9. Chapter 9
Luna agreed to come with me to Gabriel”s place.
”I don”t know why he”s making you schlepp his stuff around. He could”ve asked one of his many minions,” Luna complained as she drove her SUV toward The Landings, where Gabriel lived.
”I don”t know. Maybe he wants me to collect my things myself. It”s not much, just a few clothes that his housekeeper dry-cleaned and a pair of shoes, I think. I didn”t leave much there.”
”You mean after Sophia threw your stuff away?”
I winced. ”That poor kid is all kinds of messed up. She needs help.”
”She needs a kick in the ass.”
I shook my head. The way I had grown up as an outsider had instilled in me a lot of patience—and I didn”t judge. It was not my place. People had their own reasons, and I tried to be as understanding as I could. But I also had let Gabriel get away with saying things I wouldn”t normally allow. Sophia was one thing; she was a child, but Gabriel? I still couldn”t believe he”d said that I was selfish, which was why my parents had abandoned me. His words replayed in my head on a loop, and with each repetition, they inflicted a fresh wound.
Never again would I let anyone talk to me like that, no matter how much I loved them. I deserved better.
”You should”ve told him his kid was lying, Aurora.”
”And how would that help? If she was lying, it means the underlying problems are something they need to deal with as a family. And I don”t think Gabriel would have believed me.”
”That son of a bitch is in denial.” Luna changed lanes to the exit toward Gabriel”s house.
”He”s struggling with raising a teenager,” I defended him, ”but…regardless, he didn”t have to be cruel to me.”
Luna patted my hand. When I”d told her what Gabriel had said, she”d been ready to punch his lights out.
”I can”t believe you let him get away with that. You know, at work, you”re the Ice Maiden. Everyone knows they treat you with disrespect; you”ll freeze their balls off.”
”Love makes us do weird things. But, yeah, never again. He devastated me, Luna.” The pain was still pretty intense, and everything inside me hurt.
”I know, honey. He”s an asshole.”
”Then why do I still love him?” I sulked.
”It”ll pass,” she said, concern lacing her voice.
I took a deep breath after Luna parked in front of Gabriel”s place. I looked at the identical house next door and realized that our relationship didn”t have a chance. He was too involved with his ex-wife.
”Christ, his ex-wife lives so close?” Luna looked at my line of sight.
I nodded.
”Are the houses connected?”
”Through the garden. They walk in and out of each other”s homes all the time.”
”It”s like he”s still married, isn”t it?”
I shrugged. ”None of our beeswax. Let”s go get my stuff.”
I”d packed Gabriel”s things as neatly as I could. His suits were in a suit bag. His toiletries and shoes were in a box. Luna carried the suit bag, and I the box.
I used my code and thumbprint to get into the house. We walked into the living room, and I set the box down and looked around. ”Do you think he packed my stuff, or do I have to go look for it in his room?”
Luna rubbed my back.
I didn”t want to go into his bedroom that smelled like him, where we”d made love. This was so hard.
”You want me to—”
”No. I”m fine.” I took the suit bag from her. ”I”ll hang it. You bring the box?”
I walked upstairs quickly, wanting to get done with this. As soon as I stepped in, Sophia confronted me. My clothes were at her feet crumpled. What was up with this kid?
”Take your stuff and get lost,” she cried out.
She snatched the suit bag from me and threw it on the bed.
I closed my eyes and bent down to pick up my clothes. There were not that many, and I could hug them to me. I didn”t know where my shoes were, but it wasn”t worth it to look for them.
”I told you, if you didn”t leave my father, I”d make him leave you,” she said triumphantly.
”Sophia, is this how you want to be? Lying to your own father?”
She snorted. ”I”m doing it so we can be a family. You won”t understand. My father told me how your own parents didn”t want you.”
Direct hit! I almost stumbled when she said those words.
I smiled wanly. ”Take care of your father.”
”I don”t need you to tell me that,” she bit back.
I turned around and walked out. Luna had heard the whole thing because she”d left the box at Gabriel”s bedroom door. She put a hand on my arm and all but dragged me out of there. I felt tears prick my eyes when his ex-wife walked into Gabriel”s living room.
”Oh…Ariel, is it? My husband mentioned you”d be here to take your things. Hope you didn”t take anything that isn”t yours.”
Husband?
”Wow, Iris, that”s low even for you,” Luna said, and Iris noticed her for the first time. They came from the same social circles and knew each other.
”Luna,” Iris said politely.
”Christ, no wonder your kid is so fucked up,” Luna said.
I wasn”t listening. Iris was wearing the bracelet that Gabriel had bought for me, the one I”d asked him to take back. He”d given it to her. Well, it looked like Sophia had succeeded. Her parents were getting back together.
”Don”t talk about my daughter,” Iris snapped.
”Fuck you, bitch.” Luna pulled me out of Gabriel”s house. Threw my clothes in the backseat and, within seconds, got us the hell out of dodge.
I leaned my forehead against the SUV”s window and began to cry,.
Luna kept patting my back, making soothing sounds as I wept.
”Hey, you”re better off without him. His family is batshit crazy.”
I chuckled tearfully. ”They”re pretty mean, aren”t they?”
”You should meet Atticus and Betsy Rhodes, his parents. They”re fabulous people. Betsy works so hard for her charities. It”s not just throwing parties; she”s hands-on, and so is Atticus. I don”t know how Gabriel ended up with someone like Iris,” Luna explained. ”She”s nothing like the Rhodes. His brother is a darling.”
”I met Raphael.” I wiped my tears. ”He seemed nice.”
”He”s a sweetheart. And the thing is, so is Gabriel. But I don”t know what to say about his recent behavior. Having seen for myself how Sophia and Iris spoke to you, I”m relieved the relationship is over. You deserve so much better.”
She was right, I thought, and grabbed her hand and held it. ”I”ll never ever let love do this to me again. ”
”Oh, honey. True love, healthy love doesn”t do this.”
”I thought what we had was true.” But maybe not always healthy.
”Okay. It”s a Friday, so let”s go to your place, order pizza, open a bottle of wine, and get drunk while we watch Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
”Sounds good. But could we watch something else? Like…Narcos or Griselda?”
”Oh, yeah, I love that dark mafia romance shit.”