Chapter 954 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“So?”

“So don’t tell me that was the grand plan you had to win Celsie’s heart? Distance? Really? Sometimes I can’t believe you!” Harry said with a shake of his head.

“Well, it worked. Or at least it was working before this whole stupid Kimberly and Dawn stuff put an end to it,” Benne said, annoyed that he had fallen for the stupid prank.

He should have insisted that the kid wasn’t his especially since he knew for a fact that he had used a condom. And now that he was thinking straight he recalled that he hardly ever released inside any of the ladies despite wearing a condom and he always made sure to flush the condoms.

How could he have lost his head over Kimberly’s claims so easily? Had he been that desperate for a child?

Harry shook his head, “Well, it’s a good thing this happened to bring you back to your senses. Staying away for weeks or months would have done nothing good for your relationship. Some times I doubt your brain works so well when you think about your relationship with Celsie. That is assuming you have a brain to begin with,” Harry said and Benne scowled.

“Now you’re a relationship expert?” Benne asked dryly.

“Yes, I am. So, take my advice and stop coming up with stupid plans to make her change her mind or anything. By the way, I think your grandfather visited them immediately after he left Serenopolis. Did something happen during your family dinner to make him think he needed to prank you with something like this?” Harry asked, and Benne frowned as he thought about it.

Harry was right. He had traveled the very next day after dinner with their grandfather. Now that he thought about it his grandfather had left Serenopolis that night after the family dinner saying he had to make a stop to visit an old friend before leaving for his next humanity saving adventure. While he on the other hand had left the next evening after the close of work.

“I’m not sure. He did ask about our marital plans and I made it clear it’s not in my plan. He didn’t seem bothered by that. I see no reason why he should be or why that should prompt him to do something like this,” Benne said, and Harry sighed as he glanced at his wristwatch.

It would be noon soon. He wondered if Mia was going to show up or not.

“You Delgados are a handful. I guess you all got your meddling character from your grandfather. It’s good to see that you’re at the receiving end of the meddling of a Delgado,” Harry said with a shake of his head as he rose.

“Too bad you’re romantically involved with one now so you should get ready for a life time of having your affairs being needles upon,” Benne said with a scowl and Harry grinned.

“Too bad I’m drawn to you Delgados. But it’s a little price to pay for having your sister. I can live with that. I’m sure it’s not too late to congratulate you on not being a dad. Maybe when you stop being so pissed we can toast to that. I’m going to take care of company business now while I leave you to take care of your meddling family business,” Harry said as he headed for the door.

Once Harry left, Benne took a deep breath and paced around his office to work of some steam before dialing his grandfather’s line.

As angry as he was, he didn’t want to end up saying stuff he might regret later. He would rather have this serious conversation with a clear head, not one clouded with anger.

“Hello, Benedict! To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?” Lawrence Delgado greeted the moment he received Benne’s call and Benne scowled.

“We both know why I am calling. And I’d appreciate it if you don’t insult my intelligence any further and go straight to the point by telling me why you felt the need to do something so unwarranted and annoying,” Benne said, and Lawrence Delgado sighed.

“Think of it as a harmless prank…”

“DID YOU JUST CALL THAT A HARMLESS PRANK?” Benne yelled angrily and Lawrence had to pull the phone away from his ear a bit.

Benne shut his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself, “In what world is something like that a harmless prank? I can’t believe you got that little girl involved in your act. What are you thinking?” Benne asked in a gruff voice.

“You are upset. I get it. I’m sorry. If you can’t think of it as a stupid prank from your bored old grandfather…”

“NO! I can’t! I won’t. I need an explanation. What exactly was your plan? If the plan director had done what you wanted and given me a fake result what else would you have pulled? What did you stand to gain by making your own grandson believe something like that?” Benne asked irritably.

“Alright. Calm down. Okay? You were going to be told the truth eventually…”

“Eventually when? After I must have bonded with the kid? Or after my relationship might have been ruined?” Benne asked and his grandfather raised a brow.

“Was something like this capable of ruining your relationship?” Lawrence asked and Benne paused when something occurred to him.

“Is that it? Was it your plan to make this come between Celsie and I so that we would break up and then I would get married to Kimberly thinking the kid is mine?” Benne asked, and to his surprise Lawrence chuckled.

“Your imagination is quite funny. It’s not as serious as that, okay? Besides, Kim would never have wanted something like that to happen. Although there was a time when I hoped you would get married to Kimberly, but that was so long ago. I thought you would make a good pair and wanted to matchmake you two but your parents wouldn’t hear of it. Especially your father. You know how he behaves when I try to get involved in your lives…”

“Rightfully so. After what you just did, I can’t blame him,” Benne muttered, but then became curious about the former part of his statement.

“Did you say you wanted to matchmake us? When?” Benne asked, and his grandfather sighed.

“A long time ago while you were still in college. Don’t you remember Kimberly? I’ve mentioned her a couple of times in the past. I even showed you her picture once. Besides, I was the one who invited her to the hotel opening. She was having a hard time after her fiancé deserted her so I and her parents encouraged her to go out,” Lawrence said, and Benne frowned.

“Does that mean she knew who I was even then?” Benne asked in confusion.

“No, she didn’t. She had seen pictures of you as a child on my phone but none of your adult self. I doubt she could have recognized you. Maybe if you told her your name she would have known. She called me a couple of weeks ago after she watched the interview to tell me she met you at the night of the hotel opening,” Lawrence explained.

“You both must be very close for her to tell you something like that,” Benne observed.

“Yes, we are. She is just like a daughter to me. I would have said granddaughter, but Jade wouldn’t like that,” Lawrence said with a smile.

“But that still doesn’t explain why you both did what you did,” Benne said, bringing them back to the conversation.I think you should take a look at

“Well, when she called to say she had met you, but she didn’t tell me anything happened between you two. We joked about it and made thought nothing more out of it. And then after my dinner with the family some days ago, I stopped over to visit her family since I haven’t seen them in a couple of years. I was stunned when I saw her kid. The little girl looked so much like you and I thought she was actually yours. Especially since she told me she had crossed paths with you…”

“If she is like a daughter to you shouldn’t you have seen the kid all this while or known who the father was?” Benne asked, and Lawrence sighed.

“Being like a daughter to me doesn’t make her my daughter, does it? I keep tabs on you because you’re my family. It would be weird to do the same with her, don’t you think? Besides, she had the child through artificial insemination. Got the sperm from a sperm bank…”

“So, the child doesn’t really have a father?” Benne asked with a frown, thinking that must have been the reason she had easily played along with her mother’s act.

“Yes. She decided she never wanted to get involved with any man after that experience.”

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