THE RUNAWAY SON OF A BILLIONAIRE

"Storm," his father growled, making him grit his teeth. He never knew he would speak to him in a kind voice. Everything about him is abrasive and makes him nervous.

Knowing that he had to admit to him at some point, he turned and took off his coat and handed it to Lorelei, his father's assistant who was suspected by everyone as his father's mistress. Maybe they are hiding a child which he doubts is unlikely to happen. He calmed down and followed his voice to his study, where he had already lit a cigar and flipped through some papers.

"What is it?"

"Gael Mendez will be here soon. I need you to take care of him for me."

He grits his teeth, knowing what to expect. "Certainly."

The hostile look in his father's eyes would startle any board member, but Storm is used to it. "Not sure. Gael and I were on the verge of merging companies before your twin passed away. We will be the largest company in the country if that happened!" his father said, slapping his hands on the table.

"You can still have it without Ezra."

"You know the rules of our corporate merger."

He did, and his twin brother readily agreed. It's a gentleman's game in which the merger of companies is marked by marriage. It doesn't make sense. Gone are the days when those old-fashioned values, when a handshake was as good as your words were. Any deal can now be made under the right conditions without sacrificing your happiness.

“I’m not marrying someone I didn't know.”

“She's from a nice family, she's indeed a nice woman.”

"No matter how nice she was, I'm still not sure if she'll fit my taste, especially in her appearance."

He is not the type of guy who judges women by their looks, but he does think she has to be attractive. But most of all, he wants to enjoy being with his beloved wife-to-be. Arranged marriages are not a guarantee of his happiness at all.

"She may be fine, but I'm not going to be forced to marry. I'm not Ezra." He scoffed at it.

His father's disappointment with him is obvious. "I know very well that you are not your twin brother. You prove it to me every day, and you despise me."

"Do you think the day of his funeral is the perfect time to ask this question? You can't even let me mourn for him before you push me to his fiancé?"

"Business never sleeps. If we don't keep doing it now, Gael Mendez will make a deal with the Colton Group. That family is ruthless. If he makes a deal with them, we will never expand the way we need to. Is that what you want, let's limp our company down?"

He finds it funny that when he planned his marriage on the day of his twin brother's funeral, he thought Coltons was ruthless huh? What does his father think of him? His father was one of the most hated businessmen in town. People despised working with him because of his ruthlessness in business dealings. For this reason alone, he doesn't want to have anything to do with his company.

"I'm not going to marry a stranger," he said forcefully, his fists clenched and staring at him.

He got up from his desk, buttoned his suit jacket, and came to face him. "You have to be the CEO."

He couldn't help but laugh. "We all know I'm not going to be CEO. You're going to run the company until you die."

"But the board needs a fresh face, which is why I was chosen to replace your brother so I choose you. But make no mistake, the company is run by me."

***

(At His Twin Brother's Ezra Gomez Funeral)

Water dripped from his face, and he bowed his head in silence. The cold air combined with the rain only made the day more painful. He stared at the coffin in front of him, wishing his twin was standing beside him instead of lying in a wooden box.

This is not right for several reasons. Not only because his life was cut short, he is too young with many dreams, but because it put him in his shoes - taking over the family business.

Even standing in his expensive suit and stiff wool coat,

he felt trapped in a cage. He never likes to dress up. Tried on by a tailor with a bold smile for the public to see, that is his twin brother. He prefers a quiet life, working with his hands and getting sweaty and dirty.

And now, the stifling stench of wealth seeps into his pores, making him want to escape what he was about to face. However, there is no way to escape it. Only in death, as his twin proved.

My father stood stoically beside his secretary, holding an umbrella for both of them. He dared not show a trace of sadness. He was as callous as ever, and the only thing he cared about was his public appearances. And he never showed weakness.

The cemetery was packed with his father's business associates and a few friends that Ezra called himself. But when he glanced at them and noticed how they looked at their watches, he wondered if anyone was actually Ezra's friend, or if they were just interested in his connections.

The service was over and his father walked back to the limo that was idling for them. Forbid the vehicle was too cold when they got in the car. As they left the stately place, he followed his father, staring out the window.

Her mother was bedridden for years now, and the only machine was giving life to her, So he is angry with his father because of the condition of his mother, he even made a mistress. Even back when her mother was fine, it was obvious that Lorelei and her father had a relationship.

Maybe they have something to do with what happened to his mother. Because of that, he became even more distant from their family. Unlike his twin, Ezra accepts what his Dad is doing, because their father is a man and needs hot flesh. For him that is wrong. It's wrong not because of his sympathy for his mother but because it's wrong to betray your wife.

His parents have also arranged marriages so maybe their relationship was like that. That's another reason why he doesn't like the arranged marriage thing.

As he sit there thinking about his twin, he couldn't help but think of when they were much younger and they acted like brothers. But the years distorted their relationship, tearing them apart until they were almost strangers.

As the first son, his twin brother will succeed his father in their family business. Azrel Gomez wants one of his twins ready to take over the reins if needed. Ezra is ready for the role. He was born for it, and Storm is the opposite.

Ezra had the charisma, intelligence, and unwavering business sense to have taken their company to new heights. Storm is the spare son and he was very happy with it. He never wanted this company. He never aspired to be in the spotlight or crave what the CEO position brings.

Now, he will never escape it. He knows it's coming after his twin's death. Before the ink dries on his brother's death certificate, his father had a plan.

While Ezra had the drive to succeed in his father's career, Storm just wanted to live a quiet life away from the responsibilities that their father gave them. It was almost within his grasp until his late twin!