Chương 560: Control yourself
"Grandfather, congratulations, this place looks terrific." said Lia as she smiled and Ernest turned around his face lit up as soon as he saw her.
"Oh Cecilia, so glad that you could make it my dear, I thought that you would not come." said Ernest as he gave her a hug.
"I didn't want to come... but Peter convinced me that this wasn't a common event." she replied as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"I see, and this Peter, he's a new boyfriend?" asked Ernest knowingly as he winked causing Lia to laugh.
"Well yes, but I'll tell you more about him later. Tonight is about you and the company, and I absolutely love this place, the decorations are so lovely." said Lia as she smiled.
"I have Lulu to thank for that, she did a wonderful job." said Ernest as he smiled.
"She really did." replied Lia.
"Have you seen Dom and Natasha yet?" asked Ernest as the smile on Lia's face dropped and she nodded.
"What happened?" asked Ernest.
"Nothing... things were better with Dom... and I'm just glad that Natasha said that she forgives me." said Lia.
"But you're still not happy." said Ernest as he frowned.
"Of course... I can't be happy, I lost all my friends, and they are staying away from me, I do deserve it." said Lia as she sighed.
"Don't worry my dear Cecilia, they all just need some time, I am sure that they will come around and you all will go back tot being good friends soon." said Ernest.
"I really hope for that day Grandfather, I really do." replied Lia as she sighed.
"What is this woman doing here?!" asked Lulu in anger as she was on her way to speak to Ernest when she saw Lia.
"Louise, do not behave in that manner." said Ernest as he shook his head frowning.
"No Grandfather, no, how can this woman be allowed here after what she did?!" asked Lulu as she found Lia's presence unacceptable.
"Lulu, I am really sorry if my being here makes you upset." apologized Lia.
"Don't you dare call me Lulu, it's Louise to you. You should have thought about that before you dressed up and showed yourself here, you have some nerve." said Lulu angrily.
"I really did not mean for this to happen, please don't be upset." pleaded Lia, she did not want to cause a scene.
"Well I am upset!" said Lulu.
"Louise, that's enough, stop causing a scene. I invited Cecilia here, and being the good, respectable girl you were raised to be, you will respect your elders and control yourself. If you cannot stand Cecilia here, then leave and come back when you have calmed down." said Ernest sternly as Lulu frowned.
"Fine, alright grandfather..." said Lulu as she sighed and left but not before giving Lia an extremely strong stink eye.
"I apologize about that Cecilia." said Ernest as he sighed and turned to Lia.
"No grandfather, you do not have to apologize, she has every right to be upset with me." said Lia as she sighed.
"Yes, she does have every right to be upset with you, but not to act like an undignified brat who cannot control her emotions especially when it really matters." said Ernest as he was upset.
"Oh do not be upset with her grandfather, you know that Lulu can't hide her true feelings. I should have stayed out of her way." said Lia as she sighed. Lulu had just reminded her how much of an outcast she was.
It didn't matter if Ernest still treated her the same, everyone else didn't and she would be naive to think that after what she did everyone would behave like nothing happened.
"I really see that you have changed... if it was before, you would have exploited the situation, but you didn't, that speaks volumes of just how much you have learned from your mistakes, and I am proud of you for that my dear." said Ernest as he smiled and Lia smiled.
"Thank you grandfather, and I'll continue to work on myself till the day everyone can finally forgive me completely." said Lia as she smiled and Ernest smiled at her, truly proud of the way she had matured.
"Please excuse me grandfather, I am going to look for Peter." said Lia with a smile as Ernest smiled and nodded.
...
"Should I get you a drink?" asked Dom as he walked behind Natasha as they were back to the party.
"No, I don't want a drink, besides, what are you still doing here? You have many clients and business partners to speak to, you don't have to follow me around continuously." replied Natasha.
"All that can wait, you can't fool me Natasha, you don't look so good. I'm going to get you a drink anyway, wait here." he replied as he left.
Natasha scoffed, she really wished that she could get rid of this guy, but for some odd reason their lives just seemed too intertwined, and it just was not because of Joy alone. It was a sundry of several things that joined their lives and she hated it.
"Here, drink this, it will make you feel better." he said as he handed her a glass of red wine. Natasha wondered if she had waited for him or he had found her, she had lost her train of thought in the middle of his departure.
"I don't drink alcohol." she replied.
"I know you don't, it's not alcoholic." he replied.
"Do you really think so little of me that you don't trust me to get you something? I got one for myself as well..." said Dom while sensing her hesitance and suspicion.
"It's not that... I just wonder if you're being so considerate because we're in public or if you really do mean it." she said as she took the glass of wine from him and drank it.
"I would still do this for you in private, it's just that you don't allow me to." he replied as she looked at him and he looked away and sipped his wine.
"I guess that seeing Lia opened up some wounds that you thought were closed." he suddenly said.
"It's not the wounds, those are superficial, they heal, what hurts so much is the idea that you trusted someone with your life and they ended up being the one who killed you." said Natasha as she dropped her glass on the tray of a passing waiter.
"I get it, what she did is like murdering your best friend." he said.
"No, you don't get it. It is murder, cold blooded murder." replied Natasha as she sighed.
"Honestly, I would rather not talk about this here, or anywhere else for that matter." she said as Dom nodded.
"I'm going to go check on Joy and make sure that she's okay." said Natasha.
"I'm sure she's fine, just take a break and enjoy the event. At least if any one of us can't enjoy it, you should." said Dom as Natasha looked at him and shook his head.
"This sort of event is not my cup of tea. I wouldn't even be here if not for the fact that I need to support the family." said Natasha as she sighed and Dom laughed.
"You couldn't make it any more obvious, at, least you're allowed to look bored, my entire facial muscles are aching from smiling too much." said Dom as he laughed in pain and Natasha snickered.
"Is it really that obvious?" he asked as she laughed.
"Pretty much." she replied.
"Well then, I shall make my smiles more convincing." said Dom as he massaged his cheeks gently.
"When are we leaving anyway?" asked Natasha, after all they had arrived together which meant that they would leave together.
"If it was up to me, we would leave right now, but there are still some people I need to speak to, so we can leave in two hours or less." said Dom.
"I know it sounds like a long time, but I'm counting on Joy falling asleep early so we can make an early escape." said Dom as Natasha laughed.
"Wow, what a father, using his own daughter as an excuse to leave a family event early." said Natasha as she shook her head.
"Don't blame me, I'm sure that you would do the same thing if you were in my shoes." replied Dom as he laughed.
"Unlike you, I don't need to use my daughter to get out of an unenjoyable event." said Natasha as she scoffed.
"Anyway, let me leave you to speak to your countless clients." said Natasha as she smiled and walked away as Dom watched her leave.
He sighed as he put his glass down on the tray of a waiter passing by. He massaged his cheeks once more before putting on a bright smile. Natasha was a grown woman, he was sure that she could handle her emotions maturely, or at least he hoped she could.
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