Chapter 2. A Fair Deal

Eduardo drives silently, his eyes fixed on the road. The CEO grips the steering wheel as he feels his heartbeat quicken with each memory he relives. He shakes his head and bites his lip.

He turns the car around until he reaches a neighborhood he knows well, pulls into the driveway of a mansion, and gets out of the car. He walks inside the house and looks up, but sees no one.

He frowns, and that's when he sees one of the housekeepers.

"Welcome, Mr. Simonovi."

"Where is my father?" The woman blinks several times when she hears the sour tone of her boss's son's voice.

"Sir, Mr. Claudio has gone on a trip."

"What? Where the hell has he gone?

"To Oregon, Portland, sir."

Eduardo pinches the bridge of his nose. His father forgot to mention that damn little detail. He hated it when he went on trips without telling him; whenever he needed him, he was away from home.

"Damn it..."

"Sir.

"Did he say when he'd be back?" he asks as he takes his cell phone out of his pocket, where he sees many missed calls from his wife. "Damn this woman.

"No, no, sir, I didn't say anything," the maid replies, frightened.

"Never mind, prepare a room for me. I'll be here at home for a while."

The maid stands very still when she hears her boss's son speak. She doesn't know what to do, since it's Mr. Claudio who gives orders around here. His son never gives orders, and that confuses her greatly.

Eduardo looks up to see the maid standing there like an idiot.

"What the hell are you doing standing there? Didn't I just give you an order, or are you deaf?"

"No, sir, but..."

"Go right now and prepare a room for me."

She nodded quickly and was even more surprised because Mr. Eduardo was very kind to all the employees and never spoke to them in that tone. The woman thought that something must be wrong with him.

And, on the other hand, why would he want to stay at his father's house? As far as she knew, he had his own house where he lived with his wife. But that wasn't her problem.

Eduardo dialed his father's number and waited impatiently for him to answer.

"Eduardo, what's going on?"

"Why the hell did you go on a trip?"

"I don't have to answer to you for anything, son. I'm old enough to do whatever I want."

"I need you to come back now. There are matters to attend to."

"What matters? What could be so important that you can't handle it yourself?"

The CEO licked his lips. His father was testing his patience.

"I'm divorcing that bitch Riana. I need you to come back."

Eduardo hears silence from his father, and that disturbs him even more. He doesn't know what that man is thinking. Claudio really is a difficult man.

"You finally opened your eyes and realized that your wife is a bitch.

"Keep your lectures to yourself. I just want you to come back soon." He hung up the phone and closed his eyes. "Damn it, everyone is useless."

His cell phone starts to vibrate. When he looks at the screen, he realizes it's his damn wife. Seeing her name infuriates him. He squeezes the device and ends up throwing it against the wall, smashing it to pieces.

"Liar..." he mutters angrily.

[...]

A month later, Eduardo had already divorced Riana. His lawyers worked hard on the process until the ruling came through fairly quickly. However, the day of the signing was not at all pleasant, as his ex-wife made a complete scene because he had left her out on the street.

But he thought it had been for the best and a good lesson for her.

When he returned to his father's house that night, he carried the divorce papers in his hands. Although he felt relieved to be alone again, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was depressing to have gone through something like this.

He didn't get married to get divorced; he got married to grow old with the woman he chose to be his wife. But it seemed that things were not going to turn out as he had hoped.

He looks at his father's house and curses under his breath. Since he called the old man, he still hadn't returned to Los Angeles, and that was a month ago.

"That old man, when the hell are they planning to come back?"

He needed to organize the legal matters to return all his assets to his name. He no longer had anyone to take away what was his... Upon entering the house, he looks up and the first person he sees is his father.

"You're finally home."

"Father! When did you arrive?" He watched the old man descend the stairs energetically.

Even though he was 62 years old, he was a very active guy. At least he wasn't going to die anytime soon, leaving him in charge of his damn business.

"You took a long time to come. What the hell have you been doing in Portland? As far as I know, you don't have any business there."

"But it was something important," the man said, coming up beside him and patting him on the back. "I heard you got the divorce decree. Congratulations!"

"There's no need to celebrate my damn divorce."

Eduardo throws the papers on the table as he pours himself a drink and downs it in one gulp. His father watches him and shakes his head.

"I hope you don't fall into that vice."

"Because of Riana? I wouldn't do that. She's not worth it."

"Indeed, she's not worth it..." The old man sits down as he watches his son take another drink. "Why did you make me come back so quickly?"

"I've already spoken to the lawyer about you returning all the assets that are in your name."

His father remains silent, which makes him look up and frown. Such silence was unusual when they talked about these matters. He looks over his shoulder and sees the old man sitting with a neutral expression.

"What's going on?" Claudio looks at his son seriously. "What have you done?"

"I got married!"

That news was unexpected. Eduardo can only swallow hard as he looks at his father over his shoulder. Then he turns and leans back from the table, still holding his half-full glass, and remains silent.

"I got married three weeks ago, Eduardo."

He didn't know what the hell to say to his old man. Congratulate him? Insult him? Tell him to go to hell? The blond man looks down at his drink, licks his lips, and frowns slightly.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Eduardo drinks his drink and leaves the glass on the table, then crosses his arms.

"Did you get a prenup?" His father is surprised by his son's response. "Did you or didn't you?" he asks seriously.

"I didn't."

Eduardo bites his lip, turns his face away, and nods without saying a word. His father was an idiot.

"All my assets are at stake then."

"Eduardo," Claudio stands up.

"I transferred all my assets to you to prevent my damn wife from taking everything, and now you marry a complete stranger who now owns half of everything that is MINE!

Claudio tenses up when he notices that his son is angry, and no wonder, since he himself suggested that he transfer his assets to his son's name so that if something unfortunate happened in his marriage, his wife wouldn't get anything.

He knew Riana; she was not a woman to be trusted. He knew full well that she did not love his son, but that was something he had to realize for himself. He understood his son's concern about his assets.

"Eduardo," he puts a hand on his shoulder and his son looks him in the face. "You shouldn't worry, Mirella isn't what you think she is." The CEO stares at his father.

"They're all the same! They're all fucking liars who only want to take advantage of the highest bidder.

"Son, I know you're hurt by what Riana did to you, but..."

"Don't mention her," the blond man steps aside to get away from his father. "Solve this problem, Claudio. I'm not going to let your wife take what's mine."

His father's jaw tightens. He doesn't like the tone his son uses when referring to his wife, and he won't allow him to treat her like a nobody.

"I'm going to ask you to show more respect to my wife, Eduardo," the father turns to look at his son seriously.

"Or what? You can't force me to like her. You're old. I'm sure you married a young girl who's only looking to take advantage of you." Eduardo quickly approaches his father. "I'm not going to let that woman take my money, much less yours."

Claudio frowns as he listens to his son. He was so hurt that he now thought all women were failures. That woman had done such great harm to his son that it would be difficult for him to get his only child back to the way he was before.

"You're in a bad way, son."

"Don't give me your stupid lectures. I already told you to solve this problem, and I don't care what you have to do, but tell that little girl you married that nothing she sees belongs to her."

"Eduardo! Enough with the insults, I won't allow it. I remind you that this is my house and you are the intruder here."

The CEO tensed up when he noticed his father defending that woman, clenched his jaw, and swallowed hard. It was clear that he was not welcome there.

"I'll get out of here, don't worry, I'm not going to interrupt your love nest with her.

"Eduardo, Eduardo, we're not done talking."

But the blond man was already leaving the house while his father kept calling him.

"I'll disinherit you if you walk out that door." He stops dead in his tracks when he hears this and turns around to see his father frowning.

"What did you say?

"I won't give you back anything that belongs to you if you don't behave properly with my wife."

"Are you crazy? You know very well that everything is mine, I earned it myself.

"I'm well aware of that, but everything is in my name, therefore, I am the sole owner, and if I decide not to give it back to you, I won't do it in exchange for..."

"What?" The blond man took a few steps toward his father.

Claudio knew that the method he was going to use with his son was very unorthodox, but he believed it was necessary in order to change him and improve his shitty attitude. How could he introduce him to Mirella if he continued to behave like that?

Obviously, she would end up hating him, and he would hate her...

That was something he didn't want to happen. He wanted things to go well between everyone. After all, they were a family.

"I want you to make an effort to get along with my wife, so that you both have a good relationship. If this happens, I promise to give you back everything that is yours.

"And if I refuse, will you take everything away from me?"

"I won't give anything back, Eduardo. You know me well, you know I'll do it."

"Are you threatening me, Father?" He laughed mockingly.

The old man crossed his arms and stared at him, a clear sign that his father was not joking. Now he had to act like a good son in front of this stranger.

"Your games are going too far, Claudio."

"You'll have to accept the rules of the game, Eduardo. My wife arrives in Los Angeles tomorrow, and we're having dinner in the evening. I want you to attend and do your best."

He clenched his jaw at his father's orders. He was already a 40-year-old man and still had to obey his father's commands. But if he didn't, he could lose everything for a long time.

He would have to play his father's game, but of course in his own style and not his father's.

"Fine.

"If I see positive changes in you, in three months I'll return everything to your name."

He had no choice but to accept that shit.