Chapter 2

It has been 4 years since Theo regained his memories.

He had convinced himself to strive for the best and experience everything he couldn't in his last life.

He made more friends, watched concerts, studied at school, he chose a subject in university that he loved, everything was going great!

He was lucky enough to have been studying for the national exam previously and got into his preferred major in a great university, Fashion design.

He wanted to dress up and wear things outside. Outside! The outside that existed for him in his last life only consisted of the library and the road connecting the hospital to the library. He couldn't afford good clothes since he had to spend it all on asthma and epilepsy medication. Sure, the government gave a grant and everything, but it only covered the necessities, and he never got much from working as a librarian anyway.

In his last life, he loved watching runway shows and celebrity closet tours, and the like. It was a life he couldn't even imagine.

That wasn't the case anymore. It was never the case in this life, but getting his memories back made him appreciate it all much more.

Theo worked really hard and got along well with his professors. He made sure to compete in some well-renowned competitions and made a name for himself in the industry as an upcoming designer. He interned at big fashion houses but ultimately opened up his own studio.

His studio had a good reputation and was becoming more popular day by day.

Theo was pretty pleased with himself.

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Theo drove into the garage of his parent's house wondering why they called him so urgently.

"Theo you're here!" Mrs. Mathews exclaimed as he walked into the living room.

"Hey, mom!" Theo said hugging her," How are you? You look nice today."

"Oh thank you, sweety," she said blushing before looking away nervously at his father who came down the stairs.

"Theo sit, down, we have something important to say to you."

Theo sat down confused, why were they so nervous?

"Your cousin came back yesterday," his father started," Charlie came over since we wanted to talk about him finding a marriage partner."

"Ahh...," Theo started to get a little picture of what was going on. Theo had 2 siblings. The eldest was Michael who was an alpha, and then Charlie, an omega. Michael was 30 and already engaged. While Charlie was 25 and studying acting in a foreign country.

Charlie was actually his cousin and was adopted by his parent when he was 16 as his parents died and none of the other relatives wanted to take him in.

"Well," his mother continued," we have a friend who is also one of our business partners who expressed having their alpha son and him going on a blind date, nothing serious, just to get to know each other," she sighed.

"But, before we could continue, he stormed off and isn't picking up the calls," Mrs. Mathews said looking upset," It's not like we sold him or anything! We just wanted him to see if they would get along! He's already 25! It's the prime age for omegas to get married!"

Theo nodded, taking a sip of the tea that the nanny brought in. His older brother Charlie was soft-spoken but stubborn.

"We told our friend that he wasn't up to it, but they seemed very insistent on having their son go on a blind date, and... Uhm... they were wondering if you were interested...." his father said with difficulty.

Now, Theo was surprised," Me!!??"

His parents nodded," We texted and sent voice messages to your cousin about the situation and give some thought to it, but he still hasn't responded."

Theo was speechless but started thinking, this must be an important friend, his parents would usually not take these sorts of offers unless they couldn't afford to offend them.

"Who is it?"

"It's the Ashfords."

"The Ashfords?!"

Theo was surprised, the Ashfords were a well-known family in the country. In fact, they were probably the richest family in the country. They had many industries, but their main industry was the entertainment industry. Ashford Studios was well known and has many A-list celebrities signed under them.

"I see..."

"Our friend's son is Cedric Ashford..."

Cedric Ashford!? Isn't that the alpha that everyone calls cold and unlikeable?

Cedric Ashford is the CEO of the Ashfords Group. He was 28 and considered a young businessman who is ruthless in character and untouchable.

Theo suddenly understood why his older brother ran away.

Cedric was known to dislike omegas, he even got some omegas arrested or made their families ruined for throwing themselves at him or trying to trick him.

There was nothing wrong with self-defense, but he was also known for being scary looking and having an unchanging cold face.

Theo has never met him but the rumors were vast and widespread.

Theo sighed, he really didn't know what to say.

He honestly felt like his cousin just threw him under the bus.

What if he refused and Cedric held a grudge against his family, even if his parents were quite powerful in their own respect, it was better not to invite trouble right? He had to meet him at least once right? Give it a chance? He was single right now. He went on a date once in uni, but it didn't work out. Maybe this would be like that?

Theo made up his mind," Okay, I'll go."

His parents sighed in relief," Oh that's a great sweety!" His mom exclaimed.

"If you ever want to back out, just tell us ok?" His dad said patting his head.

Theo sighed internally, his parents must have been under a lot of stress due to this.

"We'll meet formally next week okay? I'll tell Mrs. Ashford," his mom said pecking his cheek before leaving.

Theo watched her leave before asking his dad for Cedric's number. He should probably meet him beforehand, so he's prepared.

It's always good to check the foundation before building on it right?

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At night Theo sat on his bed looking at his phone in contemplation. Should he call? His mom already informed Mrs. Ashford in the afternoon, so now would be a good time right?

Theo dialed the number and waited for the other side to pick up.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Theo's gripped the phone nervously.

"Uhm, hello, is this Cedric Ashford?" he asked politely.

"No, this is his assistant Joshua. Mr. Ashford is currently busy so I picked up the call, can I pass on a message?"

"Oh, yes! Ofcourse, I'm Theodore Mathews, I'm not sure if he's been informed yet, but I'm supposed to meet him next week? I was wondering if we could meet privately before then, just us, without our parents you see."

"I see, one moment, Mr. Ashford is free now so he would like to talk to you."

Theo heard some shuffling before a low voice answered.

"Hello."

Theo's heart jumped, wow, that was a nice voice," Hello," he replied as smoothly as he could," I'm... "

"Yes I know," Cedric replied," My assistant filled me in. Why would you like to meet beforehand?"

"I think it would be easier to talk without our parents there, and if we don't get along, it would be better not to waste everyone's time."

"Hm, I understand, when would you like to meet? Is tomorrow alright?"

Tomorrow? Theo was NOT ready.

"Can we do it the day after tomorrow? I have to finish some work at my studio and arrange some work for my staff. I'll leave the next day empty, so you can choose the time."

"No need, let's meet for lunch at 12. I'll send you the address later."

"Okay, thank you so much for your time, and sorry for bothering you so late," Theo responded, that went relatively well right?

"No problem," Cedric replied, "See you then."

Theo fell back on his bed with a sigh after the call cut.

That went better than he expected.

Cedric didn't seem that bad, he was polite and wasn't bothered by how late he called or how he called under such short notice.

Theo made up his mind to be cool about it, just get it over with.