A DEAL WITH THE BILLIONAIRE

Chapter two: the inheritance

The air in the dining room was heavy. The room looked luxurious. A large candelabra was seated at the center of the large dining table. The walls were decorated with beautiful paintings hung at each corner of the room. Each of these centerpieces cost a fortune. Delicious delicacies were also served.

Henry sat on the left side of the table closer to his mother, Miss Janice Philips. There were other guests seated at the large round table, all wearing expensive dresses with nice perfume. Henry was dressed in a nice outfit. He wore a blue suit with a red tie.

The Phillips family dinner was one of the best gatherings, which was never taken for granted; this gathering had been held for years. Each year, a family will host the dinner in a fine, luxurious location. Now, it was the turn of Henry's family to host this year's dinner.

The occasion was held on one of Henry's father's luxurious yachts. A multi-billion-dollar boat that had larger rooms, a dining hall, and a pool.

A day had passed since Henry’s encounter with Evelyn at the hospital. He had forgotten about the accident and the scene that occurred at the hospital.

So far, he had been enjoying the different delicacies being served to them.

Henry hated talking at family dinners because all topics fell around wealth and prominence. He would have loved it if their conversation were outside these two.

Numbers were given for each meal that was served to them. Standing behind was their butler, who wore white gloves in his palms and a black suit. He was in charge of the meals being served at the table.

“How is the company doing, Henry?” a member of Henry's family asked before dashing his fork in his mouth and carrying a small amount of food.

Henry dropped his fork and knife on the side of his plate. The question came suddenly; he wasn't expecting work conversations.

“It's fine, I guess,” he replied. Rushed back to his food, expecting that was all.

“Hope you are planning on getting married soon," another said. "You will be thirty next year,” he added reluctantly; his words made Henry spill his food on his suit. Everyone except Miss Janice paused and turned to him. They were eager to hear what he had to say.

“I–I am wor--working on it?” he stammered. Because everyone in the room was looking at him, he could not keep up with their persistent gaze.

He was in big trouble. How could he forget such an important family tradition? The Phillips family had a customary rule that had never been broken for years, which stated that every male child born in the family should get married before he got to the age of thirty or else his inheritance would be taken from him and given to another close family.

“You should do better, there are penalties if you don't," an elderly lady said. Her words sounded like a warning.

“Don't worry, he will get a wife, I assured you all.” Miss Janice intervened. She had been quiet during their conversation with her son. “Please shall we continue, the meals are getting cold.” She urged everyone.

Henry saw sadness and disappointment in his mother's face. He could tell from the way she looked at him that the matter was serious. He senses the fear and urgency in her eyes. He wasn't ready to lose his family wealth to his greedy family members who longed for their wealth.

Later that day, Henry was back at his mansion. He sat on a fancy chair in his living room. His mind was swallowed by the conversation he had at dinner.

He also remembered a private conversation he had with his mother shortly after the dinner. It all kept replaying in his mind over and over again. His mother was blamed for not raising him in the family tradition. They threaten to take everything from them if Henry fails to get a wife for himself.

Henry didn't agree with the idea of rushing into marriage. He recalled the disasters from his past relationships, and he was thinking of taking a break from relationship matters and focusing on expanding his family wealth.

As he sat there thinking about what to do, his phone beeped, drawing him out of his thoughts. He sighs before picking it up. This was actually taking over him. He shook his head and then glanced at his phone screen.

Henry's eyes fell on a list of messages on his phone screen; the first was sent by Uncle Ben a few hours ago. He guessed that he might have been occupied at the dinner not noticing Mr. Ben's message. He opened the message and read it.

Mr. Ben wrote the message to thank him for paying off the hospital bill; he also apologized on behalf of his niece's behavior towards him at the hospital the other day.

When he was done reading Mr Ben's message, he scrolled to the next message on his notification. It was breaking news from one of the online news outlets, which revealed a couple who happily divorced each other after successfully completing their marriage contract. A contract marriage? Henry could not believe that some people actually do such; he jumped up on his feet a few seconds later after realizing that he could pretend to be married and still inherit the family wealth, he smiled to himself.

He immediately remembered Evelyn. She was a perfect choice; he could offer her a job in exchange for being his wife. But he immediately remembered how she embarrassed him the other day in front of her uncle. He had no other option. He leans on the couch facing heavenward. Was she going to listen to him this time?