The Arrogant Husband

Chapter 3

"Um," Mrs. Helen cleared her throat and said, "I finally found a wife for you to marry, Richmond."

"What!" Richmond gasped and laughed like Jerry. They resembled their father closely.

"You must be joking, Mom! Haha!" He laughed again, but Mrs. Helen smiled, seriously.

"Why would I joke, Richmond? I found a beautiful, decent girl from our village for you to marry, and she is very beautiful too," she added, noticing her first son's face harden.

"I cannot marry a village woman, Mom. How can you stoop so low to look for a village woman for me to marry? Hell no! Mom! I cannot accept her, and you shouldn't speak to me about such nonsense again!" Richmond wanted to walk out, but his father stopped him.

"Richmond, you do not disrespect your mother in my presence. Before you were born and raised, I knew the difficulties she went through to have a child like you, so you will do as she says," Mr. Steven intervened. He was also tired of Richmond's lifestyle.

Due to Richmond's fallout with Mila George, he had broken off with his best friend, Patrick George.

"Father, I cannot marry a village woman if that's what you're insinuating," Richmond said, and his father ordered, "Sit down first and hear your mother out. You don't just walk away from her like that."

"Hmm," Richmond took a deep breath and moved back to sit on the couch. Jerry smiled and went to the bar to have some drinks while their mother sighed.

She settled back on the couch beside her husband and said, "Richmond, I understand that you might not like this girl, but she's very beautiful and well-mannered. I've already spoken to her family and told them that you will come to marry her this Saturday."

"What?" Richmond looked at his mother in disbelief, finding what she said hard to accept.

"Mom, if this is a joke, stop it. I cannot marry a village woman. Don't you get it? What will my friends say? What about our business partners?" Richmond asked, his voice sounding annoyed.

"Calm down, Richmond. I am also a village woman. Your father married me from the village, and we are still together. She will make a good wife for you, I promise," Mrs. Helen pleaded with her son, but Richmond shook his head arrogantly.

"No, Mom. I do not want her, and it's not too late to cancel the arrangement. Just tell them that you cannot return to the village and that I have someone in my life already," Richmond said, and his mother broke down in tears.

"No, Richmond. You cannot marry these women you're associating with. They will ruin you, and they're not the kind of wife I want for you," she said. But Richmond shook his head and replied, "I am the one getting married, not you, Mom. You have Dad. You married him because you liked and loved him. Don't think I will marry a random woman or a local champion. No way. I am out of here."

"Richmond!" His father's voice boomed once more.

"You shouldn't dare cross that door or step out of this residence. You will marry and prepare to accompany your mother to the village to bring your wife here."

"Dad," Richmond spun around to look at his father. "This is a joke, right?"

"No jokes. You caused a rift between me and the George family because of your wayward lifestyle, cheating on their daughter. You have ruined my hard-earned reputation, and now you want to destroy all the respect we have left. Listen to your mother. Otherwise, you want me to disown you and hand over your wealth to Jerry!" Mr. Steven Kingston said, and Jerry, who was enjoying himself in the family bar, smiled.

"That's great, Father. You can bring the wife for me. I will marry her and accept Richmond's wealth," Jerry replied, but Richmond glared at him.

"Hmm," Richmond exhaled sharply and looked away at the door.

"I cannot marry a village woman, Father. You can go ahead and disown me," Richmond said as he walked away, and his father called after him, "Come back here, Richmond! Richmond!"

"It's okay, honey. You don't have to disown him. I will travel with Jerry to represent him and bring her for him," Mrs. Helen said since Jerry agreed to accompany her.

"No, that's not right. What if the young woman thinks that Jerry is her husband? Richmond should be the one to go and marry her and perform all the necessary marriage rights," Mr. Steven strongly disagreed, but Jerry intervened, "Do not worry, Father. It's just to represent Richmond and minimize village gossip. I will tell her I am not her husband, and she will understand."

"Hmm," Mr. Steven frowned and picked up his telephone.

"Daniel!" he yelled.

"Yes, sir," replied Daniel Austin.

"I want you to invite the family lawyer and also bar Richmond from accessing the company or any of my properties, and his account should be frozen as well," Mr. Steve instructed, and Daniel replied, "Okay, sir."

The phone call ended, and Mrs. Helen frowned, "You don't have to do that, Honey."

"No way! Allow me to deal with that stubborn boy. He will come back home begging me," Mr. Steve said, and his wife sighed. "Alright."

"Mom, so what does this new woman look like?" Jerry asked, gradually becoming drunk.

"She's beautiful, but I did not choose her for you, so you shouldn't be concerned about her looks," she said, then went to the kitchen to ask the chef to prepare their dinner.

Jerry drunkenly went back to his room in the exquisite mansion to rest on the top floor.

****

[Access Denied!] the bank card read.

Richmond's brows furrowed upon discovering that his bank card wasn't working and it hadn't expired. He tried to make a transfer, but it failed.

"Damn it!" he cursed as he was at the gasoline station, knowing his father was behind this. He quickly opened his car's safe box, retrieved some cash, and settled his bills before driving to the hotel where his ex-girlfriend had been calling him to meet up.

Mila George was a pretty fair-skinned actress. She had a messy breakup with Richmond, but she was still in love with him and wanted him back.

Richmond didn't want anything to do with Mila, but she kept calling him and threatening to harm herself if he didn't respond.

"Hmm," Richmond arrived at the hotel and checked in.

Soon, he was with Mila in a private room.

"Why did you invite me here?" he asked, his anger boiling. He wasn't a committed man. He loved Mila and wanted to marry her until he discovered she cheated during a romance movie shoot. She begged him and blamed the devil, but he wasn't interested anymore. It was easy for him to dump women, but their fathers were friends, which complicated things.

Mila wore a seductive pink see-through nightdress. She approached Richmond, her breasts nearly revealed.

"I want you, Richmond. Let's do it, please." Mila tried to remove his black coat, but he pushed her hands away.

"Get away! I told you we are done. We are over, Mila. Find another man to please you. I don't want anything to do with you again!" he said, his anger palpable.

"Why, Richmond? Why are you so unforgiving? You also cheated on me. You slept with your secretary, and I found out but kept quiet. Why can't you forgive me for just one mistake?" she asked, but he pushed her hands away and turned to leave the room.

"I cannot marry a cheating woman. You broke my trust when you allowed another man to pleasure you. I don't share my woman. If we weren't in a relationship, I wouldn't be hurt. But we were committed, and you cheated. I can cheat because I'm a man; you should know your worth as a woman."

"Richmond!" Mila rushed to stop him.

"Fine. I have forgiven you. Please, I want you. Our families wanted us to marry. I miss you, please," she pleaded, but Richmond refused. "No. My mood is ruined as my Dad froze my assets. That's what I'm dealing with for now. Get a hold of yourself. I cannot be with you until we run tests to ensure you're not infected. After that, I'll reach out," he said, pulling the door open and leaving.

"I am the only one who will marry you, Richmond, and no one else will," Mila vowed.

After leaving the hotel, Richmond called his best friend, David Howard, who had recently married his girlfriend of seven years, Anita Austin.

"Hello, David. Can we hang out tonight?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, man. My wife just gave birth, and I cannot leave her side," David said, and Richmond sighed. "That's alright, congratulations."