R.I.P.

Fuck me. 

I think he deserves an encore.

Rest in pieces, Aunt Ingrid.

The uproar was delayed, these acquaintances had no idea that Lucian could spew such things.

But we did.

Aunt Ingrid's face was so red she could pass for a tomato. She looked like she was being strangled. Complete with a hand clutching on her very black heart.

Even Alexa shot up from her seat. Oooh, the trash collector seems angry.

Unless her IQ is far less than we've anticipated, it would be impossible for her not to understand Lucian's statements.

She's angry, close to snarling, but the fact that Grandpa didn't say anything meant that he somehow agreed. I mean, where's the lie?

Aunt Serena is close to laughing. She's probably anticipated something like this, but she's holding it in by looking around.

Dad's face showed several emotions that it was funny. Hearing Lucian right before blowing up suddenly got him nodding his head in agreement. Knowing him, he'd have this segment spliced from the CCTV for careful storage.

And if he doesn't do it, I would.

"You…You! What are you saying?!" Unable to say much out of sheer shock, Aunt Ingrid kept squawking. She kept looking around for anyone to defend her, but that's a Sinclair. Who would dare? 

Screaming "Family" to survive arguments just wouldn't work.

I don't know what came over her, but Alexa decided that if none of the above would work, she'd use her best weapon- tears.

"Lucian! Why would you say something like that?" After harnessing all the innocence left in the world, Alexa cried out at Lucian.

"And you are?" Asked Lucian.

God. I swear.

At this point, Lucian can ask me to surrender my flag, and I probably would. 

I always wondered how a person could be equipped with a mouth like his, but now I realize that everything was truly within God's calculations. 

Even I'm so close to choking because Lucian's so on a roll.

If it were possible to see blood from all those weaponized words let out by Lucian, we'd look like a warzone.

Before Alexa's stint with Jasper was her Lucian era.

We all know that she's using Jasper, so "love" may not be the correct term. But her desire for Lucian seems bone deep.

But that's just it, for Lucian has never given her the time of day.

A crocodile.

If she only knew how Lucian thought of her, we may need to call for an ambulance.

Her tears may have been props earlier, but right now, they may be for real. Just as expected, she may still have it out for Lucian.

"It's Alexa," she murmured, barely audible. It may have been due to stress or actual embarrassment, but Alexa seems to have regressed.

Lucian, God bless his soul, just looked like she didn't ring a bell and that just cracked Alexa more.

Alexa knows that she can't look too affected. She used the concept of being unable to survive without Jasper so she can't look like she's got feelings for Lucian.

For a moment, I pitied her.

A moment that's not even close to a split-second. That's all I could give her.

Knowing when to quit is a skill that Lucian seems to have. He didn't even let Alexa proceed. He just ended it by shrugging and taking a bite from an apple. 

All around me, people were pretending to be busy with random things. That would be the safest unless they want to be the unfortunate souls forced to comfort or take away Alexa and her mom.

They've done that over the years. Coming to the aid of whoever started crying first. The problem was that I never did cry.

__

The speed at which people ate and left was unimaginable. These people have always overstayed their welcome, but not today. You'd think there was a competition.

When Grandpa left, he offered a short apology. In reality, that didn't really do much for me. What did it for me was the fact that he did not lecture us for grilling the mother-daughter duo. We weren't even asked to apologize.

A small win.

"You. Follow me." I signaled to Lucian.

With the excuse of bringing Chester out to potty, I dragged Lucian out before the adults could start asking questions that I had no answers to.

"Good boy!" I told Chester, who looked proud of pottying on command.

I figured that if I could praise the dog, maybe I ought to recognize his human, too. 

"Thanks."

He shrugged, then asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Several things. Our expectations and arrangements and the actual explanation for why you need a wife." I only assumed last time and didn't bother to ask because I didn't think I'd be accepting the offer, but here we are!

"So tell me about the situation."

Next to a rather secluded garden, Lucian began to summarize his predicament.

If I'm getting his story right, the far-off branch family members have repeatedly scared off the Chairman by cooking up horror stories of Lucian's love life or the lack of it.

To shut them up, he attempted to arrange possible candidates for Lucian, only for all of them to fail. Worse, some had very scandalous ends. So, the Chairman ended up very concerned.

"You're telling me that you're rushing to find a wife at 24 for that? Isn't that a bit stupid?" I was surprised at his situation and had to admit that it seemed illogical.

"What's annoying about this is the loose time limit. There wasn't any. But the catch was that, unless substantial effort on my part was exhibited, then I'm not touching anything under the Holdings company."

"But was that really it? I refuse to believe that the Chairman of Sinclair group would fall for such poor fear-mongering tactics."

Rolling his eyes at my disbelieving face, he finally admitted.

"My attitude. He said that my reticence and apathy reminded him of his younger days."

"There you go!" Now that I totally believe. "But what's your displeasing attitude got to do with finding a wife?"

"He firmly believes that Grandma straightened him up. So he says I need one." Lucian snorted, clearly unsupportive of this.

"It's not impossible, but…you're trying to find a wife that's closer to a business partner. I'm afraid that won't have the same effect."

He looked at me like I was making it all more complicated, so I felt like I had to explain.

"You see, the Chairman was straightened out by his wife because he valued the wife. He's always been known as a wife-simp."

"And?"

"Could you even imagine yourself doing a time-out upon being told off by your wife?" With a very sour face, there was no need for him to vocalize an answer.

Imagining this guy being so obedient is making me shudder. Most contract marriages happen for the sake of inheritance, but this guy's problem is a bit harder to deal with.

"Your family actually cares about you. Had this been a run-of-the-mill arranged marriage, it would've been easier."

"Good that you know. It's why I'm here."

"Explain." I gesture at him.

"They won't stop until they think the person is good enough to influence me. So, even if I managed to enter into a contract with a random person, they may not pass the vetting. I can act, but if I have to put up with it for too long, it would be too tedious."

He stares at me to drive the point. "So I need someone who's been vetted. They already know you, so subjectively, they've already associated you with good things. Particularly my parents."

"I haven't met your Grandfather."

"Sure, but knowing my parents before being in this relationship means that you're as described."

It made sense, but I still had to ask, "Then how long are we to keep this up?"

"Until needed."

What?

"Isn't that too much? Considering the nature of your problem, we'd have to be married forever!"

"You don't say."

"Are you serious?!"

"Positive."

I had to sit back down to digest what he just said. If he could be reformed that easily, it wouldn't have taken twenty-four bloody years.

"Lucian, I need you to understand something very important. At first, it wasn't such a big deal since I thought you only needed this for a short time, but considering everything, I must tell you my condition in advance."

"I'm listening." Curt, as always.

"I will not tolerate any form of cheating." I let that sink in before I continue. "So in the unfortunate scenario where you find yourself in love with someone else, you can't just go for it without properly divorcing. Because I will end you." And I promise it won't look pretty.

I don't know what he found funny about what I said, but he laughed at my declaration. It was not a guttural laugh but the kind where his eyes were glinting, and suddenly, I was a bit spooked.

"If I could have it my way, I'd prefer an agreement without the option for divorce. But considering Jasper's idiocy, I would understand why you'd want insurance."

If others were to hear about this, they'd think that Lucian Sinclair has gone crazy. This guy only dealt with contracts beneficial to himself or the company. And this would allow me to extort a staggering alimony. Is he not afraid of me being money-hungry?

"Strong words. But I'd like for us to test this out first. What if we end up murdering each other?"

"No can do."

"What?! Why?" Feeling like he's taking this all too lightly, I couldn't help but screech a little.

"I cannot miss the deadline to join the team for the Windham Island Project. The bidding is a month from now. To meet the deadline, I need to be married within the next three weeks."

I'm a bit shocked, but knowing Lucian, he must really be out of choices to be this disadvantaged in a deal.

"To compensate, I'll agree to all reasonable demands."

Jesus. How badly does he want that project?

"How long did you prepare for the Windham Project?" He's definitely gone nuts.

"Three years."

"Fuck. No wonder."

"But Lucian, even if I end up agreeing to this, how are you planning on convincing the elders to allow us to get married in three weeks?"

"I already have a plan. Let me handle it."

Nevermind. This bastard was prepared.

I take a deep breath, wondering if his craziness was contagious.

Shit.

"I guess we're getting married."