Chapter 26: Chapter 26
As soon as he entered the condo, he felt a presence. It was weird because he was always the only one in the condo except when his friend, Mike, came over. But he was not even in the city at that moment.
He came to the living room and saw who was there.
“Grandpa?” He asked with surprise. How did he get there? He did not give him the keys to his condo.
He looked as good as ever. Even his grey hair and wrinkles could not hide the fact that he was handsome. He also exercised daily. That was how he managed himself. Otherwise why a seventy-two years old man would be that good looking?
It was late at night. He went to the club after dropping Olivia. He wanted to be alone and think about what to do. It was strange how one would find comfort and alone time in a bar or club when the drinking and dancing bodies coupled with loud music would provide the completely opposite environment. Talk about irony!
“Thomas, sit.” He told him briefly having a grim expression on his face.
“How did you get here?” He was still confused. James looked at him with the same serious expression.
“Have you been drinking?” He probably noticed how red his eyes were. Whenever he had a drink, they would turn into deep red. But he did not even drink that much that night.
“Just a little.” He replied with a sigh. He wanted to be mad at him, but he was not even feeling any resentment towards him. His mind was just numb. He did not know what to do about the marriage.
“I have been waiting here for over an hour. I wanted to talk to you about your marriage.” Here we go! He thought.
“Grandpa, I am not in the mood to argue right now. I…” James did not let him continue and stood up.
“Marry whoever you want to. I want an heir. That is what I want.” He informed folding his arms towards his back.
Thomas was speechless. Did he just agree to let him marry a middleclass girl? Was he hallucinating? Was it because of the couple of glasses of tequila he had?
“Arrange a meeting for tomorrow. I want to meet her. And you should return to home.” He said and left before he could say anything.
Thomas was shocked. He had never expected him to accept her as a daughter-in-law after he told him clearly in the morning that he would not allow it to happen.
He felt mixed emotions. He was glad that his misery was solved. But also worried that he still had to go through the marriage. Relationships were scary for him, let alone marriage.
But it was a fake marriage. Hopefully things would turn out just the way he expected and they would have to go their own separate ways after it ended.
He sighed and left a text for Olivia to be ready tomorrow in the afternoon. His grandpa took his work seriously. He would be returning at that time.
He closed his eyes and fell asleep on the couch. He was tired.
“Thank you Aunt Mary, I will return as soon as I can.” Olivia said with a grateful expression on her face, “Oh! And I have made dinner for both of you.” She informed and went to her room to fetch her bag.
“Don’t worry and enjoy your time. You look lovely.” Mary said looking at her with a smile on her face. She had always seen the young girl suffering from a young age. It was a great sight to see her looking so good in a pretty dress. She had the money when she worked as a stripper, but she rarely saw her buying something for herself. She was fully concentrated on her mother’s wellbeing.
She prayed the guy who she was getting married to would love her and take care of her.
Amelia told her about her marriage the other night. Her friend looked so happy. She was surprised at first since Olivia was never seen bringing a guy home or going out with someone, but she was glad that she had found a guy. It would also lessen Amelia’s worries. She worried a lot about what Olivia would do once she left this world. It pained her seeing her dear friend having such thoughts. But now, everything was going to be alright.
“Thank you Aunt Mary.” She hugged her and went to hug her mom as well.
“Always be happy.” Her mom kissed her hand with a soft look in her eyes.
She bade her goodbye and left the apartment. Thomas was leaving her impatient texts telling her to hurry up.
She rolled her eyes at his impatience. She was out of the apartment and saw him standing beside his grey Porsche this time. Just how many cars did this guy own? She could not help but think again with a shake of her head.
He had not noticed her as he was busy with his phone. She walked until she was in front of him. He heard the heels clicking against the floor and someone stop in front of him.
She is here! He thought.
It started with her feet which were cladded in nude closed toe heels and then her legs which looked so smooth and her dress that ended just above her knees and then her pretty face and hair. He looked enchanted once again.
She was wearing a full lantern sleeve V-neck with an A-line shape purple dress. Her hair was braided at the sides and let loose in soft curls. He noticed how the new hair color complimented her features and skin tone. She had a medium skin tone and dark features. Her dark and round eyes always pulled him into their depths.
She was also wearing the same earrings that her mom had gifted her. It was sweet that she never changed them.
“Hi!” She greeted when he did not say anything for a long time. She always got nervous to find people staring at her for long.
It was a wonder how she survived as a stripper.
She also did not want to stare at him. He was dressed in a half-sleeved white shirt and black cargo pants. His hair was ruffled a bit giving a carefree look. She noticed how he did not look that old with that look. It was probably due to his built that he sometimes looked older than his age—especially when she saw him in a suit when she visited his office.
“Um, hi. Let’s go.” He said after coming out of the trance.
They both sat inside the car and he played soft music as they hit the road.
‘So today, he is in a better mood.’ She thought to herself.
“So how are you feeling?” He asked after she noticed how she was fidgeting every now and then. He knew she would be nervous just thinking about meeting his grandpa.
“Nervous?” She replied giving him a brief look and making him chuckle.
“Well, you are justified to feel that way.” He said with a serious expression on his face. Olivia turned around looking horrified.
“Really? Is he really that scary?” She was asking so innocently that it made him want to tease her a little more.
“Yeah, he is scary. I don’t know what questions he will ask, but you have to be prepared. He can interrogate you for hours.” He commented making her more nervous. She started biting her lip and looked worried to no end.
She was doing it again, and all the thoughts of teasing her flew out of the window. Instead, something else replaced the thought…something she would not be too keen to know.
He groaned a little as the thoughts of ravishing her mouth consumed him again. Damn! He did not want to look uncomfortable in front of her.
“Are you okay?” She asked with concern. How could she be that innocent?
“Yeah.” He replied briefly and kept driving without another word. She noticed the change in his behavior. She would have been irritated at his attitude if she was not so worried about his grandfather.
He had called her in the morning to make up a story about how they both met and fell in love with each other. It was good since she could not lie, especially to such intimidating people like his grandpa. She had not even met him, but she was already intimidated by him.
They reached his home which was less like a home and more like a mansion. She had only seen such houses in movies based on super rich people.
He must be super rich, she thought. Of course, a person who was willing to go to great lengths aside from offering her a million dollar and bearing her mother’s expenses for surgery. Damn, he even wanted to give her allowances after the marriage. Was he crazy or something?
She held her breath as the gate opened and they drove and drove until, finally, they reached the car porch. Everything was surrounded in greenery and there was also a big ass fountain lying in the middle. There were also other cars parked.
She had never felt so small in her life. Never!