Chapter 2 Wife Dissapointed

"He's not ready yet, honey," Leah said carefully. "I heard that he just dated an actor who just debuted, two weeks ago."

William snorted. "He never took them seriously, whether it was a man or a woman. He knew clearly, eventually he would have to marry a woman and have children to carry on this family name."

Leah was furious, but she knew there was no way for her to express her displeasure openly. "What about Evie? Would she agree to marry Dave? They've been apart for so long and it might be hard for the two of them to adjust again."

"Don't worry, she is very enthusiastic and wants to meet Dave soon."

Leah sighed silently. She didn't like the idea of ​​Dave's wedding being planned by her husband at all.

Her stepson was unfit to be the heir, with his stubborn and unruly nature. Not once or twice, since he was in high school, that kid caused a scandal because of his carelessness and made William have to deploy a team of lawyers and spend a lot of money to cover up the problems he caused.

William's threat to cross his name off Jan's family list, which finally dampens Dave's actions. Leah couldn't accept that if William had previously intended to cross Dave's name out of the family registry, why was he now insisting on making him heir in the near future? William didn't even ask her opinion first.

"He still likes to play games," Leah grumbled displeasedly. "I'm worried about the continuation of this family business in his hands."

William took a deep breath. He felt a little guilty for putting Leah's feelings aside. However, he had more important things to think about than his wife's feelings.

"Honey, I know you don't agree with me appointing Dave now, but I have to because we are pressed by the company's problems with our branch company in several areas of Southeast Asia. Leonard will be a very significant help to us."

Leah clicked her tongue. "Gary is trying to restore order in the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam and you know he can be counted on," Leah said in a sharp tone. "Why don't you even consider what he's done so far for the name of Jan? Because he's not your biological son? Then, what did Dave do? I'm not even sure he noticed the trouble in the Southeast Asia branch offices because he was too busy with projects from the Middle East, which were not entirely successful."

William fell silent. He acknowledged the truth of Leah's words, but there were things he couldn't possibly reveal to anyone right now. He's not ready.

"You know I never thought of Gary as my stepson in the same way you did to Dave, but for this one, I can't make up my mind, darling. Even though I have the most power, I also have to listen to what my relatives think, for the sake of keeping this big family together. I have a big responsibility, honey."

"I understand. However, shouldn't you be able to control decision-making with your power? Why are you pressing your own child who is clearly not ready and still has to go through a long process until he is declared ready, while you have seen someone who is more capable and you rely on any time?"

"Leah, I think you should support my decision, not confuse or oppose me!" snapped William angrily.

Leah looked at her husband with a sad face. "Why should I do that when you're being unfair to me and Gary? You don't say anything about your plans and expect me to support you? You also treat Gary as nothing more than an ordinary employee even though since you added your name to his name nothing he always listen to you. He adores you and you know how he tries so hard to make you proud."

Leah stood up and walked out of the living room, leaving William slumped on the couch alone.

Leah took the car keys and without saying anything, she walked out of the house and drove out of the garage. She called someone from the car on her way.

"Linda, are you home?" asked Leah matter-of-factly, when her call was answered by the person she was calling.

"Yes. What's wrong? You want to come here? Just come, I just happened to be calling you."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Leah said, cutting off the conversation.

In less than twenty minutes, Leah arrived at Linda's house, her closest cousin.

The woman was preparing lunch, wearing casual clothes and bare feet in her minimalist style house.

Linda looked up as Leah came into the dining room and pulled up a dining chair.

"Fight with William?" asked Linda with a smile. She handed a plate to Leah. "Accompany me for lunch. You come at this time, you definitely haven't had time to eat anything at your house."

Leah wanted to refuse, but her stomach had been a bit sore since the trip earlier. "I had the maids set the table but I'm too annoyed with William," Leah muttered as she reached for the salad bowl.

Linda chuckled. "What is it?"

"William is going to marry Dave to a woman, the daughter of an acquaintance, sometime soon," Leah said in a high-pitched voice. "And he didn't even tell me about the plan, let alone ask my opinion!"

Linda was surprised. He looked closely at Leah. "Is the girl pregnant?"

Leah snorted. "You know how he plays. He never really takes anyone to dates. Just sleeps a night or two together, then dumps them like nothing happened."

"Yes, he's so handsome and masculine and hot, it's hard to resist his charm. You have to admit that your stepson does have a lot of charm and the rumour said he's good on bed," Linda laughed for a moment, before turning serious because she saw the unpleasant look on Leah's face. "So why did William suddenly decide on that?"

"He wants to certify Dave as heir as soon as he's married."

"Huh? What's the rush? Is William sick or having a hard time?"

"William is fine, but some of the company's branches in the Southeast Asia region are indeed in trouble. Gary has managed to deal with several branches, but William thinks that marrying Dave to his best friend's daughter will be the fastest way to solve the problem. However, I think, the reason is not only that. William is very secretive this time," Leah complained with a cloudy face.

"I thought, with everything you've done for him and Dave, William will at least give Gary his due?"

"He didn't take that into account at all and he even demanded that I had to understand. Damn it!"

"Then what are you going to do?"

Leah stared at Linda with teary eyes. "I don't trust Dave at all. I will thwart William's plan. Dave won't be able to become heir if he doesn't marry. Jan's family has strict rules about marriage. After all, even though Dave is bisexual and alway playing, I'm sure, he will still marry a woman for the surname Jan or he will lost his rights as Jan. He knows the rule of his family."

Linda thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "I have an idea," Linda said. "This might work. Want to hear it?"

***