I made an extra effort to look good. The party was important. The City's richest would be there. Father would be there.

I had to look presentable, meet people, greet them nicely, make myself known, whatever my father wanted me to do.

I must convince them that I am a worthy successor.

How would it look? I wondered. My name on the billboards and the TV? How would it sound on everyone's lips? Will the people like me? Am I even worthy of this?

Yes, I told myself. Yes, Ryan, you are. You deserve everything, Ryan. They're going to love you.

I pressed a button on the wardrobe and the tie drawer slid out, displaying a variety of colours. I reached for the blue when my watch beeped.

New Message: Jed Lewis.

Your father has someone he'd like you to meet. Limo is waiting at your door. Wear a green tie.

Jed was my father's secretary/assistant/girlfriend. She was only three years older than me; young enough to be my sister. Being with my father made her think she could boss me around, treat me like a child. I'm twenty, for god's sake! But I couldn't disobey even if I wanted to. I never liked making father angry. But I'm no longer a child.

I checked my appearance again in the mirror before heading out. You're good. They're going to love you.

The door lightly closed behind me as I made myself comfortable in the car.

"Hello, Ryan," said Jed beside me. As always, her tone was stern and cold. I politely returned the greeting. Her blonde hair was a shade darker than mine, cut short and close to her skull on one side. She really could be mistaken for my sister.

"How do I look, Ryan?" she asked after letting a few moments pass, in a voice that was... normal. Not the unfriendly voice she always used while talking to me. She almost sounded like she was genuinely asking for my opinion.

I scanned her appearance. She was wearing a long blue dress that brought out the colour of her eyes. A delicate diamond necklace adorned her neck. "You look nice, Jed."

She muttered a word of thanks and fiddled with her clutch. Her behaviour was confusing me. Where was the superior, condescending woman who hated me?

After that it was silence. Long, long silence. Awkward silence. After five minutes that felt like hours, she cleared her throat. "Ryan."

She surprised me again. Usually, it was no talk after greetings. "What?" I replied.

"I- I know it is difficult for you," she began, "but please know that I love your father."

She's either drunk or has hit her head really bad, I thought.

"Over the past few years, I have been happier," she continued. "He makes me feel better. Your father is wonderful, Ryan. I think I'm a better person now."

Of course you are, you personification of evil.

"So I'm trying to make amends," she went on. "To you, to my parents, to everyone else. And I'm starting with you."

Definitely hit her head.

"I just want to say that if I have wronged you in any way, hurt you, if I was ever too harsh, I'm sorry. And I hope you can forgive me," she concluded.

I took my time to answer, measuring her words carefully. I was filled with suspicion. There was hardly never a reason for Jed's actions. There was always a purpose. I just couldn't figure out what she would get by apologising to me.

There was a tiny possibility that she was actually, genuinely trying to become a better person. I decided to believe her. "There's nothing to apologise for," I said politely.

She nodded and spent the rest of the ride staring outside the window.

When we reached, she led me up the plush, carpeted stairs into the main hall. Before we entered, she turned to me.

"If you ever tell anyone what we talked about in the car," she warned, "you have no idea what I can and will do."

And she's back.

Light music filled the room and mingled with the chatter of conversation. Men were dressed in expensive tailored suits and the women wore long flowing dresses and jewellery worth more than my house.

"Jed, darling!" My father beckoned us closer. "Follow me."

With him, we moved through the crowd till we reached a man enjoying a drink at the bar. He was laughing at something the woman beside him said but broke off at our approach.

"Ah, there you are," the man said coolly. "I was starting to think you had lost your way. Is this your son?" he asked my father.

"Yes, he is. Scott, meet my boy, Ryan. Ryan, this is Scott Zelner, my colleague, and his wife Shellie."

"Pleased to meet you," I replied, just the way my father had taught me to.

A beautiful young woman in a dark green dress emerged from the crowd and hugged Shellie from behind.

"Evie, dear." Zelner put an arm around her shoulder. "Ryan, I'd like you to meet my lovely daughter Evelyn. Evie, this is the young man I wanted you to meet."

"Hi," I smiled. "Shall I buy you a drink?" It was common courtesy. She nodded.

My father ordered drinks for him and Jed, his hand gently resting on her waist. They talked in hushed tones, exchanging kisses between words.

I wanted to throw up.

"Why don't you kids go spend some time together?" Shellie said with a smile.

I saw what they were trying to do. And I had no choice but to go with it. It wasn't the first time my father had tried to do something like this. I'm too young to get married! I wanted to scream. Screw the advantageous marriage!

But I kept my mouth shut, like the good boy I was supposed to be.

Evelyn and I stood at the corner of the room, watching the people from afar, slowly sipping on the alcohol.

"You know," she said, "you're nothing like how I imagined you to be."

I pulled my gaze off the crowd and willed myself to look at her. I failed. I concentrated on the liquid swirling in the glass in my hand instead. "H- how did you imagine me to be?"

"Well, after I met your father earlier in the evening," she began, "I figured that the son of the most powerful man in the City would be a self-centered jerk. But you turned out a rather shy person who doesn't even have the nerve to look me in the eye. Look at me, Ryan Hale."

I obeyed.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" She smiled. "Let's start over. Hi, I'm Evelyn Zelner."

"I'm Ryan Hale," I managed to say. This woman made me uncomfortable. "Evelyn, you do know what our parents are trying to do here, don't you?"

She smiled again; a smile that lit up her face and grey eyes. "I do, Ryan."

"And you agree with them?" I asked. "That you should get married to whoever your family thinks is the most advantageous? Don't get me wrong, Evelyn, I think you're beautiful. I'm just not ready for this."

"I never agreed with them," she replied. "People say being born in a rich and powerful family means a lavish lifestyle, doing whatever you wanted. Little do they know the reality." She ran her fingers through her brown hair, making sure it looked good. "Have you tried telling your father that you're not ready?"

"No," I said. I respected my father, and didn't like upsetting him. "Have you?"

She developed a sudden interest in observing the carpet. "Yes," she said in a small voice.

"And?" I urged.

She looked at me straight in the eye. "Let's just say that makeup can do wonders in covering what lies underneath." Saying that she drank up what remained of her drink gently set the glass on the table beside.

"I would like to request all to take their seats," said the host on the mic, a stout man with graying hair. Evelyn tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled again.

"Shall we?" she said, nodded at the tables.

Which was when I saw a faint red scar on her cheekbone.

After that, I couldn't look at Scott Zelner the same way again. That bloody shithead.

***

Speeches were given, some awards were awarded. Father made me talk to people, of course, meet them, introduce myself.

"Lovely man, Owen Hale's son," I overheard a woman say.

"And great to look at," her friend whispered, giggling.

I couldn't wait to flee the place. After I had met the majority of people, I asked my father if I could leave early, saying I was tired and had to get work done. His bright blue eyes searched mine for any trace of a lie. "Fine."

"I'm going too, Dad," Evelyn told her father.

"Evie, dear, you haven't met anyone yet," Scott said. "Stay." His lips spoke sweet words to his daughter, but his eyes clearly gave away his true meaning: Disobey and you'll regret it.

I saw a hint of fear on Evelyn's face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "Alright. May I atleast walk Ryan to the door?"

"Of course, darling."

She pulled me along to the exit. "I just need some air and I'll leave you alone."

We went down the carpeted stairs. She waited with me while the driver fetched the limo. "That place was suffocating me," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair. She took deep breaths and exhaled slowly. "The air inside is mixed with atleast a million different perfumes. This is so much better."

"Yeah, it's terrible," I agreed. I glanced down the road. Where's the bloody driver?

"Ask away," she said.

"What?"

"I know that look, Ryan. It's the look of someone who has questions to ask. Ask away."

How did she know? She must have been an expert at reading minds. "Okay..." I had multiple things to ask, but couldn't decide which to ask first. "You don't have the City look."

"The City look?" she laughed. "You mean the blond hair and the pale skin? No, I look like my mother. She's from a big city in the East. I inherited my father's grey eyes, though. Next question."

"You told me you didn't agree with your parents. Ever thought about leaving all of this behind?"

"Every day. You?" she asked.

"Sometimes, yes. But I realise that my father is doing what is good for me."

Evelyn met my eyes. "Only you decide what is good for you. He does not."

A small spark of anger appeared inside me. She had no right to speak ill of my father. "Well what about your father then? He's violent, yet you stay. Why?"

"You don't think I want to leave? I can't," she replied, her voice laced with anger. She took a deep breath and continued, "If you think Owen Hale wants anything with you other than a strong successor to the Directory, you my friend, are naive. You have to be blind to not see it. He has no love for you."

"How can you say that? You've barely known me for a day! You're wrong, Evelyn. I am his son and he loves me, in his own way." But even as the I said the words I couldn't help thinking that Evelyn was right.

"You sound unsure," she said in a low voice. My car arrived. I started walking towards it. "Why do you go with it? Whatever he makes you do, parties and all. It is clear you hate it," she spoke from behind me.

"What son doesn't want to make his father proud?" The driver opened the door for me.

"Think about my words, Ryan Hale," she said.

I met her eyes one more time before entering the car. "See you around, Evelyn Zelner."

***

The next day, I was woken from my dreamless sleep early in the morning by none other than my father. My watch beeped loudly from my bedside and his voice sounded from it. "Meet me in the café opposite your house."

I was dazed and disorientated. "Wha- ? Why? What time is it?"

"Six-thirty. You're getting into the habit of oversleeping, Ryan. I'm disappointed. Café, now."

I groaned. "Give me ten minutes, I'll be there."

"You have five. I'm waiting." Saying that he disconnected.

I dragged myself out of the bed and got dressed. Before I knew it, I was crossing the street to the café where my father waited. He was engrossed in the contents displayed on the little screen in his hands and didn't notice me till I took the seat opposite his. "You're late," he said without taking his eyes off the screen.

I checked my watch. "By two minutes."

"Late nevertheless," he said as he put his screen back into his coat pocket. I waited for him to start talking. He took his time. The waitress brought coffee for both of us. He added a bit of sugar to his and stirred. He slowly brought the cup to his lips, taking a long sip from it.

I couldn't take it anymore. "Well?"

He looked up. "Well, what?"

He was annoying me and he knew it, and also knew that I couldn't show it. I could almost feel him silently daring me to lose my temper. "Well," I began, "I was hoping you'd explain why you woke me up early on a Saturday morning."

"Can't a father just want to spend some time with his son?" he said casually, sipping on his coffee.

It took all of my willpower to not laugh in his face. "We both know that's not the case here."

"You know me well." He set his cup down gently on the table. "So," he began.

Here it comes. If he took the time out to come all the way down to meet me, it would never be to just see me. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good. I mentally prepared myself for the worst.

"Two things: first, Jed and I are getting married."

So that's why she was nice to me. This worse than the worst. "Great. I'm happy for you."

Liar. Liar.

"Liar," he said, reading my mind. "I know you hate her. Well, I never cared much about your opinion about her before so I have no reason to care now. I knew you wouldn't like this."

"Now why wouldn't I like it that my new mother is only three years older to me?" I said sarcastically and instantly regretted it. Father was never the one with a sense of humour.

I expected an angry retort from his side, but nothing. He sipped on his coffee again. "It's a beautiful day. I won't let you ruin it for me," he said calmly. "Moving on, I'm afraid I have to ask you to withdraw Hale Tech's name from the benefactors of MaxCorp."

Hale Tech was a company started my my great-grandfather, and all the Hale children had inherited it since then. I had been running it since I turned eighteen. Hale Tech was one of the major benefactors of MaxCorp; 25% of our profits went towards helping the Provinces.

"Why? They're doing good work. Without us, MaxCorp won't sustain for long."

"With Maxinova dead they won't sustain long even with your help," he said. "Hale Tech was founded as a side business, something to fall back onto if the family's political business went sour. The Hales have occupied the post of Head Director for seven generations. You have your career as a politician to think about. This charity thing is just deviating your focus from it."

"People will like me better if I am charitable. And- "

He held up a finger to silence me. "No questions. I still own the company, which means you work for me. And your boss orders you to stop the donation."

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. "Just tell me why and I'll do it."

"It's not your place to ask questions, kid. Just do it."

I couldn't understand the man sitting in front of me. Hale Tech was doing great! We were swamped in profits; I could sleep on a bed of money if I wanted to. But I had to agree. "Alright, I'll get it done," I said. "So if you have nothing else to say, I should be leaving. Bye, Father."

"Would it hurt you to call me Dad?"

"I'll call you Dad when you tell me how Mom died."

He rolled his eyes. "I told you, Ryan. Bone cancer. What else do you expect me to say?"

"I expect you to stop telling me that lie," I retrieved my jacket and put it on, turning the collar up. "Bye, Father."

***

I'm back! Hope you liked it! This chapter was a filler, just to introduce some people and well, move the story ahead bit by bit.

What did you think of Ryan Hale? And his relationship with his father?

Schools hate me. And so do my teachers. I have basically ZERO time. Sorry. I'm trying to do my best to get these chapters done. My brain is fried.

Make me smile by clicking that vote button! Thanks for reading!