The Inheritance Game

❃1❃

"Mister Liam."

Ah, there's sweet old Benjamin, my trusty butler. I love him, honestly.

"Your siblings have arrived, and brunch is ready to be served," he announced, hands neatly behind his back.

"Right," I huffed out, pulling myself out of bed. Today's gonna be dreading, I can already feel it. My siblings can be a bit... annoying, to put it nicely.

I slipped into a loose, pastel pink shirt hanging comfortably over some snug-fitting, light blue jeans. No fuss, just easy-wearing. Topped it off with a pair of white trainers, the kind that says, 'I'm casual but still got style.' Oh, and let's not forget a touch of silver jewelry – a few rings here, a delicate necklace there. Nothing too over the top, just enough to keep it interesting. Because why not add a bit of flair to the day, right? I took my sweet time getting presentable, and made my way to the dining hall, taking my seat next to Louis.

Please don't make a big deal over me being late. Please don't make a big deal over me being late. Please don't-

"LIAM!" Dad's voice startled me. "How is it that the only child of mine still living under my roof is the one who shows up late to brunch?"

"Well..." I sighed. "I can't exactly pause an online game," I lamely scratched the back of my head.

"Right-"

"So, mum, dad, what's the occasion?" Louis smoothly changed the subject, and I've never been more grateful for him.

Mum cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee. "Well, it's no secret that your father is dying."

Wow, straight to the point. I like it.

Leah awkwardly coughed at that, and Lawrence settled with a casual "That's random."

"But before my untimely passing, I plan to finalise my affairs by the end of the month," Dad spoke from his wheelchair.

"Will he even make it that far?" I whispered to Louis, who ignored me.

"Liam, please. Time and place." Lawrence's disturbed voice made me realise that I didn't quite whisper as discreetly as I'd hoped.

"Rather than splitting my wealth equally amongst you... Things would be less of a headache if I passed it down to one of you."

Ridiculous. But what can I say? He's always been like this.

"This includes my private islands. The holiday houses. My multi-billion dollar companies, as well as the CEO title."

I watched all my siblings' eyes shine with his every word, but I was locked on the last sentence:

"And of course, my large bundles of wealth."

This meant unlimited free money. Owning even a quarter of Dad's wealth and his business means I'll truly get to live the easy life. I clearly deserve it the most. I'm the youngest, his favourite.

"However, deciding amongst the three of you has proven rather difficult. So I'd like to wait and see which of you will-"

"Wait, three?" I exclaimed. "I know I'm not the best at math, but aren't you... one kid short?"

"Liam, you're excluded from the will," Dad said casually.

"WHY?"

"As if someone like you knows how to handle Dad's business." Leah laughed slyly, and God, you should've seen the degrading look in her eyes. Arrogant bitch.

I was about to open my mouth to clap back, but Mum beat me to it. "Liam, your siblings have bright futures ahead of them, and you... Well, you're..."

"An uneducated college dropout?"

"Unemployed?"

"Single?"

Yeah, you can see how much my siblings love me.

"All of the above." Dad yawned in his palm.

"What is this? Pick on Liam day?" I stomped my foot under the table, sending them all my deadliest glare. "Newsflash! Dropping out of college doesn't make me uneducated. Also I know how to run a business. And what's the need for dragging my love life into this?" I folded my arms over my chest. "For you all's information, not only am I the CEO of my own startup business, but I'm engaged to a... A super kind and handsome man."

A few little white lies wouldn't harm anyone, right?

"Please, you don't have an engagement ring," Louis snorted in my face.

"How come we never met him?" Mum was excited.

"Because he doesn't exist, Mum," Leah told her, and I was having a hard time keeping myself in check and on my chair.

"Oh."

"He so does," I insisted. "And I'm gonna prove it to all of you."

"Please do." Dad fixed my attention on himself. "Why not have him come over for dinner? It's only fair that I meet the man marrying my son. In fact, Lawrence, Louis, Leah? Bring all of your partners and my grandchildren. That won't be a problem will it?" He looked at me sceptically, like he was trying to get something out of me.

"Um... My partner is super busy, and I don't know if he'll be able to get time off," I stumbled over my words.

"I'll put you back into the will."

"Oh, I will drag him here."

"Looking forward to it."

.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.

"How am I gonna find someone dumb enough to marry me in twenty-four hours?" I lamented to Benjamin in my room. The prospect of losing out on the will was enough to stir up a waterfall of tears, and there I was, sobbing into my palms. I was so gonna lose all that money.

"Mister Liam?" he asked for my attention with utmost respect. "Perhaps you should come clean and simply tell your father the truth."

"Tell Dad the truth?" I shot him a look that said, 'Have you lost your fucking mind?' "And be ridiculed by my parents, and the trio of dumb, dumber and dumbest? Not happening." I snatched my phone from the nightstand, desperately scouring through the app store. "Maybe I can find some desperate sap online."

I swiped left and right for what felt like an eternity. Chefs, firefighters, vloggers – a smorgasbord of professions my age. And then, a half-werewolf? I shook my head. What a weird sense of humour...

After a considerable bout of swiping, I finally struck gold with a tattoo artist named Fred. He was pretty cute with his blue hair and tattoos and piercings. We could get along. I messaged him and we immediately set up a meeting at a nearby cafe.

"Sucker has no idea how loaded he's about to make me. This will be easier than I thought." I chuckled, slipping my phone into my pocket.

"Isn't it morally wrong to start a relationship for your own personal gain?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "You're saying I should do the respectful thing and not go through with it?"

"Yes." Benjamin nodded.

"NEVER! You have no idea Lil' Old Benji. Leave it to me; I know what I'm doing."