Chapter 955 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“So, when do we get to the part where you tell me why you decided to do something like this?” Benne asked impatiently and his grandfather sighed.

“While I was visiting with them your mother called me…”

“My mother?” Benne asked with a frown wondering why his mother was being mentioned in this.

“Yes. She was very worried about what you said during dinner. She said she couldn’t sleep all through the night and since your father was not bothered by your decision I was the only one she could talk to. She was scared you really might not want to get married anymore and she wanted me to maybe talk you out of ruining your life by doing something you might regret,” Lawrence explained.

Benne’s brows pulled together as he tried to make the calculations in his head to know if she had talked to Lawrence before coming to see him in his office with the pregnancy kit or after.

It would make more sense that she had spoken to his grandfather before he told her about Celsie.

“She wanted you to talk me out of it? Am I missing something or did she forget that you are not family oriented?” Benne asked incredulously.

Lawrence was silent for a moment, “Your mother knows me best. Don’t you think the world would have been very lonely for me at this age if I didn’t have you all in my life, even if I only visit every once in a while? I wasn’t a good father to your father, and it wasn’t because I didn’t want to. I just didn’t know how to be. The only reason I often say if I had known better I would never have gotten married is because I hate to see how my actions and inactions has affected my relationship with my only son. However, the truth is if I had the chance to go back in the past and correct something, I would try better at being a father to him while also doing my best for humanity. Both can coexist. My son doesn’t have to suffer in order for me to save the world,” Lawrence said thoughtfully, and even though Benne was tempted to ask him to tell that to Desmond and not to him, Benne decided to focus on the part that concerned him instead.

“So you decided to prank me in order to convince me not to tow your path and to get married?” Benne asked, wanting to understand his grandfather’s logic.

“Not exactly. It was more about your girlfriend than about you. Your mother and I figured your girlfriend was the reason for your decision. I saw how you both acted during the board meeting and during dinner. If you noticed, I didn’t comment on your decision during dinner because I was too busy assessing her reaction,” Lawrence continued.

“Hold on. Does my mother know about this? Did you tell her about using Kimberly?” Benne asked with a frown, thinking he would be more pissed at his mother than anyone else if she knew.

“No, she doesn’t. I’m sure she would never have agreed to it,” Lawrence said, and Benne relaxed.

“After the call with your mother, I was watching the kid and it suddenly occurred to me that she could pass for your daughter. Then I started to think, what if. I told Kimberly about it and she laughed it off. I asked her to play along with me, and she decided to indulge this old man in playing such an expensive prank on his grandson. Don’t blame her. She doesn’t know how to say no to me, especially after I helped her track down her fiancé who jilted her and taught him a lesson. And then as though the universe was in support of it, her uncle’s wife who just joined us received a call from her husband informing her he had invited you to join them at the club. Kimberly did what she did as a favor to me. So, please don’t be mad at her,” Lawrence said, and Benne frowned.

He didn’t know what to make of all this. It was just messed up and crazy, “I have no idea what to say to you right now.” Benne confessed.

“Listen, you are like your father in a lot of ways. I know this might be hard for you to believe, but I did it with your best interest in mind. I thought your girlfriend might feel threatened at the thought of another lady coming into your life and would want to sit up or act fast to claim you if she truly loves you. I did something similar for your parents,” Lawrence said, and chuckled when he remembered all he had done without Desmond’a or Evelyn’s knowledge.

“My parents?”

“Yes. But that’s a story for another time. I’m getting older by the day. So if the only thing I could do for you before I die is help you fix your relationship, I wanted to do it. I can assure you that Kimberly wouldn’t have caused any problems for you. We would have told you the truth after seeing the effect of the DNA result on your relationship. Kimberly meant no harm. That was more reason I asked her to chat with Celsie. I wanted to know what Celsie was thinking,” Lawrence said, and Benne sighed.

“I can’t say I’m not annoyed. I’m still very much annoyed. I couldn’t sleep or think straight,” Benne said irritably.

“I’m sorry about that. I will apologize to Celsie too if you want me to,” Lawrence offered.

“I told my parents about this already. They are going to be really pissed when they find out you were behind it,” Benne said with a frown.

“You told them already? Why?” Lawrence asked, sounding so alarmed that Benne almost laughed.

“I had to. If she turned out to be mine it would have been a family issue,” Benne said, and Lawrence frowned, thinking of how he would face another confrontation with his son. He knew Desmond would be pissed.

As annoyed as Benne was by it all, deep down he knew that this might have had its own perks. Even though he hadn’t created the drama, somehow he knew it had helped strengthen his relationship with Celsie. It had somehow made her focus shift from herself to him.

She had become more attentive to him in the last couple of days and had focused on being there for him because she believed he needed her.

Benne sighed, “Don’t worry. This will just be between us. I will tell them the result came back negative and that will be the end of it,” Benne said, and Lawrence sighed in relief.

“And Kimberly? Will you forgive her?” He asked hopefully.

“I don’t think I have a choice seeing how she was only following your instructions. If I can forgive you, I should as well forgive her,” Benne said, and Lawrence relaxed.

“That’s a relief…”

“You have to stay out of my relationship going forward. I don’t want you meddling in my business. Thanks for your help, but I don’t need it. If and when we are ready to settle down, we will let you know. But until then, don’t come up with any more pranks or whatever. I won’t forgive you if you meddle in my relationship one more time,” Benne said and Lawrence nodded.

“I won’t. I promise,” Lawrence said before hanging up.

Although he had wanted to know if his plan had worked even a little, but he knew better than to ask Benne about it.

He hadn’t really thought about the fact that Benne would be very worried and upset about having a child, all he had thought about was rushing things up so they would get married.

His heart was very weak now, and his doctor had said if he suffered another heart attack he might die. He had wanted to tell them that during the family dinner but had been unable to.

He sighed as he looked at the picture of Bryan’s engagement which was displayed on his laptop screen.

He was at least glad that even if he didn’t witness Benne getting married, he would most likely watch Bryan walk down the aisle with Sonia and possibly hang around long enough to see his first greatgrand child. That would have to do.

Sonia had a happy smile on her face as she watched Bryan walk into their bedroom carrying a tray of breakfast which he had ordered in.

They were still in their new home and since their bedroom was the only part of the house that had been fixed, they couldn’t use the kitchen yet.

They had agreed to wait to meet with the interior decorators before leaving so that Sonia could tell them what she wanted specifically.

It had been from one phone call to the other all morning since Evelyn’s phone call woke them up, as a lot of people wanted to confirm the news of their engagement.

The longest phone call had been from Evelyn who had been over the moon with joy, and equally pissed that Bryan had waited for them to leave before popping the question in their absence.

Evelyn had wanted to know the sort of wedding that Sonia wanted so she could organize it all, but Sonia and Bryan had politely asked her to let them handle it and if they needed her help they would let her know.

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