(Grayson's Claim).
It was Grayson, looking very intimidating even in his casual jeans and white shirt. Not even his baseball hat could hide his aura.
'What was he doing here?' Her thoughts were hurried and jumbled, her heart racing for many reasons.
"Let go of me, you punk!" Richard struggled to break free from Okani's hold, but to no avail.
"I'd be quiet if I were you, Oldie," Okani warned.
Grayson slowly turned toward Callie, a gentle smile on his face as he walked toward her.
Callie's heart was drumming loudly in her ears. How was it that Grayson was here?
Who was the greater danger? Grayson or Richard?
Was she in double trouble?
"Don't touch me," she said, glancing around the room to find that some people were now staring to see who the men who had come to save her were.
Grayson ignored her warning and held her hand, gently pulling her away from the counter. He brought his face beside hers. "If you want him gone," he whispered, "then you have to play along. Or... I could leave, and you'd continue to put on a show for the crowd."
Callie gulped. His words were thoughtful, but his voice was cold as ice; she could sense a clause in his intention, but between two evils, she had to choose the lesser one.
At least Grayson was hot and young; she could tolerate him to an extent. Not Richard, who was old, ugly, and stinking.
Grayson stared at her face, his blue eyes narrowing at her, "I'll be on my way, then." He wanted to step away when he saw that she wasn't responding, but she held his arm, surprising him with how strong her grip was.
"Don't go, I'll play along, just get him away." Her words were desperate.
Grayson only gave her one last look before he wrapped his arm around her waist and gently led her to Richard.
"Get your hands off my wife!" Richard glared at Grayson's arm around Callie's waist.
Grayson pulled Callie closer to himself, hearing her soft gasp of surprise.
Callie bit the insides of her cheek. She didn't know what Grayson had planned, but she never thought that being in his arms would be one of those. She believed that Grayson was suspicious and weird.
His appearance and his actions weren't to be trusted; she didn't want to be beside him.
"Wife?" Grayson raised a brow at Richard before he slowly faced Callie, noticing how tense she was in his arms.
"Did you hear him, Princess? He says you're his wife. Come on, tell him you're my girlfriend," he said so Richard could hear.
Callie's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you—"
Grayson gave her a warning look, silently threatening to leave her to her devices if she failed to do as he'd asked.
Gulping, Callie faced Richard, her eyes fierce and sharp. "It's true, Richard. You can leave; go home and tell Father that I'm not marrying you because I already have someone I love in the city," she announced, smirking when she saw the hurt that flashed across Richard's eyes.
Grayson didn't realize that his eyes had been locked on Callie's side profile until he heard Okani's voice threatening to break the table on the struggling Richard's head.
He wasn't expecting Callie to claim she loved him, but she had sounded so convincing that he had to make sure she wasn't for real. He didn't want her, or anyone, falling in love with him; it was a dealbreaker.
But seeing that she could act solidified his will to make her his temporary wife.
"You bitch! Where did you get a man like that?! You're a good-for-nothing and no man will ever want you—argh!" Richard fell to the floor, holding his wrist and grunting in pain.
"Small thing dey vex me," (Little things get me angry.) Okani shrugged his shoulders, pinning his eyes on the old man on the floor.
"Lying?" Grayson asked with a slight chuckle.
"Mr.—Grayson, what—"
"Will you marry me, Princess? Ever since you walked into my life three months ago, I've understood the true meaning of love; marry me, please." Grayson went down on one knee and proposed to Callie, a shiny silver ring in his hands.
"What?" Callie couldn't even speak properly anymore.
Firstly, how did he know she'd only been in New York for three months?!
Secondly, was he out of his mind?!
"Say yes, damsel!" a voice shouted from the customer audience.
"No, Callie! Your father owes me a grand! You belong to—"
"Yes, I'll marry you, Grayson." She cut Richard off and extended her hand to Grayson, her eyes filled with sweet satisfaction as she watched the mortified look on Richard's face.
'Better to deal with a fellow young person than a deranged old man who pees on his pants,' She thought as Grayson slid the ring on her finger.
Applause erupted, followed by the loud hoots the men made to celebrate the union.
Grayson locked his eyes with Callie's as he stood towering a head above her. "Good choice," he whispered as he hugged her.
Callie was frozen in place, her head spiraling in different directions; she knew that everything was wrong, starting from Richard's arrival to Grayson's proposal, it was all so wrong.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Wolfe," Okani said, walking over and smiling at Callie.
Callie bit her bottom lip and slowly nodded. "Thanks... I guess," She cleared her throat.
She looked over at Richard, who was shamefully sitting on the floor with his face lowered. "Excuse me," she said to Grayson and removed her hand from his.
She walked over to Richard and stood in front of him. "Go home, Richard. Tell Father that I can't marry you, fortunately. And, you don't have to worry about your money, I'll—"
"How much does my wife owe you?" Grayson suddenly spoke beside Callie.
Richard's head immediately snapped up to look at Grayson; grunting, he winced as he lifted himself off the floor with a table as support, "Who do you think you are?" He staggered toward Grayson, glaring and peering under Grayson's baseball hat to see his face properly.
"I'm Callie's husband," Grayson replied and held Callie's hand.
Callie has had enough of the drama. She wanted to remove herself from Grayson and drag Richard out, but Grayson suddenly removed his baseball hat, exposing his face to everyone.
Gasps. Whispers. Murmurs.
Everywhere went quiet, and Callie could feel the unblinking and curious stares she got from everyone.
"M-Mr. G-Grayson?" Richard stepped back, fear evident in his eyes.
"How did you..." He gulped and went quiet.
"How much does my wife owe you?" Grayson asked, his voice icy.
"No, no, forget about the money. I don't want to be a part of this anymore, please. Can I just be set free? Please? I don't want any trouble." His voice trembled as he slowly backed away.
"It's okay if you don't want trouble, but I do," Grayson said at the same moment, Okani went to stand behind Richard.
"Sorry, Oldie, you really didn't think you'd walk away after harassing a human, a woman. You've been reported, and in a few seconds, the cops will be here to take you with them. We hope you have the money to pay for every charge," Okani said in a serious tone as he slid Richard's phone out of his pocket.
"Unlock," he said.
With shaky hands, Richard unlocked the phone for Okani.
"Ah, where is the code? Ah, got it." Okani scanned Richard's screen with his phone and handed it back to him. "There, three grand sent. I heard you saying one grand, but you've got three now. Trust me, the Nigerian in me feels pain giving you so much money and getting no service in return, but don't worry, it's not going to be enough for the charges," he said and smirked at Richard's shocked face.
The door was suddenly opened, and officers trooped in, bringing in a tense and uncomfortable aura with them.
"Sir, we got your call," an officer bowed his head to Grayson.
"Thanks for the quick response," Grayson shook the officer's hand and pointed him to Richard.
The officer nodded and faced Richard. "Sir, we've received a complaint and a video where you harassed a young lady. Please follow us to the station for some questioning," the officer's voice was firm and left no room for argument.
Richard looked at Callie. "Callie, please, I'm sorry. Ask your husband to let me go, I—"
"It'll do you good to remain silent, Sir," another officer said, chaining Richard's wrists from behind, steering him toward the door.
Defeated, Richard followed the officers out, regretting his trip to the city.
"That went well," Okani sighed.
Callie slowly released a deep breath. "Um... thank you, Mr. Grayson." She stepped away from him and touched the ring that had been weighing down on her mind and heart.
She was about to pull it off her finger when Grayson's hand covered hers. "Don't take it off," he said, staring into her eyes.
Callie's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?" she questioned.
"You're my wife now," Grayson replied with a serious tone and face.