MY PRETEND WIFE

Dilemma

Richard stared at his mother uncomprehendingly for a few minutes. His brain seemed to refuse to understand what his mother just said.

"You're going to disown me?" he whispered. His heart beat was erratic and his breathing was shallow and labored. His mother cannot do this to him. The company was his entire life. It was what he was born to do.

His mother sighed. "I'm not going to disown you RJ. I'm just saying that I want you to settle your life first before handling a huge responsibility such as the company" She explained.

"So you expect me to fix my life by getting married?" Richard asked disbelievingly.

His mother frowned. "You don't have any plans of getting married at all, do you?"

Richard was silent. How could he explain to his mother that marriage was not something he had included in his long term plans? No matter how hard he denied it, he knew that he was still his father's son. Why would he drag some poor unfortunate soul into a relationship that was doomed in the first place? He had seen how his mother had suffered in the hands of his useless father and he did not want history to repeat itself. It was best to steer clear from it entirely.

"Are you saying that you are happy with your life, flitting from one woman to another?" His mother asked as she raised an eyebrow at him.

Richard had to weigh his response. A wrong answer could send his mother over the edge. "My life is fine as it is as of now." He slowly replied.

The frown on his mother's face deepened. "You do know that I expect to have a grandchild in the near future, don't you? A legitimate heir to everything we've worked so hard to have." She said as she emphasized on the word legitimate.

Richard grimaced at what his mother said. He had forgotten about that. As the sole heir to the Faulkerson empire of course he was expected to have a child to carry on their lineage. But still, marriage was an alien word for him. How could he possibly convince his mother to get off his back about it?

"I just don't like history repeating itself mom" he tried to explain.

"Nonsense!" His mother exclaimed. "You are not your father. Is this why you're so afraid of marriage? You're afraid you might become like him? Listen to me RJ, you are nothing like your father. I raised you to be a good and responsible man. I believe in you."

Richard was both happy and scared upon hearing his mother's fervent words. He was ecstatic that his mother believed in him so much but at the same time he was scared as hell because he might just disappoint her in the end.

"My word is final RJ. The company will not be yours until you find yourself a wife."

Richard's shoulders dropped in despair. There was no convincing his mother out of it. Apparently she has made up her mind and if he wants to inherit the company that he had placed his heart and soul into, it looks like he'd better start looking.

As soon as he left his mother's study, he headed towards his jaguar and drove towards his pad. He stepped on the accelerator so hard that the wheels squealed in protest. He wanted to scream out his frustration. There was no use arguing with his mother. He loved her dearly but there were times such as this that he could not stand her at all. She did have the tendency to control his life and even if she does this out of love and concern for him, there were just times wherein he resented it so much.

He started to calm down as soon as he entered his unit. It had always been his sanctuary- his home away from home. This was where he went when he wanted to be alone. He took off his coat and placed it on the coat rack behind the door. He had to think of a way to get himself out of this. He knew that if he could not find himself a wife his mother will take matters into her own hands and find him one. Arranged marriages were nothing new in the world he lived in but even still he could not see himself living out the rest of his life with someone that was chosen for him. If he were to get married, it would be to a girl of his own choosing whether he loved her or not.