BIA Ch. 54

They said the funeral would be held as a service at a church near Cedric’s house. The service was to start at five, but the parking lot was already packed with cars.

Cedric, despite being a mafia guy, was the head of some Irish cultural organization, which was probably why there were so many mourners. Especially the Irish, with their strong family values and nationalism, would drop everything to come to something like this.

At the entrance of the chapel, Cedric and Grace were greeting guests. And a little ways away stood Agrippina. Agrippina was wearing a black lace cape that was clearly custom-made, and looked way too fancy for a dog. But even with all that, she still looked ugly. No, more like scary. Isaiah thought she looked like a dog straight from hell.

And that dog barked at everyone. Not to mention Cedric’s underling who was holding her leash, she barked wildly at the guests too. She even bared her teeth and barked like crazy at Chester. She was only quiet in front of Grace and Cedric. At Grace’s feet, she was rolling around and acting all cute.

Grace was Chester’s mother, no doubt about it. Not just because of her incredible beauty, but her personality was just like Chester’s. As soon as Isaiah greeted Grace, he realized Cedric’s attitude towards him was actually pretty mild.

“Mom, this is Isaiah.”

After Chester introduced Isaiah, Grace made a face that clearly said, ‘Oh my god, you came all this way?’ But when she spoke about her first impression of Isaiah, she didn’t hold back on the compliments.

“Wow, he’s way more handsome than I heard. And so tall, with such broad shoulders. He’s the most handsome Asian man I’ve ever seen.”

“I told you so.”

“But why on earth did you become gay?”

She didn’t hold back on the rudeness either.

“You should meet a woman. Someone like you could definitely find a good woman.”

“Mom. Is that something you say to your son’s boyfriend?”

That idiot Chester didn’t care that his boyfriend was being insulted, and got mad at the wrong thing.

“Hey, it’s a compliment. Don’t raise your voice, there are a lot of guests.”

Grace raised an eyebrow and gave her son a look. Chester, complaining that his mom was always like this, grabbed Isaiah’s hand and went inside the chapel.

The service wasn’t for another hour, but more than half the seats were already taken. The first row was reserved for family, including Grace and Cedric, and the second row was for Kalisz’s executives, including Bran.

“So you finally came.”

Bran said, watching Isaiah being led by Chester to a seat in the first row.

“Of course I had to come.”

Chester answered for him, then suddenly grabbed Isaiah’s shoulders and forcefully turned him to face Bran.

“How is it? He looks way better all dolled up to my taste, right?”

“Chester…”

Isaiah sighed deeply, meaning ‘Please stop.’ But the more he did, the more Chester tried to show Isaiah off to Bran, who stared silently at Isaiah in his black dress shirt and black suit jacket for a long time. Isaiah, feeling embarrassed by the blatant gaze, was just about to lower his head.

“I agree. He looks like a widower, and it suits him.”

At Bran’s words, a few Kalisz family executives sitting next to him coughed, trying to hide their laughter.

“Since we’re all here, why don’t we hold your funeral today too, huh? Chester?”

Chester’s face instantly turned red at Bran’s relaxed smile.

“You, you…!”

Just as Chester couldn’t hold back his anger and stood up, a voice called out, “Chester.” When Isaiah turned his head, Grace was walking towards them with a middle-aged man with a friendly face. A step behind them was a tall, elegant young woman in a black dress, also with a friendly face.

“Chester, this is Mr. Cornwell, the vice president of AII. Say hello.”

“Ah, Vice President.”

Chester, as if he hadn’t just been having a fit, put on a dignified face and offered the man a handshake.

“I’m Chester. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise, Chester.”

Cornwell patted Chester’s arm. And when the handshake was over, he turned his body slightly to the side, pointing to the young woman behind him.

“This is my daughter, Hailey.”

“Hailey Cornwell.”

The woman offered her hand first. Chester, as if overwhelmed by her spirit, took her hand with a slightly bewildered look.

“Chester Kalisz.”

Twenty-two… no, maybe twenty-three or four.

As Isaiah was trying to guess Hailey’s age, Cornwell said,

“She graduated from the New York University Department of Performing Arts last year, and now she’s going around auditioning at various theaters.”

“I’ve been on stage in minor roles too. It’s just that my father doesn’t consider it part of my career.”

Hailey retorted boldly. Cornwell looked at Grace instead of Chester and said, “Oh dear, you see? This is how she is,” shaking his head as if he couldn’t handle her.

“Oh, Vice President, you’re mistaken. You start with minor roles and work your way up. It’s a great career, why don’t you acknowledge it?”

Grace, completely different from how she was with Isaiah, responded wittily, managing the atmosphere so that neither of them felt bad. Chester was the only one who couldn’t say a word. He just stared blankly, alternating his gaze between his mother and Hailey, as if he couldn’t understand this sudden situation. It was exactly what Isaiah expected, given Chester’s personality. The cluelessness of someone who had never had a proper relationship in his life.

“Then Chester, why don’t you show Ms. Cornwell to her seat? The Vice President and I have something to discuss.”

“Ah, yes. Ms. Cornwell, this way, ow!”

Chester was about to take Hailey to the back row when Grace quickly grabbed his arm tightly. Chester looked at her with a surprised expression, and Grace glared at her son once before smiling sweetly again and saying,

“Please guide her to the seat next to you. The very first row.”

“Ah……”

At this point, Isaiah, having realized Grace’s intentions, quickly got up from his seat and moved to the second row. As soon as Chester saw Isaiah sitting next to Bran, he shouted, “Hey, why are you again…!” but then he got his arm pinched by Grace and shut his mouth.

“Chester?”

Grace called her son’s name in a gentle voice. But only her voice was gentle. Her face wasn’t smiling at all. As if finally realizing something, Chester obediently guided Hailey to the seat next to him. Grace, watching the two of them sitting side by side in the very first row, finally smiled with satisfaction.

“Okay, then we’ll come later. Ms. Cornwall, see you when the service starts.”

“Yes, Mrs. Kalisz. I’ll see you later.”

At Hailey’s greeting, Grace turned around with a pleased expression. As she disappeared with Cornwall towards the back of the chapel, Isaiah whispered to Bran, who was sitting next to him.

“Is this that thing? That arranged marriage thing?”

“Probably.”

Bran replied curtly. Isaiah involuntarily let out an “Oh…” of admiration. If AII was indeed Allied Irish Investment, it was a famous investment firm that Isaiah had heard of. The son of the mafia marrying the daughter of that AII vice president. No, putting aside the size of the company…

“Isn’t the woman too good for him…?”

He had clearly whispered in a voice only loud enough for Bran to hear, but somehow Chester heard it and turned around, laughing in disbelief,

“What?”

“Are you, by any chance, jealous right now?”

“……”

Isaiah had nothing to say. Just how was this guy’s brain wired that he took the words ‘the woman is too good for him’ like that? How could the input and output be so twisted? He was staring in disbelief when he made eye contact with Hailey, who had turned around following Chester. Perhaps thinking of Isaiah as one of the Kalisz family’s members, she gave him a confident yet benevolent smile, as if she were already the lady of the house. But as soon as she saw Bran sitting next to him, her eyes widened, and she suddenly blushed, quickly turning back to face forward.

This is… ruined.

Isaiah mourned the engagement that had been shattered in the blink of an eye.