Forced Marriage: Escaping Her Monster

Jeremy bowed his head. It seems like that seems to be the rational move forward if he wants to have his love fulfilled. Everyone is advising the same and he thinks the same too.

For him, the choice is obvious. Like Emma made the choice to get the man she loved, he will do everything to get the heart of the woman he loves too.

"What about you?" Jeremy asked Mikhail who fell silent.

Although Mikhail's advice is sound, it did hurt Jeremy's pride to be advised by a younger guy.

"Me? You know me... I'd like to be at least forty before I even think about marriage-"

"So your grandpa still doesn't want to get involved with the Erling family, it seems," Jeremy probed. He had a hunch, but...

"I am not interested in Rose! So whatever you heard or whatever you saw is all a lie. Erase it and don't ever bring that name up!" Mikhail got all defensive and Jeremy smirked.

So, my hunch was right!

"So her name is Rose, huh? I never knew..." Jeremy was proud of himself to see Mikhail squirm realizing that he had jumped the gun and exposed himself.

"But I gather that Rose is the old man's great-granddaughter through his daughter, right? Even then...Jonathan Erling – what does he have on Alexander?" Jeremy was curious.

Jonathan Erling –  the mysterious billionaire. He is said to be nearly ninety years old and as long as he is alive he's the fourth richest man on earth. Even when there is a recession or world war, his net worth will always make him the fourth richest.

As if that itself isn't fishy, there are more to him that makes him a very suspicious person.

From software, pharmaceutical, to weapons manufacturing there is no field left untouched by his influence. From academia to art, his name will be etched everywhere. As a well-known philanthropist who is said to donate a substantial amount of his revenue for causes all around the world, many aspire to be him.

Everyone knows that name, but no one knows that person really well. He lives well-hidden in his castle (yes, a literal castle that his family owns for generations) and rarely makes public appearances.

But he has a big family. Yes, a very big family. He recently married a twenty-year-old. She's his seventh or eighth wife. People lost count after his fifth wedding anyway. He likes his wives to be young. He marries younger women, has kids with them, and then divorces them once they become forty. He pays them handsomely and they seem to have an understanding and they all get along together.

Yeah, it's loathsome for him. It's a world where he won't dip his toes in. That dark, murky world... Yuck!

Alexander once said with utter contempt in his face, 'He thinks, as a human, it is his duty to be fruitful and multiply. Younger wives help him achieve that.'

So, he has a very large family. Twenty-two children (illegal kids unknown), nearly a hundred grandchildren, around three hundred great-grandchildren... Yes, it is a big family.

But it is said they are a tightly knit family and that old man is the patriarch of the family with everyone having to abide by his rules and conditions.

Well, he wouldn't get involved with that family either, but for Alexander to deny one of those great-grandchildren to enter his mansion as his grandson's wife even after knowing that Mikhail is pining for her for years is suspicious.

"Not sure," Mikhail cringed. "More than that, I think grandpa despises him. We are not tied otherwise. Even in business, we never cross paths."

He doesn't like that family either. But the heart wants what it wants.

Rose... she's perfect! Ever since he saw her riding that horse, the moment she met his eyes with a smile, he knew she's the one for him.

They dated secretly at first. They got along great since they had the same principles. Her family found out first and they had no issues with them dating. But he had to break up with her because his grandpa wasn't happy with his choice.

His grandpa didn't ask him to break up. He just didn't want to make his grandpa unhappy and broke up with her. He thought she'd get over a weak man like him who couldn't even hold on to his love by standing up to his grandfather.

But he met her recently by accident at sea. Her love for him was still burning passionately as his love for hers. They talked, among doing other steamy stuff. She said she'd wait for his grandpa's permission.

And that's why when Emma pulled that stunt yesterday, he got really mad. He has to keep Rose's mind at ease and not stress her by getting seen with another woman.

He believes that his grandpa will come around. And now that his grandpa watched Jeremy's wedding, he'd surely want to hasten up his wedding too. And he's not going to marry anyone but Rose.

So... his grandpa really doesn't have a choice here. With his bad heart, he doesn't have much time to wait around if he wants to see his great-grandchildren.

Yes... it's all a bit... But he wants his grandpa's hearty blessing for his wedding.

Jeremy saw Mikhail in serious thoughts. There was an unusual smile on his face – the smile of a man in love. It's good.

Well, although Alexander is adamant like a toddler, he won't hinder his only grandson's happiness for long. So he doesn't have to worry.

Jeremy scrolled through the pictures sent to him. That Fleur De Lys is indeed a bit unique and it is found in very few emblems and crests that were copyrighted in the past and found on the internet. Jeremy didn't give many details and only asked to check about the symbol. It seemed like some copyrights had to be found in the paper archives and so there could be more.

But it was not hard for Jeremy to find out Jerlina's links. It was glaringly obvious.

"Hamilton family?" he looked at Mikhail. "They had a glassware company too?"

"You've..." Mikhail held his surprised looks for two whole seconds before leaning back comfortably. "Yes. She's the last one of them actually."

Jeremy took in a deep breath. He was a little surprised, actually. She has an aristocratic lineage like him too.

"They were very prominent and you can still find people who consider Hamilton glassware as a valuable antique. Most of its value comes from the fact that the Hamilton glassware is no more, but its quality is undeniable. Grandpa has a lot of their art pieces back home and..."  Mikhail paused seeing Jeremy expecting other information.

"Hamilton family is – was a well-respected aristocratic family that had ties to almost all of the royal families. Even your lineage has Hamilton genes mixed in it. But some decades ago, Ms. Hopkins' grandfather put all the family's titles to abeyance and disappeared from the face of the world. No one-"

"Family's titles?" Jeremy questioned. "How many did they have?"