Sera

Chapter 1:

Bruce had always known that his father was an excellent negotiator, but he never knew that this particular trait would eventually work against him!

Like most people his age, Bruce, at twenty-two, was somewhat inclined toward excessive indulgence. However, he also had a strong interest in working.

He always wanted to take on more responsibility at Wayne Enterprises, even to lead an entire project on his own—something his father did not agree with.

Thomas believed Bruce was still a child and had not yet reached the maturity needed to run a company, or even to manage a single project.

He was especially dissatisfied with Bruce’s nightlife habits.

The two of them constantly argued about this issue until Thomas finally made a decision.

That night, during dinner, Bruce once again brought up the old argument, and this time Thomas gave a different answer:

“Fine, you can start whatever project you want, and all the losses, profits, and responsibility will be yours…”

So he had finally succeeded?

Bruce’s eyes widened, and a faint smile formed on his face, when Thomas continued:

“But there’s one condition.”

Of course there was a condition!

How could Thomas Wayne possibly give in so easily?

Bruce pressed his lips together tightly and looked suspiciously at his mother, hoping she might know something about this condition or help him, but Martha avoided his gaze and continued eating.

Bruce asked cautiously, “What condition?”

Thomas replied, as if he were commenting on the weather, “You have to get married.”

Had he heard wrong?

His father would never make such a ridiculous condition… right?

Bruce stared at him in disbelief. “What?!”

Thomas repeated calmly, “Marriage. You have to get married.”

Bruce looked at his mother again, but Martha avoided his gaze.

“You’re not serious!” Bruce said, looking back at his father.

Thomas gave him a brief glance. “More serious than when I wanted to invest in the stock market.”

Seeing that his father was not joking, Bruce tried to find a solution…

Selina! Maybe he could convince the girl to agree to a fake marriage…

Thomas interrupted his train of thought. “Also, you must marry the person I choose.”

Bruce stood up from his chair in anger. “This is ridiculous! You can’t force me to get married just because of a project!”

Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

Bruce turned to his mother. “Mom! Say something!”

Martha looked at Bruce and sighed. “This is for your own good, Bruce.”

Bruce’s eyes widened.

His mother usually sided with him, so why was she siding with his father now—especially on something so important?!

Bruce raised his voice. “Mom!”

Thomas immediately raised his voice in response. “Calm down!”

Bruce turned back toward his father to say something, but Thomas spoke first:

“Do you think I would do this if it weren’t because of your own behavior?! You say you want more responsibility in the company, but every week I have to pay hundreds of magazines and newspapers just to stop them from publishing photos of you taken at clubs!”

Bruce’s jaw tightened as he slammed his hands on the wooden dining table.

“That doesn’t mean you can control my life!”

Thomas dropped his cutlery and stood up, facing Bruce directly.

“If you want to run a company, you need to get your own life in order first! But you know absolutely nothing about responsibility and self-control!”

Bruce stepped closer, his face tense with rage.

“I won’t let you make decisions for me! This is my life!”

Then he turned sharply and slammed the dining room door behind him as he left.

Martha sighed and looked at Thomas sadly. “Did you really have to go this far? The plan was just to scare him.”

Thomas leaned back in exhaustion. “I’m not the one who pushed things this far, Martha… If he had compromised even a little and behaved more maturely, I wouldn’t have had to do this.”

That night and the nights that followed, Bruce’s so-called immature behavior only got worse, and photos of him with random men and women were printed in magazines and newspapers—something that truly angered Thomas.

At first, Thomas had only intended to use that strange condition to scare Bruce into changing his lifestyle, but it seemed things had only gotten worse.

So Thomas decided to be more decisive.

Martha looked at her husband, who was standing by the study window after just ending a phone call.

“Thomas! This is going too far! You weren’t supposed to actually do this!”

Thomas watched Bruce in the courtyard as he got into his car, ready to head out and cause another scandal.

“This was supposed to make him change, Martha! But it only made him more rebellious! I had to do something.”

Martha frowned. “The more you pressure him, the worse he gets! You know Bruce!”

Thomas kept watching his son’s car as it left the gates of the mansion.

“I know what you mean, but he has to abandon these behaviors so I can trust him and hand the company over to him.”

Martha sighed and held her head in her hands. “Don’t do something you’ll regret, Thomas!”

This father and son always gave her a headache.

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His father had revoked his access to company files and major projects!

Bruce couldn’t believe it… How could his father do such a thing?!

Bruce stood up angrily from his desk and walked to his father’s office, ignoring the secretary and opening the door without knocking.

“You restricted my access to the projects?!”

Thomas looked up from a report and adjusted his glasses as he looked at Bruce.

“Yes.”

Bruce slammed the door behind him and stepped inside.

“Why?!”

Thomas returned his gaze to the report.

“Because I’m no longer sure you’re ready for such an important responsibility. Once you’ve matured enough and developed stability in your character, you can come back. Until then, I don’t want you interfering in company matters.”

Bruce laughed in disbelief.

“So you’re firing me? Your own son?!”

“Yes,” Thomas replied calmly.

Bruce narrowed his eyes.

“And if I agree to marry the person you want, you’ll remove the restrictions, let me come back, and let me start my own project?”

Thomas froze for a moment, then answered:

“Of course.”

This had not been his original plan. He hadn’t intended for Bruce to actually be forced into marriage, but now he thought it might be the best solution—perhaps marriage would make him grow up.

Bruce shook his head.

“I can’t believe this!”

Thomas leaned back in his chair and said firmly:

“Actually, if you marry the person I choose and stay away from all clubs and bars, I’ll let you start your project and even give you a promotion.”

Bruce frowned.

“This is my life! You can’t tell me how to live it!”

Thomas sighed in frustration and anger.

“Bruce! The problem is that you want everything at once! You want your career and success, and at the same time you want to live like an immature teenager! That’s what I have a problem with! If you want to live however you like, fine—do whatever you want—but don’t come back here starting tomorrow.”

Bruce held out for two weeks.

He stopped going to work, but he went to even more clubs, stayed most of the time in his bachelor apartment, and caused more scandals until he could no longer tolerate that situation.

His mother always said that he and his father were addicted to work, and she wasn’t wrong. He liked having fun, but he also needed work and something to keep his mind occupied.

Once Bruce was sure that his father was more serious than ever, he decided to accept the deal… but only halfway.

He stopped going to clubs, stopped going to hotels with strangers whose names he didn’t even know, and gradually cut ties with the friends Thomas disapproved of.

But Thomas did not back down this time.

This was no longer enough.

He wanted Bruce to get married.

This was definitely excessive, but Thomas was worried that Bruce would eventually marry someone he did not approve of—for example, Selina Kyle, the first girl Bruce ever loved, a girl neither Martha nor Thomas nor Alfred approved of.

He wanted to ensure that, while he still had full control over Bruce, his son would marry someone worthy, intelligent, rational, and respectable.

And by coincidence, he knew exactly such a person.

Someone calm in nature and character, whom he hoped could also calm Bruce.

Martha did not agree with her son being forced into a loveless marriage and tried to persuade Thomas otherwise, but Thomas was more determined than ever.

After some time, Bruce gave in to his father’s demand for marriage, hoping he might be able to convince the other party to refuse.

But his father surprised him once again.

His fiancé was a man.

A man with green eyes, thin glasses, and reddish-brown hair.

A man clearly admired by his father.

Jeremiah Valeska.

Jeremiah had a completely different personality from Bruce. He was confident but quieter, and his smiles were polite rather than joyful.

Bruce did not like him.

But it was obvious that his father did.

Bruce tried to hide his dislike for the other man and appear respectable, hoping that once Jeremiah agreed to break off the engagement, his father would not suspect anything…

But unfortunately, Bruce’s plan failed—because Jeremiah refused to break off the engagement.

After their first meeting, Bruce suggested they meet in a private booth at a restaurant to discuss an important matter. He explained why he could not go through with the engagement and waited for Jeremiah to agree, but…

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that would be right. It seems like you’re trying to deceive your father, and I owe him too much to do something like that,” the man replied in a flat tone, his gaze steady. Then, to Bruce’s surprise, he stood up and left.

Bruce had thought Jeremiah would be too proud to marry someone who didn’t want him, but clearly, he was wrong…

Bruce really did not like that man.

So haw was that?

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