Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 38: The Need to Marry

When I was younger and knew less about the world and how relationships between people were supposed to function, I had thought that it was normal for a parent to ask for favors from their child. For the life of me, I cannot recall a conversation with my father where he didn’t want or needed something from me. It was when I grew up that I realized that it wasn’t normal, and that the conversations that my father had with Anthony were different. At the same time, I realized that my father had no other reason or desire to have any other kind of conversation with me. As time passed by, the things I thought were requests turned into commands.

I wasn’t sure how I felt at the time, but I was surely not at all surprised. It was as if deep down, I had always known that my father and his wife and the entire Vulkan family did not give a damn about me or my mother. Just as my father would only appear from time to time at our house during the dead of night to seek comfort from my mother’s body, he only appeared in front of me when he needed help. I didn’t know what else could take precedence with my brother lying on the hospital bed in that condition.

“Who is it this time?” I asked without showing any interest because I didn’t harbor any within me.

“This time it’s different...” my father replied before letting out a sigh that made him sound so tired.

“What is it this time?” I asked again while slightly changing my question.

Most of the time, my father’s request only boiled down to two types. The first was for me to erase someone. The second was for me to destroy or clean up something. The dark side of the Vulkan family only existed for those kinds of purposes. Removing obstacles and cleaning up the mess made by the main family was my job. Acting in the shadows to perform deeds that the main family members could not do out in the open under the shining sun was also my job.

“I need you to marry someone,” he said quite clearly.

“Marry...?” I murmured that word that seemed so mysterious to me.

What does he even mean?

“That’s right. I need you to marry someone,” he repeated sternly.

Although I could tell that he was being serious, I didn’t quite understand what he wanted. He was certainly honest and right when he said that this was different than all the other requests before. My eyes narrowed slightly as my mind struggled to comprehend the truth behind his words.

“I don’t understand,” I replied after a moment of thought.

“What don’t you understand? I need you to marry Diana Alnault, the heir of the Alnault family,” he said, loud and clear.

“Diana...” I whispered her name.

“Surely you remember her. You’ve met her countless times before,” my father reminded me needlessly.

There was no way that I would forget about Diana or the various times that I met her.

However...

“Diana is Anthony’s fiancée,” I pointed out the obvious.

“Precisely,” he repeated without missing a beat.

“I won’t marry my brother’s fiancée,” I refused calmly.

It wasn’t my particular preference in the matter that I was worried about. Anthony was in love with Diana and their relationship had been one for many to feel jealous of ever since they got engaged from when they were kids. I wasn’t sure how in love with Diana he was, but it was enough for him to go along with father’s wish for the wedding. He held her in high regard and always treated her with utmost care and respect. That much was clear to me, and he had made sure to drill it into me that I should do the same. I would never marry Diana or do anything to take her away from Anthony. Period.

“The wedding is just around the corner,” father pointed out.

“Then postpone it,” I replied with the most obvious solution.

“The shareholder meeting where I’ll be announcing Anthony formally as the next heir is in two days,” he said as he glared at me.

I already knew what he was getting at...

“Postpone it. Everything can wait until Anthony gets better,” I said with a straight face.

“No, it can’t! We can’t postpone anything. Not the shareholder meeting and definitely not the wedding. Everyone has been waiting for this to happen. It’s finally time to formally unite our families and move this country forward into a new era,” father announced passionately.

How can he say such things ambitiously when his son is in that broken condition?

“It will have to wait,” I surmised without backing down.

“You don’t get it, do you? Anthony isn’t going to wake up anytime soon. He won’t wake up today and he won’t wake up tomorrow or the week after that...” my father raised his voice loudly.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked although I had a very bad feeling of what it really meant.

“His brain is damaged. The doctors aren’t sure how serious it is, but they have ruled that he’s in a vegetative state right now. He won’t return back to normal within a week...” my father said before trailing off.

“He’s...” I murmured as the shocking truth began sinking in.

“We’re running out of time...” Anthony’s mother spoke up for the first time since we entered the meeting room.

“I will not go along with this,” I stated firmly.

“You don’t have a choice. We don’t have the luxury of a choice either,” father countered with a frown between his brows.

The situation was indeed bleak for both our family and the future of the country if this marriage wouldn’t go through as planned. However, none of that concerned me enough for me to do anything that may harm my brother’s life and future.

“We should wait for Anthony to regain consciousness. You should tell everyone the truth about what has happened,” I suggested with what I thought was the most sensible solution.

--To be continued...