"Br-rother…. in…. law…?" Mathew Kim stammered as he stared at the door which was now shut.

It had been a few seconds since the woman who had shocked them left the room and only now did the assistant come back to his senses.

His eyes whiplashed to the man who was seated next to him, the curiosity and the haste to know the answers were swirling around in those widened eyes.

Reuben could feel his gaze even when his head was turned towards the door where he had been focusing his attention for quite some time now.

'Why did she say that!?' He narrowed his eyes as a strange and frightening thought came to his mind.

"Boss…" Mathew called out when he did not receive any answers from the Emperor.

This time, Reuben did not ignore him. He turned towards the man who was staring at him with questions brimming on his face.

"Priscilla Lin is Mason's girlfriend." He stated a fact that he had come to terms with in recent times.

Reuben hated the fact that they were dating but there was nothing that he could do to convince Mason otherwise.

This news was shocking and terrifying to the assistant who knew exactly who the man being mentioned was.

'Master Mason likes her!?' He grimaced as this could only mean bad news to his Emperor.

The Mason that they were talking about was none other than Reuben's younger cousin from the side branch, Mason Ming.

The brothers were close as children but certain things in the past had changed their relationship forever.

Though Reuben was trying his best to get back to the days where the brothers were inseparable, he knew in the corner of his heart that they were too far gone from that point.

Now, all he wished for was that his brother remembers and knows that he still has someone whom he can count on.

"Is Master Mason planning to marry the rat?" Mathew's silent grumbles echoed in his ear which brought him out of his thoughts about their past.

Reuben's eyes narrowed and his teeth gritted against each other upon hearing those words.

"Not if I have something to do about it!" He snarled back, adamant about not letting his brother wreck his life by marrying that insufferable woman.

Mathew snapped out of his thoughts and smiled when he saw the protective behavior that his emperor had exhibited.

Though the side branch was the one acting against him to gain control of Ming Enterprises, Reuben never blamed this on his cousin.

His love for this little brother was greater than the internal fight for the inheritance that was continuing in the shadows every single day.

Mathew was aware of the strife in the Ming family that none of the outsiders even had a clue about, thus he knew of the relationship between the two young men.

'The father gives his all to wreck the company while the son's girlfriend steals all of the high grossing projects?' He analyzed the situation.

Mason's father, Fredrick Ming was the top competitor in hopes of snatching away Reuben's position as the CEO of Ming Enterprises.

Fredrick was the only son of the side branch which meant that he was Felix Ming's first cousin.

The current patriarch of the Ming family, Aloysius Ming and his little brother born of the same parents were very close during the days of their youth.

However, the little brother, Thomas Ming was never interested in dealing with the business that Aloysius and his father had set up.

He was more interested in the music industry which was just beginning to bloom.

Under the protection of his father and elder brother, Thomas was living his best life and had saved up a lot of his earnings through the music he made.

He married his girlfriend he had met through the music industry and had a baby boy, Fredrick Ming who was just four years younger than Aloysius's son, Felix.

As Thomas had never involved himself in the business aspects of the Ming family, he made sure to save up his money from the days of his successful career for the later parts of his life.

The side branch was able to sustain themselves even without using the money that Aloysius sent to his little brother's account every month.

That money was kept aside for their son, Fred, in case he ever wished to start a business of his own or have any other desires.

They had a pleasant life but everything changed one year.

While Fredrick was still a young man just out to conquer the world after his education, his mother died of cancer that she had kept hidden from the entire family.

The husband who was deeply aggrieved at the death of the love of his life, could not stay away from her any longer and soon followed her in death just a couple of months later.

Thus, Fredrick had become an orphan when he was barely in the early twenties in his life.

The uncle from the main branch of the family did not leave him stranded but supported him in whatever choices he made.

After all, this young man was the sole heir to carry on his little brother's legacy so how could Aloysius leave him alone to fend for himself?

This was why he and his wife had taken Fredrick under their wing and brought him into their house with arms wide open.

Felix had already begun working as an intern at Ming Enterprises when his cousin moved into their house.

Just like an older brother should, he guided his cousin in making the decisions for his future.

The care and love he gained even after the demise of his parents made Fredrick overjoyed and grateful.

Aloysius made sure to let him know that he had a home with them and also discussed the money that his parents had left for him.

Fredrick had announced that he would keep that money for when he truly needed it but now, he would like to join his brother to work in the same company as him.

Aloysius and Felix had no issues with his decision and he too began from the every bottom just like his elder cousin.

The brothers were diligent and worked hard to bring the company to new heights.

Soon, Aloysius retired and handed over the seat of the CEO to his only son, Felix.

The competition for this seat wasn't too strong as Fredrick knew that he could not compete with his elder cousin who was a veteran at what he did.

Though he was disheartened to see that he wasn't considered for the position because of how good his brother was, he continued working diligently to improve himself.

Soon the brothers married the women whom they fell in love with and had families of their own.

This was when the seed of doubt entered the man's heart when he thought of how their futures may pan out.

Reuben's birth and his excellence in everything he tried intensified this doubt in his mind about what the head of the family would do.

The answer to this question was clear when Aloysius Ming took Reuben away to another country to train him to be his heir while Mason was left behind.

'That was when Uncle began retaliating against father.' Reuben recalled the gruesome wars that soon ensued in Ming Enterprises while he and Aloysius were out of the country.