The next few days passed in a blur of playing with the girls and enjoying seeing Ilay play with them whenever he had time. Taeui picked up the book he had been trying to read for some time and sat on the sofa, away from the window so he wouldn't get distracted.
A while later, Mr and Mrs Riegrow joined him in the living room and sat in the middle of the room on two sofas side by side. Taeui greeted them, and for a moment, he thought that would be the perfect time to tell them the truth. However, the words clogged up his throat.
As he fumbled with what he would say once he opened his mouth, Kyle, Helena, Daniel and Ilay walked into the room as well. He pressed his lips together noticing the difference in the atmosphere. They scattered around the room and sat. Daniel and Helena shared a sofa, while Ilay and Kyle sat on single sofa on either side.
When Taeui stood up to leave, Mrs Riegrow stopped him. "You don't need to leave, Tay. Please stay."
"Ah, well... it seems like you have some family things to talk about, so I should go."
"Don't be silly," pressed Mrs Riegrow. "Sit and enjoy your tea."
At that moment, Rita and another staff member came into the room and served tea to everyone present. For a while, they spoke lightly while drinking their tea.
"So, have you come up with a solution?" asked Mr Riegrow after a long silence. The moment he spoke the atmosphere in the room changed, and it dropped a few degrees. No one spoke waiting for his next words. "We gave you more than enough time to discuss it between you, to reach a solution acceptable for everyone."
"Your father and I are getting on in years. We want to be sure that the Riegrow legacy will continue to be taken care of properly."
"We understand that, but there is not an option where all three of us would be happy with," said Kyle.
"If you can't decide among yourselves, then we will be the ones choosing," said Mr Riegrow. His cold eyes resembled Ilay's, but not as harsh.
Taeui's instincts kicked in even though there was no danger. He had a bad feeling in his gut as he began to understand what the atmosphere around him was about. When he heard the next words, his bad feeling came true.
"We can't afford to let one of your cousins be the next heir," said Mrs Riegrow. "They would run our name to the ground and destroy our relationship with Tarten just as fast. You know that."
Everyone remained quiet.
Taeui wondered why Kyle wasn't the heir since he was already the CEO of the company. Helena was the one to break the silence. "I don't want neither of my girls to be the heir. I have said this since the beginning. So Kyle and Ilay should work it out between them."
"I don't want to look for a wife just to have children. It's not fair to the woman nor the child," replied Kyle, exasperated.
"You don't need to marry. Just adopt a kid or two," Helena said, shrugging.
"Our uncles won't accept it either. They want someone with the Riegrow's genes."
"Then Ilay... where's your girlfriend? Why don't you marry her and get her pregnant?" Helena said, with a smirk on her face, staring down at Ilay, who was quietly drinking his tea.
Taeui looked at Ilay, pressing his lips together. If he had told them the truth from the beginning, Ilay wouldn't have had to lie again. Then it clicked. Taeui couldn't have children, and if adoption wasn't an option, there was nothing they could do.
He looked down, biting his lip, feeling bad for not being able to give Ilay a child even though he looked so happy with his nieces. However, he should at least come clean so they wouldn't bother Ilay about his girlfriend. Taeui looked up and opened his mouth, about to speak, when his eyes met Ilay's, and he smiled.
"I have been trying really hard to get my partner pregnant. Before you came here, I was planting my seed almost every night, but it hasn't borne fruit yet."
All thoughts evaporated from Taeui's mind. He wanted to scream at Ilay for saying that without a hint of shame on his face but he couldn't. He was too embarrassed and he didn't want to tell them the truth after such statement.
Indeed, what Ilay had said was true. Ever since Tarten's succession, Ilay had talked about getting Taeui pregnant with his child. And despite telling him it was impossible, Ilay response was 'we won't know until he try it.'
"Gross. We don't need to know that," said Helena. "Maybe your seed is defective. Maybe that's a good thing. Why would anyone want another person like you on this planet?"
"No. I got tested to make sure there was nothing wrong in that department." Ilay replied shamelessly. "I also got my partner tested, and we are both healthy and fertile adults."
There was an awkward silence around the room, and Taeui hid his face behind the book in his hand, that once again he barely read. After a moment of silence, Ilay said, "I have resorted to giving my partner natural fertility boosters and praying at the local church."
At that statement, Taeui choked on air and started coughing. Kyle and Helena looked bewildered at him, while Mr Riegrow laughed heartily and Mrs Riegrow had a happy surprised look on her face. Meanwhile Daniel looked slightly confused with the different reactions.
After laughing, Mr Riegrow returned to his serious expression. "We knew the chances of you three compromising was low, so we already have a plan."
The trio nodded and waited for the plan as if they were waiting for their sentence. After finishing his tea, Mr Riegrow put the cup down and looked at each one of them.
"The plan we agreed on is that Kyle will start looking for a wife effective immediately. We will arrange blind dates for you and also let you find one on your own. If, within two years, you haven't found someone to at least date properly, an arranged marriage will be taken into consideration."
Kyle sighed deeply, holding his head in his hands.
"During this time, Amber will be an heir candidate. We don't know what conditions my brothers will want for the candidacy, so we have to make sure we have someone eligible from our side."
Helena glared at her father as she clenched her fists and looked away, biting down her lip. Daniel put his hand on hers but also remained quiet.
"Finally, Ilay is to continue trying to make an heir. If within two years, he fails to have a child, he will be required to provide a sperm sample so we can use it for in vitro fertilisation."
A long silence set the room in an eerie aura. "I know you don't like these options, but we are at a disadvantage. These conditions will be reviewed after my brothers and I reach an agreement during our next meeting."
Mrs Riegrow nodded at the stack of papers in front of her. "These are the contracts. Read them through."
Ilay was the first to break the silence. "Instead of Amber, I think Scarlet is a better fit as the heir candidate."
"Instead of worrying about my girls, why don't you just get someone pregnant and get this over with?" Helena spat her words with venom in a fit of rage. "It's not like it makes a difference if it's with your partner or not. Just get a woman pregnant, and once the child is born, you don't need to keep her around."
Ilay's cold eyes pierced through his sister, while his lips curled at the tip just a tiny bit. "If I can't have children with my partner, I won't have children at all. And you." Ilay turned his eyes to Kyle. "Why is it so hard for you to find a woman?"
Kyle glared back at Ilay, but after a moment, he took a deep breath and replied with an exhausted expression. "Unfortunately, not everyone can find the love of their life just by going to a different branch or a different country like you."
Even though he didn't know the entire story, Taeui had heard that Kyle had had a long-term relationship before and that it had ended badly. After that, Kyle stopped making an effort to find someone and instead pursued rare books.
"I don't like to put you in this situation either," said Mrs Riegrow with a regretful expression. "But we can't let the heir be one of your cousins."
Before any more was said, Scarlet and Amber burst through the door, giggling, with one of the staff right behind them. "Uncle Ilay, let's play!" said both girls standing in front of him.
Ilay smiled gently and placed a hand on top of their head. "Later, kids. I have work to do."
With that, he stood and walked away, his expression back to his cold and sharp demeanour. Then, one after the other the people in the living room began to leave, without a word. Taeui was left all alone, however, he no longer had the mind to pay attention to the book, so he put it back and left.
As he walked to his room, feeling slightly nauseous, he stopped in front of Ilay's room. He knocked twice and without waiting for a reply, he walked in. Ilay was sitting down in front of his desk, looking absently to the air, leaning back on the chair. He walked towards him, and leaned his hips on the desk without a word.