Ending the call with Mia, Colton returned his attention to his laptop. He worked for two hours more, made some calls which lasted for about thirty minutes, and then started getting ready to go see Mia.
It wasn't hard locating her home. He got there a couple of minutes past 6 pm. Letting out a sigh, Colton unbuckled his seatbelt. On his ride to Mia's place, he had thought of how he was going to start the conversation when he eventually came face to face with her. He knew for a fact that she was going to freak out. Freaking out wasn't the issue. He was concerned about her not accepting his offer. So he had been thinking of what to do, to make sure that she was going to say Yes.
Just as his mother told him, Colton woke up to his Grandfather's call this morning. The old man was very excited over the phone. Grandma Jane was also with him so she spoke to Colt too. She was also very happy about Mia being in Colton's life and also the new addition (the baby).
Colton was bombarded with questions as to when and where the wedding was going to take place, the baby's due date to be born, and when they were coming to Greece to visit them.
Colt couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth. Instead, he answered the questions vaguely and promised them he would return their call soon.
Putting on his shades to avoid being recognized, Colton got down from his car. He had a couple of them. He purposely brought his least expensive car to avoid any unnecessary attention.
Helping himself into Mia's apartment building, Colton made his way to the third floor. There was no elevator so he had to make use of the staircase. He actually had no problem with that.
Getting to her door, he took off his shades, knocked, then waited for her to open up which she did in a minute. He came face to face with Mia who was dressed in a casual knee-length gown. She had her hair in a bun.
Taking a look at Colton, Mia noticed he still looked stressed and tired just like how he was yesterday but she chose to ignore that fact. But underneath his stressed face, he looked yummy in his casual outfit but she wouldn't dare admit it.
"Hi." Colt greeted, trying to ease the tension between them.
"Hi." Her voice came out more like a whisper.
"There's a park nearby. We can go there to talk if you want." She suggested, not sure he was going to find her apartment comfortable.
"There's no need." He replied immediately.
Mia nodded, then opened the door wider for him to come in. Shutting the door behind her, She spoke. "I know you're used to being in luxurious places but mine isn't. Well, it doesn't matter since you'll be here for a couple of minutes."
"It's okay," Colton said, looking around. Even though her apartment didn't have expensive and luxurious decorations and furniture, it was very neat and had a homey feeling.
They both took their seats opposite each other. A part of Mia whispered to her to offer Colt something to drink at least but she ignored that voice. Offering him something meant she was happy to see him and she didn't think she was. She was only curious as to what he had to say to her.
"So, what was so important that couldn't be said over the phone?" She asked, looking at him intently.
"Marry me!" Colt said, looking at her closely. He didn't want to miss her reaction.
"Excuse me?" She replied immediately with a confused look.
"Please marry me." He said.
"I heard you. Are you sure you're in your right senses?"
"I'm in my right senses, Mia."
"Shouldn't you be apologizing for yesterday and also on behalf of your mother? Where the hell did the marriage idea come from? Even though you want to get married, don't you have a girlfriend who you screw? What do I have to do with this?"
"Please calm down and hear me out. I know I promised you yesterday that I would clear your name but things got out of control before I could."
"Out of control?" She asked.
"My mom already informed my Grandparents about us and the baby!"
"There's no baby, dude! You all should stop making this thing seem real. If your family wants a newborn so bad, you all can always adopt."
"If your Mom already informed your Grandparents, then tell them the truth."
"It's not that easy. My Grandfather's illness doesn't permit bad news. He's over the moon hearing about you."
"So you prefer to keep on lying to him? For heaven's sake Colt, There are ways you can break the truth to him without sending him to an early grave?"
"Like?" He asked, looking at her expectantly.
"Telling him the news over his favorite food, or telling him in a calm way, and assuring him you will marry the moment you find true love, or better still, if you want to continue with the lies, just go look for someone else that will replace me."
"You think your ideas will work?" Colt arched a brow at her, not surprised that she was giving lame reasons.
"Look, I really don't care what you do, Colton. The whole point is, I'm not going to get married to you."
"You have no say in this Mia, we are getting married!" He changed from his calm to controlling voice.
"How will you achieve that? Force me down the aisle?" She placed her hand on her forehead. "I'm such a fool for initiating what I did with you the other night. Seriously, you are no different from Christoph and the others. Why are you so bent on making my life a living hell? I'm not done forgiving myself for the relationship I had with Chris. Now you're subjecting me to this." From the way she spoke, Colton knew she was starting to hold back tears. Mia can prove to be feisty, she never fails to put out a strong facade but deep down, she was a very emotional person.
"Look, Mia. I'm not here to subject you to torture in any way. I know I've told you before but I'm going to say it again. I'm not in any way like Christoph or your other exes. I'm Colton and I'm different. I helped you forget Chris and I also need your help."
"I don't disagree that you did me a favor but what you're asking is beyond me. I don't even know you and yet you want me to spend the rest of my life with you? Who does that?"
"I don't blame you for being angry. I don't blame you for speaking your mind. I literally spent my morning thinking of what to do about this situation and this is what I concluded. You getting married to me doesn't mean you will have to put your life on hold. It's going to be beneficial to both of us."
"I'm not interested!" She stood her ground.
"Please Mia," He pleaded.
She shook her head.
"What do I have to do to make you give in?" He asked. He wanted her to agree willingly. He didn't want to make use of his backup plan.
"You don't have to do anything. I don't want to marry you."
Colton sighed. "Name your Price!"
"What?" She looked at him in shock.
"I already pleaded genuinely which you refused so I'm thinking of other options"
"I may not be rich but don't you dare demean me by offering me money!"
"I didn't complain when you offered me 200 dollars to spend the night with you." Colton folded his arms.
Mia kept quiet.
"I really wanted to let you go but things got complicated so I can't. Introducing another girl as you to my family doesn't seem right so I'm not going to do that. We have a chemistry between us and that is the only thing motivating me to do this."
"Marry me, let the world know you as Mrs. Mia Royal. I promise you will never lack anything. Love, money, you just name it. Thousands of dollars will be at your disposal every week for your upkeep. The marriage will be based on respect. I'll never control your life or interfere in your personal affairs and I'll not make decisions about us without consulting you first. As your husband, I'll protect you at all times and do my best to make you happy. I'll also remain faithful to you. You must do the same as well. I'm known to be a jealous person; I don't like sharing what's mine."
Mia tried not to let his words get to her by being emotional. He was proposing a fake marriage to her yet he was sounding so sincere and being so sweet.
"My family assumes you're already pregnant with my child and they will expect you to start showing soon, meaning we have no time to waste."
"What do you mean?" Mia's eyes widened.
"We've got a baby to make."
"If you want a baby so bad, can't you adopt or something? Or go find yourself a surrogate? Anyways, all you said are just illusions because there's no way I'm getting married to you."
"We are getting married and I've chosen you to be the mother of my baby," Colton said with finality.
"You're free to think whatever you want. I don't like you and there's no way I'm tying the knot with you."
"You don't like me? Yet you couldn't get enough of me the other night."
Mia rolled her eyes.
"We are getting married and that's final. I'll give you a week to prepare all your stuff." He said looking around. "You're moving in with me."
Mia threw Colton a killer glare but he didn't pay attention to it.
"You don't have to pack anything if you don't want to. I'll get you new stuff."
"I'm not moving out of here and neither am I going to have anything to do with a controlling beast like you!"
"We are getting married Mia, whether you like it or not!"
"And if I don't?" She asked.
"I'll have no choice but to make your life miserable."
"Really? And how would you achieve that? She folded her arms, challenging him.
"By making sure you lose your job and you won't be able to secure any other one elsewhere. The same goes for your Sister and her husband, your brothers, and your best friend, Hailey."
"You bastard!" She reached for a throw pillow on her couch and threw it at him. Colton purposely did not evade it. It hit him on his face.
"So what happens once we get married? You turn to a beast and force yourself on me every night just so we could make a fucking baby?"
"I will never touch you against your will, Mia." He assured. "We have a chemistry, we are both single, we can make things work if we put our mind to it and if after a year you still don't feel anything for me or you don't want to be with me, I'm going to let you go!"
"You fucking bastard, just get the hell out of my home!" She said with her eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry I provoked you. You shouldn't see me as a bad person because I promise you that I'm not. It wasn't my will to threaten you which was why I pleaded at the beginning of the conversation for us to get married. You being my wife doesn't mean you will have a bad life ahead of you. I'll take great care of you and our baby. I promise."
"I'll leave now. But I hope we can talk again when you've calmed down. We have to perfect our story on how we met, decide when we want to get married, the wedding plans, and when we will go see my grandparents in Greece."
"Just get the fuck out of here!" She yelled at him.
Colton didn't bother to say anything else. With one last look at Mia, he took his leave.