His Hidden Desires

Khai   The sky was dark as the wood people would burn in their fires. The thunder and lightning were crashing like the waves in the ocean and the rain came down in cold, hard sheets of ice. Khai stood pensively as he watched the storm beat down against the ground. “It’s perfect weather for a funeral,” he thought, especially for his old man. His memory cast back to his childhood and he couldn’t help but think that the last thing his father deserved was blue skies and sunshine. A door opened behind him suddenly, causing him to turn to where he saw his father’s widow enter the room. He took one look at her sneering grin and her bad acting, as if she was devastated as she closed the distance between him and her. “We have to leave for the graveyard.” She snarked at him as she stalked out of the room, leaving Khai to make his way to the waiting jet black limousines. As he made his way through the rain, his attention was grabbed by the hearse at the front that held his father’s coffin with the flowers on top. The funeral was short and to the point, just as his father would have wanted. The small crowd dispersed quickly, leaving Khai and his father’s family standing by the grave. Seeing the act his father’s wife and her sons were playing out angered him more. He could feel the blood pumping through his body.  He was doing his best to hide the dark feelings he felt for all of them. It was deep-rooted inside of him and he had stopped trying to hide it a long time ago. He stalked towards his stepmother. “Father’s lawyer should be waiting back at the house.” He snapped at her . “Let’s end this day as quickly as possible.” He couldn’t help but clench his teeth to try and keep himself from saying something he shouldn’t. “You’ve never had any respect for your father,” she snapped at him. “It’s no wonder he wanted to disown you. If only he’d had the chance before he passed.” She was sneering at him as without a word, Khai turned and left them standing in the pouring rain. Once they were all back at the house, he headed into his father’s office where the lawyer sat. Khai couldn’t help but think he could not have looked more like a lawyer if he had tried. He was a small, skinny framed guy with bottle-rimmed glasses and was wearing a suit that looked like it was too big for him. He sat compiling paperwork and making sure that he had everything he needed. The lawyer stood as Khai walked toward him. “Khai,” he started. “I am sorry for your loss; this is such a terrible business. I wish we were meeting for a different reason. How have you been holding up?” Khai waved the man’s hand away as he took a seat. “Simon, it’s been a while but it’s good to see you even under these circumstances. I hope to get everything taken care of as quickly as possible. I need to get back to Taipei soon.” Simon’s response was cut short by the door slamming open. Simon couldn’t help but jump at the thump and bang of the wooden door.  He turned to greet the new widow. “Mrs. Lin, please come have a seat. We will get started shortly with the reading of Mr. Lin’s will.” Mrs. Lin stared coldly at the pathetic man standing in front of her. Everyone who sat in the office could tell she thought herself above everyone in the room. She made sure to show off a very dramatic act of pretending to weep and sniff as she sat gracefully next to the lawyer in the farthest seat away from Khai. She looked like she was an idol actress protected by her bodyguards when her sons sat next to her still dressed in their black suits and sunglasses. They sat on either side of her acting their hearts out, trying to show they were comforting her. Khai knew it was all a lie. Georgina Lin and her two sons had been a headache since the day Khai's father had announced he was getting married and ever since that day they had deemed themselves the rightful heirs to everything that belonged to his father. Not that he blamed them. Khai hadn’t been home in almost 5 years. To say his relationship with his father was strained was putting it mildly. After his mother had passed when he was 15, what little relationship they had faltered. While he was respectful to his father, he didn’t understand why his father had acted like nothing had happened to his mother.  Khai wasn’t about to follow in his footsteps with the family business. He’d had his own dreams to pursue and he had made the decision the day he left that he wasn’t going to let his father determine his life for him. So, at barely 18, Khai had left to explore the world and forge his own path. His thoughts were broken as Simon cleared his throat. He had moved himself behind the large wooden desk that had been recently varnished as you could still smell the remnants of it lingering.  Simon signalled that he was ready to begin. “Probably smart to be there.” Khai laughed to himself. “Gives him a place to duck behind if things get fiery,” Khai thought to himself. Simon began reading, even as the tension in the room spiked. His heart was hammering in his chest as he knew what was written in the will and he couldn’t help but wish desperately for a bodyguard of his own. After the normal reading of donations to the charities and non-profit organisations, Simon coughed to clear his throat and steadied himself for the fireworks that were to come. “25% of all my remaining assets is to go to my beloved wife and stepsons.” Simon paused as he heard Khai snort. Simon shook his head towards Khai trying to signal for him to behave as he continued. “The other 75% of my remaining assets are to be handed over to my son, Khai Lin…” Shivering, Simon swallowed hard before finishing the last dreadful sentence. “On his wedding day, which is to be within 3 months of my passing. The marriage must be maintained for a minimum of 3 years or all remaining assets will be dutifully handed over to my widow. If my son does not marry in the time given, then all assets go to my widow and stepsons.” Khai froze as he heard those words wash over him. A cold, hard anger began growing inside him. He fought to swallow the growl that was in the back of his throat and his eyes flashed violently with rage.  He stood and demanded to see the will and he knew that he didn’t request anything, that it was a demand. After snatching the documents from Simon, he stood by the window to read over the documents himself. “Barbaric,” he thought. “Did the bastard think he still had a chance to control him from his grave?” The laughter started low behind him. Turning, he saw his stepmother laughing with a knowing look on her face while his stepbrothers just smirked. Eyes narrowing, Khai stalked towards his stepmother. Sensing the danger in Khai’s rage, Simon stepped in between the potential fighters, even knowing it put his own life at risk. Mrs. Lin stood up and sneered at Khai, all the disdain she held for him was more than obvious. “Looks like your father has one last joke.” She said sharply. “Shi certainly knew your weakness and decided to cut you off at the knees. There is NO WAY anyone would be willing to marry you”. Turning to Simon Mrs. Lin smirked haughtily. “I believe we will be speaking shortly in regard to my inheritance.” With that last jab Mrs. Lin left with her sons following merrily at her heels. Khai lowered himself to a chair as he sighed to himself heavily. He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to figure out what he was going to do but also to try and scatter the beginnings of the headache that was threatening the muscles behind his eyes. Simon sat across from Khai, knowing it was best to wait until he spoke. Khai was never one to speak freely in front of others, but those he was closest to knew he was a deep man in some respects. Raising his head, he shot a brief look of hatred towards Simon but it was gone as quickly as it came. Khai knew he couldn’t blame Simon for this mess. His father was always a bastard, and his stepmother unfortunately knew exactly which strings to pull around his father. So,” he started slowly. “I’m guessing my chances of fighting this ridiculous stipulation wouldn’t be worth it in the long run. The old man always knew to close every loophole possible. Three months doesn’t give me a lot of time. The will does only state it has to be a legal marriage, correct?” Khai rubbed his hand on his chin as a crazy idea began to form in his head. He looked at Simon for confirmation. “Yes, he stated it must be a legally bound marriage that lasts more than 3 years. If the marriage is dissolved before the three-year mark.” Simon didn’t like the look that was showing in Khai’s eyes. “Then you forfeit all rights to your inheritance and all remaining assets revert to Mrs. Lin. You and your spouse must live together here in the states for those three years and reside in this house as well.” Snapping his fingers, Khai laughed. “Exactly, the will states spouse but doesn’t imply said spouse has to be a woman. He missed one little thing and because of that I might just have my work around.” With that, Khai stood up and headed to the door. “Pardon me Simon, but there’s someone I need to talk to.” Finally relaxing after so many tense hours, Simon smiled and hoped that Khai would find his way around this and be happy in the end. Simon figured a long nap was in order and so headed out for just that. Across town, a young man was just closing his café on the outskirts of Soho. The scent of coffee and the five cats that were wandering around the café filled the young muscular man’s nostrils. He couldn’t help but smile as the cats were playing and meowing for attention. He’d just finished sweeping and mopping when the front door swung open. Shocked at the sudden intrusion, he turned to tell the unwelcome customer that he was closed. He froze at the sight of the man in front of him. The man strode forward, full of confidence in his plan. Grabbing the younger man’s hand, he looked down into those familiar green eyes. “Shawn,” Khai asked. “Will you marry me?”