The Secret Successor

CHAPTER 02

After leaving the park, heartbroken, Russell gave the Range Rover back to its owner, then came walking directly to a small duplex home built on top of a hill, offering a wonderful view of the suburbs.

There was an old man in modest blue clothes, trying to feed biscuits to a golden retriever.

“Excuse me, sir?” Russell respectfully addressed him, his voice still laced with annoyance. “Do I know you?”

The old man shook his head slightly. He seemed to be in his early sixties. “I found the dog cute, so I couldn’t help myself.”

“Oh, but biscuits don’t easily digest, so take care of your health.” Russell then put a dollar bill in his hand. “I wish I could give you more for feeding my dog, but that’s the best I can give.”

“It’s okay,” the old man put the money in his pocket and smiled. “Thank you.” He kept staring at Russell.

“Don’t want to be offensive, but you should leave,” Russell said.

“Ah, yes,” the old man turned around and walked away.

Russell entered through the main gate, and his dog stood on its hind legs, suggesting that it wanted to play. “You shouldn’t eat food given by strangers, Perro. Didn’t I tell you that before?” he began to wrestle with it, and Perro got a bit too excited and tore the jacket apart near his forearm. “Ah, crap.” It was his dad’s suit, so he started sweating. But there was nothing he could do after the suit suffered between Perro’s jaws. He took the jacket off and tossed it on the dog. Perro began to bite on it playfully.

Seeing Perro play, Russell’s heart lightened a bit. He smiled sadly and kept walking. He loosened his tie as he entered the main hall. A lean man was sitting on the old sofa, reading the previous day’s newspaper. He shared little to no facial attributes with Russell. His skull was bigger and shoulders were smaller. It was his father, Arnold Bennett.

Russell sat on the opposite sofa and waited. Half-a-minute passed. He cleared his throat.

Arnold shifted his gaze toward his son, took his glasses off and said, “The marriage date has been fixed. It’s in a week.”

Russell frowned faster than ever, but he didn’t raise his tongue. “D-Dad, I don’t want this arranged marriage. I love Natasha. You know that I’ve been dating her seriously. I will marry her.” He still didn’t want to tell his dad that his proposal miserably failed because he believed Natasha would still change her mind about him.

“Don’t be foolish,” Arnold rebuked with a calm face. “A toad can’t eat swan’s meat. The only reason I didn’t care was because I never thought your relationship would get serious. But it seems Natasha is more foolish than I thought?”

Russell gritted his teeth. “What’s with that look? You think if I agree, Natasha’s father will also agree?”

“Aren’t you both friends?”

Arnold snorted. “Friends, yeah… That’s why he has given our family a car. He has given us a house. And he’s given me a job so I could feed my family. So, naturally, he’s going to give his daughter. Is that what you’re thinking?” Arnold shook his head. “Fredrick and I have been best friends since childhood, but things changed after he hit it big in life. He’s a millionaire now. He’s not going to give his precious daughter to you who doesn’t even make a steady salary.”

Russell’s facial muscles constricted.

“But you don’t need to worry about any of that because you’re going to marry the woman I chose for you,” Arnold bluntly said, without raising his voice. There was a radiant glow in his eyes as if he had won over his best friend Fredrick. “You’re free to refuse, but just so you know, you won’t even get a penny from my pockets.”

“What?” Russell couldn’t believe how his dad was threatening him. “You think I will hesitate if you bring money into this?”

Arnold put the newspaper aside, and his expression turned serious. “If money isn’t enough, how about your mother? Her treatment fee isn’t something you can cover with the money you earn from your vlogging. If you want to keep her safe, keep doing what I say. If I tell you to peel it, you peel it. No questions asked.”

Russell’s eyes teared up. “Dad, please…” his voice, however, was still steady, “don’t bring Mom into this.”

“Tch, don’t cry like a girl. It’s unsightly,” Arnold’s face scrunched a little. “If Jennifer sees you like this, what will she think? You are my son. You shouldn’t appear weak in front of women.”

Jennifer was Russell’s stepmom, whom Arnold had married after his first wife, Elora, had fallen sick.

“Dad, please…” Russell kept begging.

Arnold stood and walked upstairs, leaving Russell alone.

A tear flowed down Russell’s cheek, but he quickly pinched the inner corners of his eyes to stop himself from crying and shedding tears.

He knew his father didn’t love him all that much, but still, he never expected Arnold wouldn’t even care for his mother who had taken a divorce from Arnold after falling sick. Elora could have easily complicated things for Arnold, but she hadn’t. So how could Arnold bring her into Russell’s affairs?

He felt extremely stressed and anxious. After tearing his brain from thinking, he took his mobile out. “I should call Mom. Maybe she can change Dad’s mind.” But he didn’t call her. He was hesitating because he didn’t want to stress his mother, either, given she was quite sick.

Suddenly, Russell heard the dog shouting on the front porch quite aggressively. He rushed out. “Perro! How many times have I told you to not shout at the guests?” His loud words immediately had an effect on the golden retriever, and it stopped shouting and ran up to him. “It’s hot out here. Go inside!” he ordered, and Perro ran to his little dog house and rested there. “Good boy.”

“Excuse me,” the main gate opened, and someone stepped in hesitantly. Russell turned his head and took a look at this person, and his expression briefly froze. A gorgeous brunette in white was looking at him with a tense smile on her face. “It’s alright if I come in, right? The dog wouldn’t bite me, would it?”

“Uh, of course not,” Russell walked toward her, and once he got close enough, he was able to see her striking features better. And his expression visibly brightened. “W-What brought you here, ma’am? I mean, what do you want?”

“Can we talk inside?” she politely requested. Her green eyes were so pulling he wanted to keep looking, but he thought of Natasha and quickly looked away.

“Please,” Russell guided her into the main hall and made her sit on the sofa where he had previously sat. He sat down where his dad had previously sat. She looked around at the house and seemed a little uncomfortable, so he poured her some water and said, “Here.”

She put the hat down and took the glass from him. “Thank you.” She took a couple of sips and felt better.

“By the way, you’re Kyra, aren’t you?” Russell asked, looking a little excited.

“M-Mhm,” she faintly nodded as her eyes turned a shade brighter.

“You’re my super senior back in school,” Russell uttered.

“Oh, so you know me?” She seemed a little surprised.

“Who wouldn’t know you, ma’am?” Russell’s voice had a lovely base. “You are our school’s pride! You were the top of your class, and you won two national competitions in math and science. Also, I shouldn’t be saying this, but dozens of my friends and seniors have a huge crush on you.”

Kyra stayed silent for a second. She put the glass down and said, “What about you?”

“Pardon?” Russell looked a little clueless.

“Did you also have a crush on me?” She asked such a troublesome question so effortlessly.

Russell did not expect her to be so bold, yet her voice was so soft and soothing. “Uh…” he hesitantly nodded twice and then looked embarrassed.

Kyra felt a little relieved from his response. “You speak frankly about sensitive matters. Not everyone can do that. It’s good to talk to open-hearted people like you.”

“Thank you,” Russell rubbed the back of his head a little. Receiving such a compliment from someone he had admired in the past felt really good.

“I’ll also be frank then.” Kyra took another sip from the glass before putting the glass down on the table. “Do you have any issues with our marriage arrangement?”

“Issues? Why would I have…” it took a second or two for Russell to process her words, and his facial muscles constricted, but his eyes widened and stupidly stared at her like a paralyzed soul. “What?”