Four

I cleared my throat. That was how I could cover up this embarrassment. Also, I was forced to put on a stern look. She seemed to have some attitude, which wasn't something I appreciated very much. She had only spoken a few words, but the sassy spirit was so, so vivid. Who was she? 

"Rae." I leaned into my seat, drumming my fingers against the table, ensuring that I sounded so indifferent to this meet up. 

She cleared her throat as well. And yes, the stern look on her face was the attitude. "You're… Ivan, right?"

I chortled, glimpsed sideways, and turned to her. "Tryna pretend like you don't know me? Wow."

"Excuse me?" Her left eyebrow cocked at me. "I… don't get you." 

"See…" I leaned close to the table, keeping my hands on it, staring directly into those eyes. "Hope you know you aren't the first lady I'd be meeting up with? You know me. Drop the pretence.'

She stared blankly at me, then exhaled. "It hasn't been long since we began speaking, but I can already tell that you're quite impolite."

"Who're you?" I asked her, not paying attention to her rant. 

She glanced sideways, scoffed, and turned to me. A sinister smile grew on her lips, a rare emotion racing her expression. "Did Rhonda not introduce me to you? Are you for real?"

"Yeah, she did." I nodded reluctantly. "Your parents are friends with her. I get that. But, why do you wanna be in a relationship with me?"

Her nostrils flared, and it seemed like she swallowed hard. I could tell that she was somewhat upset. "Thinking highly of yourself isn't so nice. Do you have a reason for coming here? Huh? If it's something personal, would you appreciate being asked to say it? Don't judge me without knowing my background. It's disgusting."

"Hm… great speech." I leaned backwards, grabbed the glass of pineapple juice from the table, then sipped from it. "Seems like you're quite smart. That's something I want from a lady. Kudos."

We were silent for a moment. She gave me an intense stare, her facial expression so neutral and emotionless. Her hands sat on the table, her fingers locked in a fist. She wasn't speaking, which made it seem like she was only scrutinizing me. What was going on in her mind?

"I'm twenty five," she finally spoke. Her words came out straight, almost as if she had shot them right in my face. "My mom used to be Rhonda's maid, but she ended up being friends with her. We live in a small apartment, and yes, we like it that way. I've only agreed to this relationship because I recently got heartbroken. I studied guidance and counseling at a college in Texas, but I haven't begun working."

I smirked. "Why are you telling me these things?"

"I'm being proper." It was almost as if she was planning to start an argument with me. She sounded so harsh and unfriendly. "That's what you should do as well. So, my parents told me about you, and I agreed to have a dinner date with you. Not just that. I've also agreed to get married to you."

Abruptly, my hands balled up in a fist. I clenched my teeth, breathed hard, and frowned hard. Before coming over to this place, my aunt had made me promise her that if Rae agreed to get married to me, I would accept the proposal. I had promised her reluctantly, not expecting Rae to actually get married to a person she knew nothing about. 

"Are you crazy?" I whispered. 

She nodded. "Yes. I want to move on. That'd make my parents happy."

I scorned. "You know, when I saw you walking in, I thought you were one of those sensible women. You sounded strict and confident, but would I have known you're one of those gold diggers?"

"Gold digger?" Once again, the sinister smile crawled to her lips. "What a joke. Have you not been listening to me?"

"Who're you?" I asked the same question over again. I glared even harder. I was expecting her to feel intimidated, but she only seemed more confident. 

She began tapping her feet against the floor, leaning into her seat to probably make herself comfortable. "Rae Naomi Tyrone. That's who I am. Soon, I'll be Rae Tyrone Kurt."

"Shut. Up." I ordered. 

She sniggered. "That's no way to speak to your fiancée, okay?"

"What do you want?" I asked breathlessly. 

She looked away, linked her arms on her chest, and sighed. "It's not about what I want. It's about what you want. You've got no heir, and you're helpless. Make me have that position as your wife, and make me bear your child."

This was it. I couldn't take it anymore. I was done with the wife talk. 

"Hey!" Extremely furious, I pulled my seat backwards with so much force, stood up, and slammed my palm against the table. "That. Is. Enough. Shut your mouth, and don't say anything about marriage. Do you think it's a joke? I've only come here because I was asked to. I haven't come here to discuss anything like a stupid marriage."

She looked up at me. "Hey, calm down. It's not like I wish to get married to you. It's something I just have to do."

"See, marriage isn't a joke." I panted as I spoke. I was devastated. "You can't just come out of the blue and say you wanna get married to me. Who're you? What do you want? Are you some kind of harlot who needs assurance or legacy? Wait, if you want my money, then maybe we can just go for a hookup. You don't have to—"

"Hold it right there!" she commanded. She stood up, frowned so much, blinking continuously. Wait, were those tears in her eyes? What a joke. Ladies like her didn't like being told the truth about themselves. Unexpectedly, she pointed a finger at me. "That's enough. Ivan Kurt, when I say I wanna do something, take me seriously. My life's been frustrating since I got heartbroken by my man. I need to move on. Only seeing you, I think you're fit to be my husband. So yeah, we're gonna get married. I'll show my ex that he can't make me stagnant and heartbroken."

I gulped. This woman was insane. Puzzled, I squinted my eyes at her. "Are you even thinking? You don't even know who I am, for goodness sake!"

"I know who you are," she retorted. Once again, she swallowed, and uttered, "You're very rich and famous. You own a couple of malls in this city, and you inherited them from your father. You also own a restaurant in East Dantry, and you've been crowned an eligible bachelor. I know you, Ivan. I know you."

"Wh-What do you want? Why do you wanna do this?" I questioned in disbelief. 

She smirked. "Mr. Kurt, you're a pitiful man who's childless. I want to give you an heir, and I want to be your wife. I want my ex to see me get married to a billionaire, and I want…" She looked away. "I want to be yours."

"This is—"

"Irrespective of what happens after the sealed matrimony…" She grabbed her bag from her seat, held her shoulder up, and sighed. "I just want to be your wife. Goodnight, Ivan. See you when the wedding gets finalized."

With that, she turned around to leave. Shocked and extremely perplexed, I grabbed her arm, and twirled her around to face me. 

"You wanna be my wife?" I spoke in a low voice, as if I whispered. Though fear was all that dashed through me, I managed to smirk at her. 

"Yes." Her reply was firm. 

I yanked her closer. She breathed slowly, looked up at me, seeming quite nervous. It made me snigger. "Sealed matrimony, you say? We shall see about that. Seems like you don't know who you're speaking to, and dealing with"

"Ivan Micheal Kurt is your name," she declared. She glanced at her arm, and pulled it off my grip. "Next time, don't hold me this tightly. I'm not soft, I promise. Peace."

With that, she spun around like an angry dog, her hair hitting my face. How disrespectful. 

I glared at her. Earlier, I had been admiring her. But now, I was so vexed to the point that I couldn't even spot anything beautiful about her. She was so crazy. 

She was about to step out when someone barged into the restaurant. It was a man. Tall, muscular, wretched-looking, he all was. His left arm had a bunch of tattoos, covering that part of his body. He brushed his fingers over his nose, grunted hard, and glared down at Rae. 

Knowing fully well that something wasn't right, I decided to know what was going on. 

"You fool!" He cried at the top of his voice. His voice was thick and raspy like that of a smoker. Before I could reach them, he grabbed Rae's jaw. And, without a second thought, he hit her hard across the face. Hard to the point that she tripped backwards, and almost fell to the floor. 

I widened my eyes, shocked to know that a man had the guts to hit a lady. How shameful. 

She held her cheek, looked down, and whimpered. Woah, he surely wasn't going to go away with that. 

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