deathless (chapter three)

Caleb just hang up his cell phone. A few minutes ago he was talking to the Duchess of Portugal, his grandmother. She was asking him far too many questions, and it irritated him. Is it really because you’re concerned of my current situation or just because you needed me for the heirship? As far as Caleb knows, because of his father’s actions, the title of being a baron would be taken away from him, and he, Caleb, would be succeeding him. Even if his father had a son with his current wife, the boy would never be considered as an heir for in the royal laws of Portugal, the boy is not a legitimate son, though was born in a legitimate marriage. The first marriage, along with its offspring, are the legitimates to the titles involved. In fact, his mother still has the right to be the Baroness of Portugal if she hadn’t denounced it during the divorce hearing.

What if I, myself, refused the title? That would cause more chaos in the royal family. It had been the center of the news for years now, since the rumors of the baron having another woman and the divorce of the royal couple went out. It has been a long time since the royal family lost its power over the country and its people but it still stands and serves as a foundation for the current government of Portugal. Now, it served as an entertainment. It had completely lost its power. And it is in Caleb’s hands to regain it. He knew that his grandparents are now looking up to him to save the royal family from the embarrassment his father had caused. Can he do it? Or will he also be another embarrassment to the royal family? Doesn’t a saying goes that like father, like son? No, he doesn’t want to be like his father. Now, he knew that from the very beginning his father was wrong to accuse him of being weak. It was he, the former Baron of Portugal, who is weaker. He never had the strength to fight against love, the love he had for that woman, that home-wrecker. He should have been strong enough to stand by his family, strong enough to fight his personal desires and think of other people.

That is the reason why he was sent to Switzerland: to be a stronger person by coming to terms with all the painful memories from the past and the present. He finally realized everything. They wanted him to be strong, not for himself, but for the whole family. And that is what he is going to do.