Our Lies

Chapter 20

Gia tried to hide his shaking hands, twisting his fingers as he turned to Eric and nodded lightly. "Is that so...? I wasn't aware... grandpa never said anything about my mother." Gia was anxious. Why was Eric Crown suddenly telling him this?

Eric smiled as he recalled the past. "Old Leo thought I was a good match for his wild, stubborn daughter. Dara is a strong and beautiful person. Always the one that stands by her own belief. Never let anyone stop her from doing what she thinks is right."

"Do you perhaps know why she went missing years ago?" Gia asked.

Eric drew a deep breath and let it out. "Please rest assured that she wasn't kidnapped or anything. Her father hid the fact that he kicked her out and she just chose to never return."

Gia did not say anything and looked at the man silently.

"I was... part of the reason why she left. Dara has someone she loves but her father did not approve their relationship and insisted us to wed... urm... so they kinda eloped." Eric looked a little uncomfortable talking about the past.

"How did you know about all these?" Gia asked again.

Eric chuckled. "I told you. We are good friends." He paused and then lowered his voice. "This is a secret, but I was actually the one who helped her escape."

Gia's eyes widened. He could see Eric's eyes studying him meaningfully. The head of Crown's family walked toward his son's best friend's side. His dark eyes were fixed on the pale looking young man.

Gia could feel his heart beating faster.

"Serogia, do you ever wonder where your mother is now?"

***

"I wonder if Gia is okay." Agata mumbled as she strolled through the house garden with Jean.

"I saw father going up to see him but he forbade me from going with him and instead, asking me to accompany you here." Jean looked like he cared nothing about plants as his fingers carelessly plucked a flower.

Agata stopped and turned to her company. "Do you know Gia's mother? Have you met her before?"

Jean shook his head. "There's no way I could meet her. From what I heard, she had been missing before Gia was even born. Many think Gia is just someone old Leo picked up from God knows where to replace his missing daughter. That old man never said much. One day he just introduced Gia as his grandson. There was never a mention about his father too."

"And you? What do you think?" Agata asked.

"Hah! He has to be that old man's grandson. Just look at that stubborn, self-righteous attitude of theirs!"

Agata giggled. She took out her phone and typed 'Leo Dignita daughter' on the search engine's search box and hit the Search button. Links to few news sites appeared. Most of them linked to Gia. Missing person case. Articles questioning and guessing if Gia was the son of Leo Dignita's only child, and so on. Agata made a search on Dara Dignita. This time she went straight for images search. A couple of pictures came up.

"You are looking for a picture of Gia's mother?" Jean asked as he peeked at Agata's phone. "You won't find much. Old Leo never like to have his family's pictures all over the media and her last public appearance was waaaay before we were born."

It was true. Agata could only find a few pictures with Dara Dignita in it. They were either blurry or the figure was too small as if taken from a mile away. Agata clicked her tongue and shoved her phone back to her pocket.

"Should we go see him now? I'm a little worried."

***

Gia looked away. "I don't know."

Eric sensed Gia's uneasiness. He stepped back and apologized. "Forgive me. I am being rude. You don't remember anything about her, do you?"

Gia shook his head.

"Your grandfather never told you anything about her? Where she might possibly be now? How she looks like, what kind of person she is..."

Gia shook his head again and smiled warmly. "I saw her photos at grandpa's house. She was a beautiful lady."

For a moment, Gia caught Eric staring at him. The look of horror crossed his face.

"Uncle Eric?"

Eric snapped back and replied accordingly in a soft voice. "Ah yes... she was... indeed, she was..."

***

"Gia, are you feeling better?" Agata walked in and found Gia sitting on the side of the bed. The latter beamed as he saw her.

He nodded. "Should we head home now?"

"Are you sure you can drive?" Jean poked out behind Agata.

"It's nothing. I'm totally fine."

"So, what were you talking about?" Jean asked.

Gia looked at his friend, confused.

"My father. He came here, didn't he?"

"Oh that... nothing. He just came to see how I was doing," Gia let out a small empty laugh.

"Are you sure Jean's father didn't say anything that upset you?" Agata asked while they walked to where Gia had parked his car earlier. She knitted her brow. Gia looked more restless than before.

The conversation he had with Eric played back again in his mind. His past relationship with Leo's late daughter. The way he looked at him. Gia could not brush off the thought that Eric suspected something.

"There is nothing. Come, hop in." Gia opened the car door for Agata and let her in. He closed the door and walked over to the driver's side. He paused for a while before pulling the door and climbed inside.

Inside a room above, Eric Crown stood behind the window staring at the young pair inside the car. He looked at the man behind the wheel and then at the young lady sitting beside him.

"That boy... knows something." He mumbled as he watched the car left the residence's gate.