Chapter 8: Having False Hopes About Getting Married Without A Fiancé

"I don’t understand what you mean, Big Brother," Emily stared at him with an unclear look on her face.

She didn’t seem to understand anything related to gifting a cookie and saving a life in that context, and even Ryan knew that she would need more explanation.

Ryan sighed.

"Well, you have always wanted to know how I cured you, so I’m just going to start from there," he began.

"I can see people’s lifespans hovering over their heads. I don’t know how, but in the same way, I can give people time. I can sell time to people in need of additions to their lifespan, and that was how I happened to get the asthma away."

Emily still looked like she was completely confused, but then, it wasn’t like Ryan was done after all.

"The palm contact is a contract we made. I sold a few years of life to you because you didn’t have much time left," Ryan said.

"You mean... The asthma was going to kill me?" Emily asked.

And Ryan hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"How much time did I have left?"

There was a long moment of silence before she asked that question.

Ryan thought about telling her, but he had second thoughts. He had this thought that approved the idea of not telling her she was going to die in less than two weeks.

It didn’t mean that telling her would change anything. However, he understood that it was better not to tell her.

"I prefer not to speak about it, Emily," Ryan turned and held both of her hands. "What matters now is the fact that you are okay, and you have a lot of years to live now."

Emily hesitated again, and this time, her expression didn’t look like she was relaxed at all.

However, she still gave a forced nod.

"So you mean that attendant is running out of time?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Ryan nodded.

"So what are you going to do for her? Are the cookies going to save her?" Emily became even more curious.

But Ryan simply shook his head.

"Nope. I’m going to meet up with her tomorrow. It wasn’t about the cookies, Emily. It was about the carton and the pen," Ryan smiled.

And it hadn’t taken Emily long to understand what he meant, as she smiled and nodded.

"When did you discover this power, Big Brother? I believe it hasn’t been long," Emily asked again.

Ryan looked at her and nodded. "True. It really hasn’t been long."

The real truth was that the power had kick-started the moment he took over her brother’s body, and that wasn’t a conversation that should ever happen at this point.

Ryan wasn’t stressed by her questions as long as they weren’t pushing him to reveal the most crucial information.

They were good.

...

They soon arrived back at the apartment, where Ryan spotted an envelope by the door.

Emily hadn’t noticed it since she was eager to go in, and Ryan picked it up without saying a word.

Ryan grabbed the black envelope and inserted it into his pocket before heading in.

After having dinner together, Emily moved to her room, while Ryan had a free space for himself alone.

It was the first time they were spending the night apart in different rooms, and it was really the first time in three years they were laying their heads on luxury pillows and covering their bodies with thick, expensive duvets.

It wasn’t as if they missed it... It was more like they had forgotten the feeling of what this used to feel like.

And somehow, it was strange.

Especially for Emily.

When Ryan settled on the bed, he opened the envelope, and what he saw was a white paper that clearly looked like a letter.

It was.

He immediately began to read.

"From the Prestigious Lincoln Family of Zion City."

Ryan didn’t need any more introduction to recognise where the letter had come from.

It was the family of the old man he had saved the previous day!

"Dear Time Seller..."

"We are writing this to show our gratitude for saving our father’s life. We are very grateful and pleased, and we believe you were also pleased with the business we had."

"Therefore, we are bringing up a proposal for you, Mr. Time Seller. We wish to have more business with you, as well as strengthening our relationship together."

"If you are willing to cooperate with us, we are delighted to invite you to our villa so we could have a professional meeting together. The family’s head, Andrew Lincoln, the man you had saved, is looking forward to seeing you, Mr. Time Seller."

"The Great Lincoln Villa, Maximum Estate, Zion City. We are available at any time."

"Have a great night. Tony Lincoln."

Ryan’s reaction came with a long sigh that stretched for seconds, as he kept the letter at the side.

The truth was that he had expected something like this to happen. The fact that he could save their father from dying and could see his lifespan already meant that the entire family would want to be accessed by him.

They had the money, and they all wanted to enjoy their wealth for many years.

And for Ryan, this was even a big opportunity for him. If they wanted him to do business with them, which he believed was about selling time to them, he knew he was going to get a lot of money for it.

After rescheduling his day, he agreed that he would meet the Lincoln Family just after meeting the mall attendant.

It was more important to save someone who had two days left to live than to meet the ones who simply wanted to do business.

Ryan might be interested in the money, but he valued purpose to a certain extent.

And it was something he had carried on through many lives.

******

The rest of the members of the Lincoln family were dumbfounded to see Andrew Lincoln entering the mansion on his own two legs.

They couldn’t believe it, but it wasn’t like they were in a dream after all.

Kina, his eldest daughter, was just standing there with widened eyes. Bryant, his second son, was also awed as he stayed still. Andrew Lincoln’s two brothers, Mike and Nathan, were as stunned as everyone else, and the only person who was courageous enough to approach him was the beautiful young lady who didn’t even hesitate.

"Grandfather!"

Emma rushed towards him and landed a light hug without hesitation.

"You are well. I can’t believe it," she stated, her eyes filled with more joy than surprise.

"I can’t believe it either, Granddaughter. It was all the work of a mysterious man we met at the hospital," Andrew said.

"A mysterious man?" Emma’s brows furrowed.

"Yes. A young man of about your age. He happened to see people’s lifespans and can sell people more time to live," Tony cut in.

"So he sold Father one more year to live. And that’s why we are not mourning at this moment."

Emma was still staring confusedly like she had just heard a fairytale, because all she could understand was that someone had performed some kind of magic on her grandfather, which was almost impossible to believe.

"What..."

"That’s what happened, daughter," Tony stated.

"Now, let’s lead your grandfather inside together."

Emma joined him as they led him in, while Andrew was doing most of the work of walking himself inside.

The family welcomed him with a mix of joy and surprise, which was very much understandable.

Soon, they were all in Andrew Lincoln’s chamber, where he was giving a speech while he lay on the bed.

And at one point, he turned to his beautiful granddaughter who was giving him every reason to stay alive.

"Emma..."

"Grandfather," she responded.

"I... I want you to get married before I leave this world."

"I... I will, Grandfather. I surely will."

"But you don’t have a fiancé," Kina said from behind, giving a shrug after Emma looked at her.

"That’s true," Andrew voiced.

"So I want you to..."

"...marry him."

"Marry who?" Emma’s eyes widened, as did the others’ in intense curiosity.

Andrew Lincoln cleared his throat.

"I want you to marry the Time Seller."