CHAPTER 4

  Lia's home…

 Lia showed the contract to her sister , who was reading it.

“Are you sure you want to do this Lia?” 

“Yh I’m sure or where are we supposed to find such an amount of money”

“what about Jake?”Kelly asked, remembering Lia’s boyfriend.

Lia’s face hardened on hearing his name 

“We broke up”

“ broke up? Why? Because of the contract, did you tell him about it?”

“no I didn’t get the chance to tell him” 

“why, he’s your boyfriend, of course he should know Lia”

“Not anymore” , she muttered

“Sorry?”

“I didn’t tell him because before I even agreed to the contract, I caught him cheating"

"what! Jake did that!?” 

“ yes, so I broke up with him”

“I can’t believe he did that”

“ forget it , I’m done with him" 

"So you’re really going to marry that Ryan guy?”

“Yh , plus its just for three years, I’ll be fine”

 “ What about his grandfather, aren’t you scared of what would happen if he found out”

“that shouldn’t be my problem but Ryan's" 

" true” Kelly said in agreement “but still I’m worried”

“It’ll be fine , don’t worry “ Lia reassured her sister.

Lia’s phone then rang. “Hello”Lia answered 

“Hello, this is Ryan” 

“ Ryan? What Ryan?” Lia said before realizing who was on the phone. She gasped and signaled Kelly. “Oh sorry Mr Ryan , I didn’t recognize your voice , why're you calling me this late” 

“Oh sorry if I disturbed you “

“It's no problem, what can I help you with?” 

“I just wanted to inform you that I’ve scheduled a meeting with my grandfather the day after tomorrow. Would that be alright with you?”

“The day after tomorrow? Uhm… I think I should be free that day”

“Ok , then. Tomorrow I’ll send a few dresses to your house please pick whatever you want to wear”

“what! No! There’s no need for that”

“I need you to be dressed appropriately Miss Amelia”

“Oh , ok then” she answered giving in

“ See you then. Have a good night”

 “ You too” then they hung up .

“Who was that?” Kelly asked, curious about who Lia was talking to

“It was Mr Ryan” 

“

Huh? Why’d he call this late?”

“He called to tell me that we are meeting his grandfather the day after tomorrow”

“So soon!?”

“yeah. He also said he would send over some dresses for me to wear”

“really?! He’s really serious about this”

“Yh” she replied in agreement

 The day of the meeting….

Kelly and Lia woke up to knocking on their door. Lia woke up to open the door and was surprised to see a bunch of people on their porch

“Sorry, who are you looking for?”she asked 

“Good morning Miss Amelia, we were sent by Mr Ryan, we’re here to help you prepare”.

Lia stood shocked that he sent a bunch of people like stylists, makeup artists and other people.

“OH my gawd ,what did I sign up for!” Lia thought.

A few hours later…

Lia sat in front of a mirror and looked at herself , “ wow, I look totally different” she sat there and admired the change that was very evident. She looked more mature and elegant. After she finished her makeup she went to wear the dress Ryan had prepared for her . She wore a black knee length sheath dress , paired with pearl earrings ,a delicate necklace , classic pump shoes and a silver clutch bag . She looked totally different and beautiful. After she finished preparing, all the stylists and makeup artists left and Lia remained in the house with Kelly waiting for Ryan to pick her up.

 “ Why is he taking so long?” Lia asked, getting nervous .“ What if he changed his mind about the marriage and demands we pay the money”

“ That won’t happen “ Kelly tried to calm her down 

“ who knows…” Lia was interrupted with a loud honking outside

“see,he’s here,” Kelly told her after releasing a sigh

“ I’ll get going “ Lia said hurriedly. She grabbed her purse and went to hug her sister for some courage

“it’ll be fine , just be yourself , ok?”

“ok” Lia said and went out. 

When she went she spotted a black Lamborghini in front of her door. Ryan came out of the car and opened the door for her. Lia was stunned not only by how good looking he was but also that he had a gentleman side of him. She got in the car and Ryan got in as well and he drove off to his grandfather's house.

“ Hey,” Lia said awkwardly. It was the first time they were together after she agreed to marry him 

“Hey” Ryan replied curtly. 

“Have you gone through the document”

“yeah , I have it all memorized” 

 “If there’s anything you can’t answer just leave it to me” 

“ok”Lia said and passed him a little awkward smile. After a while on the road , they arrived at his grandfather's house. They both got down and Ryan walked over to Lia and offered his hand which Lia took shyly. They both then walked in. When Lia walked in she was amazed by how beautiful the house looked. From the big double door, to the little passage they walked through before they got to the sitting room which was not only elegant but also had a simple décor. Ryan asked her to sit while he went to get his grandfather. Lia sat there and looked around. After a few minutes, a man who walked with a cane came in along with Ryan, Lia stood up and greeted him.

“Good evening sir, I’m Amelia Caldwell, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you” Lia said with a huge smile. Sir Richard stood for a while and finally smiled back at her. 

“Wow, Ryan you didn’t tell me your wife was so beautiful” Sir Richard said as he went for a hug, which took Lia by surprise. After they all settled for dinner, Lia was already getting somewhat comfortable. Sir Richard was a lovely and cheerful man, making Lia not so nervous. Sir Richard sat at the head of the table, Ryan sat at his right side and Lia sat beside him.

 “Oh! Amelia, can I call you Lia?”

“ Sure you can , everyone else calls me lia”

“Oh that’s wonderful!, It’s great I get to finally meet my granddaughter in-law” 

“yes Sir Richard”

“Oh please drop the formalities , call me grandpa”

“Really! I’ve always wanted a grandpa, both my parents met at an orphanage so i don’t have grandparents” .

“Really, where are your parents, I’d love to meet them” silence settled for a second before Ryan spoke,

“They both died a few years in an accident" 

"Really!, I’m really sorry dear “ Sir Richard said looking at Lia worried but Lia expression did not change a bit

“It’s fine grandpa, it happened a long time ago" 

"I'm sure your parents would be happy to see you growing up well"

 "I'm sure they are happy” Lia said with a little choked voice

“Ok! Lets eat, bring the food “ he ordered the maids to serve them. They all ate with the table filled with conversation between Lia and Sir Richard. After dinner , Lia and Sir Richard sat in the sitting room and chatted until Ryan announced their leave.

“I had a wonderful evening grandpa” she remarked

“I also had a wonderful time,dear. Make sure you visit again”

“sure grandpa” Lia said with a huge smile

 “I’ll drop her off and come back, go to bed, ok?”Ryan told his grandfather in a stern but soft voice

 “Why are you coming back , stay with Lia and come back later”

“She needs to rest grandpa” Ryan replied quickly

“Grandpa, It’s ok I’ll be fine on my own” Lia said and linked her hands with Ryan’s hand , leaving Ryan shocked by how well Lia was playing her role 

 “We’ll be married soon anyway, a little distance is good"

 "you're completely right Lia” Sir Richard agreed immediately

“I’ll be going grandpa, have a good night rest" 

"You too Lia” he replied eagerly Lia and Ryan both got in the car and drove off. In the car an awkward silence was between them  

“You did well today” Ryan was the first to speak, again

“Yeah, I was nervous at first but your grandfather is lovely”

 “He's like that,” Ryan said with a little smile. Lia who saw that short smile realized how much he really loved his grandfather. After a while , they arrived at Lia’s house. 

“We’ll be registering our marriage next week” Ryan announced before Lia came out of the car. 

“Next week?”

“ Yeah, would you be available then?" 

"Ok,” Lia said awkwardly. “Is that all? She asked

“ Yes” he replied

“ok good night then" 

"good night”

Lia got out of the car and went in, and after Ryan saw her go in he drove back home too.