44. Chapter 44
Gabriel and I fell into a pattern, yet we both keenly felt Sophia”s absence. As days transitioned into weeks, Sophia remained quiet and reserved when she was with Gabriel on his weekends. I attempted to give them space, but recently, she began requesting my presence more frequently, prompting me to stay at Gabriel”s place more often.
He”d wanted to convert one of his guestrooms into a studio, but I resisted. I just felt like we were waiting for something to happen—and I had the sick feeling that it would mean the end of our relationship…again.
Gabriel was sad; as was his family. It broke my heart, and I kept thinking that maybe if I could just walk away then he could get Sophia back. This was no way to live.
”Iris, it”s her birthday, damn it,” I heard Gabriel in his office on the phone.
I stood outside, feeling his pain.
”Aurora is my girlfriend. Come on. It”s a birthday party, I can”t ask her to…you know, the hell with it. It”s my weekend the day after so…what? Iris, we discussed it, it”s my weekend.”
I heard him curse more and hang up. I waited for a beat and went into his office.
”She won”t let me see her for her birthday.”
”Yes, she will. You just have to go to her party without me, which is absolutely okay.” I kept a cheerful face like this didn”t matter. But it did. Iris knew what she was doing. With every such blow, she was hurting our relationship. Gabriel wouldn”t admit it, but we were struggling, and I couldn”t see the forever he”d been claiming a few months ago.
He put his hands on my shoulder and rested his forehead against mine. ”I don”t want to be there without you.”
”You have to be there for Sophia,” I cajoled. ”And it”s not like I”m going anywhere.”
”But it”s not fair to you.”
”It”s fair to Sophia, and that”s all that matters.”
”You”re too good for me, baby.”
I knew he thought he was giving me a compliment but what I heard was that I wasn”t right for him. The insecurities that I”d managed to banish were back in full force and I was waiting, expecting him to tell me he couldn”t keep doing this, staying away from his daughter.
Betsy, Atticus, and Rafe went to Sophia”s birthday party with Gabe while I went to my condo. The party was taking place at the pool that was shared by both houses and I didn”t want to be sitting in a corner, looking out at the festivities, feeling like the sad girl who I used to be, the one who was alone and had no friends.
The stress of what was happening with Gabriel was taking its toll on both of us. He was getting snappier and even though he apologized, I could feel the tension radiating from him.
He was soon going to start resenting me—and it broke my heart that I wanted it to happen sooner rather than later so it would get Sophia back to him quicker. Losing him would destroy me—but I was a tough bitch, I”d recover, I”d stand up straight again. I knew that. It wouldn”t be fun, but I”d get there.
”These are some seriously negative thoughts, Aurora,” Stella said to me when I confided in her as I was packing up at the end of the day.
Gabriel and I had dinner reservations, and I was seriously contemplating telling him that we were over.
”He”s so depressed. I can”t stand it.”
”Sophia is still not saying how Iris got her hooks into her?”
I shook my head.
”I”m just…I can”t bear his pain, Stella. If we weren”t together, Sophia would go back to him. Then, they can go back to their old setup. He”ll have his daughter.”
”He made his choice, Aurora.”
”Choosing me over his daughter is a dumb choice. I won”t allow it.”
Stella smiled then. ”That”s not what he did. And I have a feeling Gabe isn”t going to let you walk away. He loves you. He lost you once, and he”s not prepared to go through that again.”
”Well, my leaving him is not under his control.”
But as soon as I saw him in the restaurant and he pulled me into a hug and kissed me, I couldn”t say the words. I loved him. Maybe I should let him leave me, which he would when all of this becomes too much. That would be the easier way to do this, I decided like a coward.
”You”re so beautiful,” he murmured, kissing my knuckles as I sat down across from him. ”I can”t believe you”re here with me.”
Right! I couldn”t believe he wanted me for any reason.
”How is Sophia?” I asked.
”Good. She called last night, and we talked for nearly a half hour. She”s working on a project in school about historical buildings. She said she”d reach out to you about that.”
For the first time since Sophia had made her announcement, there wasn”t that horrible sadness in his tone.
”I”d love that. Maybe next time I go on a building tour with Bianca, Sophia can join,” I replied excited that I could, in some way, bring joy to his daughter.
”Every time I think I know how great you are, you give me more.”
There was love in his eyes and I was falling harder and harder every day. When he ended it, this was going to hurt a lot. I stored this expression of his in my memory files to bring out later, on lonely days when I wanted to feel loved.
”What”s going on behind those pretty eyes of yours?” he asked.
”What do you mean?” I looked away from him as if to peruse the menu.
”You just thought of something sad or bad.”
How am I supposed to defend myself from someone who can see through me so easily?
”It”s nothing. How are things in New York?” I changed the topic. I knew he was having some problems at the Fifth Avenue Rhodes Hotel, and he dove in, telling me how he was navigating the challenges.
As we ate, the mood between us lightened and became normal, like we”d been together for a hundred years and would continue to do so for another hundred.
”Coffee?” he chided when I ordered a double espresso after dinner.
”I have some work to get through,” I told him. ”I”ve been so busy with your hotel that I haven”t delivered a design change for Callum”s project.”
He scowled. ”I hate that you dated him.”
”I never dated him,” I soothed.
”You were at that ball with him. Why do you think I got so unhinged?”
I loved his jealousy when doled out in small portions. It was perverse, but it made me feel loved and cared for.
”Gabe,” a voice called out as a man came to our table.
Gabriel rose and shook hands and introduced me to his acquaintance. They talked for a minute before the man left. It happened often when we were out. People knew Gabriel, and he always introduced me as his girlfriend.
Before my espresso arrived, I excused myself and went to the ladies” room. I”d finished my business and was about to exit the stall when I heard the front door open and close, followed by the clatter of stilettos.
”Did you see Gabe Rhodes is with that slut of his?” one woman said.
My heart clenched.
”You know, it”s such a terrible thing. But he”s handsome and is richer than Midas so of course some woman like her wants to get with him,” another woman said.
A third woman spoke then, ”Poor, Iris. She”s going out of her mind with worry. And Sophia is devastated. You know, she said she wants to stay with Iris because Gabe is too smitten with trashy pussy to put his own daughter first.”
”How does Betsy Rhodes stand this?” scoffed one of the women.
”Apparently, Betsy is doing everything she can to get Gabe and Iris back together.”
”Yeah?”
”Well, it was Sophia”s fourteenth birthday party, and guess who was not invited?”
”The slut?” a woman chortled.
”I can”t believe he flaunts her like this in public. Usually, when one of our men is taking a ride on the wild side, they have the decency to do it with discretion.”
I”d had enough. I wasn”t going to hide. I stepped out of the stall and walked up to the sink.
The women made way for me. They weren”t embarrassed, they were smug. I realized then that the conversation they had was for my benefit. They knew I was in the stall.
”Some women just don”t know the value of family,” a blonde in a Coke red dress said as she checked her lipstick in the mirror.
I picked up a towel and wiped my hands.
”They think because they”re exotic they can have who they want,” another who was in a black dress said, looking straight at me.
Exotic? Was she talking about my skin color? I felt my face and ears go hot at that blatantly racist comment.
The third woman who I recognized as one of Iris”s friends. I”d seen her at the ball where Gabriel had lost his mind.
”Someone should let these women know they”re good for a while with whatever they have between their legs but that”s all they are. They can”t compete with class and sophistication.”
I walked out of the restroom, hearing the women chuckle. I knew it was just meanspirited nonsense that I should ignore, and I wanted to, but I felt tears prick my eyes.
”What”s wrong?” Gabriel immediately asked when he saw my face.
I shook my head, afraid that if I spoke, I”d have a breakdown.
My god, was this how people looked at me? As some brown floozy who”d ensnared a wealthy man with my pussy?
Gabriel put his hand on mine. ”Aurora,” he insisted firmly.
I looked at him, and he saw my eyes were watery and cursed.
”What the fuck happened?”
I shook my head. ”Just…some women who were talking about how I broke up your family. The usual.”
”The usual?” He raised both his eyebrows.
The women who”d been in the bathroom walked towards us, and he saw me stiffen.
”Gabe, how are you, honey?” the woman in the red dress said, holding her hand out.
”Ladies,” Gabe muttered and kept his hand on mine.
”Won”t you introduce us to your friend?” the woman in the black dress wanted to know.
I stared at Gabriel”s hand, aware that I was about to self-combust with embarrassment and shame.
”No.” Gabriel patted my hand and stood up. ”I hear that you made unflattering remarks about my fiancée, who you know of because you”re all Iris”s friends.”
The women were shocked, as were the people around us who could hear. Did he just say, fiancée? Okay, what did I miss while I was in the restroom?
”You”re engaged?” One of the women stuttered.
”Yes. Aurora Turner has agreed to be my wife. Now, feel free to spread that message around. And before you go down the marrying for money bullshit, Aurora is a career woman with a well-paying job, unlike all of you who”ve never worked a day in your lives. Now, if you excuse me, my fiancée and I would like to finish our dinner in peace.”
He sat down, and I looked at him, certain he was furious; instead, he was smiling.
”What was that?” I whispered.
”Something Betsy Rhodes would do,” he grinned. ”I should”ve done this years ago.”
”Done what?”
”Hit back and not worry all the time about what people will say when I do. And speaking of things I should”ve done, I know I dropped a bomb with the F word.”
I smiled weakly. ”I”m assuming you”re not talking about the word fuck?”
He laughed, and I could feel the eyes of many people on us. ”You make me so fucking happy, Aurora. Marry me.”
I stared at him. I thought he said that to put those women in their place.
”Excuse me?” I squeaked.
”I don”t have a ring. I”ll get you one, I promise. But who the fuck needs a ring when we have love and commitment and fucking joy. So, Aurora, will you marry me?”
”Yes.” The word slipped out of me before I could control it, before I could assess it. It was an answer from the heart.
He stood up with his scotch. ”Everyone, I”m so pleased to announce that this wonderful woman, Aurora Turner, today, agreed to marry me.”
Gabriel was not for public displays, but he was doing this to shut everyone up. To show everyone how much I meant to him.
The restaurant clapped. The servers immediately brought champagne to our table. People came by and said congratulations. All the while, Gabriel didn”t stop smiling, and neither did I.