The Wrath of a Son-in-Law: Stand Up, Fool!

Deal

“Wait, wait, sir.” Harvey let out a little laugh, but his face told how in disbelief he was at the moment. He had his hand raised, stopping the man from saying anything further because, as of the moment, he couldn’t register the words, the bomb, the shocking news that he was supposed to accept because it was a once in a lifetime offer and it was only offered to him, so he should feel flattered of that fact. “You mean, I, me, a garbage man… would marry your daughter? The daughter… that girl who slapped me?”

The Vice President nodded at him with his squinted eyes. “That girl, exactly. The one who despises you a lot. Alyanna Klein, my eldest daughter. She’s a pain in the neck most of the time, but she is just naturally like that. Maybe I have failed to correct her way of living before and she has been spoiled by her mother, but I believe it's not too late yet to change her."

And would he change her through me? Harvey asked himself with a frown. He could definitely see himself not getting along with this woman, Alana, whatever her name was. That woman was the perfect example of doom and gloom. There was a huge sign above her head that glowed in a bright, eye-catching red color of a red exclamation point that warned him not to come near or it would explode. She gave that kind of fear to Harvey, and he bet they would never get along.

“Sir, no offense, but I think you… have to think of this one thoroughly. Marriage is not a joke, it’s not something that we could simply do. This is not a simple thing, just having to select between two people like we are playing. Sir, we are talking about the junction of two people, and it’s your daughter in this case. You can’t just tie her to me… a simple garbage man.”

He tried to be very careful of his tone. He didn’t want to come up rude, he just wanted to make sure that he was in the right mind while saying this because, for him, he had gone mad. Who would even choose a below average person, the poorest of the poor in social status, who didn’t get to finish high school, and most of all, very uncharacteristic to be getting along with the richest people in society? He was not ready for this, marriage was something that he never thought of at that age. He even thought he would grow old alone because the amount of self-dragging that he did to himself was immense.

However, no matter how much he tried to express his thoughts critically and made the Vice President realize the facts that he should consider, the provost just looked at him more firmly as if he had already thought about those for so long and his decision was final that the people involved wouldn’t be able to oppose because he was the most powerful man, he new everything, he was mighty, he was adorable, and nothing could go against him, much to Harvey’s disappointment. Rich people are really crazy.

“Mister Clarke,” he said, adjusting his seat. He crossed his arms and looked Harvey dead in the eye, something that caused shivers in Harvey’s spine. He knew what was about to go down. “You are poor. We are rich. You are not educated, and my daughter graduated with honorable mention in college. You can’t eat regularly. We eat five times a day, or even more than that. You have no house, save that temporary house that I’m sure will be taken away from you soon, and we have this mansion and more private houses like this all over the world. Your clothes are worn out, or who knows, you have been wearing them for a week now because you stink, but I can provide you with branded clothes, and the lists go on. “

Harvey stared at the man, and the longer his list went on, the more his face became more bitter and sour because of the comparison. He got it. He was poor, but no one had slapped him in the face like that. He was basically as poor as a rat, probably because he surrounded himself with poor people who were struggling like him and shared the same problem as him. Those people were the best, they helped each other with almost everything.

But right now, Harvey felt like cold water was just splashing on his face, or a huge, steel hand of a giant just slapped him on the face and it dawned on him how poor he actually was, how useless he was, that even if he was killed, it wouldn’t cause any harm to people but rather be a favor to people like the Vice President. Good riddance as to what they say.

He didn’t know what the sense of comparison was, it wasn’t like he was not aware of what they had and what he had not. It wasn’t like he was not aware that he could be compared to a rag meant to clean the dirt of rich people, being the only sense in the world, but with the situation right now where the VP was asking for his favor to marry his daughter for the reason that he didn’t know and couldn’t comprehend if he wanted to get his approval, he shouldn’t have said those. This man should better be thankful because someone out there was listening and if Harvey told him about the rumors and issues he had, he would cry in front of him.

“Hey, hey, stay calm, tiger,” the provost said when he saw the look in the man’s eyes. He chuckled and waved his hand defensively. “I didn’t mean to hurt your ego, little boy. I was just telling the truth, and you know, I can change that truth into a dream come true fantasy. You could have all of those if you were to marry my daughter. You could have all your luxury. Who doesn’t have a luxury? You can buy anything you want, you can do everything you want to do. You will be rich, just like us. You can forget how you lived before and start something new, Harvey. You just have to do one thing."

It was tempting. Definitely tempting. Harvey wanted to be rich. That was one thing that he was striving to achieve, it was his goal. He dreamed about living in a huge house, eating a lot of food that was not spoiled nor from the garbage of one fast-food chain. He dreamed about having a car, and driving around the city. He dreamed about going to country after country. He dreamed about bragging about his wealth and what he could do with money.

This opportunity being presented to him was something that he couldn't let go of. This was really a reward, more than what he was asking for, beyond what he had expected. Harvey knew that he was already showing interest in how he thought of those and how he saw himself in the image that the Vice President wanted him to think. He was blinded by all of it already, and he knew he was already an inch before he bit into the trap.

"Is this… a contracted marriage, sir? Do I get to go out of married life when I don't want it anymore when I think of it?" He asked, pulling the last bit of his rational mind to make sure that he would not be all going down the pit of something too good to be true because something might probably get in the way of his luxurious pleasure.

The Vice President was shocked, he didn't expect this kind of question from the man. He thought it was just easy to ask him, like a 'yes' or 'yes' question and answer, like asking a kid if he wanted chocolates. It completely shocked him when he mentioned a contract. Maybe this guy was not really entirely a fool, just like what he had imagined him. It didn't threaten him, though. He had controlled the highest lawyers in the country before, this poor man didn't bother him at all, if anything, he just found everything interesting. All he just wanted was to secure his daughter's future, even for quite a while.

"A contract, huh," he muttered, putting his hand under his chin. "Okay, then. How about a three-year marriage contract with my daughter? Within those years, everything will be given to you by my daughter, so you will have to ask her. She's basically your boss. You cannot complain about things, you will have to protect your daughter and accompany her wherever she wants to go. You will be her husband, on paper and in the eyes of others. If something happens to her, I will ask and blame you if it's serious. Do you understand, Mister Harvey Clarke?"

Harvey thought of things once again. If he said 'yes', then his life of being single would be gone at that very moment. He would be held captive, that was what he could imagine being with this family, that even their house already felt like a suffocating jail. It meant that he would have to deal with the daughter, or even the mother, something that was making him reconsider. They both looked like they couldn't kill a fly, but they could hit a person, so well.

"So, what do you think? Is it enough for you yet?" The Vice President asked, perching his elbows on the table as he leaned forward and looked at Harvey with a kind smile, something that Harvey knew had something behind them. "I will send a supply of food to your place and we'll protect the squatter area for the years you'd stay with us."

Well, boy, that is one way to get him to agree. He looked at the man in front of him, and his broad smile already told him that he knew the answer, as this was the secret weapon that he would use in that case like that. He might have probably searched for that as well. If not, he wouldn’t know that he was compassionate. “Add the regular supply of materials and food to the Sweet Child Orphanage, then it’s a deal.”

The Vice President stood up and lent his hand. “Consider it done. It’s a deal, Mister Harvey Clarke.”

Harvey also stood up and hesitantly reached over his hand for a firm handshake. He knew his trivial day would come to an end. He was very excited to experience the life of a rich person, but at the same time, he was nervous about what might happen to him in the marriage life with the Vice President’s daughter, or the whole family. He was aware that it would not be ordinary, he just hoped he would not regret agreeing to this. Well, it was just three years, it was just short.

“Tell me he didn’t agree.” Alyanna walked into the kitchen with loud steps and furrowed brows as she stood in front of her father and the rest of the family. The maids who were preparing the food immediately exited the scene upon hearing the sound of a storm about to come in the form of this she-devil.

The Vice President put down his utensils and wiped his mouth softly. “Good news, he agreed. You will marry him, not grand, just simply for the paper and the eyes of others to stop you from your wild escapades-”

“But I don’t want to!” she shouted, so loud, so ear-piercing, almost like a brat and a child throwing tantrums about confiscating her favorite doll. Her eyes turned to a glare, and she was near crying in anger once again, something that she had already done earlier. “I swear, I will make his life a living hell, and it’s your fault!”

Alyanna walked out again. Janet stood up as well and glared at her husband before following her daughter. Alyssa and the Vice President were left alone at the table, a gloomy feeling surrounded them. It was a normal occurrence.

“Alyssa, can you buy men's clothes for Harvey tomorrow?”