After that, Elion and his parents arrived at the company, the little Maincoon was still confused about what he was supposed to do.
When they entered the building everyone greeted them and they went straight to the meeting hall.
To Elion's amusement, he saw the Archduke of their Ice Dragon province, Mr. Azurdraycen.
Also the chairman of Azurdraycen company with which their Grimalkin company always rivaled.
That was just how much the Grimalkin company's power was as it could even compete with the most powerful Azurdraycen company of the Ravenire Kingdom.
Elion's father and Mr. Azurdraycen greeted each other while Mrs.Grimalkin and Mrs. Azurdraycen shook hands.
Elion was shocked as he whisper-asked his father, "What's going on Dad? Why is the Archduke here? Isn't he, our biggest business rival?"
Before Mr. Grimalkin could answer his perplexed son...
"I see. So, he's your son Elion Grimalkin. Well, Mr. Grimalkin he's so pretty that I can see my son Anteros falling head over heels for him." Mr. Azurdraycen smiled.
Elion was shocked.
>>>Why will the only heir of the Ice Dragon's clan fall head over heals for me?
>>>What the hell are they talking about?
A cherry red shade spread through the nape and the ears of Elion. But then he remembered why he came to the company in the first place.
>>>Stop getting all blushy just by simple praise, you idiot!
>>>Father said that there was an important decision for me to make that would help solve the problem of our company.
>>>I need to stay focused.
He shook his head and then greeted the Archduke, "Glad to meet you, Your Grace."
"Pleasure is all mine, little Mainecoon. I have heard praises about your beauty but they are all understatements."
Mr. Azurdraycen smiled shaking his hands with Elion.
Elion became shy at that and looked down at his feet.
"You are right, honey. Angel clans are extinct otherwise I might have thought he is an angel," Mrs. Azurdraycen spoke brushing the golden silver hair of Elion.
"Th-Thankyou, your Grace," Elion bowed to her respectfully.
Then he thought what Evander told about Mrs. Azurdraycen wasn't an overstatement.
>>>She looks so hot...
"Ai, don't call me that. We are-" Mrs. Azurdraycen was cut off by Mrs. Grimalkin.
"Your Grace, it's been a long time since we met," Mrs. Grimalkin embraced her and whispered something.
"Right, we used to meet up at tea parties often. But for the past three months, I couldn't attend as I went on a business trip."
Mrs. Azurdraycen cleared her throat and changed the topic right away with a smile on her face and looked at her husband.
"Honey, did you call Anteros and check when he will arrive?"
"He will be- Ah! There he is, my son and the sole heir of the Ice-dragon clan, Anteros Azurdraycen."
Mr. Azurdraycen introduced as Anteros knocked on the door and stepped inside.
Elion turned to see him and was shocked to see the dragon that helped him yesterday.
>>>So he is Anteros Azurdraycen...
>>>Yesterday I didn't see him clearly but he's so handsome, his black doe eyes with an azure hue, his long nose...
>>>His thin lips and that mole on his chin under his lips, his muscular body which is seen even though he's wearing formal clothes.
>>>To say that he's the most handsome man in the whole Aeonia empire is an understatement... wait!
>>>What the hell am I thinking?
>>>I should be worried that if he spits any words from yesterday to my parents then I'll be dead, what should I do!?
Anteros was baffled as he entered the meeting room. His father called suddenly and informed him that there was an urgent meeting at Grimalkin's company.
At first, he was shocked that why would his father attend a meeting with the Grimalkins cause it was their biggest rival's company in the whole of Ravenire kingdom.
Anteros couldn't understand yet he had to obey his father's words so he came to the company all confused.
>>>What in the world is my father thinking about, I have no idea.
Anteros noticed that the atmosphere was not anything like a professional meeting it was more like a family gathering.
Then his eyes caught a glimpse of the boy who was looking at Anteros with amused eyes.
>>>Wait... this boy... I have seen him somewhere, didn't I? But where?
Anteros frowned staring at the boy trying to recall his memory as he greeted the Grimalkins.
"Alright, now that everyone is here shall we discuss the purpose of our meeting today?"
Mr. Azurdraycen looked at Mr. Grimalkin.
"Yes, of course. We, elders already know the purpose but we have to discuss it with our kids," Mr. Grimalkin responded.
Anteros sat next to his father and whisper-asked him when Mr. Azurdraycen revealed that both Azurdraycen and Grimalkin companies were in grave danger as one of the Aeonia empire's biggest companies purchased a large no. of stocks secretly for years.
Mr. Azurdraycen then looked at Mr. Grimalkin with a proud face.
"No need to discuss, Anteros obeys every single word of mine."
Then to give respect to his father's words, Anteros firmly replied, "That's right. Whatever it is if Father decides something then I will obey his words. I trust him."
"Young man you have to think before you speak. Who knows you might come to regret it," Mr. Grimalkin spoke looking into the young dragon's eyes.
Which hurt Anteros's ego somewhat so he thought of something, smirked, and declared...
"Okay. I don't care what's the solution you people came up with but I promise that I will act according to what my father has decided."
When a dragon promises they would be bound by it and not even heaven could defy their oath. This was why the promise might be his biggest mistake ever made and or maybe otherwise who knew... the future was unknown anyway.
But for Anteros it would teach him a lesson that later he would never give any empty promises before he knew what it was about because of his ego.
Mr. Azurdraycen had a winning smile playing on his lips.
>>>Caught you, my son.
It was Mr. Azurdraycen's cunning plan all along to make his stubborn son willingly fall into his trap.
"We discussed the solution among us yesterday night, to protect our company from falling into crisis, right Mr. Azurdraycen?" Mr. Grimalkin spoke.
"That's right and we have decided it will be better if we merge our main companies which will skyrocket the stocks and we will become Aeonia empire's most powerful enterprises and no one can no longer dare to bring us down again," Mr. Azurdraycen announced.
"What-"
Anteros was cut off by Mrs. Azurdraycen.
"But before that, we need to weed out all those fake stockholders from our both companies."
She had an evil smirk as she said that. Well, who doesn't know when it came down to cutting off people the Archduchess was an expert as she was from the sea dragon clan known for their crafty and scheming ways.
There was also a rumor that the Sea Dragon clan had been controlling the underground market for ages and that their power wasn't something even the emperor of Aeonia could go against.
Many who didn't know better crossed out it as a baseless exaggerated rumor but who knew kept silent and stayed in line maintaining a good relationship with the sea dragon clan as they couldn't afford to offend them.
"Right. I and Drystan will take care of those fake stockholders by tomorrow," she said.
"By Drystan, you mean the the C.E.O of Dracentes entertainments?" Mrs. Grimalkin questioned.
"Yes, he is my nephew. My elder brother's youngest son," Mrs. Azurdraycen replied.
"Oh, that's great. We will leave it to you both then," Mr. Grimalkin said.
Mrs. Azurdraycen nodded.
"Alright then after that we will announce our merging after the marriage. At that time our stocks would skyrocket and those people couldn't afford to buy even 3% of our company's stocks," Mr. Azurdraycen stated.
"Marriage? What marriage?" Anteros furrowed his brows.
All the four elders looked at each other and nodded.
"Merging of our companies is not a small matter. We need to establish trust in each other to run our combined enterprise and that can only be possible if we have some strong bond tying us so that we won't think of betraying one another," Mr. Grimalkin explained.
"Which is why we decided to wed our heirs," Mr. Azurdraycen declared.
"WHAT?" Anteros was shocked.
Elion was also stunned hearing it.
>>>Is this the important decision Father was asking for me to make?
>>>I have to marry Anteros Azurdraycen?
"Right, son. You have already promised remember. You can't go back on your words now, remember Dragons are bound by promises," Mr. Azurdraycen smirked.
Anteros rolled his eyes,
>>>Ugh, why did I promise? I should have known my old man will never be up to any good, ah fuck!
>>>Well, it's just a marriage... I have to do it someday anyway. And if I have to marry Grimalkin's heir to protect our company I will.
"You know father, I will never back down on my words." Anteros smiled politely.
>>>But from now on I will never give any promise without knowing the content, if it involves you, Father.
"I don't have any problem with marriage. But let me meet the girl first as I have to discuss something with her," Anteros looked stern.
>>>I have to make it clear to her that we will be only marrying on paper and that we won't have any sort of relationship with each other.
But all of the elders were confused when they heard Anteros even Elion was so bewildered....
>>>Girl? Did Mom and Dad have a daughter without my knowledge?
"What happened? Why are you all silent? I agreed to the marriage can't I even talk to her?" Anteros asked coldly.
Mrs. Azurdraycen sighed, "Eros, um... the person you will be marrying is a boy not a girl and the boy is in front of you. Him," she pointed at Elion and continued,
"...Elion Grimalkin the one you are going to marry."
That was it for Anteros to go into an enraged mode as he banged the table suddenly causing Elion to panic.
"What the hell are you both thinking? I am straight... I am a fucking straight guy, how can I marry a boy?" Anteros yelled, particularly, glaring at his Father.
Mr. Azurdraycen stood up with a serious look on his face, "Anteros, tone down your aura. There are people here beside us. Don't be disrespectful to them showing off your power."
Anteros immediately glanced at the Grimalkins who were trying hard to bear the strong aura of him.
He immediately put off his aura. It was a mistake. He was never the one to show off his powerful aura in front of the weak clans other than dragons as he knew it would traumatize them.
>>>Ah, shit! What did I do?
"I am sorry for the inconvenience I caused you. It wasn't my intention," Anteros right away apologized to the Grimalkins who relaxed.
Mr. and Mrs. Grimalkin nodded understanding and Elion was...
>>>Ah... he looked so hot in anger. His nerves popped out when he banged the table... It was just...
Well, he was swooning over his soon-to-be husband's muscles on his forearms and wasn't affected by his aura at all for some unknown reason.
Anteros thought for a second,
"Fine. Let me talk to him in private," he pointed at Elion.
"Alright, we will give you both some space," Mrs. Azurdraycen got up and then whispered in her son's ear, "Don't scare the boy, be respectful otherwise you will have to face me, got it?"
Anteros gritted his teeth and nodded, "What do you take me for, Mom?"
"Well, you are my son so I know everything your evil brain is cooking up," Mrs. Azurdraycen smiled as she patted his shoulder and left the room along with the others.
Elion became nervous after his parents left the room.
Anteros was silent for some time and then, "So, what's your name?"
Elion was startled at the sudden question, "Ah, um... E-Elion... Elion Grimalkin."
"Elion, what do you think about this marriage?" Anteros questioned as he sat on the chair, playing with the paperweight on the table.
"Uh... I don't know... it's so sudden and I don't have any time to think about it," Elion replied honestly.
Anteros stared at him for a while noticing his beauty,
>>>He is too pretty for a boy-wait! What the hell am I thinking now?
"Ahem," Anteros cleared his throat, "Right, it's too sudden, I agree. But we have to do this for our company. So, let's be clear about all the things."
Elion nodded.
"First of all by my reaction earlier you already know that I am not gay. What about you?" Anteros asked directly.
"Ah..."
Elion was surprised by the sudden question. He was a closeted gay not even his parents knew about his sexuality only his friend Evander knew about it.
So in that case, how could he open up about his sexual preference to Anteros who was a total stranger to him? He couldn't so he kept quiet biting his lower lips.
Seeing the hesitation of Elion,
"Look, I am not asking this to judge you. I don't have any prejudices about sexual orientation. It's just that I wanted to tell you I am not gay and I can't meet your expectations as a husband if you by chance swing that way, got it?"
Elion clutched onto his shirt tightly, wrinkling it as he nodded again.
"Alright, then to the main topic. This marriage will only be on paper. I will not expect anything from you in this marriage and hope the same in return."
"On papers only?" Elion gulped his saliva.
"Right, I don't think we are a match. I am a dragon and you are from the cat's clan. After solving the crisis of our company we can end this marriage with mutual cooperation."
>>>He can't handle my aura pressure even when I get slightly angry. It can get dangerous for him to live with us.
>>>It will be better to end this marriage as soon as possible for his sake.
>>>What the hell were Mom and Father thinking? They should have noticed the company's problem soon instead of going on all those business trips to expand their network.
>>>Ugh, now we have to solve their problems because of their negligence.
"End the marriage?"
Elion felt terrible at those words cause he always dreamt of marrying the person he loved and spending the rest of his life with him.
To him, marriage was something special and closer to his heart as his mother when dying took a promise which he kept secret from everyone till now, even Mr. Grimalkin had no idea about it.
"Why, you don't want to?" Anteros frowned, he thought Elion would have the same thinking as him as this wasn't a planned marriage and was just a business deal to protect their companies.
But seeing Elion's reaction Anteros was bothered. Cause he never planned to marry in the first place even if he did it as a business deal he wouldn't be a perfect spouse.
Anteros loved freedom more than anything and he thought marriage would become his shackles. That was why he was never in a serious relationship with anyone till now.
>>>If he doesn't want to end this marriage then I should make him think that there is nothing more awful than staying married to me so that he will bring up the divorce on his own.
Anteros was determined to break off their marriage after solving the company's problem and making it stable enough that no one could even dare to mess with it again.
So, he planned to make himself hateful.
"Huh, did you think this marriage will be forever and you can enjoy all the riches? That's impossible. Know your place little kitten. Don't try to chew more than you can eat."
Anteros turned his voice cold, deliberately to scare Elion.
"What-"
Elion was cut off by Anteros,
"I know people like you from lower clans always dream of flying higher. You must be thinking that by this marriage you can become the future Archduchess of the Ice-dragon province and can enjoy the popularity and wealth that comes with it, right? Elion Grimalkin being greedy comes with a huge price remember."
"That's not-"
Elion was cut off again.
"Then what? Did you fall in love with me or something? We didn't even see each other before so that's impossible so tell me what's your reason for you to be so hesitant to break off this marriage after everything is settled?"
Elion couldn't process anything in his mind as it was a mess now.
Why did his parents suddenly announce his marriage without his consent? Sure, they did say it was his decision to make but they have already fixed everything and were just informing him.
As they knew Elion wouldn't disagree when their company was in danger. So, there was nothing for him to decide in the first place.
And now this man in front of him who was soon-to-be his husband according to his parents was surmising everything on his own talking rubbish about him being greedy and whatnot.
It was not like he wanted all these. He wanted to date someone he was interested in, fall in love with him slowly, then after some years of spending with his lover he wanted to marry him and be forever until death separated them.
That was what he always dreamt of but now his marriage was fixed with someone who was thinking of divorce before they even got married.
Elion felt a sharp pain in his heart like a knife slicing his flesh. Without his realization, tears started flowing down his cheeks as his lifelong dream was destroyed just like that.
Anteros noticed that Elion was crying. He felt a squeeze somewhere deep inside his heart but then his brain remembered that he was the boy from yesterday who looked so pretty while crying.
Anteros stared at Elion for a while, then he decided to play the villain so that the little Mainecoon would not get his hopes high by this marriage as he thought he wasn't someone better to take care of him forever.
"Aaah! I remember now, you are that slut from yesterday, right?"
Hearing that Elion lost his patience and slapped Anteros in anger without realizing it.
He stayed silent for a minute cause that slap didn't hurt Anteros at all, it was just like some soft feather brushing across his cheek but Elion's courage to try to slap him, the apex predator... well, universally known fact cats don't fear anyone.
>>>He is such a... cute kitten.
Anteros stopped himself from chuckling and faked a glare walking towards Elion.
"You have the nerve to slap me... did you think I'm not gonna do anything to you?"
Elion just then discerned what he had done and became terrified thinking what would the Ice-dragon do to him.
"S-Stop t-there... don't c-come near m-me,"
Elion walked back getting scared seeing the Ice-dragon's ice-cold glare.
Anteros advanced towards Elion who hit the wall on the back.
The Ice-dragon placed his hands on the walls trapping Elion in between and whispered in his ear.
"Let's get married Elion. With you, I don't think I would be bored anymore. For this slap, I will take my revenge slowly... um, how about I make your life a living hell, what do you think? Should I do it?"
Anteros asked snickering like a devil.
｡☆✼★✼☆｡
[★Mini Theatre★]
[Anteros Azurdraycen: *worried* Elie are you hurt? That bastard hit you, your cheek is so red and swollen. I am gonna kill him.
Elion Grimalkin: *Giggles* I am fine, it was just acting, the makeup sister made this wound look natural so don't worry too much *gives a kiss on the cheek*
Anteros Azurdraycen: *wagging his dragon tail* I want one more
Elion Grimalkin: *shy* Okie *gives another kiss*.]
All the other staff: ... "We must be air to them, right?"💀
****