Donald spoke up " Cut the lady some slack, Diana " He distracted her by cutting another piece of chicken for her which she chewed while pouting. She was sad that her curiosity had not been satisfied. Donald reached out and tugged her cheeks, which made Diana threw him a playful glare.
He turned to Liam " I guess your mother already told you why I called this family dinner " He said in a cool voice.
" Yes " Liam answered, his voice just as cool. It was obvious Liam was just as stubborn as his father and none of them would admit back down first.
" And have you worked on what I told you the last time I called? " He asked Liam again, reaching for water.
" I'm absolutely free to do whatever I want, Dad, you know that more than anyone else " Liam replied and maintained eye contact with his father. Gone were the days he would look at the floor and avoided his father's glare. Not anymore, he thought. He was old enough to make decisions for himself.
" Enough! " Donald bellowed and slammed his hands on the table.
" It's okay, honey " Diana said as she took a hold of her husband's arm in a bid to calm him.
Liam just raised his eyebrows at his father's act, he couldn't be threatened, his father knew that well.
" I a well aware of the marriage you were planning between me and.... I don't even want to know what her name is " He gazed at his father with an unreadable expression.
" You knowing about it doesn't change anything, does it? " Donald asked in annoyance.
Liam eyed him and continued like he was never interrupted " I guess everything has changed now that I brought my girlfriend " He stated, directing a smile in Carla's way.
" Not until you decide to get married! " Donald fumed.
" I will, but on my own free will! You're not gonna decide that for me! " Liam fired back and the two glared at each other. They both stood up unconsciously as he stared daggers at his father.
Diana started to panic and looked over to Carla for help of any sort. Carla shook her head helplessly and heaved a sigh.
" What about her? Or you don't like her enough to make her your life partner? " Donald taunted as he spared Carla a glance. He wanted her to make her angry by putting the thought into her head that Liam didn't love her enough to marry. Carla smiled to herself, what if he found out it was all fake? What if he found out that they were not a real couple? So funny, she thought.
If looks could kill, Carla was sure Donald would be lying dead on the floor with the glare Liam threw at his father.
" I get to decide that, not you " Liam said threateningly.
Donald shook his head " No, we'll decide everything now or never. I'm done putting up with your tyranny, son. I want to see my grandchild a year from now and with or without your consent, I'm gonna get you married. One call, and everything will come crashing down. You won't have a say in the matter anymore "
Donald continued, " And also, the company you worked so hard for will be taken away from you in a blink of an eye. So what will it be? Should we do it the calm, mature way or the other way around? You still have a chance to decide "
Diana decided it was time to butt in " It'd be wise of you to think things through, son. Please make a wise decision for your sake "
Liam closed his eyes briefly, slowly he sank into his seat and popped his head on his hands as he thought of what to do. That's the highest point he could argue with his father. He knew his father was just as stubborn as he was and was going to carry on with his threat.
Now that they thought Carla was his girlfriend, they obviously expected him to propose to her as it was the right thing to do. But little did they know everything was fake. What was he going to do now?
He looked over to Carla but she looked away, he could read it in her eyes that she had no idea what he should do at that point. His eyes widened slightly as he thought of a solution but he knew Carla would be annoyed with this, he would just have to apologize to her later and talked about the turn out of events.
Sighing, he looked at his father " Carla and I have decided to get married, just thought it would be okay to let you know now that the issue of marriage is up "
Both Carla and Diana looked shocked while Donald looked unfazed.
" Good choice " He muttered and took his seat too.
" What?! " Diana exclaimed and pulled Carla into a tight hug in happiness.
Carla looked dumbfounded by the whole thing and hoped Liam would look her way. He finally did and she looked at him with questions written all over her face.
" What's all this?! " She mouthed when Donald was not looking their way.
He gave her a smile of apology and mouthed " We'll talk about this later, just play along with me for now, please " He said with a pleading expression.
" You better have a good reason for putting me in your shit " She mouthed back and glared at him.
Liam sighed, he knew he was in deep trouble with Carla later but there was no other way he could get out of his father's clutches without the damn marriage he had been talking about.
Diana drew back from the hug and Carla saw tears slipped down her cheeks freely.
" Why are you crying? " Carla asked softly.
Diana sniffed and blinked back more tears " You don't know how happy I am with this news. I've been waiting for this for a lifetime, thank you so much, Carla " She drew her into a hug again.
" It doesn't matter how long you've known each other, I don't even care anymore. You just made the best decision " She added.
Carla had been tempted to let out everything, to reveal that they were not real couple and it was all fake. But seeing the woman this happy had cleared away thoughts like that. She couldn't shatter the woman's happiness and she already had a soft spot for Diana.