Chapter 4
1611 Words
The elderly man sat back in his high-quality teak rocking chair. He gently rocked back and forth as classical music played from an antique gramophone. The instruments in the piece were specially composed by a famous composer as a birthday gift for him some time ago.
A message notification arrived. [Please watch this video, Mr. Nilson.]
It turned out the message was from Celine's assistant. John pressed the 'play' button on his phone screen.
[I apologize, but please take back these gifts. You've inconvenienced yourself greatly. Really, what I did earlier was just to help. It's even just a coincidence that we met again.]
John smiled contentedly as he watched the video. He had already heard stories about Brian’s bravery in saving Celine from thugs. Now, he saw the young man rejecting millions of dollars worth of gifts from his granddaughter. John's admiration for him grew.
“Celine must marry Brian!” He would insist if necessary.
Right after saying that, Celine arrived, sitting down and throwing herself back on the sofa not far from John’s rocking chair.
“Miss, what about all the gifts in the car?” asked Roy Stern, Celine’s assistant.
“Just pile them up in my room!” she replied lazily. Celine huffed, a little frustrated with Brian’s behavior, which was so different from the other men who approached her. In her entire life, only Brian had rejected her luxurious gifts.
“I don’t understand, all he had to do was accept it, what’s so hard about that?” Celine grumbled.
“Who?” John pretended not to know.
“Brian. He rejected everything I gave him, including an exclusive suit. The only thing he accepted was his own suit.”
“Good!”
“Good? Because of his rejection, all those things are now filling up my room.”
John stood up from his rocking chair and moved to sit next to his only granddaughter, Celine. Seriously, he said, “Marry Brian.”
Celine quickly straightened her back and looked at John with a furrowed brow. “Grandpa, please, don’t try to persuade me again.”
“He is the perfect young man to be your husband. Remember, your time is running out, Celine. If not Brian, you’ll have to marry someone else through an arranged marriage. But all of the Nilson family wealth will go to you only if you marry Brian.”
“What? Since when did the rule become like that?” Celine protested.
She clearly remembered that the requirement to inherit John’s wealth was simply to get married. It didn’t matter if the man was found on the street or on a dating app—there was no specific name like now.
Celine had only met Brian today, and it was by accident. But now her grandfather was already obsessed with Brian! It didn’t make sense!
“I just don’t want you to regret passing up a young man like Brian. I’m not sure that you’ll find someone like him again.”
Celine hissed, clenching her fists in frustration. “Grandpa, the problem is that Brian isn’t interested in me, at all. He won’t even accept anything from me. How could I possibly marry him?”
But John just laughed. He returned to his rocking chair and casually said, “Don’t worry, I have a way to make Brian marry you.”
The next day, after Brian had finished checking the health of a mother and her baby at the hospital, a call came in.
Brian didn’t answer it immediately since the number wasn’t saved in his phone, and the profile photo showed John Nilson. His alertness automatically increased, suspecting it might be a scam call.
Eventually, the call ended by itself. But then Brian’s phone rang again. The same unknown number with John Nilson’s photo called him.
This time, Brian answered, but he said nothing.
“Hello, Brian?” greeted John from the other end of the line.
Brian’s eyes widened. He had seen John Nilson on a talk show on TV before. The voice on the phone now was exactly the same as John’s.
But why was John Nilson calling him?
“Are you listening, Brian?”
“Yes, yes, I’m listening, Mr. Nilson,” Brian replied nervously. As a former soldier, Brian had long admired John Nilson's perseverance and toughness in building his business into the giant it was today.
“I have something important I need to discuss with you.”
“Okay, just tell me, sir,” said Brian, with a confused look. He had never met or interacted with John directly, so it was surprising that the conglomerate was calling him in the morning.
“Brian, come to City Hall right now. Please bring your ID. You’ll understand when you get here. I can’t explain it over the phone,” John’s voice sounded panicked.
Worried something bad might have happened to John, Brian immediately replied, “Alright, sir. I’ll head to City Hall now. Everything will be fine.”
Brian didn’t understand why John needed his help and not someone else’s. Nonetheless, he rode his scooter to City Hall at full speed. Something bad might have happened to the wealthiest man in the area.
It didn’t take long for Brian to arrive. He practically ran into the building. However, he was stunned when he saw Celine there. Just like their first meeting, Celine looked stunning again this morning.
Brian walked toward Celine, who was standing there watching him. Brian greeted her, “You, here?”
“Yes, I’m getting married.”
Something in Brian’s heart trembled. An unexplained pain appeared. It felt strange that he would be heartbroken to learn the woman he met yesterday was getting married.
Brian forced a smile, extending his hand while saying, “Congratulations. I’m happy for you. Where’s your fiancé?” Brian looked around.
“He’s standing in front of me.”
“What?” Brian stared at Celine. Clearly, the only man standing in front of her was himself. Brian laughed, thinking Celine was joking.
Without further ado, Celine explained, “My grandfather is really impressed with you. I heard him praise you all night. He even threatened that he wouldn’t give me my inheritance if I got married to anyone other than you.”
Seeing Brian’s repeated wide-eyed expression, Celine added, “I know it sounds crazy. But that’s what happened.” She sighed. “My grandfather really wants us to get married.”
“Well then, let’s get married.” Brian responded with a wide smile to Celine’s incredulous stare.
Celine furrowed her brow. She was happy but confused by Brian’s decision. She gave in as Brian took her hand to register their marriage.
“Wait.” Celine stopped. When Brian looked at her, she asked, “Are you sure?”
“Of course.” Brian answered firmly, making Celine continue walking.
But once again, Celine stopped. This time, she released Brian’s hand. “If you want, you can back out.”
“No. Let’s continue,” Brian said.
“Brian, this isn’t just about signing up for a job, a competition, or whatever. We’re signing up for marriage! You and I are GETTING MARRIED,” Celine clarified.
“Great! Now, let’s hand over our IDs to the officer.” Brian took Celine’s hand again, gripping it tightly, as if it was glued to his.
Some time later, Brian and Celine walked out of the building. Now, they were officially husband and wife.
“Brian, thank you for agreeing to be my husband.”
Brian smiled broadly. He wanted to confess that since meeting her at Coffee Cafe, he had fallen in love with Celine. But before he could say anything, Celine spoke again.
“Don’t take this marriage too seriously. I’m doing it just because of my grandfather.” Celine made Brian’s cheerful expression change. She patted Brian’s shoulder. “But don’t worry. I won’t stop you from being with other women.”
This time, Brian smiled bitterly.
Celine reached into her luxury bag and handed Brian a key. “Take this. It’s the key to the house.”
Brian looked at the key. His brows furrowed.
“Don’t be offended. It’s a gift from Grandpa. The house was bought a year ago as a gift for my marriage.”
Brian remained silent. He was actually offended. The gift of a house hurt his pride.
Realizing this, Celine sighed. “Brian, if you refuse Grandpa’s gift, it will cause me more trouble.”
A heavy sigh escaped from Brian. “Alright.” He took the key.
Celine smiled widely. “Alright, I have to go to the office. There’s an important meeting this morning. Bye.” She waved as she turned around.
“Wait.” Brian stopped Celine’s hand. When she turned back to look at him, Brian said, “I want to ask you three things.”
Celine laughed lightly, thinking Brian was going to ask for assets, money, and cars—just like any other man. She folded her arms. “Go ahead.”
“First, if my mother finds out we’re married, she’ll definitely ask about you. I want us to exchange contact information.”
Celine furrowed her brow but then answered, “Okay.”
“Second, I’ll give three thousand dollars a month for our living expenses.”
Celine reflexively laughed. The money she paid Roy alone was more than ten thousand dollars each month. Still, she didn’t refuse, “Alright, now tell me the third one.”
Brian’s expression grew more serious. Staring intently at his wife, he asked, “Um… what are your plans for our s*x life?”
- Writer
