The Return of Lord Bryan

Chapter six

Claire stood like a fish out of the pond. She didn't know what to say. Staring at her grandmother's face only made her more afraid of what was demanded of her. "What do you say? Will you take the deal, Claire?" Grandmother asked with a stern look.

It was obvious that it was a trick question. There was no way she could pull it off, not with the debt her family was in, not when her mother was already shaking her head in shame. Bryan held her hands softly and whispered to her, "Take the opportunity, Claire, we will do this together," he said. Claire looked at him and for some reason, she was brave again, she nodded. "Yes, grandmother, I will settle the debt," she replied. 

Everyone was shocked, they looked at her and Bryan with pity and some laughed, claiming they were just putting up a show. "This is just a game, you could never think of appearing before the mafia lord, Scar, to talk more about clearing out the debt, where do you intend to get the money from?" Aunt Mae mocked. 

Grandmother looked at Claire with a frown on her face. She believed she would never be able to settle the debt or even land a deal with Gudling. She was well aware of the debt her family was in and the fact that their house would be taken from them very soon. "I hope you know what this means, you not only have to settle the debt but also win the deal in just two days," she emphasized. 

 Claire noted that while others only had to secure the Gudling deal, she was the only one tasked with settling Scar's debt. But she nodded because Bryan was by her side. "I accept the offer, grandmother," she replied. 

Bryan quietly grabbed his wife's hands and was about to leave the dining hall when Tom and his son stopped him by the door, "You are a perfect couple, dumb and insane," he said and guffawed.  

The cousin looked at Claire, "You really are very dumb to think that you can settle the gangster's debt and still get a deal with the Gudling family company, you aren't even a business expert, you know nothing!" He mocked.  

Juliet walked to Claire and circled her for a few seconds quietly and then said, "I'll be here to laugh in your face when you fail because you certainly will. Your crazy husband can't even get out of bed by himself and now he wants to get a multi-million deal and settle the mafia lord's debt, how insane!" She mocked.  

Bryan sneered at her to step out of their way, he had a lot to do with his day. Freya ran to them by the door and grabbed Claire's hands, "You should think about this, how could you just let this crazy man talk you into taking the offer? We both know you can't settle the debt with Scar, he is dangerous and you don't even have the money," Freya said.  

"But, I..." Claire stammered, the truth was that she didn't have a plan. She was only hoping that Bryan would come up with something, she had no idea what it would be but somehow she trusted her husband. "Bryan knows what to do," she replied. But that only made it worse. 

Freya turned to Bryan angrily, "How long will you keep leading my daughter astray? First, you marry her and ruin our lives and now she has the chance to beg grandmother for mercy and you're about to get her into trouble again?" She snapped.  

Claire shook her head, "Mother, Bryan might have been sick then but he's fine now and I'm sure he can help us somehow," she tried to defend him. 

 "Shut up! You don't know what this means, you have no idea what you've just gotten yourself into. Everyone else has to only secure a deal with Gudling and as if that is not hard enough you also have to settle Scar's debt in two days, two days, Claire!" She snapped and then spread her hands, "Really, can you hear how crazy that is? How long will you keep blindly following this crazy man?" She snapped.  

Claire turned to look at Bryan. He looked unaffected by his mother-in-law's words. He knew they had grown weary of taking care of him and all they wanted was to get him out of their daughter's life for good. "Do you trust me?" Bryan asked her. Claire nodded without any hesitation. "Then come with me, we will make it happen," he said.   

"Claire, please, come back and beg grandmother, we both know you don't stand a chance of becoming the heiress, everyone here knows that we are struggling with debt and we just might be homeless soon," Freya advised her.  

"Keep listening to that fool and you will be digging your own grave pretty soon!" Freya snapped as they both walked out of the house. 

Bryan and Claire drove and arrived at the gangster's house in a short while. Claire had heard of how notorious Scar was and that their family owed him a lot of money. She was very nervous, she didn't want to get in trouble especially when she didn't even have the money to pay. "How are we going to pull this off? I can't even settle the debt, Bryan, what's your plan?" She asked worriedly. 

 "You just have to trust me, Claire, right beside you, I promise," he said meekly and grabbed her hands. Just as they were both about to step into the house, they heard the loud sound of the brake and they turned. A luxury vehicle pulled up by the house and a driver quickly grabbed the door,Juliet stepped out of the car.