CHAPTER 4

Landon

“You will be at the party tomorrow at exactly seven in the evening,” my grandfather and the patriarch of our family, Alexander Ford IV, says while slicing a part of his steak. “The Spencers will be there, so I am expecting you to be on your best behavior. We cannot afford to give them, especially Sophia, a wrong impression.“ From his food, he finally raises his head to look at me and give me his usual stern look, then he says, “I am expecting you to be on your best behavior, Landon. You have to impress her, do you understand?“

I am so close to rolling my eyes and clicking my tongue after hearing what my grandfather said.

Asking me to be on my best behavior and to impress someone? Ha, what am I? A kid.

Well, it's not like that's something unusual. My grandfather and the rest of my family still treat me like a kid, and no, I don't mean that they treat me in an affectionate way or baby me. It's the other way around.

Maybe being treated like a kid is not even the right way to call it. A puppet? That's probably the better term to call how my family treats me—like I am someone they can easily order around, as if I am someone that would do anything they want and would give them everything they need, which is not wrong anyway. Because I do allow them to treat me this way.

I have my reasons, though. When I was a literal kid and teenager, back when I still didn't know much about the world and about the secrets that my family holds, I let them control my life as they pleased. But after I've learned everything and after all the things that have happened for the past few years? I am done. I am done being their doormat and being their lapdog. But they don't know that. And it's only because I am not allowing them yet to see it. I only let them view what I want them to see. It won't be long now, though. Because tomorrow, I will finally start showing them how much I have changed. I will finally show them that I am done with all their bullshit. But for now, I am choosing to appease my grandfather and act like the perfect grandson he wanted me to be. This will be the last time anyway.

“Yes, sir,” I answered like the good boy that he wants me to be.

My grandfather stares at me intently far longer than I expected. His eyes are searching, as if he wants to see if I am being honest and truthful to my words, which makes me want to scoff.

After all these years of doing everything they wanted, they still could not fully trust me.

Well, my family, most especially my grandfather, wouldn't be this rich and powerful if he wasn't keen and overly cautious and if he easily trusted people. After all, in this world we live in, finding genuine people is just as rare as finding a painite.

I meet my grandfather's eyes with my head held high, giving him the impression that I wasn't just bluffing, that I am still his good grandson even though that hasn't been the case anymore since…

No. I won't go there right now. I can't. I can't appear weak to Alexander Ford IV right now and make him question my loyalty to him.

So I made sure that my expression had not changed at all, not even a bit, making sure that I still looked like I was being true to my words.

Thankfully, my grandfather seems to not notice any change with my expression and in my body language.

“You need to make sure that you'll get her attention and that she becomes interested in you,” my grandfather said before taking his eyes off of me and bringing his gaze back to his food. “If only that woman had agreed to an arranged marriage…”

And thank fuck she did not. Well, even if she did, I will still go with my plan.

After an agonizing hour with my grandfather, I am finally allowed to leave. And yes, even leaving his house needs his permission.

Fucking old man.

“Where to?“ Fredo asked the moment I got inside the car and closed the door.

“My house,” I answered.

Fredo did not answer anymore and just started driving; though I can tell he has questions he wants to ask me. Probably wants to know why I am heading to my place this early afternoon and not in my office at the FDC. But Fredo chose to keep his mouth shut, which was a good decision. As always, he makes good decisions. And that's because he has been working for me for years. And in all the years of him working for me, he already can tell which is the time for him to ask me and which time is better for him to just zip his mouth.

A sound of notification from my phone broke the silence that had been permeating the inside of my car.

I fish my phone out of the pocket of my pants and open the message that came from Timothee.

Timothee: We're already here in your place, sir.

I did not respond to Timothee's message anymore. As long as he sees that I've read his message, then it's fine. He already knows what to do.

I leaned my back on the backrest of the seat and closed my eyes, wanting to rest my eyes and most especially my brain, which had worked nonstop while facing my grandfather. But the moment I closed my eyes, the face of my fake fiancée, Mandy, immediately popped up. And just like that, I start remembering her reaction a night ago when she read the contract. The words 'surprise' and 'amazement' are not even enough to describe that priceless reaction of hers. And damn me because I almost grinned at her reaction that night. Thankfully, I was able to keep my casual look and pretended that her reaction did nothing to me, that it did not make me almost laugh.

Now if she reacted like that while reading the terms of our contract, I wonder how she reacted the moment she and Timothée reached my house.

Did she have that same reaction? Her eyes widening and her mouth hanging open? Is she muttering 'wow' in amazement over and over again?

Ah, I should have asked Timothee to record Mandy's priceless reaction upon seeing my house. It must have been funny enough to relieve the anger and frustration that was brought by my grandfather.