Mr. Black let go of his son's shoulder before dusting off his hands and going back to his chair. "You can leave now, I've wasted enough time on you."
Amos turned around and left the study without a word.
Once he was gone, the hero's father sighed as he leaned back in his chair, exhaustion clear on his face. "Ahaha… looks like in the end my relationship with my son also become just like the one I had with her…"
He hated his wife, even though she was the only one he loved in his entire life. He hated her for not loving him enough. He hated her for always looking down on him. And most of all… he hated her for forsaking him.
Who allowed her to die while leaving him behind? What about their vows as husband and wife?
But this love-hate relationship was still quite tame compared to the one he now had with his son.
At least, even if they argued and fought on the surface, the couple had always been clear that deep down in their hearts they didn't harbor any true resentment for each other.
But Amos was clearly starting to hate him. He could tell. Even though everything he did was for him. All the sacrifices he made, all those lies, schemes, deceit, betrayals… wasn't it all for him?
Mr. Black's threat of adopting another heir was just that… an empty threat. If he really wanted, he could have long since remarried and had children of his own.
"But although his luck has been quite bad recently, these failures can also serve as a good foil for his growth. That girl, Crystal, doesn't seem so bad either. He doesn't have bad taste, at least."
Instead of his son's social standing, what worried him most now was the situation with the White Deer corporation.
"Although that Crystal girl isn't so bad, I wish he'd just gone along with Danielle instead. If that girl had been on our side, bringing in the White Deer under our flag would have been a piece of cake. Unfortunately, now I have to strangle them slowly and counter their moves one by one."
And the worst part of it was that the White Deer's 'desperate struggle' was really starting to hurt his own Black Tiger corporation. In almost all of their recent dealings, both of them had ended up losing more than they gained as they tried their best to cause each other damage.
This was exactly the kind of scenario Mr. Black had always tried to avoid. What was the point of acquiring a company if it cost more to do so than it was actually worth?
"I really don't understand what the boy is thinking… The girl looks good, has good manners, and had already fallen for him while growing up. Even if he didn't love her, she would probably have even let him keep mistresses as long as he promised to marry her under that condition…"
But in the end, his own future partner was a decision he was willing to let Amos make for himself.
Unless it was a boy.
"I hope this is enough for Amos to grow up… Don't disappoint me anymore…"
==========
Despite it being almost midnight by the time Dixie dropped Emilia off at her home, the first thing on her agenda was not to rest after the exhausting day, but to check if her 'older sister' was still awake.
Emilia breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that Samantha was still working on some documents in her study, with her door wide open to seemingly invite her in.
The older girl was startled as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders from behind, realizing with some amusement that her little sister had returned from the party in quite a playful mood. "I take it you had fun?"
Emilia smirked mischievously, though Samantha couldn't see it from the back of her head. "Ehehe… not at all, Sammy, I was missing you the whole time, you know!"
She swiveled around with her arms still around Samantha's neck until she was seated firmly on her lap. Emilia rubbed her cheek against her older sister's coquettishly. "Sammy~ You're not angry with me for blackmailing you earlier, right?"
Samantha knew her little sister was talking about when she forcibly took charge of the situation by threatening her to never talk to her again if she didn't let her do as she pleased.
Maybe if the situation really turned bad and ended up hurting them, she really would be a little angry. But now that Emilia had even turned it all in their favor against all odds, forget about being angry, Samantha was already blowing up with pride!
But look at how cute and coquettish she's being! How often does she get to see this side of Emilia? Can she let her go just like this?
So of course, Samantha pretended to look gloomy as she pouted. "I cannot believe you would even think of cutting me off just like that, Emilia. Am I that worthless to you?"
Although it was part of her 'plan', the older girl couldn't help but feel a little distressed after she really let those words out, wondering if this would be too much for her little sister's fragile heart.
Emilia sighed in her heart, thinking that Samantha was quite upset, as expected. And to make things worse, she even had a favor to ask from her, and the more it got delayed, the less likely it was to be of any use.
When she failed to come up with a good 'excuse' for her unreasonable confidence and demands despite wracking her brain repeatedly, she could only helplessly turn to her partner. 'Any ideas, Cynthia?'
Cynthia 'tsked', as if the solution was obvious. "Do you even need to 'reason' with this siscon? Just melt her brain with your charms, and she'll just give in to whatever you demand!"
Overly doting family members were the easiest to bend to a villain's will, after all.
Emilia felt like a light bulb had gone off in her head. 'That's right! I almost forgot that although she looks so cold-faced and reasonable, she's actually an over-emotional crybaby!'