Chương 473: Lie and pretend
"I am so sorry, so very sorry." he said as Natasha sniffed and pulled away looking at him with a strange expression on her face.
"Why are you sorry Grandfather? You didn't do anything wrong." said Natasha as she wiped away the little tears that managed to slip out of the corner of her eyes.
"I know my dear, but in a way I am indirectly responsible for what happened. If only I had paid more attention to you all, and especially Cecilia, maybe I would have been able to stop all this from ever happening." said Ernest.
"I spoke to Cecilia and she revealed some very... worrying things to me, things I thought that she never felt." said Ernest as he stopped talking when he saw that Natasha was pursing her lips, obviously not liking how he was talking about Lia.
"You don't like that I am speaking about Cecilia?" asked Ernest.
"It's not that I don't like it Grandfather, it's just that I don't want to hear about that woman at all." said Natasha as she scrunched her nose.
Ernest could see right through Natasha, she was furious, and that was completely understandable, she just did not want to upset him by showing just how furious she was with Lia, but he could see it already.
"You don't like that I have already forgiven her." said Ernest as Natasha sighed, first it was Pete and now even Ernest was being so forgiving.
"It's not a matter of me not liking your decisions Grandfather, it is certainly not." said Natasha.
"It would be selfish for me to demand that everyone hate Lia the same way I do, because I've been through that once before and I would never do that to someone else, that doesn't make me any different from them." said Natasha as there was a sad look on Dom's face when she said those words.
"But at the same time I won't lie and pretend as if I'm fine and that everything is okay when it's not." said Natasha.
"Grandfather I know that you love Lia very much, we all did... I mean at least I did until she did what she did, but I also know that you feel somewhat guilty because she claims that she never had a chance when you made your decision." said Natasha.
"That still does not excuse what she did, but you are kind, and you have always been soft with Lia so I get why you would forgive her easily, as for me, I just won't cause myself more pain and stress by trying to pretend to be okay when I'm not." said Natasha.
"If everyone wants to forgive her, that is fine by me, I won't turn into an angry bitter woman from this, but I won't, or at least not now. I don't even consider us being friends anymore." said Natasha as she laughed sadly at the last part.
"It is alright my dear Natasha, I completely understand where you are coming from." said Ernest as he rubbed her back.
"Thank you for being so understanding and also for being so mature, this sure is not easy, but you make sure to always remember the things that matter first." said Ernest as he smiled.
This was why he loved Natasha so much, she was honest, she was true, and most of all she was mature and understanding, rarely did she ever let her emotions cloud over her judgement. He could only mention one time that she did, and it was when she was so heartbroken over Dom that she allowed his dislike for her to drive her to the verge of madness.
And even then he did not blame her for that, she was in love with him, and he had rejected her so hard that it was too difficult to come to terms with; but look at her now... she was better and stronger than ever.
"Well Grandfather I just wanted to check on you before I go see Joy." said Natasha.
"That is alright dear, I understand, thank you for coming to see me." said Ernest as he smiled and Natasha smiled.
"I will see you later Grandfather, take care." she said as she turned to leave but not before giving Ernest a kiss on the cheek as she walked out of the room without even sparing Dom a glance.
The door closed with a soft click as now Grandfather and grandson were left alone to talk.
Ernest turned to look at his grandson as Dom looked up to meet his gaze and he was expecting the worst knowing how Ernest could be, but what happened next completely shocked Dom.
Ernest walked closer to Dom causing Dom to flinch and close his eyes as instead of receiving a whack on the head from his Grandfather's cane he was instead comforted with an embracing warm hug.
Dom opened his eyes as he froze in a mix of confusion and fear, he had never experienced something like this. Ernest was not one to hug, especially his highly esteemed grandson that he had groomed to be the absolute perfect example of a White.
In all his thirty one years of life, Dom doubted that he had received any hugs from his Grandfather, he was sure that he could have a heart attack.
"Dominic my boy, what happened is not your fault, I know that this news affects you more than everyone thinks, but I want you to know that I do not blame you, your reaction was justifiable, but the way you handled things was what was wrong." said Ernest as he patted his grandson on his back before breaking the hug.
Dom was speechless, he did not know what to say... thank you? or alright? He had never heard such great words of understanding from his grandfather before, in fact he was not even sure if he was awake right now.
"Thank you Grandfather... thank you for understanding me." said Dom as he was sued to being the one everyone blamed and that had increased ever since they found out, even Charlie himself had accused him of being the reason why he behaved rashly towards the innocent Natasha, all this just made Dom feel so tired, and he was still trying to fix things with Natasha.
So hearing his Grandfather say such nice things to him, things that he had been yearning to hear for as long as he was alive was surreal. Ernest did not know just how much his honest words of affirmation meant to him.
Dom knew that his Grandfather loved him and everything he did was to make him a better person, but sometimes, his actions felt otherwise, he could be so cold, so emotionally detached that when he was younger Dom often found himself contemplating if he was truly Ernest's grandson, or maybe he had been adopted just like Michael, Charlie and Nine were; and even then, he way softer on them than he was on him.
Dom just felt a bit happier in the midst of everything that was going on with what Ernest had said.
"You are welcome Dominic, I know that I do not say this enough but... you make me proud—always have and always will." said Ernest.
"Now, I might not agree with the way you behave and handle things sometimes, but I can also admit that I have been too hard on you, harder than I was on your Father, but believe me when I say that I thought he would have been more successful if I had been there more, if I had had time for him, time to spend with him and teach him, but in my young days, I was so busy trying to make a living and a name for my family." said Ernest.
"What I am trying to say is that, never doubt that I love you my boy, and I am sorry for forcing you into making decisions that were mine and not yours." said Ernest as he apologized and Dom did not know if he had ever heard such heartfelt words from his grandfather before.
Dom smile as he held his grandfather on the shoulder.
"I know Grandfather, and thank you." said Dom as he smiled, but slowly the smile on his face disappeared and was replaced with a look of remorse.
"Grandfather I messed up." said Dom with a sigh, a sullen expression plastered over his face.
"Ahh my boy, tell me something I don't already know... it seems that we White man have a knack for messing things up one way or the other in various aspects of our lives." said Ernest with a sigh and a slight shake of his head as he poured himself a cup of tea.
"Natasha hates me, she wants nothing to do with me, I've apologized, but I know it's not enough, I know that I can do more to actually deserve her forgiveness." said Dom with a sigh.
"Quite frankly my boy, I would hate you as well, even more than Natasha does, I wouldn't even be able to live in the same house with you, or be a handspan near you." said Ernest as Dom frowned.
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