"Can you say that again?" Claire said, confused about what she heard. Martin, on the other hand, looked behind Leon and nodded his head as if he just confirmed something.
"I am getting married." Leon again said. (In this world, people can marry at 18 years old.)
"What! How did this happen? Where did you meet her? Why didn't you tell us before that you had a girlfriend?
You are kidding, right? How can my baby marry so soon?" Claire fired a barrage of questions at Leon. She was angry at Leon, who never told her anything about the girl. 'No, I don't think it's Leon's fault. I think that girl must be deceiving my baby.' she thought and glanced at Mia.
"Mom I will tell you everything." Leon grabbed Mia's hand and walked towards the sofa, gesturing for his parents to sit opposite him while he sat with Mia.
"Now, let me introduce you to my soon-to-be wife, Mia." Leon introduced me to his parents. Beside him Mia was nervous because this was the first time she was meeting Leon's parents.
"Tell us what your reasons are for not only marrying her but also dropping out of college." Martin asked. Claire was still recovering from her shock, so she didn't ask anything.
Leon lied to them. He told them how he had a vision in which he married a girl named Mia and started a company that became very successful later on. After that vision he tried searching for Mia but had no luck. He also told them how yesterday he was having fun with his friend in a temple and how he saw Mia, who recognized him. She told him how she had the same vision he had.
"I know this all sounds absurd, but trust me on this one. If you don't believe, then I would prove it to you." Leon said in a confident tone. "A day before my wedding, I would show you the proof. Is that okay with you?" Leon knew how he would shock them just like they are now.
Claire and Martin had seen many absurd things during their lives, but this, this is just out of this world. They knew that this was not true at all. There is something that Leon is not telling them.
Claire wanted to persuade Leon, but she refrained from doing so because she knew that Leon would not back out from his decision. She also had many questions to ask, and she about to ask them, but Martin beat her to that.
"What if you can't prove us? Then what?" Martin said seriously. Although Martin might seem like a prankster on the outside, deep down he is a shrewd businessman and manipulator who could trick the devil to do his bidding.
"Then I would join our business." As Leon said this, they were shocked again because they tried countless times to coax him into joining their company, but he never did.
"Are you sure about that, Leon?" Claire had never seen her son this confident and assertive before. He had always been laid back, who would never come forward to speak up his mind, just going with the flow. 'I think that nightmare really did change, my sweetheart.' she thought.
"Yes, I am a hundred percent sure." Leon was sure because he is going to invest in a small company that is going to shake the entire chips and robotics industry. The company does not know it yet because they had trashed that project. But in ten days a researcher would find that project, and he would realize how revolutionary that project is. After that he would take a loan of five hundred thousand WC (World Coins, 1WC = 20 US dollars) and buy out the company's share to become a majority shareholder. He would become the Kingdom of Panthera's 5th richest man overnight. (100 million 5th richest and 200 million 1st richest)
"I also want to take a loan of five hundred thousand WC." Leon said with a straight face as if it was not a large amount of money. Again Claire and Martin thought that they had heard wrong, but after confirming, their minds began to spin because their company's net worth was ten million, and now he was saying that he wants five percent on that.
"No, we could not give that much money to you." Martin said while Claire nodded. Even she could not help her baby in this situation.
"No, I want a loan on the basis of my share in our company.
Leon thought this was going to be challenging, but he has underestimated his parents. After few minutes of discussion they agreed.
"Okay, we agree, but on one condition: if you fail, not only would you join the company, but you also have to call off the wedding. Is that okay with you?" Claire said with a betrayed look. She still doesn't understand why her baby would want to marry so soon.
They also wanted to give him a few life lessons early on and this is their chance. Claire and Martin thought that if Leon succeeded in making some money, then it would show how buisness-minded he was like them, and if he failed that would teach him a lesson to not overestimate himself. As for the Mia girl, they were sure that she was scamming him, and this would be his second lesson to not trust anyone blindly.
All this while, Mia didn't speak up because this was her first time meeting Leon's parents. She knew their likes and dislikes; she wanted to get to know them better, but she was nervous to try to talk to them.
"Okay then, that's our cue." Leon and Mia started walking towards Leon's room.
"Wait! Is she going to stay with you in your room?" Claire asked. Astonishment on her face. While Martin didn't think much of it because on the day of the wedding everything would be cleared.
"Of course she is." Leon said and entered his room while Mia followed him.
•••
•••
•••
In next 5 days, Leon acquired the company, and he also didn't want the original owner to suffer, so he made him the chairman of his new company, and he became an anonymous owner. Leon became the 5th richest man in the Kingdom of Pathera.
In those five days, Leon and Mia had fun traveling to their favorite spot and enjoying their life, but he didn't neglect his training. Leon thought that this was it. He didn't want to move forward in his life. But he got a rude awakening.