The Million-Dollar Heart

Arthur found himself at the brink of losing his cool, desperately trying to smooth things over with Jasper. "No, Dad, you've got it
all wrong. I'm your son, from now on!" He couldn't fathom why, despite being a decisive leader on the battlefield, he turned into a
bumbling mess in front of his future father-in-law.
Jasper was seething, and Arthur knew he had to fix this fast. If Jasper had a heart attack or something, Karen definitely wouldn't
marry him.
But as soon as Arthur finished his plea, Maddox and his brothers were up in arms. "Arthur, have you lost your mind? If you
become Dad's son, what does that make us?" "And you, the so-called War God, barging into someone else's house trying to
replace us. What would your father say?"
Arthur waved off their concerns. "Don't worry about him; he's got plenty of sons. He won't miss me."
Yorick, another brother, chimed in, "This ungrateful child is driving me insane!"
Jasper was fuming. "I've got enough sons, thank you very much!"
"But none of them is a War God," Arthur retorted, dead serious. "Imagine how impressive that would be?"
The brothers were dumbfounded by Arthur's shamelessness.
Losing his patience, Jasper shouted, "Get him out of my house, now!"
And with that, a group of the Perez family's staff rushed in and, without giving Arthur a chance to fight back, escorted him out of
the house. Outside the Perez mansion, Shane and Dante were shocked to see Arthur being thrown out. They rushed over.
"Arthur, are you okay?"
Arthur dusted himself off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just seems my father-in-law isn't too fond of me."
Shane and Dante were speechless.
Arthur looked back at the closed doors of the Perez home and sighed. "Looks like winning over my father-in-law and daughter is
going to take some work." "Wait, Jasper doesn't accept you as his son-in-law?" Shane couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Arthur explained, "Think about it. Your daughter gets pregnant, the guy disappears for twenty years, leaving her to raise the child
alone. How would you feel?" Shane didn't hesitate. "I'd break his legs!"

Arthur grimaced.
Suddenly, Shane had a thought. "Jasper didn't try to break your legs, did he?"
"Worse. He wants me dead," Arthur said, half-joking.
"So, what's the plan?" Shane asked.
Arthur looked serious. "I need to earn my daughter and her grandfather's forgiveness. And I've got to think of ways to do that
quickly."
He then tasked Shane and Dante with a mission. "I need you two to take a break with me. Your assignment is to come up with a
hundred ways to win over a daughter and her grandfather. Each." Shane and Dante were at a loss. They were strategists, not
relationship experts.
Seeing their hesitation, Arthur pressed them. "Can't do it?"
Shane and Dante assured him they'd get it done, despite internally doubting their ability to come up with such a list.
Meanwhile, back at the Perez house, Jasper was trying to calm down, with Zelda wisely putting away anything sharp or
dangerous.
The atmosphere was tense, with everyone quietly processing the day's events. Finally, Jasper asked Vivienne what she thought
about Arthur being her father.
Without missing a beat, Vivienne responded, "I don't accept him."
Jasper let out a sigh, "Look, I don't like it any more than you do, but it's the reality He is your biological father, and let's face it,
growing up without a dad was tough on you. And now, him being a War God, he can offer you resources and protection."
Plain and simple, Arthur could provide Vivienne and Percival with support far surpassing that of the Perez family.
Even though the Perez family hailed from an ancient line of warriors and the Linklater family from a lineage of nobility and
wealth, Arthur's status as a War God trumped both heritage and wealth by a long shot.
Luke chimed in, "Exactly, Vivienne. We might not be thrilled about him being our brother-in-law, but at the end of the day, he's
your father. That's something you can't just cut ties with!"

Maddox, however, had a different take, "Acknowledge him for what? Vivienne isn't fatherless! Scott has been there for her all
these years, treating her no less than his own daughter. He's been just as good, if not better, than Arthur. And after everything
Arthur did to Sasha, you guys really think Vivienne should acknowledge him? What if Sasha wakes up and blames Vivienne for
it?"
Outside the Perez family manor, Willa Perez had just arrived back in town when she overheard Maddox's words, "What would
Sasha blame Vivienne for?"
Ever since Karen was transferred to Vivienne's lab, with Brody taking over Karen's care, Willa had taken the opportunity to travel.
She had returned early for Jasper's upcoming birthday celebration.