"So, tell me, my dear, how did you end up being Miguel's wife?" Cane the old man's question.
Cecilia almost spilled the water she had in her mouth, Miguel and the others glanced at old man Gonzalez in unison as his question came unannounced.
"Dad?" Miguel said, trying to stand up for Cecilia who sat dumbfounded beside him.
"Shh, Miguel. Let her speak." The old man instructed and Miguel kept his mouth shut.
He exchanged glances with Cecilia, trying to make her understand that she was all alone. Cecilia felt betrayed and helpless.
"Now, speak up, my dear. How did you meet Miguel and how did you get married to him?" He asked again, using a clean napkin to wipe off the stains on his mouth.
Now that the old man was done eating, it was time to carry out some interrogations. He was waiting patiently for Cecilia to respond to him.
The latter kept on exchanging glances with the family members that were present as all of them stared at her, waiting for her to settle their curiosity.
"Well, sir Gonzalez all I have to say is that...master Miguel...I mean...sir...Miguel...is..." Cecilia shutters, cursing herself inwardly as she clenched her fist tightly, her thighs shaking.
Miguel's face flushed in embarrassment. He didn't blame her because he wasn't expecting this kind of question from his father. He wished his father liked Anna, that woman always knows what to say at every point in time.
"Why are you being persistent? You don't remember how you both met? And why would you address your husband formally?" Old man Gonzalez raised his brow, clasping his hand.
The hair was hushed with tension. Marco, on the other hand, pitied Cecilia as the latter looked pitiable. Julia knew what was going on already from the look on Cecilia's face.
Miguel placed his hand on Cecilia's thigh under the table. Cecilia was surprised but she kept her focus and mind intact before summoning the courage to face the old man's question.
Exhaling, she made up her mind to respond to his every question and so she did. "Sir Gonzalez, I and Miguel met on a cold evening when I was stranded and helpless..." She narrated her first meeting with the old man.
Everyone in the dining room listened to what she was saying, they were touched by how Miguel could help a stranger even with his cold demeanor. Miguel couldn't believe this lass could tell his father their embarrassing meeting and hoped she wouldn't tell him about their one-night stand.
"That was touching. I never knew my son had a soft spot for strangers." The old man fixed his gaze on Miguel who looked away.
"My dear, when was that?" Julia asked.
"When was what?" Miguel stormed. "Father is the one to do the interrogation and not you." He yelled, clenching his fist on the fork.
"Miguel, don't raise your voice at me. What's wrong in asking her?" Julia retorted.
Camellia just sat still, eating her food and continuously placing meatballs on her young daughter's plate. A smirk was plastered on her face as she pretended to be absentminded from the whole situation.
"That's enough, Julia. I'm the one doing the interrogations and not you." The old man spoke calmly, glaring at his first wife who kept her mouth shut and continued with her food.
'This family was something else!' Cecilia thought.
"Now, my dear. About your first meeting, when was it?" The old man asked.
Miguel had a deep frown on his face as he glared at his father without the old man noticing it.
Julia was all smiles as the old man considered her questions. She was after the well-being of her son and not about shaming him.
Cecilia didn't know what to say or how to answer the question, her meeting with Miguel was barely a week and she was already married to him, that's insane. The family members threw shades at her. Cecilia was scared and wished she would just disappear from their sight.
Nothing her hesitation, Miguel stood up, smashing his fist on the table. "That's enough. My meeting with her isn't a problem right now. We've already had sex and so what?"
"What?" Cecilia gasped. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
Miguel's as surprised at what he just blurted out. He snapped his finger in the air and immediately a man in a black tailored suit came in and handed over a file to Miguel.
"This is a proof of our marriage, a wedding certificate." He placed it in front of his dad who flipped through the pages of the documents.
"You sure, you didn't forge this?" The old man asked, gazing sternly at his son.
"I didn't. It was straight from the court and about your grandchild, we'll make sure you have one." Miguel said angrily before sitting.
Marco marveled at his brother's courage. He applauded Miguel but the latter glared at him which made him stop immediately. Miguel was on courageous and strong-headed being while he was the opposite. He can't even speak to his father eye to eye but Miguel could even raise his voice at both parents.
Old man Gonzalez sighed, he passed the marriage certificate to his first wife; Julia who also went through it.
Cecilia stood still, her mind reeling at the fact that everyone seated already knew about her sex life with Miguel. Miguel cursed himself for blurting out about them having sex.
"I'll have to put this into consideration but before any other thing, I must say, I already like her." The old man said. The family seated glanced at him in shock even Camellia was not exempted.
This was the first time the old man had said he liked someone as he was full of dislikes. Cecilia is one lucky person.
Miguel had a proud look on his face but Cecilia couldn't understand what was going on.
"Cecilia, right?" The old man asked, his gaze not leaving hers.
Cecilia nodded almost immediately.
The old man stood up. "Walk with me." He said before exiting the dining room.
After the old man left, all eyes were now fixed on Cecilia whose legs didn't stop trembling.