soon as he got to town, he watched the disturbing news and understood. No one would apologize to him. He was no longer a member of this family, he had only come because he had nowhere else to go to. He half expected they wouldn't let him in, but was caught off guard when the door swung open. Ryan thought that if he was going to go away for good, he needed to get all his stuff, at least he could sell off a few things and get a decent place to stay until he got a job. He believed that once he landed his dream job, everything would automatically fall into place. He forgot to consider that the only way to land a dream job was to attain a college degree.

"What are you doing here?" Richard asked as if he hadn't expected to see him. He was sitting alone in the lounge, the house seemed deserted for some reason and a chill ran down Ryan's back.

"I just came to get my stuff," Ryan said rudely. He was already making his way upstairs, to his old room, not in the mood to speak with the man who had openly disgraced and abandoned him on his birthday and in the presence of everyone. Richard said nothing and continued to sip his tea, waiting until he heard a loud cuss followed by loud hurried footsteps towards him. "What have you done? Where is all my stuff?" Ryan asked, fuming, but the man gently placed his teacup on its saucer and faced the raging kid.

"If you keep acting this way, I will be forced to call the police on you for trespassing."

"Grandpa!" Ryan exclaimed.

"I am not your grandpa, boy," Richard said, equally angry. He had held a little hope that the boy had probably learned a little and would act respectfully when he came, but instead, he was looking for things he could take to sell off and keep up his extravagant life.

"You can't do this, have you forgotten? It's me, Ryan," he said desperately. At this point, he wasn't sure what he needed to do to appease his grandfather. It was fine that he wanted nothing to do with him anymore, but at least they shouldn't live like strangers. He needed to get his things out of the house if he had any hope of living a normal life or, he would be worse off than he had tried to survive for the past few days. "I am sorry for everything, okay?" He shouted, better to beg. He suddenly began to cry before going on his knees. Ryan knew his grandfather very well and believed his tears were the last thing the man wanted to see. They always worked every time, but he was wrong this time. To Ryan's horror, the old man didn't even bat an eyelid, evident that he had seen through his charade.

"That was a poorly executed act. If you are going to pretend to cry, couldn't you at least make it genuine?" Richard berated. What he didn't know was Ryan was indeed at his wits' end and those tears were as close to being genuine as could be for Ryan. He had never had a reason to cry before, and he didn't know how to express his sadness better than this.

"Forgive me, Grandpa, sir, I promise I will be good," Ryan said, pouring all his sadness on the words. He realized he still needed his grandfather now that he was completely crippled.

"I am not your grandpa anymore," Richard said sadly. He was almost swayed by the boy's sadness, but quickly reminded himself that everything was for his own good.

"I know, but I can't possibly call you by your name can I?" Ryan said sarcastically.