Our Lies

Chapter 36

Eric sipped the tea Leo had just personally brought in, and cleared his throat. "I am sorry for behaving in an unsightly manner."

Leo did not say anything. The creases formed on his forehead suggested his mind was lost in deep thought. The tycoon had certainly grown old, Eric noticed.

"Do you suspect that Agata is Dara's daughter?" Eric finally braced himself to ask.

"She might just be someone who looks like her but..." Leo replied without looking at him.

"If so... Serogia and Agata could be siblings. I wonder if he sees the similarity between his mother and Agata." Eric grabbed a photo frame by his side and smiled sadly at the happy family picture. "Are you going to tell Serogia about this? I am sure he would be happy to know..." He paused and recalled the day Serogia and Agata visited his house. There were things that did not seem right to him. If Agata was indeed Dara's daughter, why would she say she and Serogia were childhood friend? Would anyone call a brother a friend? Did her memory get mixed up? Serogia's convenient amnesia, and his anxious and unnatural behavior aroused his suspicion too.

"No." Leo muttered weakly.

If Agata was indeed Dara's daughter then there was only one possible explanation at the moment. Eric knitted his brows. "Mr. Dignita. I may be rude for suggesting this but... is Serogia perhaps not your biological grandson?"

Leo's expression changed.

Eric continued. "I don't know... but sometimes I have this feeling that maybe he isn't what he said he is. What if he has been lying..."

A loud crash broke the silence from Leo. He had dropped his cup in anger. "How dare you suggested that!"

"What I am saying is that, what if he had known about Agata all this time?! What if he is lying about his amnesia? What if he knew about your family from the beginning and saw the chance..."

"ENOUGH, ERIC!!" Leo shouted.

"But...!" Eric insisted as if he wanted to prove something.

"Leave. Leave my house now!"

Without arguing further, Eric got up from his seat, bowed his head to Leo and walked out, leaving the figure he once thought would be his father-in-law alone in the room.

A few hours before

"Can I see the picture again?" Agnes asked.

The man pulled out a small flattened paper box that Agnes guessed was a used cigarette box, judging from the faded prints on it. He carefully took out a small piece of torn picture and pushed it toward her.

It's Serogia. No doubt about it. Agnes murmured silently as she studied the picture in her hand. The same kind look in his eyes. This was the second time she saw the photo and she was more certain than before that the boy in the picture was her fiancé.

"Do you believe me now?" Elega Laggiri asked. Earlier he had made an attempt to approach the starlet again via her agency. It was more successful than his last as she was now sitting in front of him. This was his only chance, he thought.

Agnes did not answer. Her eyes were still on the photo. The same photo her manager had shown her before. "His mother... what about your wife?" The picture only showed young Serogia and his father. The mother figure was absent.

Elega laughed sadly. "She left when Serogia was barely four years old. Left us for another man, with more money, and better house..."

"Do you know where she is now?" Agnes asked. It was the most important piece of information that she wanted to know. If she could figure out where Leo's daughter was all this time and find her, the Dignita family would see her in different light. Gia would have his whole family back. She smiled at the thought.

Elega shrugged his shoulders. "Never heard anything from that damn woman after that. Rather than that, can you tell me how my son ended up in his current household? Did the old man adopt him from somewhere?" The man shifted his seat and rested his forearms on the table, eager to know more about his long-lost son.

"Adopt...? Serogia's mother is Mr. Leo Dignita's only child. It's a given his grandfather took him in."

"Mr. Dignita's child... you mean my ex-wife is the old man's daughter?" Elega looked confused.

There was a moment of absolute silence before a loud laughter broke.

"What kind of joke is that?" Elega laughed so hard that tears appeared from the corner of his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I grew up with his mother. I know her family and all. Her family is nowhere related to the Dignita. They are all common folks." Elega laughed again.

"What... but..."

"Did my son go around and tell everyone his mother is the old man's daughter?"

Agnes' hands were shaking. "No... but... we all assume..."

"Well, I can tell you rightly that he is not. He is my son, and I know who he really is."

***

Gia spotted Agnes' back at the far end table the second he walked into the quiet coffee shop.

"You have something you want to tell me in person?" Gia asked as he pulled the chair.

Agnes waited until the waitress who took Gia's order had left that she looked up and began to talk.

"Serogia, does the name Elega Laggiri remind you of anything?"

Gia tried to appear unperturbed. "No."

"He is that homeless man that I told you about, remember? He came again, to see me."

Gia waited. Both his hands clenched into fists.

"He showed me a picture of the younger you and him, and he talked a lot about your relationship and family." Agnes spoke with confidence about the man she just met.

"Miss Lassham, I don't know what you are trying to say here..."

"Are you not Leo Dignita's grandson?" Agnes finally asked the question.

Gia smiled meaningfully. "Will you have a change of heart about our engagement if I am not?"

Color drained from her face. "That's... that's not what I..."

"What do you want?" Gia asked impatiently.

"Does your grandfather know about him? Or you not being his biological grandson?"

Gia smiled at himself. Of course, it was always about Leo and the house of Dignita for everyone. He was what he was today because he was his grandson. He leaned back and stared at the blank white ceiling above them. He had never imagined his father would come find him after all these years. Leo's face appeared in his mind. His grandfather would catch wind of this soon. How much longer could he continue his lies? He had failed.

"Do you think we should just give him some money and send him somewhere far away? Make sure he will never come back to bother us?" Agnes bit her fingernails. Gia glanced at her. She looked worried.

Gia rose from his seat and looked down at her coldly. "Please consider this engagement again if what you want is a Dignita."

He smiled politely and left the establishment before Agnes had the chance to process his remark.