Chapter 137: Fooling Rami
Kayden
I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. Rami Calder had visited my father, and this only meant one thing. He wasn’t joking and was ready to reveal my secrets if Rhys didn’t do what he was asked to do.
Rhys saw the terror in my eyes and immediately he pulled me towards the couch. He sat me down and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I don’t need you to worry about any of that because, as promised, we are going to play pretend in public at least until we win the cup. We already discussed this."
"Permit me to say this, but your grandfather is a crazy man! He needs to..." I bit my tongue, stopping myself before I could finish.
No matter how cruel Rami Calder was, he was still Rhys’s grandfather and I knew he wouldn’t want me wishing him dead, but that old man had done enough damage already and I needed him out of our lives.
"Look at me, Kayden," he commanded.
I looked.
He moved his hands from my shoulders and placed them on my cheeks. "I promise you, right now, I will make everything right. I don’t care what it costs. I don’t care if I have to burn the Calder name to the ground to keep him away from you. If I have to lose my position as..."
I placed a hand on his lips before he could finish. "No, I don’t want that to happen to you, Rhys. I will never wish for you to lose your position as the captain of the team you’ve been with for so many years. I’d rather we weren’t together than for you to lose that."
"But I love you and..."
I shook my head immediately. "Love isn’t meant to be selfish, Rhys. I wouldn’t do anything that could hurt you ever. Please don’t ever put your position on the line for me," I told him and cupped his face.
"We already planned to pretend in public until this season ends, Rhys, so we go with it. As for your grandfather, give him the reply he wants and make him believe that he has the upper hand."
Rhys nodded, his fingers pressing lightly against my cheekbone, and I couldn’t help but wince as a sharp sting shot through my face. "And you say you are alright," he muttered, rolling his eyes as he rose from where he had been kneeling in front of me.
"I am actually fine," I assured him, watching as he turned to walk out of the living room. "Where are you going?"
He didn’t reply as he headed into the kitchen; then I heard the rhythmic clatter of the ice dispenser and the snap of a plastic bag being sealed.
A moment later, he emerged, holding a makeshift ice pack wrapped in a thin kitchen towel.
Rhys didn’t sit back down; instead, he stood over me, his expression softening as he gently pressed the cold pack against my throbbing cheek.
The initial shock of the cold made me catch my breath, but the numbing sensation was a welcome relief to the heat radiating from the bruise.
"Is that too much pressure?" he asked, his voice low and laced with an undercurrent of worry.
I simply nodded, leaning my head into his hand.
"Does it still feel like it’s burning?" he pressed, his thumb brushing against my jawline as he adjusted the towel. "Are you sure you’re alright, Kayden?"
I nodded again, looking up at him. "I’m okay, Rhys. Really."
He sat down beside me, his hand still on the towel. "I can’t wait for this season to end," he muttered and then pulled his phone from his pocket. "I should text my grandfather and start this game with him. What do you think I should tell him?"
I adjusted myself on the couch and inhaled deeply while ransacking my brain for what he should write. For a few seconds, there was silence between us, and then when an idea sparked in my head, I snapped my fingers.
"You figured something out?" Rhys asked, looking up from his phone.
I nodded in response. "Here is what you should write. Tell him you’ve agreed and see his response."
Rhys cast me a questioning glance as if he was waiting for me to say something else, but I just pointed to his phone. "Go ahead. Let’s see what that old man has to say."
He nodded and then typed the words on his phone. "And... sent," he announced.
I said nothing and just stared at the phone in his hand. I had expected a reply immediately, knowing how Rami must have been expecting Rhys’s reply, but after five minutes of waiting, we got nothing.
"My grandfather is unpredictable and does the craziest things when you least expect them."
I nodded and then yawned.
"Do you want to sleep or do you want to eat?" he asked.
"I just want to shower and sleep. How about you?"
"Same as you."
I yawned again and flashed my lashes at him. "Can I get water, please?"
"Water?" he asked, and I nodded. "Alright," he said, standing up and dropping his phone on the couch beside me. "Hold on to that," he pointed to the towel on my cheek and then headed to the kitchen.
I placed my hand on the cloth and rested against the couch, closing my eyes for a few seconds; then I heard Rhys’s phone beep beside me.
My eyes fluttered open and, on cue, Rhys walked back into the living room with a glass of water. "It seems your grandfather has replied," I told him.
Rhys handed the glass to me and, while I was drinking, he checked his phone. He scoffed as he read whatever his grandfather had sent him.
"What did he say?"
Rhys turned his phone screen toward me and I read out the words his grandfather had sent him: I knew you would listen to me, Rhys. After the conference finale, there will be a dinner date where I will announce your engagement with Elian. Invite that omega and the rest of your teammates.
After I finished reading, Rhys and I both stared at each other for a moment; then suddenly, I burst into laughter. Rhys joined me, and we laughed for a few minutes before laying back on the couch.
"This is exciting," Rhys shouted.
I laughed again.
"Now that my grandfather is out of the way, what do you say we go shower and head to bed since you are not hungry?" He stretched forth his hand toward me.
"Right," I agreed, removing the cloth from my cheek, and took Rhys’s hand. "Let’s go to sleep."