Chapter 4

A part of him wanted to drop the packages and the envelope in the bin and be done with it, yet another part of him wanted to desperately know what his father had wanted him to say in his last letter. So with a sense of very dark cynicism clouding his mind he slit open the envelope which contained two letters. One from the lawyer who was handling the estate of his late father, no surprises there and also the other letter which was written by hand by Cedric Hunter himself, and addressed to him personally. Now that was something which would be interesting. He had not expected him to give a personal touch as well.

And then he slit open the package which was sitting there on his desk untouched.

It was carefully wrapped under layers of bubble wrap and when he opened it Oberon plopped down on the chair at the sheer shock of the beauty he was holding in his hands. It was a small egg, made of pure gold and had beautiful designs carved and etched in it which made him realize for the first time how obscenely wealthy his father was. That was not the kind of wealth which you could earn in one generation. It was the kind of wealth and property which was passed down from father to son, down to ancestors. And as he touched the egg he felt that there was an opening in it and he pried the thing open only to softly gasp in pleasure at the gorgeousness of the ruby which was nestled inside on a velvet platform inside.

It was a large stone and the cut was so exceptional that it seemed to absorb all the light in the room and flicker with it’s own light itself. Oberon had known that his father was a wealthy man from the time that he had visited him in his ancestral home. It was like a veritable treasure trove every where one could see---- old, old wealth, the kind that could only belong to aristocracy. But Oberon did not want it. He did not want any part of it at all. His whole body seemed to burn at the touch and sense of the ruby inside the egg in his palm.

But he also knew that he was not going to let his mother take away the only thing that his father had ever given him. So he quickly closed it and put it back inside the box and then safely tucked it in the safe which was behind his cupboard near the floorboards. It was a secure choice he had to make. Virginia Credence might be immensely wealthy of her own right and by the right of her multiple husbands but that had done nothing to satisfy her or curb her greed.

And then he opened the letter as he put away the lawyer’s typed one without glancing at it. He could not lead his mother to seeing something which was going to put her hopes high in the air and then she would be pestering him like a bug which you could not get rid of so easily. It must be some description of his estate or something which he might have left back for him in his will. But that was not important at all.

He opened the letter and saw that the writing was in cursive. The penmanship was beautiful, strong with a right slant to it. And the ink was black. The paper was thick vellum which had a watermark on it, something which he did not recognize.

“Dearest Son,

The day you came to see me in my home I did not even pull you close to my heart and wrap my arms around you and I regret not doing that even still to this day. But blood never lies, Oberon. You have made yourself a man which most people would envy and you have done nothing but make me proud. I never succeeded in the places which should have mattered most to me but I think you should have a chance of gaining that, since you still have time. I did not have the time to make amends with any of you at all.

You are my eldest son. The eldest heir of the Hunter Family and the identity of your mother really does not matter in our country. It is still the land where the red-blooded males take care of everything. Over all the years that I have travelled across the world, where my sports and my business has taken me I have left my mark there. Just like you my son. I know it must come as a shock to you, but you have three younger half-brothers and three younger half-sisters. Amongst the seven of you only two of my daughters, who are twins and are the only children from my marriage and you, of course, know the identity of your real father.

However your brothers in United States, England and New Zealand and your one sister in India are still unaware of my existence. And then again there are the terrible twins one who refuses to acknowledge my very existence and is engaged in doing relief work in Syria and the other one is the star of Milan. All of you have made me so proud that my heart clenches in pain thinking about it. But none of you are going to be here when I am not anymore, by my side. I don’t accuse you, my son. It is my own doing.

But I have an idea that you would be interested to know your extended family, all your brothers and sisters. And in order for their names and identities to be revealed you need to first do something for yourself. Find yourself a wife and beget an heir Oberon. You need to have your own family before you can meet your already existing one. And I am sure with a man of your charms, it must be simple enough for you.

In hopes that you might have it in you to forgive me sometime ever in future,

Your Unfortunate father

Cedric Hunter”