Chapter 11: A Crazy Unexpected Marriage Proposal

A meeting had kicked off in a large dining room inside the Lincoln Family’s mansion. There, Ryan was sitting with seven other people who didn’t stop staring at him with sheer admiration.

Emma, Tony, a young man who appeared to be the youngest son of Andrew Lincoln, his eldest daughter Kina, and two brothers who were both looking to be in their early sixties, as well as Andrew Lincoln himself.

Andrew was sitting right across from Tony, and they were visibly facing each other from the near table distance.

And just before dinner began, they decided to start with the conversational part of the meeting first.

"Ahem..."

"I have to welcome our special guest again. Mister Time Seller. You have no idea how honored we are to have you here," Tony began.

Ryan only nodded his head in response as the eldest son of the Lincoln Family continued.

"We are all grateful for what you did for our father, sir. Many might think paying three hundred thousand for one year was worth it, but we believe it was not worth enough. We believe you gave us a gift more than a trade."

The three elders at the table nodded in approval of what he said.

"And that’s why we, the Lincoln Family, have decided to commend your absolute generosity with a deal," Tony added.

He brought out a black, flat hardcover which seemed to have a white bunch of papers inside, and handed it straight to Ryan.

Ryan opened it without hesitation and began to read.

"A Heartfelt Yet Professional Request From The Lincoln Family To You."

"Dear Mister Time Seller, we would like to introduce our vision to you to start with. The Lincoln Family, as you have known, is one of the famous families in Zion City, proudly known for our business excellence and reputation."

"We have always sought to live on with this legacy through our children, and also to live long enough to guide them through..."

"And we..."

Bam!

Ryan immediately dropped the paper and turned right to Andrew Lincoln.

"You don’t have to write a lot of essays to convince me that you want more time from me, I have to tell you that," he smiled.

Tony’s gaze landed on his father, who was having a rather calm expression after hearing what the young man had just said.

After a while of silence, they all agreed not to go in the diplomatic direction and accepted that, truly, the Time Seller was on point.

"Ahem...!" Andrew cleared his throat and decided to do the talking this time.

Although his voice wasn’t as bold as Tony’s, everyone could still hear him speak loud and clear.

"You saved my life, Mister. I know it would have been a dark end if you had not shown up that day. And the Lincoln Family will forever be grateful," the old man began.

"However, we are directly informing you that we would need more favors from you, Mister Time Seller."

Ryan smiled and heaved a calm sigh.

"Such as selling more time to you and your family?" Ryan asked.

And for a moment, Andrew and the rest of them had noticeable looks of surprise on their faces before they even gave a response.

"That’s correct, Mister," Andrew responded.

Tony gave a nod of approval as well, and it was made clear.

Meanwhile, Ryan had been observing the countdown on their heads since he had arrived at the mansion.

[Andrew Lincoln: 11 Months. 3 Weeks. 4 Days. 13 Hours. 48 Minutes. 12 Seconds...]

[Tony Lincoln: 19 Years. 6 Months. 2 Weeks. 4 Days. 17 Hours. 22 Minutes. 56 Seconds...]

[Michael Lincoln: 8 Years. 7 Months. 1 Week. 3 Days. 23 Hours. 42 Minutes. 34 Seconds...]

[Kina Lincoln: 34 Years. 2 Months. 3 Weeks. 6 Days. 10 Hours. 8 Minutes. 19 Seconds...]

[Nathaniel Lincoln: 18 Years. 9 Months. 3 Weeks. 3 Days. 15 Hours. 39 Minutes. 48 Seconds...]

[Bryant Lincoln: 42 Years. 11 Months. 1 Week. 5 Days. 16 Hours. 51 Minutes. 12 Seconds...]

[Emma Lincoln: 6 Months. 2 Weeks. 4 Days. 23 Hours. 24 Minutes. 36 Seconds...]

He had seen the lifespan countdown of all seven of them. However, it was interesting to see that there was one of them who was gradually running out of time.

And it was even more enticing, considering the fact that she was going to die right before her grandfather, who had been hoping to watch her get married.

’Life is a bitch sometimes, huh?’ Ryan cussed inwardly.

[Damn right]

And Soly responded.

He certainly didn’t decide to tell them how much time they had left, not wanting to cause panic.

Ryan was really interested in the business because he was going to need more money. Accumulating wealth was one of his priorities in the retirement plan, so this was a massive opportunity.

"So, Mr. Andrew. I would like to be straight, as we won’t be having much time to waste here," Ryan spoke.

And they all nodded in agreement.

"How much time does the Lincoln Family want?" Ryan asked.

He then added another question before the hosts even thought about coming up with a response.

"How many years would you need each?"

"Umm... Ahem! We already decided on that before you arrived, sir," the other elder man, Nathaniel Lincoln, spoke after clearing his throat.

"We have agreed to buy ten years each. Everyone of us, including my brother Andrew," he added.

Ryan only nodded without amazement, and at the same time, he felt the fun in it as he immediately went straight to starting a negotiation.

"Oh well... I sold a year to Mister Andrew back in the hospital for three hundred thousand dollars, but I’m sorry to say, the price has increased," he said.

There was a silent reaction that came with exchanging glances, but Ryan didn’t pay attention as he casually continued.

"It was sold for three hundred thousand due to the emergency situation and a first-customer policy as well. Actually, a year costs five hundred thousand dollars."

Andrew Lincoln fell silent for a moment, appearing to be pondering without any opinion from his son or brothers.

After a moment, he finally spoke.

"Agreed, Mister."

Ryan let out a calm smirk and nodded as he went straight to action.

Selling ten years each to seven people meant that he would be distributing seventy years.

Since a year costs five hundred thousand dollars, then ten years would cost five million dollars, and then seventy years...

It was 35 million dollars!

The first question he asked himself was why the Lincoln Family was willing to pay that much, but then he realized they were wealthy enough that the amount wasn’t too significant.

Plus, when he remembered how precious more time meant to the people of this world, his curiosity immediately died.

"All right. Let’s get on with it."

After dinner, Ryan distributed ten years each to every one of them, and they all finalized the contract with the normal signature palm contact.

And as for the payment, Tony volunteered to take care of it, as Ryan went straight to creating an active platinum account and got all the money transferred in full.

"It’s nice doing business with you," Ryan spoke.

All through the meeting, he had maintained the diplomacy and the kind of tone that revealed that he was no ordinary figure.

The Lincoln Family had all attested to it because that was indeed what they believed.

"Thank you very much, Mister Time Seller. We are honored to have another business with you. But..."

Andrew sat up.

"We have another proposal to make."

Ryan shrugged.

"May I know?" he asked.

"Ahem..." Tony cut in.

"Mister Ryan. We don’t only see you as a powerful Time Seller, but as an appropriate man who would be able to protect a woman."

Ryan’s brows furrowed at once, and he wasn’t even given enough time to react before they hit him with it.

"Mister Time Seller, we would want you to marry our daughter, Emma."

"She seems to like you, and we believe you admire her beauty as well. Your union will bring us even closer and strengthen our relationship in the future."

For a moment, Ryan was just there staring because he wasn’t only surprised... He was confused as well.

’Who the hell gives up his only daughter to a mysterious man who sells time?’ he thought.

[Crazy]

’Insane, Soly. Insane.’

[But you know what...?]

’Don’t tell me you are going to advise me to accept that,’ Ryan complained.

[Well, that’s exactly what I was about to say, Brother.]

’Are you being serious right now?’

[I never joked about any of your sixty-seven marriages, did I?]

That statement shook Ryan at once, understanding what Soly meant.

But the truth was that he wasn’t expecting any of that. Sure, Emma might have been showing some green lights, but was it ever looking like it was going to end up in a marriage proposal?

"Mister Ryan?"

Ryan had remained silent for a worrying amount of time before Tony tried to jolt him up.

And when he did...

He stared at the young lady who was looking at him with sheer anticipation, and the rest of the family whose faces only screamed, "Say Yes!"

But in the end, after an eternity of hesitation, Ryan finally gave his response.

"I will need time to think about it."

"This is not a decision I can make immediately."

"Fifteen million dollars... If you accept here and right now..." Tony suddenly interrupted.

Ryan looked up in amazement, hearing that firing sound of money.

"Twenty?"

"Twenty-five?"

"All right."

Ryan turned to Emma, noticing the smile of relief on her face as he exhaled deeply.

"I accept to marry your daughter," he added.

At that instant, the entire family began to clap their hands in excitement, seeing Emma at her best mood at that moment.

And then there was Ryan, who had just accepted to do something he wasn’t sure was the right decision.

[Good decision, Brother. You are now making that Monster called Money!!!]