The slap was from her father.
"Dad! Why?" Rosie shouted at him.
"You're coming from Desmond's house, right?" he asked.
"Yes, why?" Rosie replied, confused.
Her father slapped her again. "You're asking me why? How many times have I told you to stop hanging out with that delinquent?"
"Dad! Watch your words! Desmond isn't who you think he is," Rosie defended Desmond.
"What do you know, huh?! How old are you? You're already having sex, and suddenly, you think you know what's right and what's wrong."
Rosie stayed silent.
"To your room — now! Don't come out until I tell you to. You're grounded," her father ordered.
Rosie rolled her eyes and walked to her room, slamming the door shut when she got there, but not locking the door as she wasn't allowed to when grounded.
"Mom didn't even tell me he was returning today. Tch!" Rosie muttered to herself. She looked at herself in the mirror, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. Her cheeks and eyes were swollen a few minutes later, and she broke down into tears. "Why am I even crying?" she asked herself through tears.
******************************
Meanwhile, at the Hart mansion, Raymond's parents summoned him.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Mrs. Hart asked.
"I don't like it when you guys stick your nose in my business," Raymond replied rudely while scrolling through his pictures on social media.
"You brat!" his father hissed.
"When your mother is talking to you, you listen! Drop that phone!"
Raymond sighed in frustration and dropped his phone. "You have my attention now. Make it quick," he said.
"First question. Who are you dating?"
"I am dating a girl," Raymond replied.
"Of course, I know it's a girl," his mother said.
"So I guess we're done here then?" Raymond asked, clearly wanting to leave.
"Raymond, I know you hate talking to us, and you want to leave this sitting room as soon as possible. But this is important, and it's for your future too," his mother replied.
Raymond cracked his knuckles and said, "Make it quick."
"We want to introduce you to the board. It's time to join the Hart Group. You're old enough already," his father explained.
"You know very well that I'm not interested in joining the family business," Raymond said, standing firm.
"Oh really? I don't recall asking whether you were interested or not," Mr. Hart mocked him.
"What do you mean?" Raymond asked his parents.
"In simple English, you're joining the business whether or not you like it," Mrs. Hart replied.
"I'm not joining, and you can't force me," Raymond clapped back, folding his arms.
"Have you ever made money in your entire life? Your cars, your clothes, your food – it's our money! Your luxury lifestyle results from your mother's and my hard work. Can you make money? What's with your arrogant attitude?" Mr. Hart fired at Raymond.
Raymond was silent.
"We've made the way easier for you. You don't have to start from scratch. You'll be appointed as the CEO in a few years' time, so you need to learn now, starting from the basics."
"What does my girlfriend have to do with all this? Why did you ask about her?" Raymond asked, confused.
"We have many enemies, Ray. Who knows, you may be dating one of their daughters, but that's not why we asked," his mother replied.
"So why?" Raymond asked, eager to get an answer.
"Because of your reputation. We want nothing that will tarnish our or your image," Mr. Hart explained.
"And also for networking. Hang out with girls from reputable families for future projects and collaborations. Good connections," his mother added.
"You can force me to join the family business, but you have no right to tell me who I can and can't date," Raymond stated firmly.
"Oh yes, we can, which brings us to the next part of this discussion. Leo!" Mrs. Hart called out.
Leonard, the right-hand man of the Hart family, arrived in the sitting room. He had worked for the family since the year Raymond was born and knew everything about them and their business.
"Yes ma'am?" Leonard asked.
"Did you prepare what I asked you to?" Mrs. Hart asked him.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll be right back," Leonard said and left the room.
A minute later, he returned with a file and handed it over to Mrs. Hart.
"Hmm, not bad," Mrs. Hart said, browsing through the file.
"Honey, go through them and let me know what you think. Select one please," Mrs. Hart handed the file to her husband. She then turned to Raymond.
"Leo has compiled a list of all the girls in your class and their background information. It's not so impressive, but there are a few from good families. Your school is the biggest school in this city, and I expected all the girls to be from reputable families," she explained.
"It's rude and wrong to look up personal information of people without their permission. It's a violation of privacy," Raymond protested.
"Oh, shut up! What do you know? It's for your own good. One day, you're going to drop this arrogant attitude and thank us for this," Mr. Hart responded.
"I like these two, Mirabel and Beth. Mirabel's parents are lawyers, and they own M & B Law firm, while Beth's father is in broadcast media. I'm sure we will need their services in the future," Mrs. Hart said, continuing to go through the file.
"I can't believe this is happening," Raymond sighed, rolling his eyes.
"They aren't the best lawyers in the country, and they aren't the best broadcast media too. So what? If you want to partner with them, you can always reach out to them and let them know your intentions. Why does it have to be through innocent kids?" Raymond argued.
"Firstly, M & B law firm has the best lawyers in the country, and they only work with elites. We are using you and their daughter – or daughters – to gain their trust. We don't want it to be an ordinary business relationship," Mrs. Hart explained.
"Yeah. They'll help us if our hands get dirty, you know," Mr. Hart added.
Raymond sighed once again, feeling frustrated.
"So, what about your girlfriends? Are you dating any of your classmates?" Mrs. Hart inquired.
Raymond lied, "No, she is not my classmate."
"Are you not interested in any of your classmates or schoolmates?" his mother asked skeptically.
"No, not really," Raymond replied.
Mrs. Hart turned to Leo, "Okay, play the clip."
"What clip?" Raymond asked, confused.
"You'll see," Mrs. Hart answered with a smirk.