The CEO's Contracted Heart

Chapter 2: The Augustus Theodore Blackwell

"W-Wait, what? What do you mean you're going to buy our family's business?"

But he didn’t answer my question. Instead, he looked me up and down, then shook his head.

"I cannot believe they arranged me with someone like you. Literally, f*cking unbelievable." He cursed loudly and turned away, shaking his head.

Judging by the way he was packing, it seemed he had been waiting for a while. My mind was racing with questions, and I was somewhat speechless, unsure of what was happening. Before he could leave, I stopped him. I grabbed his elbow and forced him to face me. I didn't know where I found the courage, but I definitely didn’t understand what was going on.

"Can you please explain to me what's happening here? Why are you in our house, and who are you? What did you mean by what you said earlier? What right do you have to buy our business?"

I know that I’m the black sheep of the family, and my parents despise me sometimes, but he doesn’t have the right to insult us Everharts like that.

Instead of being intimidated by my words, he surprised me by smirking. His smirk revealed his perfect white teeth, and I couldn't understand why, but something felt odd inside me when I saw how attractive he was, even in the simplest way he smirked at me.

"I cannot believe you, woman. You, a child of a well-known, wealthy family, the Everharts, one of the few families that have been running the business world for generations, known in the world of enterprise and among the wealthy, yet you don't know who I am, standing right in front of you. You must be joking."

“So what?”

I couldn't help but feel irritated. I was already stressed out with everything I was going through. Xander, the love of my life for years, and I had a fight, and I was hiding our relationship from my parents. They couldn't know about my status with Xander because I knew they would kill him, especially if they found out I was pregnant and Xander was the father. My family is wealthy, and we own multiple businesses, chains, and companies. They want someone for me who is as rich as we are.

I crossed my arms in front of him and raised an eyebrow. "I don't care who you are or your status, but you have no right to belittle my family." He raised an eyebrow at me, seemingly displeased with my response.

Before he could speak, the door suddenly opened, and as if on cue, my parents arrived with my twin sister, Rain.

"Rachel!" Mom called out to me. I turned to face them and said, "Mom, Dad, there's a trespasser here in our house. He had the nerve to tell me he’s going to buy our business-"

But before I could finish, Mom had crossed the room and slapped me hard in front of the visitor and everyone in the living room. I was so speechless from the impact of the slap that I fell to the floor, partly because I was wearing stilettos. As I fell, I grabbed my cheek, and I could hear my twin sister laughing.

I was so confused. Slowly, I lifted my face. "M-Mom, what's going on?"

"You are a pain in the as*! We've been looking for you everywhere!" Mom yelled, pointing a finger at me with such anger that it seemed she despised my very being. "We looked everywhere for you because you need to meet Augustus. He's been waiting for you. But what did you do? You disappointed me. You disappointed your family again. What kind of woman are you, wandering around aimlessly? What have you been doing with your life? And now you have the nerve to disrespect him in front of me? In front of us? You have no manners, do you?!"

I couldn't comprehend what was happening. It was clear from her eyes that she was furious, as if she wanted to kill me. My father, on the other hand, just looked at me, emotionless. My twin sister, Rain, was trying to stifle her laughter, covering her mouth while watching me helplessly lying on the ground, holding my cheek where my mom had slapped me.

"M-Mom, I don't understand. What's happening? I don't know him. What is he doing here?"

"That's the problem with someone as useless as you, who has no real responsibilities. We've been trying to open your eyes to the reality of our life for a long time, but you have no idea who he is," Dad said, pointing to our guest. He walked over to him and patted him on the back.

I was too shaken to get up from where I had fallen. I was still speechless, unable to process the information flooding my mind.

"I'm so sorry for making you wait, son. Please have a seat here and watch as we lecture our daughter," Dad said, as if this were entertaining for them.

The man said nothing. Instead, he sat down, making himself comfortable in our living room. He even had the nerve to cross his legs and rest his elbow on the armrest of our sofa while watching my parents scold and berate me.

"He is Augustus Theodore Blackwell," Dad continued. "He is the son of Reginald and Beatrice Blackwell. They are self-made billionaires and the owners of the Blackwell Empire. They own some of the most well-known brands in the world. And not just that, they have business chains that are three times larger than ours. So do not, I repeat, do not disrespect him because he is the one who will help our family."

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. For some reason, chills ran down my spine as he described his family. I had heard of the Blackwell Company; they were known as Blackwell Innovations, a globally recognized conglomerate in the business world. I swallowed hard, trying to rise from the floor, bowing my head in shame, especially since Augustus had witnessed everything that had just happened to me.

"I didn't know. I'm sorry…"

"As you should be!" Mom shouted at me again. Moments later, she turned to Augustus, who was still comfortably seated while my parents were humiliating me. She smiled broadly, as if she hadn't just done something disgraceful to me in front of him.

"I'm so sorry about that. Please, I hope you will accept our daughter Rachel as your wife."

"W-What?" I couldn't stop myself from raising my voice at them. I knew they would get angry, but I was shocked by what I had just heard. "W-What do you mean as his wife? W-What…?”

When I looked at Augustus, he was shaking his head at me, with that smirk on his face again, as if he thought I was the most pathetic woman he had ever met. He was the one who answered my question.

"You don't have any idea, do you? You're going to be my wife."