He didn't renounce his right to inherit because of William's supposed 'valid reason'.
She had never heard a lie as terrible as this. She could clearly see the truth: After finding out his actual inheritance from the executor, he became overwhelmed with greed.
She had expected this to happen, that is why she wanted to pay him off as soon as possible. The last thing she wanted was a greedy idiot ruining the Empire her father built from scratch.
But even as calculating as she was, she would never have guessed that Henry was a special kind of idiot. The kind that thought she would allow him to spend a night, alone with her, in The Imperial Palace. She could hardly care that he owned half of it.
Slam.
She shut the door, and Henry turned around with a dumbfounded look that made her grin.
Click!
She tapped the panel and the door locked. Henry moved closer to the door.
"Open the door."
"No. If you thought I didn't have a problem with you crashing here, think again."
"But I own half of the mansion!"
"So do I."
A cold breeze blew by and Henry realized she had the upper hand.
"Anne, I'm sure we can come to a conclusion."
"Likewise. Sell me your half of The Imperial Palace."
The deal was reasonable, but not to Henry. This modern megamansion was where his grandfather had lived. He couldn't sell a chance of getting to know his grandfather.
"I kindly refuse your offer. But I don't mind buying your half."
Now Anne was sure Henry was just taking the piss out of her. How could he ask her to sell her childhood home?
"I refuse as well, but with no kindness involved. Have a good night, Henry." She said before attempting to leave, but Henry asked her to wait and hear him out first.
"You're hostile to me, because you think I'm going to ruin William's Empire. It's understandable that you would think that; if I was in your shoes, I'm sure I would also be wary of some idiot destroying my father's empire. But that isn't going to happen, because I understand the responsibility I have. I would never do anything that would hurt William's legacy."
Anne's eyes showed that his words touched her.
Click!
She unlocked the door, which kept a smile on his face, and the moment Henry's hand touched the door handle—
Click!
—she locked it once more.
"What the—"
Anne burst out laughing, as Henry's expression greatly amused her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to, but I just had to do it." She said, in between giggles. Henry, who was the object of the joke, had a completely different expression on his face.
Ahem.
She cleared her throat, and regained her composure.
"William always told me: Actions prove who someone really is, while words only show who they want to be."
Henry scoffed. She was the last person that needed to say this. She talks all nice, but her actions said otherwise.
"Hm, if I judge you based on your actions, that would prove you are a selfish untrusting psycho who would invite someone to dinner and leave without paying."
"While your actions prove you're a greedy idiot who, after having a little taste of wealth, now wants more money than he can spend. The worst part, is that you haven't realized your greed yet."
"It's funny how you think you're doing all this to protect his legacy, but the truth is: you're just trying to fix your inflated ego that got damaged when you found out you weren't his sole beneficiary."
"No, let me tell you what's truly hilarious: It's the fact that you think he had a valid reason for including you in a will he made fifteen years ago. He simply just forgot to exclude you, that's all."
They were finally quiet, after expressing their real feelings to each other.
"I'm glad we had this chat."
"Me too. It makes how we feel about each other clear." Anne agreed.
Another cold breeze blew by, and Henry knew he had to find another way to get in. He ran to the left and Anne was confused...
"What is he— Shit!"
...before she realized he was running to another door.
She rose up her gown and raced towards the door, thanking the heavens that she had long since pulled off her heels.
Click!
She got there just in time. If she had been a second late, the result would not have been the same.
Without rest, Henry ran again and Anne pursued after him. This happened till she locked the last door.
Click!
Click!
"C'mon!" Henry screamed, in between pants.
It wasn't a fair race. He ran in the cold, went up and down stairs, jumped over iron railings and had to go around pillars and flowerpots; while she had it easy running in the warm house, on top level tiled floor. It was no wonder she reached the doors first.
"Don't tell me you're already exhausted?" She asked with a smug look.
"Try running out here, let's see if you would last a minute."
"It's a tempting offer, but I think I'll pass. It looks kind of cold out there. Now that there's no way for you to disturb my peaceful home, I'm off to bed. There's a hotel nearby, it's super fancy but nothing a multimillionaire can't afford. Goodnight Henry."
She said, before walking away. Henry asked her to wait, but she didn't listen this time.
Accepting his fate, Henry dipped his hand into his jacket pocket just to find out it was empty. He had removed his phone and wallet when he made himself at home earlier.
"Bloody hell!" He cussed.
He looked around and picked up a rock. If he could break the glass portion of the door, he could get in...
Clack!
...he threw the stone back where it belonged. He couldn't bring himself to destroy his grandfather's mansion.
He laid on the veranda swing, and used his suit jacket as a blanket. It was going to be long cold night.
As the cold and mosquitoes had their way with him, he realized no form of speech was going to convince Anne that they wanted the same thing. It was as if she wanted something else.
Henry eyes widened, as he gained a new line of thinking.
He had always asked why William left him half of his Empire, but this was the first time he asked why didn't William give Anne his whole Empire?
He had never looked at it from this angle before. There were so many reasons but in a wierd way, things made more sense.
If Anne and William wanted different things, it made sense that he wouldn't give her his entire legacy. It was very possible that this was the case, but Henry chose to give her the benefit of doubt, till he finds something among his grandfather's things that confirms this hypothesis.
He was initially planning to peacefully watch over his Grandfather's Empire together with her, but with the way things were going...he might have to first wage war with Anne.
———
Anne opened her eyes to see a new day. She waltzed through the mansion's large lobby, to the kitchen downstairs.
It has been so long since she slept so well, she didn't even know when she started humming.
She quickly made her special hot cup of coffee to start her day. She chose to enjoy her beverage in the sitting room, that was when she noticed a wallet and phone that didn't belong to her.
She picked it up to check which of her yesterday's guests it belonged to, just to find out it was Henry's.
"Shit!!"
She rushed out. She hoped he wasn't still outside. She almost ran round the large mansion, before she saw him lying on her beloved veranda swing.
"Oh my god, Henry!"
He opened his eyes.
"You slept out here?!"
"I had no choice. I left my phone and wallet—"
"I just saw them. I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't have them on you. Let's get you inside."
———
"Ahhh~"
Henry relaxed on the couch in the warm sitting room. He picked up the hot cup of coffee in his front.
"Wait, that's mine." Anne said, but she was a tad late.
After taking a sip, Henry smacked his lips. There was something about the coffee. It had a unique sweetness.
"How much sugar did you put in this?"
"What you're tasting isn't sugar. And I made it for myself." She said as she stretched her hand to retrieve her beverage. In response, Henry drew the cup farther away.
"I'm a victim, treat me with more kindness."
Anne could only roll her eyes. She went to the kitchen and some minutes later, she came back with another cup of her special coffee. She sat down, and looked at him.
"Why do you want to stay here?"
"This is William's family home. If I want to understand him, and why he gave me half of everything, there's no better place to be."
"I can't have you snooping through his documents."
"Why? Is there something you're hiding?"
Anne scoffed.
"I have nothing to hide. I'm simply just being cautious, you might've some ulterior motives."
"Like what?"
"Like planning to get my half of William's Empire. Or maybe even something perverse."
Henry laughed.
"Plotting to steal your half of the Empire would make you right for calling me greedy, which is a mistake I can't afford to make. As for your other concern, I'm sorry but you're not my type. I prefer girls that care for things other than themselves."
"I'm glad you feel that way. You would be more bothersome if you were attracted to me." Anne replied. She glanced at a door, then back at Henry. "As much as I would like to still kick you out, it doesn't feel fair anymore and I'm not sure why."
"It's because, you've realized that you're oppressing my ownership of The Imperial Palace, without a justified reason."
Anne let out a sigh. "I guess you're right. Many times would come when we would need to challenge each other's ownership over an asset, because of our different wants. It wouldn't be right if one of us just forcibly claimed full ownership."
"I agree. That's why there needs to be a process that decides the course of action for us, in times like that. A neutral process we both accept, like a poll."
"Yes. But voting would end in a tie, since we're just two."
"What about a game that we both agree on?"
"That's much better. The winner of the game gets to decides what happens with the asset." Anne replied.
She took the last sip of her coffee before stretching her hand to Henry. In her palm, was a coin.
"Shall we use a coin toss to decide whether you get to stay here?"