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Responsible Stress

"Dad," Art said, hoping his father couldn't hear the waver in his voice, "I appreciate what you've done, but do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Art's father folded his hands on the table. "Is it regarding my sudden decision to acknowledging you as my heir?"

"Yes sir. Why me all of a sudden?"

The elder lion chuckled. "It's not sudden, Arthur. I had been considering you as my heir for a very long time."

"But I'm not related to your first wife."

"True, but it's not unheard of for the second or even third wife to birth an heir for the pride." He then ran his fingers through his chin fluff. "My other sons are, to be blunt, hooligans. Especially Eddie."

The name was like a spear against his heart. Eddie, his half brother. Eddie, who bullied him simply because he was bigger and stronger. Until Venti saw the abuse firsthand and put a stop to it by proving the old adage: there's always someone bigger and stronger than you.

"I know what your boyfriend did," his father added. "And while I don't condone violence in my home, it didn't seem to stop Eddie from bullying you."

"Why didn't you put a stop to it?" Art hoped his father didn't hear the ice in his voice, but the frown on the elder lion's face dashed those hopes immediately.

"I didn't stop it because I wanted you to man up and deal with it yourself." He then looked thoughtful, staring at the window that overlooked the parking lot and the Sierras beyond. "I suppose you did, allowing your boyfriend to take care of him." He resumed his focus on Art again. "Eddie is quite bigger than you, but your boyfriend, I hear, makes him look tiny."

"I didn't allow Venti to take care of him. He decided to stop Eddie from doing any permanent damage to me."

"I should have intervened before it escalated to that level. Can you forgive me?"

Art just stared at his father. He had never in his life ever heard those words escape his father's lips. "I...yes. I can forgive you. I do, of course. You're my dad. You can't be everywhere at once."

"Then consider making you my heir the first step to repairing our relationship."

"I didn't know it needed repairing."

The elder lion reached out across the table to grip Art's hand. "Then it's my way of closing the distance between the two of us."

"Still, Dad, I don't know the first thing about managing a coffee shop."

The elder lion's grin was both reassuring and terrifying at the same time. "You'd better learn fast, son."