Chapter Seventeen
Alyssa
I fiddled with my fingers nervously as I sat in the car taking us through London. Yes, London.
Nathan received a call from someone two days ago. It was his grandmother. I didn't know what she was saying but Nathan was constantly apologizing and trying to explain something but the woman was having nothing none of it. Nathan quickly announced that we were going to London to meet his grandparents after my clothes came. So we boarded his private plane to London.
To say that I was nervous would be an understatement. I was constantly biting my lip or twisting my fingers, shifting in my seat. I was scared of what they would think of me. I didn't want it to be like when I met Maria.
Carina and Matthew Collins were Sophia's parents. They've lived in London ever since they got married. This was were Sophia was born and bred. It was extremely cold since it was November. It was obvious that it would start snowing soon.
We had stopped at a house that looked almost identical to Sophia's. As we got out of the car, an woman in her seventies came out. Though there were wrinkles on her face she was beautiful. Her blue-grey eyes were kind and welcoming, her hair was grey and reached just below her shoulders.
She rushed down the marble steps with speed I didn't expect from a woman her age.
“Nathan!” She cheered with a British accent, grabbing him in a hug. “How have you been? How dare you not visit me in the last three months?!”
Nathan pulled away a bit about to answer when she pulled him closer. “I'm so happy to see you!”
“So you're not happy to see me, gran gran?” Oliver interjected with his usual sass.
She let go of Nathan and pushed him away. He would have fallen over if he didn't regain his balance when he stumbled.
“Of course I am, Clifford!” She bent to his level and picked him up, squeezing him tight.
Clifford?
“Gran gran! My name in Oliver!” He complained.
“But Clifford is your middle name, right?”
“Yeah.” He grumbled while his great grandmother laughed.
“Then you will forever be my baby Clifford.” She began peppering his face with kisses.
He groaned, trying to pull away but her hold on him was too strong. She finally let him down, her grin not wavering when she turned to me.
“You must be the woman who stole my grandson's heart!” She grabbed me as well, hugging me tightly. She was strong for her age. “You are so beautiful! Nathan is so lucky to have you, he can be such a blockhead sometimes especially when it comes to love, I'm just happy he found a woman who loves him. What's your name, dearie?”
“Alyssa. I...”
“Oh, that is a beautiful name. Call me Carina. Nathan must love you so much, I never thought he would marry...”
I was lost in thought as she continued talking. She thought Nathan loved me? Sure, I feel something for Nathan but it's not love. Didn't she know about the arrangement?
“I see you're already talking her ear off, darling.” We heard a masculine voice tease.
I watched as Carina's cheeks flushed. The man was her husband, Matthew.
He stretched his hand out to me for a handshake with a welcoming smile. “Matthew Collins,” I shook his hand. “this crazy lady's husband.”
His other arm wrapped around his wife's waist as she smacked his shoulder. “I am not crazy. I'm insane.” She gave us a toothy grin, wiggling her eyebrows at me when I giggled.
Well, I didn't expect this. I thought.
“I'm Alyssa.”
“It's nice to meet you, welcome to our home.” He said warmly.
“Thank you.”
“Papi!” Oliver cheered, running into Matthew's arms.
“Oliver! How are you, son?” He lifted Olly, hugging him.
“Silly papi, I'm not you son, I'm your great grandson.” He pointed out with a giggle.
“There's still 'son' in the word right?”
Oliver sighed, seeing that he lost the fight. We laughed at him then Nathan went to greet his grandfather. After talking for a while, Carina took me to my room. Nathan had to go out with Matthew and Oliver was with Carina so I took the opportunity to rest.
Nathan had arrived just before before dinner time and I was asleep. I was woken up from my nap by the sounds of him coming out of the bathroom. My eyes fixed on his muscular chest. It was obvious he just came out of the shower with the droplets of water rolling down his biceps.
I licked my lips subconsciously. With his eight pack on display and water dripping down his body, I was entranced. I followed a drop with my eyes till it got absorbed by his towel.
“Alysaa?”
I blinked, distracting myself from my thoughts. My cheeks flushed, seeing his smirk. It was obvious he knew that I was checking him out. But was it so wrong to appreciate my husband's body?
“Done daydreaming?” He teased.
I wish I can say 'yes'. “I wasn't... I... it...” I stuttered, trying to lie.
The atmosphere was tense. He stalked closer to me, our eyes locked. I gulped as he stood in front of me, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear.
“Like the view, Love?”
Hell, yeah.
“I wasn't...” Another lie.
“I know you were, you don't have to lie to me. I'm your husband, you have a right to look.”
“I... Why are you using my bathroom?” I diverted.
“You mean our bathroom, Love.” He retorted.
“O...o...our?”
“My grandmother has no idea about the contract, she thinks that we married for love.” He explained, sitting on the bed.
“Oh.” So that's why she was talking about us being in love.
“I need you to just pretend that we're in love, it would break her heart to know that this is just an arrangement.” He cupped my face in his warm hand, using his thumb to stroke my cheek. “Can you do that for me, Love?”
“Y...yeah.”
His lips curled into a smile. “Thank you.” Then he dipped his head to join our lips.
It was a short kiss but it still made my heart flutter. I pulled away, feeling self-conscious. I just woke up from a nap, imagine how I must look and the thoughts running through my head were distracting.
We're going to be acting like a real couple in front of his grandmother to keep her happy. But does he believe in love?
“Nathan, do you believe in love?” I asked pointedly.
He rolled his eyes with a sarcastic chuckle. “Love isn't real. It's just something all humans are programmed to desire. The only love that really exists is the love between a person and their child. Romantic love is just a ruse, something people use to manipulate others.”
“Why would you say that?”
“You aren't naive Alyssa. People don't really fall in love, they just think that they do. But the truth is no one genuinely loves, people just think that they are in love. Love is just in fairytales, not real life.” He finished.
He didn't know but what he said had crushed me. I had so much hope that even though this was an arranged marriage, we could still learn to love each other but hearing what Nathan had to say was terrible. Maybe I was stupid to think that I was more than a pawn in the game, that Christopher wasn't using me for his selfish gain.
I felt suffocated and he wasn't even remorseful. He just shrugged and began putting clothes on. I rushed into the bathroom, not wanting him to see how it affected me.
Why did I care about what Nathan thought about love?
Why did his opinion on the subject matter to me?
Why did I....
No!
I can't.
I'm falling in love with Nathan Graham.