"Here Grandfather, I made you some nice warm oatmeal, it's easy to digest so you don't get any stomach problems from eating so late" said Lulu as she smiled and walked into Ernest's office with a bowl of warm oatmeal.
Ernest looked at his granddaughter and then at the bowl of oatmeal in her hands as he frowned and shook his head.
"What's wrong Grandfather?" asked Lulu in worry.
"Lulu I'm upset not dying, throw that oatmeal away, get me something better, something heavier" said Ernest as Lulu looked at him in confusion.
"Like what?" she asked.
"You know what my dear, go to your mother's and get me some of her lovely brownies, that should make me feel better" said Ernest as Lulu frowned.
"Are you sure about that Grandfather?" asked Lulu.
"Yes, very, very sure" replied Ernest.
"And your stomach won't get upset? It's not recommended for you to eat something that sweet especially since you don't feel well, you know what Doctor Freddie said Grandfather" said Lulu as Ernest scoffed.
"Well Freddie isn't here, and right now I need some chocolate to relax my nerves, get me some brownies" said Ernest as Lulu sighed, after all, she only wanted to do what made him feel better, and she was sure one brownie wouldn't hurt.
"Alright Grandfather, I'll get you some, but only one, we don't need any more problems" said Lulu.
"That's my girl, and while you're over there please tell Margret to prepare my some ginger ale and pack me some of her leftover spaghetti, I'm out of leftovers over here" said Ernest.
"Alright Grandfather, fine, I'll do that, but in the meantime I am leaving this here just in case you change your mind" said Lulu as she set the bowl of oatmeal down before leaving Ernest's office as Ernest sighed.
He actually didn't mind the oatmeal, it was just that he knew that Lia would be over here soon and he wanted to talk to her alone, he knew that if Lulu was still here when he did so, he wouldn't get anything done, she would instantly attack Lia, and he didn't have the heart to take such discord in front of his own two eyes.
Ernest sighed as he took a deep breath and took a spoonful of his oatmeal, patiently waiting as he heard a knock on his office door.
"Come in" said Ernest as he put the bowl away and cleared his throat before hearing the door opening to reveal Lia standing outside his office.
"Grandfather… you asked to see me?" came Lia's soft voice as she made no attempt to enter his office, she felt too scared to.
"Yes Cecilia, please come in and shut the door behind you, the two of us need to talk" said Ernest in a mildly stern tone as Lia felt even more terrified as she nodded and shakily walked into the room and closed the door before sitting down across Ernest.
She was literally shaking, she already knew why he had called her here, but she was scared and confused, the Ernest she knew would not be this calm if he heard what she had confessed, it made her doubt if he knew anything at all.
"Are you alright Cecilia?" asked Ernest as Lia nodded.
"Alright then, you must be wondering why I asked to see you?" asked Ernest as Lia nodded.
"Cecilia… that's because I know… I am aware of what you did" said Ernest as he hit the nail on the head, causing Lia to suddenly feel sick, as if she couldn't breathe, like she was in a confined space.
"When I heard the news, I was beyond shocked, I could not believe it, and I refused to believe it, you really disappointed me Cecilia… I would have never expected this from you… I have always loved and cherished you as if you were my own granddaughter, I treated you like I treated my grandchildren, you have always been welcome here, and you are a member of this family…" said Ernest as his words were causing Lia to feel even worse.
"Now… the only question I have is why?... Why would you do such a thing?" asked Ernest.
"Talk to me Cecilia, tell me why, you are a lovely, sweet girl, incapable of hurting anyone… or so I thought, so tell me why?" asked Ernest.
"I believe we all need an explanation, so please Cecilia, talk to me" said Ernest in a soft warm tone that made Lia feel terrible as she finally raised her head to look at him as his eyes were filled with the same warmness that she was used to, that gave her confidence to talk… to speak about how she felt with all this.
"Grandfather I…" said Lia as she hesitated and Ernest nodded, urging her on calmly.
"Grandfather… I… I did it because I've always been in love with Dom" said Lia as she was tired of this story, she wanted it to end so badly.
"My dear I know, it has always been a sibling kind of love" said Ernest as Lia shook her head.
"No, no it hasn't Grandfather, I've loved him for such a long time, for such a long time, I wanted to be his wife, I wanted him to love me the same, but he never did, and it hurt so much" said Lia as she shook her head.
"Is that why you resorted to drugging your best friend and my grandson?" asked Ernest as Lia nodded.
"You don't understand Grandfather, I always loved him, and I wanted to show him my love, but I never got the chance" said Lia as she wanted to say more but she didn't feel comfortable being this vulnerable.
"My dear, I am sorry to say, but that is not how you show your love for someone" said Ernest as Lia looked at him and frowned.
"Grandfather, it was not fair, it was never fair, you never gave me a chance" said Lia.
"I always knew that when the time came you would be the one to choose Dom's wife, I was aware of that and I tried so hard to prove myself to you, but I was never good enough in your eyes" said Lia.
"Instead you chose Natasha… it's always been Natasha, you've always loved Natasha more than me… it's not fair, you've always been softer on her, more compassionate with her, while I was nothing but second place to her in everyone's eyes" said Lia as tears started dropping from her eyes which she wiped away quickly.
Ernest was shocked by what she had just said, he never knew that Lia felt this inferior to Natasha, she had never showed it, it scared him to know that this was how she thought.
"My dear, no one has ever compared you to Natasha, no one, if anything, I have always been softer with you because I know that you are delicate, you and Natasha are two different people, not to be compared my dear Cecilia, it saddens me to know that you think like this" said Ernest as he shook his head sadly.
"I don't believe you Grandfather, because at the end of the say you chose her to marry Dom and not me" said Lia.
"I would have come to terms with it if you chose a woman I didn't even know from very far away, but to choose Natasha, my friend… someone like my sister… someone that I never planned on hurting… it broke my heart" said Lia as talking about this all over again was making her feel so many emotions that caused tears to drop from her eyes.
"It's always been Natasha… Natasha this, Natasha that, Natasha is admirable, Natasha is compassionate, Natasha is hard working, she's resourceful, and where does that leave me?? Second best" said Lia.
"Cecilia my dear, I never knew that you felt this insecure, it baffles me because you never showed it" said Ernest.
"That's because if I did everyone would not listen to me" said Lia.
"It was never this bad… but the last straw for me was when Natasha and Dom got married, from that moment, I never wished them happiness, I was sure that they would split up, and when they didn't… I knew that I had to do it myself" said Lia as Ernest looked at her in disappointment.
"Grandfather, you should have given me a chance to prove myself to you, you should have been fair" said Lia.
"You know what Cecilia, I think I need to shed some more light on my decisions, because you really seem to need it…" said Ernest as he sighed and leaned forward.
"Do you know why I chose Natasha to be Dominic's wife?" asked Ernest as Lia shook her head.
"That's because I know my grandson very well, and I know the kind of woman that is best for him" said Ernest.
"My grandson Dominic, he can be sweet, considerate and every woman's dream, he is loving and respectful, but like all human beings, he has his short comings, he is not easily angered, but when he is, he blows like a fuse, he might seem cool headed, but he is stubborn and does not bend for anyone and worst of all, in his anger he can hurt those that he loves without meaning to" said Ernest.
"I took all his characters into consideration, I was not going to paint him like a saint, anyone who wanted to marry him would accept his good parts and the bad, there would be no changing" said Ernest.
"And that was why I chose Natasha… you have to admit Cecilia they are a good match for each other, Natasha is kind, caring, and as you said yourself, resourceful, she can easily stay calm under pressure and she is also equally as stubborn as Dom, she is a woman who can put him in his place, she would never bend for him or anyone" said Ernest.
"And let me tell you this Cecilia… I did consider you as an option for Dominic's wife, but after thinking it through I did not consider you anymore" said Ernest as Lia was already starting to cry.
"My dear, you are delicate, you have your good virtues, you can listen, you can relate well with people, you are warm and comely, but you cannot stand not getting your way, you easily become angered, you have high expectations and when not met, that drives you to anger" said Ernest as he sighed.
"Dominic can easily offend you without knowing, he is human after all, and you do hold grudges dear, it takes someone who doesn't count things easily to be with him" Ernest added.
"My dear Cecilia, with what you did… if I had chosen you as Dominic's wife, you would either be separated by now or worse…" said Ernest grimly.
"If you could go as far as drugging two unsuspecting innocent people, who's to say that if my grandson knowingly or unknowingly hurt you that you would not resort to killing him in your moment of anger?" asked Ernest as this was the truth, this was his fear.
His worst fear had come to pass, he had thought that Lia would grow out of her bad behaviour, but she did not, and this caused them all a lot of pain.