13 Being Too Naive Can Hurt You

Ezra was baffled. Mr. Lexington's daughter, Theia, was supposed to be "kidnapped". He would rescue her like a knight in shining armor, and he'd use this opportunity to get closer to her, hopefully ending in marriage. So who could tell him what was happening now? When was the script changed? Why was he the one kidnapped and tied to a chair? And why, in God's name, was the rope tied in such a provocative manner? If he was a girl, it would be a damn rated-18 scene for sure. He couldn't figure out where he went wrong. He had everything arranged beforehand.

Today, he only needed to wait around and get into his car once they grabbed her, but before they even grabbed her, someone grabbed him just as he was about to get into his car. They covered his head with a black cloth bag and brought him to what looked like an empty warehouse. Now he was here, tied up as though he was the love interest in those BL manwha he always sees his sister reading. Was this not the wrong script? Did he make a wrong turn somewhere? 

He heard a door slam and jumped. 

Anthony had purposefully slammed the door to make him nervous. When Ezra jumped, he felt quite satisfied in his heart. He dared to participate in such a stupid plan, so he should have considered the possibilities. 

"Now then, Ezra," he said while deliberately walking toward him menacingly, "you're going to tell me all about this plan of yours with Theodore Lexington. If you don't, well….. I can't guarantee your safety, nor can I guarantee the world won't find out about this. Including your parents. Apart from your company's stock dropping quite a bit, I'm sure you won't be the one to take over the company any more. In fact, those "parents" of yours would probably disown you at the drop of a hat. It wouldn't be the first time they did something like that. "

Ezra gulped. It definitely wasn't worth the possibility of that happening. He knew his parents would really do it, too. They hated things like this. No, they hated being associated with anything or anyone that would smear their persona of being virtuous, just and upright. Also known as pretentious, uppity and cold. The rare few times he had spent with them had told him that. Worse, there was no familial love to bind them. It was why he struggled so much to try gaining their approval. He had never once gained it but he had obtained there disapproval several times as a child. When he came second in a race or when he got an A minus, it was constant disapproval.

Not to mention, his precious little cousin would probably despise him. If he could facepalm now, he would. Why had he agreed to this stupid plan? He wanted to marry her because Mr. Lexington said that he'd be able to obtain that contract and help his parents' company out since they weren't doing as well as they were before. He had naively hoped that after assisting them, he might be able to gain their approval. The fact that Theia was a genuinely nice girl was a plus. Now look at him. He had never wanted his parents or cousin to find out about this. 

"Mr. Lexington told me that he was hiring trained professionals with fake guns to "kidnap" his daughter and make it seem realistic. There were two scenarios that could take place. One was that they clip me and I chase after them, forcing them to stop, and the second was that in case we missed each item due to the traffic situation, they'd take her to the warehouse a few streets over on Sydney Street and I'd pretend I saw them pull her out of the van and rushed over to save her. "

Anthony nodded his head, satisfied that he was telling the truth since it matched up with what they knew with a bit of extra information. 

"Boss, did you hear that?"

 "Mmmm, I'll be there shortly to wait for them there. It's not too far from where you are."

Anthony hung up, looking at Ezra. He didn't seem like the type to do this so why?

"Let me ask you something, Ezra. What made you go through with this? I'll be honest, you don't seem like the type to do this, and you are definitely not a schemer. I can tell. You are extremely gullible. You just told the truth immediately without even trying to find out what I know. "

Ezra shook his head.

"Originally, I had planned to tell Theia everything upfront and ask her to marry me for a period of time. If not marriage, then I wanted her to at least pretend to date me. I even told Mr. Lexington that, but they convinced me to abandon those plans and try this because it would work out better. "

Anthony stared at him in pity.

"So you got conned into doing something you usually wouldn't do and still don't know why you accepted. Is that right? "

"Well, yes, actually."

What a sucker! Anthony thought. Gullible people like him are the most dangerous to themselves. 

"Had it not occurred to you that you were being used?"

"Used? How? "

If you had both gotten married, the only one to win in the end would be him. Through Theia, he would gain access to your company. Through a grandchild, he could practically take over. Particularly if he told Theia the truth at any point. I'm sure you are well aware of the type of man he is. You're just too naive. Your original plan was actually a good one. You should have gone with that. "

Ezra looked down. He felt ashamed of himself for letting someone talk him into something this stupid. He was already nineteen; why didn't he think things through a bit more? 

Anthony looked at how lost he looked and sighed. Theodore Lexington was indeed good at preying on a teenager's insecurities and concerns to get what he wanted. Unfortunately for Ezra, his boss doesn't play when it comes to his sister. Maybe he'd go a bit easier on him since he had no bad intentions? 

Who knows?

Fifteen minutes or so passed whole Ezra was lost in thought before he heard Anthony speaking to him.

"Wait a minute. You said "they" before. Whom does "they" refer to? " Anthony asked.

My older cousin, Mickel. He's my mother's nephew. His parents died years ago, so my mom took him in."

"Let me guess. He's also the reason you met Theodore in the first place?"

"How did you know that?" Ezra was baffled. Had he said it before? "

"Because you're being set up by your cousin. Never mind. I just heard a car door. It seems that the boss is here. "