Oldrich sat behind his large table, holding an open bottle of champagne and a half glass of wine. His gaze was fixed on the painting on the wall, but he was deep in thought.
The door to his study opened, and Louise walked in and sat in front of him with his left leg crossed over the right. Oldrich averted his gaze from the painting and fixed it on Louise.
"I do not think there is anything on my face that would cause you to stare at me that way. Unless you have become a seer," Louise said, staring at the drink in front of him. "And why are you drinking again, Grandfather?"
"The doctor said I was going to die anyway, so what is the point of being careful?" Oldrich snorted.
"Let me guess, I will be the cause of your death," Louise joked. He appeared at ease during the conversation because it was not the first time they had discussed this.
Whenever Oldrich wanted to start a conversation about his marriage, he always brought up his death first, and it has become a habit.
"You better pray I do not find you with a woman," Oldrich warned, leaving the rest of his words unsaid.
"What is it now?" Louise sighed, like a helpless father who had had enough of his son's tantrums.
Oldrich cleared his throat softly before he said: "I heard about this new doctor..."
"If you are talking about Sonya Aquila, I do not want to hear about it," Louise interrupted him half way with a blank expression.
"Why? Is she your ex? How did she offend you?" Oldrich scowled heavily.
"Gramps, I think Sianna is making progress; I do not mind waiting a little longer before she comes around. I already spoke with her doctor..."
'BAM.' The sound of the table was deafening, and it successfully interrupted whatever Louise was about to say. Louise looked at his grandfather, who was staring at him fiercely. He scratched his neck and looked to the door.
"progress! What a load of bullshit!" Oldrich exclaimed, irritation spreading across his face.
"If you do not want a doctor, fine, but why don't you want the girl to see Sianna? Do you think she has a shortage of suitors? She is Aquila's pride. Do you think she will go so low as to try to seduce you?" Oldrich was upset about Louise's adamancy.
Though many women had attempted to seduce and win Louise over through Sianna, he had developed a dislike and distrust of them, but he did not believe that this new doctor would be the same.
Which doctor would live as a hermit and have such a character? She dislikes attention and has never been filmed before. Whatever contribution she has in medicine or psychology has been made through Pearl's Hospital. He believed the girl was different.
His temper, which had flared, gradually subsided as Louise did not argue with him.
Louise only appeared bored with the topic. To avoid a headache, he agreed to do whatever he wanted. His hand reached for the glass, and he poured himself a drink.
The room was silent, but the two men did not mind. Most of the time, they sat in silence.
'Knock knock'. The sound of a knock on the door interrupted their private thoughts. Louise opened the door to find his daughter standing there.
She was clutching her sketchbook. Her hair had been braided into a pigtail. Louise picked her up and walked into the room.
"My adorable angel has arrived," Oldrich said, beaming. Louise let her down, and the little fella approached Oldrich.
"Did you draw anything else today? Let me see." Oldrich reached out his hand for her to give it to him. She handed it to Oldrich, who smiled and opened it.
However, when he saw the drawing, his expression became frozen. He pointed at a sketch. "Sianna, who is this?"
Sianna stared at the sketch but did not respond. Oldrich and Louise exchanged glances; the latter took the sketch, and when he saw it, he appeared confused.
Sianna enjoys the arts, specifically music, flowers, and painting. The majority of her drawings were of himself, Oldrich, her class and teacher, or flowers. However, today she drew someone else, and the woman in the painting appears to be quite beautiful.
"She is beautiful, just like you," Louise said, smiling.
"Yes, your painting is as good as ever," Oldrich praised.
Sianna took the painting and walked out of the room. As always, she was quiet and uninterested in conversation until she finished her work.
"Who could that be?" Oldrich asked, raising his eyebrows.
Louise shook his head, "I will call Mrs Ford to find out."
"Do it right now," Oldrich urged.
"It is late now, grandpa; she could be asleep," Louise reasoned.
"Do it now. I do not think I will sleep well unless I know what is going on," Oldrich insisted.
Louise pulled out his phone and dialed Mrs Ford. After several rings, the call was connected.
"Hello," the woman said, annoyed.
"I am sorry, ma'am, I should not have called, but something came up with Sianna; please understand," Louise apologized before explaining his reason for calling.
"All right, Mr Cole, what is wrong with Sianna?" Mrs Ford asked. Her sleepiness vanished, and she sat up.
"Has she met anyone in the past few days?"
"Ooh, I forgot!" Mrs. Ford palmed her face. "Mr Cole I apologize for forgetting to call and tell you about it."
Louise breathe hitched. Oldrich tensed, grabbing the phone from Louise and hissing, "What did you forget? Speak."
"What happened is Sonya Aquila visited the school and she spent some time with Sianna today," Mrs Ford responded.
The two men were stunned and stared at each other, shocked and surprised. "Really?" Oldrich asked.
"Yes. Sonya stated that she likes Sianna, and I believe she requested that Sianna draw a sketch of her. Mr Cole I am sure Sianna will improve with Sonya's help," Mrs Ford promised.
"Good! Good! Thank you very much," Oldrich said, laughing. He hung up the phone as his grandson stared at him suspiciously.
"You already arranged it without informing me," Louise accused.
"It is the work of fate, haha," Oldrich chuckled. "They had already met even before I invited her."
Louise rolled his eyes. His grandfather is insane. He had heard from Knorr that the girl was visiting special schools for children with disabilities. He was curious as to how she had obtained permission to enter Castile.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his grandfather say, "Sianna appears to like her; who knows, you might like her too, and if that happens," he wiggled his brow, "you can get married."
'He is losing it,' Louise thought. He sighed and rose to leave, saying, "Go to bed and rest your head. Stop having unreasonable and improper thoughts, and avoid drinking."
Oldrich watched his back until he left the room. "John!" He called. John entered the room, carrying his work tablet. His body tensed up suddenly because Oldrich was staring at him for no apparent reason.
"Have I done something wrong, sir?" He stuttered.
"I gave you a job last time and you went about blowing a trumpet about it. If I hear anything about this job I am giving you now, you will be a guinea pig for doctor Lime," Oldrich warned. His cold eyes terrified John. The latter nodded obediently.
"Louise wants to stay single forever, but I will not let that happen; learn everything you can about Sonya Aquila. I have a plan".
John's scalp became tinged, and he wept silently for Louise. Whatever the old man has planned is clearly not good for him. Louise had better enjoy his bachelor life because he was about to get married by force, he reasoned.
Oldrich vowed to get him married soon and he has seen the perfect bride.
Sonya sneezed twice in her room, causing her lips to twitch.
"It appears that people are already talking about you," Brenda said as she came to sit beside her sister.
"When did you come in?"
"Not long ago, you seemed preoccupied with your tablet."
"Yeah, there is this kid I met in Castile...
"Let me guess, you want to help her?" Brenda interrupted her.
"Yes."
"Sis, your welcome party is coming up soon, and you are seriously considering work," Brenda said, staring at her sister.
"What is there to get worked up about? It is just a party that will come and go," Sonya explained with a shake of her head. Her mom was slowly scumbling to the norms of society.
"It is a party where you can meet prospective mother-in-laws and find a nice family to marry," Brenda said, rolling her eyes.
"I have no such plans yet. I returned for the Pearls and our family."
"Who is this person anyway, is it a man?" Brenda took the tablet to find out what her sister was reading. "Autism-related symptoms. Is this a child?"
"Who else did you expect? Dirty mind." Sonya gave a light knock on her head and took the tablet back.
"Ooo," Brenda nodded. She was disappointed because she thought she had gotten something to start a gossip with. She observed her sister's expression shift between emotions and concluded that it must be serious.