Chapter 2 A Stranded Groom.

Xavier's pov

"Grandfather! You cannot do this!" I half screamed.

"Of course I can and that is exactly what I am doing!" My Grandfather replied.

I looked at the old man and felt like wriggling his neck.

Mind you, I love my grandfather to a fault.

After my parents died in a plane crash, he was the one who took me in and groomed me to be the man I turned out to be.

My grandfather had always been somewhat of an extremist but I still loved him like that.

He was as mischievous as he was formidable when it came to business.

He taught me everything I needed to know to grow and succeed in the business world till I became the billionaire CEO that I am today.

Let me not bore you with such dreary details as that would be a story for another day because right now, this old man was at it again.

"Grandfather, please let's try to reason this thing together." I pleaded.

"There is nothing to reason about! It's either you get married and give me an heir in one year or you forget to take my position as chairman!" The old man insisted.

"Grandfather, this is not fair!" I protested.

"Life in itself is not fair my boy, how many times have I taught you that?" The old man asked.

I could see the change in the tone of his voice and I knew the next thing he was going to bring up.

"Grandfather not now please." I tried to stop him but it was too late.

"Oh, how different things would have been if your parents were alive!" He wailed.

The conniving bastard and emotional blackmail were two sides of a coin.

My grandfather was a grandmaster when it came to the act of emotionally blackmailing people.

Sometimes I began to wonder if emotional blackmail was a part of his business success strategies.

My grandfather could move from being strict to weak to pitiful to wicked in seconds and mind you, people usually say I am much worse.

I placed my palm on my face and began to rub my forehead with my index finger.

"Grandfather, it's okay!" I begged.

"Nothing is okay, at least your parents would have had other children by now so I would not be stuck with you as my only option." He continued wailing.

"Alright grandfather, I will get a bride." I conceded.

I could see the instant change in his demeanor and I could not help but snicker.

"And also an heir." He added.

I rolled my eyes in frustration.

It was obvious this man wanted to turn me into a breeding ground.

"Grandfather, you seem to forget that I cannot determine the sex of a child, it could be male or female." I tried explaining to him.

"And nobody is disputing that fact with you, and I don't care if the child is a male or female, I just need an heir to continue the bloodline." The old man insisted.

"Alright, if you say so, then I will get myself a bride and give you an heir!" I said as I made to walk out.

"I need you to get married in a month and she must be beautiful!" He shouted after me.

"I don't want an ugly heir." He muttered under his breath as I angrily slammed the door and walked out.

***

"Get me a bride in the next month!" I said to my friend and partner in crime.

Mike looked at me like I had just gone crazy, we had come to our usual hangout lounge owned by Mike when I suddenly blurted out what was in my mind.

"Don't tell me that your grandfather had finally gotten through to you!" He laughed.

I looked at Mike sternly but it was obvious my sternness did not affect him at all.

Mike was also from an influential family of lawyers and doctors and all the big-shot careers in the world.

His father was a well-known politician and Mike and I have been friends since childhood.

Our parents were friends so we practically grew up together.

"The old man keeps getting on my nerves!" I sighed in frustration.

"Can you imagine that the other day, he asked me if we were dating each other?" I revealed and Mike almost choked on his drink.

"What?" He exclaimed.

"Exactly! He said we were both single and so it was not hard for him to conclude on it." I explained.

Mike burst into laughter and I could see him thinking of something mischievous to do.

"Kill that mischievous glint in your eyes this instant before I take out the light in your eyes." I threatened causing Mike to enter into another fit of laughter.

"It's not funny because now he is threatening not to hand over the chairman position to me if I don't get married and give him an heir," I confessed to Mike.

"Then, at this junction, I say it's Operation Get Xavier a Bride!" Mike said with much flourish and I could see just how much he relished the idea.

***

It was one month already and Mike had finally gotten me a bride.

I had been open with my grandfather and told him the truth that it was just a contract marriage.

The marriage would be annulled after the lady gave me a child and he agreed.

"I don't care what you do, I just want it registered that you married and have a legitimate child." He had said.

Now today was the wedding day in court and my said bride was nowhere to be found.

I had made it a very quiet wedding with just the bride and me and Mike's uncle as our witnesses.

I did not reveal my main identity as Mike was the one who had been talking to her.

After the wedding, I introduced her to my grandfather but I made sure Mike told her the rules and she agreed.

"Mike! Where the hell is my bride?" I asked Mike.

"I'm sorry Xavier, I'm trying to look for a replacement because she said her mother had an emergency so she can not leave her," Mike explained.

"But I need a bride!" I screamed in frustration.

I turned and watched a girl in a wedding dress march right to me.

"I will be your bride!" She said.

***