True Fated Marriage (Grace and Heinz)
Chapter 1760

When Liam heard that, he frowned at Ernest and said, "Ernest, it's wrong of you to ask me such a question. Do you really think that Leah would tell me something like that? Even though I'm close with Maria, do you think that Leah would complain about her troubles with you to me?"

Ernest was stunned by that. There was a touch of guilt and apology in his eyes.

Eventually, his expression relaxed a little.

"You're right. I shouldn't have accused Leah like that. She's not that kind of girl."

"Indeed. Moreover, it's very easy to tell when something has gotten between the two of you. I could tell with a glance. When you came out this morning, you didn't even say hello to the poor girl. Maria and I are not blind. Of course we realized that something was off."

"Maria asked about it, but Leah didn't say a word, so I came out to ask what happened. The girl flew thousands of miles here for you, you know? I think it's clear how deeply she feels about you. You should think about it."

Liam did his best to advise Ernest.

Ernest lowered his head and did not say a word.

"Ernest, no matter what, Leah sacrificed so much to fly all the way here for you. I think it took her an extraordinary amount of courage to do so. You shouldn't argue with her and hurt her feelings. The girl needs to maintain her dignity too."

Ernest turned to look at Liam. After a long while, he asked, "Liam, how did you and Maria deal with your secret feelings for Celeste?"

These words stunned Liam. His body stiffened and his handsome face tensed up. After a long pause, he finally answered, "It was a long time ago. Why would you suddenly bring this up? Celeste is your brother's girlfriend. Besides, I did have feelings for Celeste in the past, but I didn't act on them at all. As such, it seems like it doesn't really matter because we've never really been together."

"You're right. But aren't I in the same boat as well?" Ernest smiled bitterly.

"You've lived under the same roof with Celeste for several years," Liam replied.

Startled, Ernest looked at Liam and sighed, "Maria was with us too, alright? We were all just friends. I've always thought of Celeste as my younger sister."

There was no need for him to be obsessed over a relationship that was impossible.

He was only angry because Leah did not trust him.

"Well, we've all been there, haven't we? We didn't end up pursuing our feelings for Celeste, so technically, we haven't done anything wrong. But it's a fact that we used to like her, isn't it? We just knew that it was hopeless to pursue anything with her," Liam could only sigh bitterly.

"You're right, but I've never tried to deny that fact. I just want to know how you communicated that to Maria. After all, it's a well-known fact that you used to like Celeste."

When Liam heard that, he couldn't help but interject, "Weren't you in love with Celeste as well? It's no longer a secret anymore."

"Alright, fine. We both liked Celeste in the past. It's not a secret. So, let's just get straight to the point. Can you tell me if you still have any feelings for Celeste? If Maria asks you that, how would you answer?" Ernest asked Liam.

Liam frowned.

He suddenly realized that perhaps Ernest and Leah's fight had been about Celeste.

Could it be that Leah asked Ernest about Celeste after realizing that Ernest used to have feelings for Celeste? Maybe they fought about it afterwards.

He couldn't help himself from getting caught off guard by the question. It was a very difficult one to answer.

Liam didn't want to deny his past feelings.

"Ernest, I'll admit that I used to like Celeste very much, so much that it physically hurt me to see her with another man," Just as Liam said those words, Maria and Leah arrived at the door.

The two of them overheard the conversation at once.

Almost immediately, Maria turned pale. She looked as if she were in pain.

Her heart tightened in her chest.

Leah looked at her out of concern.

However, Maria held Leah back and motioned for her to stay quiet.

Leah nodded.

The two girls did not speak. They stood at the door together and listened into Ernest and Liam's conversation.

"Ernest, you've had a secret crush on Celeste too, so you must have known how I felt at that time," Liam said with a bitter smile. "I suffered through it for more than three years. I couldn't even remember Maria's name back then, let alone her surname. I was so out of it at that time because I had been consumed with my secret love for Celeste. I had no interest in everything."

"Furthermore, Uncle Heinz and Aunt Smith brought Celeste here, so I couldn't see her at all. I got even more upset after that."

When Ernest heard what Liam had to say, he also chuckled bitterly, "Isn't it better to not be able to see her? Even if you did get to see her all the time, you can't guarantee that you'd feel better." "Are you speaking from experience?" Liam smirked.

Ernest only smiled back.

He didn't refute, so it seemed that Liam was right.

Liam sighed, "I can't deny that I used to like Celeste very much. I fantasized about being together with her as a couple."

"You're being really frank. Well, much like you, I felt the same for Celeste," Ernest confessed.

It was an irrefutable truth.

However, the two men did not know that their conversation was hurting the feelings of the two girls standing at the door.

Maria and Leah's faces had turned ashen.

"However, after I knew that Celeste and Gary were together, I let my feelings go. I decided to be in a relationship with Maria in the end. Right now, all my love and attention is on Maria alone. I don't want to disappoint her."

"Liam, how can you be sure that your love for Maria is sincere? Is your love for Maria the same as your love for Celeste was before? Are you sure that you really like Maria?" Ernest asked again. Liam fell quiet.

He didn't answer for a long while.

Instead of answering, Liam eventually asked Ernest, "What about you? Are you sure that you really like Leah?"

Ernest did not reply/

The two men returned each other's solemn gazes.

Eventually, they started to laugh, looking both enlightened and helpless.

At the door, Maria held Leah's hand tightly and pulled her away.

She could not bear to listen to their conversation any longer.

Leah felt the same. When she heard what was being said, her heart started to ache. She was about to go crazy from the pain.

Eventually, Maria managed to drag her away from the door.

After they finished laughing, Liam finally said,

"Ernest, your feelings towards Celeste should stay in the past. We don't need to talk about her anymore. If you've fought with Leah because of Celeste, I think you should sit down and talk it out with her. Tell her that it's a thing of the past."

Ernest paused a little before he answered, "I used to like Celeste, but just like you, I really do think that I've gotten past it already. But when Leah mentioned her to me before, I got angry at her. She didn't trust me, and didn't seem to believe that my feelings for her are genuine."

"Maybe she was just feeling insecure. Everything will be fine once you've explained yourself," Liam said with a smile, "I think we're doing good now. Leah's a talented girl with a cheerful personality. To be honest, I think both Maria and Leah's personalities are much better than Celeste's."

When Ernest heard this, he could only chuckle, "I agree."

"So there's no point wallowing in the past anymore, is there?" Liam asked.

Ernest smiled, "Alright, let's head back."

"You don't want to exercise anymore?" Liam teased.

"I'm done for now. It's been a long day. I'm going to go look for Leah now," Ernest laughed.

"Alright, let's head back. I have to go back to

Northern City tomorrow. After I leave London, please take good care of Maria," Liam made a request.

"Don't worry, she's my cousin. I'll take good care of her," Ernest agreed heartily.

"Let's go," With that, Liam and Ernest walked out together.

When they went back to the living room, they didn't see Leah and Maria. As such, they went back to their respective rooms to look for them, but they weren't there as well. Ernest went to the guest room to look for Leah, but he was surprised to replace that she wasn't there.

He started to get a little flustered.

After that, he went downstairs.

When he arrived downstairs, Pedro happened to walk through the door. Ernest hurriedly asked, "Mr. Butler, where did Leah and Maria go?"

"Young Master Ernest, Miss Leah and Miss Maria went for a drive. They told me to not wait for them today. They're going out for a spin and will come back later."