The City Held Its Silence byIrel Knx 64

64 This is what it means to be a ceo 

KEITH’S POV P 

“I’ve arranged for you to get married, Keith, my father announced to me as I sat in the seating area of his office. 

I was quiet for a moment, unsure if I’d heard right. “I’m sorry, what?” I asked him to 

repeat. 

“I said I’ve arranged for you to get married,” he repeated. “To the daughter of the Towers family. The wedding is set for next year” 

So he hadn’t mispoken I realised. I knew of the business deal our family and the Towers family had formed. However, I never imagined it would entail an arranged marriage, 

“But father you know I have a girlfriend we’ve been together the last five years you’ve met her on multiple occasions, so how can you say I’m supposed to be getting married to someone else?” I reminded him. a 

My father’s eyebrows raised. “As the heir of the Acland group you know the company’s needs come first and foremost. This union is important for the growth and profitability of the company. Not to me mention having a good relationship with the Towers‘ 

company.” 

“But the Towers construction company is much smaller in comparison to us,” I pointed out to him. So why did this arranged marriage have strict rules as if the the company was smaller than ours? 

“The Towers‘ company may be small but the profits to be made from this partnership are astronomical. If our families are joined in marriage as well it will only make the partnership stronger both in terms of how it looks on the outside and internally when you produce an heir,” my father explained. 

“But Father what do you want me to do about Diana? This whole time you seemed fine with my relationship why did you allow it if you were planning to have me married off one day?” I asked him. 

“Now Keith don’t be naive. This is what it means to be an heir of one of the largest companies in the world. Making sacrifices for the sake of business. You’re allowed to have your fun but know when it’s time to get serious. I too had to make similar sacrifices. Your mother and I were in an arranged marriage too,” he explained to me. 

12:19 

1770 

64 This is what it means to be a coo 

“Father this isn’t just fun, I love Dlana and would love to make her my wife one day, I told him. 

“Keith don’t be dramatic. She can always be your lover or something” he told me. “After the success of the business deal though, we can’t have any scandals throughout the deal.” 

I didn’t want to have a mistress though. I didn’t want to be like my father who had one and broke our family up. I wanted to be married to one woman only. My father didn’t see the issue at all, it was all just business to him at the end of the day. 

I looked at my father without giving an answer. “Unless you’re saying you don’t want to be the heir anymore?” he then asked me. 

My eyes widened in shock. I had been training my whole life to become the Acland group heir. It was important to me that I took over did a good job in continuing the 

business’s success. 

“No it’s not that I don’t want to be the heir. It’s just can I think about it? At least give me some time to process this information, please,” I asked him. 

My father looked at me skeptically. “Fine, I’ll give you two days,” he told me. 

I left my father’s office in shock. I thought of what I should do. How was I going to explain this to Diana? She was going to be so devastated. 

I remembered the first time I met Diana that afternoon 5 years ago as she cried on the floor of the hotel lobby. 1 

“What’s your name?” I had asked her as I comforted her pulling her to the side after notiving she going through a hard time. 

“Diana,” she said to me as she looked up at me. Her lovely blonde hair came over her beautiful brown eyes. 

I had been with my father attending a meeting with him at one of the hotels to understand the kind of business deals my father did. He was training me to take over one day. 

On that day I saw a weak, small girl who was having a hard time. I wanted to make her smile. 

Since I had to return to my father I had us exchange numbers so we could contact each other. I found out what had happened that day at the hotel. her father left after 

12:19 

2/4 

64 This is what it means to be a ceo 

finding out her mother had cheated on him. Her parents then went on to have a nasty divorce which affected Diana negatively. 

Our situations were so similar. My parents divorce when I was younger was pretty messy and affected me negatively too. Talking to her felt so comforting and familiar. We understood each other well. 

The only difference between us was the She had grown up poor and on top of that. Sonce she had suffered so much I was determined to make her happy. I would mainly see her after school. I would invite her over to my home or go somewhere to spend time with each other. 

Our relationship quickly grew and she soon became my girlfriend. My first girlfriend, actually. At seventeen years old. I never took an interest in the socialite girls around me from school. They always fawned over me as the Acland heir wanting to become my girlfriend. I found all so full of themselves and avoided them. O 

It was kind of refreshing that I had Diana who didn’t know who I was initially. As a non–socialite she obviously 

My love for her just seemed to deepen her over the years. 

“One day, one day we’re going to get married,” I had told her the year before. 

I never imagined I would now have to break my promise. 

And now I was going to have to make a difficult decision. As the two days came to an end I saw my myself having no choice but to make an extremely difficult decision. 

*** 

12:19