Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 25: Grandpa

Chapter 25: Grandpa

"Oho. Seems like you know enough." Amused, the Chairman leaned back and looked at me.

I’ve long been used to being scrutinized, but when elders do it, the feeling of inadequacy starts forming much faster.

"I asked Lucian about this several times, and he’s promised to compensate me by agreeing to most of my reasonable demands. Now, how he plans on judging the reasonableness of each demand, I’m still not sure."

There was no point in pretending that this was some sort of a romantic relationship. Lucian made sure of that when he told the parents about his proposal. So I’m similarly inclined to come clean about our arrangement.

Even if they don’t all have Lucian’s personality, I can guarantee that they can at least determine Lucian’s tolerance level.

I could clearly see the resemblance in the Sinclair men, not only does it manifest in their appearance, but also in their mannerisms. Luckily the personalities seem a bit more varied.

Tapping his fingers on the desk, with an eyebrow raised, the Chairman spoke up, "So you’re saying he compromised with you?"

"He implied as much, but as to the implementation, we haven’t gotten there yet. Though I did make one non-negotiable very clear, I have a zero-tolerance policy for cheating." I smiled a big smile.

I am dead serious. I will drain this family of every penny possible if I even catch a whiff of him cheating, and then I will seek to castrate him as my personal gift to the world.

"As you should." Aunt Serena nodded, clearly understanding where I was coming from.

"So Sir, I’d like to ask that you inform me if his marital status needs to change. I am open to such things if told upfront. I’d much prefer that over being plotted on from behind."

And if they happened to find someone nuts enough to take the guy, then good for him.

Chuckling at my serious statement, the Chairman asked, "You seem to be able to let go of him that easily? Was he that bad?"

"Sir, I believe you’d know the answer to that best. But more than that, I have recently learned an important lesson in separating my emotions from business. And he also made that clear from the very start." I shrugged, totally informal but nothing is formal about talking about sham marriages.

Next to me, Aunt Serena kept sighing, probably too annoyed at how we were treating all of this as a transaction.

"So what are your plans now?"

"Sir, as you may know, I’ve recently lost my original last name. And the new one I’m using comes with obligations I’ve yet to fulfill. So aside from stabilizing my life, I’ll have to accomplish Lucian’s tasks for me. So hopefully he will tell me about them as soon as possible." I cocked my head towards Lucian, imploring him to actually have a say in the matter.

"My dear, the moment you married my ungrateful son, you’ve become part of the family. There’s really no need for you to calculate things like that as debts for repayment." Aunt Serena looked bothered as she reached out for me.

"I understand Auntie, and I know that whatever happens, you won’t throw me under the bus like that. But still, I made this deal with Lucian and I don’t like running away from promises." I reassured her, smiling confidently.

Honestly, if the bastard just stated his demands early on then, I would’ve been able to confidently say whether they were doable.

"We can see that you’re resolute but we also promised your parents that you’d be fine with us, so you must prioritize that. Your parents asked if you would be happy. They don’t give a rat’s ass about fame or money, so make sure you consider that." With his arms crossed, you’d think that Uncle Lyle was discussing an important deal, not my married life.

I get their point, so I nod. But just because they say that doesn’t mean that I can just call upon happiness like that. If that were the case, then I wouldn’t be in this situation.

"Ah. I see why you picked her, Lucian. But I made it clear that it has to be someone who could handle you." He’s talking to Lucian but it’s me he’s actually scrutinizing.

"There is no way to fully control someone like Lucian, but that doesn’t mean that he cannot be reasoned with. With the right combination of reason and gains, he’s bound to act accordingly." I elaborated, voice a little raspy from talking too long.

From the side, Lucian pushes over a glass of water, which I gratefully drank while being stared at curiously by the Chairman.

It’s not like they don’t know him. Heck, he’ll even take the lead for the right price so there wouldn’t be a need to control him.

"I was hoping to humanize this fool. He’s living like he’s in some simulation"

"It’s not that he doesn’t know emotions. He just doesn’t care for it. I know that he understands feelings because he’s been using them to anger the Thornhills. He’s pretty good at it too."

Remembering all those people who looked like they were going to throw up blood because of Lucian’s antics was the greatest proof of this. Lucian can weaponize emotions and only those who understand them can do that.

"So you’re okay with him being like that? He may never end up loving you or anyone."

"My greatest enemy isn’t him or love. It’s delusion. Maybe I would’ve fallen into that trap if I had not known him for so long. But because I know him, I understand his motivations. Giving me water could’ve been sweet but this guy just wanted to make sure I can continue the meeting smoothly."

The Chairman actually laughed at that, suddenly looking more interested.

"So are you saying that there’s no possibility of love?"

"I wouldn’t say it’s impossible because that’s going to give me a death flag. But in the unfortunate case that it happens, then it would be a loss that I’d have to bear."

"A loss?"

"There’s no winning against a person able to weaponize emotions. If I had such love for him, I’d just doom myself into servitude. I much prefer how our actions now are driven by logic. I find love to be too fickle anyway."

"Hmm...Instead of finding someone to reform you, you even managed to find yourself a clone."

The Chairman adjusted himself before continuing, "You can continue this arrangement and I will allow you back into the project under two conditions."

Now Lucian seemed to concentrate, hanging on to the Chairman’s words.

"You started this, both of you are responsible for seeing this through. To everyone else, you are a young couple in love, and it is to remain like that. Secondly, marriage is not a tool to be used like this. So there are no take-backs. You are now a Sinclair."

My ears rang a bit at that, clearly, it hadn’t sunk in before and now that it’s the Chairman who said so, it’s suddenly being nailed into my brain.

"We don’t have it in us to keep on switching family members. Lily is far too young to be subjected to that kind of torture. So you either learn to love each other or forever miss out on the opportunity."

What a curse. Stability in exchange for an actual love life. I couldn’t help but grimace at that but I understand. If Lily were to emulate us, then this family would lose its last hope for normalcy.

"The moment you signed the contract, you two started a family. Try not to kill each other and stop counting everything. I don’t want to see Great-grandchildren who would grow up counting each meal as a debt."

"Do you expect us to have Children?" Asked Lucian. Of all the things to respond to, his selective hearing chooses to fixate on that.

The room grew colder for a moment and that’s not really surprising considering Lucian’s question.

"I have long reduced my expectations of you. But considering your calculations for succession planning, it would be stupid to assume that you haven’t thought of that."

With a pained expression, the Chairman gripped his hair as if wanting to grip Lucian’s neck instead.

"And who the hell talks about children like they’re transactions?! It’s not like you’re capable of asexual reproduction! I better not hear you making contracts to produce an heir."

Now the Chairman is looking at both of us, probably unconvinced that Lucian wouldn’t do something like that.

"I won’t let myself get bullied like that, Sir. If he’s capable then the possibility exists. But I can’t force it if he sucks so bad."

I stuck my tongue out at Lucian, who scowled in return, suddenly looking like he was ready to pounce back.

It was then that we heard a soft knock and a small voice from outside the door.

Knock. Knock.

"Grandpa, I’m done with my self-reflection, may I come in?"

"Lastly, you should start calling me Grandpa." He said as he stood up to get Lily who’s been waiting outside.