Chapter 43
Elen a
I entrust my heart to the second man in my life and the same thing happens again. I met a friend of theirs, they told me that I do not need to worry, and I should worry. I should have had the moment he told me those words.
In truth I trusted Gabriel because I had the hope that he is different from Ben. He broke his hand for the love of Christ because he decided to visit me in Rome, and what not the other time that I know none of.
I feel my blood boil as I hear the door unlock to his apartment, and I try to zip up my bag as fast as possible but just in the wrong moments, it is stuck.
“Elena?” I hear him call out my name, his steps getting louder as he gets closer to the bedroom where I am in stress packing my stuff that is in his apartment.
I prepare myself for his sweet lies as I hear the bedroom door open. He calls out my name in a soft tone this time but that soon changes when he sees my bag on the bed.
“What are you doing?” He asks me, standing next to me, a small hand on my back.
I take a long and deep breath to help myself keep my composure and not accidentally shout because that is the last thing I need to do. I turn my head to him. “Leaving. What else does it look like?”
“What’s going on?” I try not to soften towards him as he does sound worried. Not my problem.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” He taught me not to take shit from anyone and I am definitely not believing his lies.
“I don’t know, that is why I am asking.”
“How is Mio doing? Met up with her recently?”
I watch as his expression melts into one I do not recognise on him but it’s an expression that shows that he is guilty.
“You told me not to worry but then I end up finding you with her at the second apartment that you own because, oh wait you didn’t want to be caught. Very smart, Gabriel.” I continue to try to zip up my bag about giving up. I feel Gabriel’s warm hand wrap around my upper arm and he leans in closer.
“Let me explain.”
“What?” I snap. “That you are just like Ben but were playing the hero the whole time? Or maybe you want to apologise for being caught.”
I tried to keep my voice from cracking but that was nearly impossible and I stuttered on the last few words. I feel my eyes sting and I cannot any longer hold in me. I push his hand away from me and take a much-needed step back. “You told me not to worry about her, that she was the past and I might be your future but I see now how alike you and Ben are. Both of you are manipulative liars.” A hot tear slides down my cheeks and leaves a faint mark on my baby blue shirt I had on.
“Elena,” he stops me again as I try to walk away.
“No,” I stop in my steps and push his hand away before he can reach it. “It’s over. Get over it. I will keep my part of the deal and accompany you to the work event next Saturday as your fiancé but then the timeline for our deal is over. I returned my favor to you. That was our deal and I will meet its deadline.” My voice breaks as I say the words out loud and my heart breaks even worse. “Now will you please let me go home, I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better fiancé for you and that you had to go to someone else.”
“It’s not. Elena, let me explain.” He takes both of my hands in his but I keep my gaze averted as I let the tear stream down. I bite the inside of my cheek as I try to blink away the tears. This hurts.
Gabriel doing the same thing Ben did hurts ten times worse when I actually expected a future. “I don’t want to hear it. Please let me go, Gabriel. I have returned my favor to you and now we owe each other nothing. That is the way is it supposed to be.”
“Let me explain,” he repeats his words again, despair laces his voice. He places his warm hands on both sides of my face and turns my head towards his but I keep my eyes closed. I cannot bear to look at him.
“Is there an explanation to why I saw you with Mio?” I asked him and his silence was just the answer that I needed. “Exactly my point,” I walk away without another word with my packed bag that has everything in it of what I had left in his apartment.
***
With my luggage I arrive at my apartment, my eyes probably bloodshot red from the crying I did on the way here. Never in my life do I want to drive a car again when I am this damaged. I close the door to my apartment and lock it twice and in the blink of an eye I see an envelope at my foot.
It's from the hospital.
I rip open the envelope and I feel my hear sink into my stomach. My mother’s hospital increased for the private care. Fucking hell, are they expecting me to be millionaire or what?
I fold the paper back inside the envelope and place it on the shoe cabinet.
I hear footsteps walk around in my kitchen. He can’t be here. I took the short route here and the other one takes double the time. Unless he drove over red lights.
“Elena,” I hear Renee’s soft voice call out to me as she steps into the picture.
Trying not to break down in front of her, I keep my voice as steady as possible as I ask her what she is doing here.
“Gabriel called me. He thought you might need me.”
Of course he did. It surprises me that Renee falls for his deception.
“I was nearby wanting to hang out anyway but I thought we might be better off sitting on your couch and binge-watching Bridgerton. The new season came out.” she shows off the ice cream tub she had found in my fridge, hoping to cheer me up.
I let out a rather sad laugh. “I love it that you are here bit I just need to be alone.”
“Or maybe you need to hear him out.”
I scoff at how she is the delusional one to fall for his lies. She is the one who taught me not to take bullshit from a guy and now she is the one doing it. “Not you. I thought you were the last person to believe anything that comes out of a guy’s mouth.”
“I am, but Gabriel explained himself and I really do believe it was a misunderstanding.”
“It wasn’t,” I sniff and blink fast enough to keep the tears away. “I saw him.”
“Did you? Or did you see two exes talking?”
“Get out.” I do not need another person feeding me with lies. I trusted him, he betrayed that trust knowing how bad my last relationship was and now he is feeding lies to my best friend. “You are the last person whom I’d want to hear those words from. I don’t need them. I know what I saw and that was Gabriel hanging out with his ex.”
“Elena.”
“Don’t ‘ Elena’ me, please.”
She opens her mouth but closes it soon when she has nothing to say, but evidently she did. “I know that you have trust issues and they are making it impossible for you to trust anyone. I am just like you okay. But Gabriel is a good one. For God sake he is a Harvey and would rather lose his honour than you.”
“What does his family name have to do with anything?”
“After I broke up with Charles I tried to come up with so many lies to convince myself that he is a bad guy. Lies that you even believed and you believing them made me believe that he is a bad guy. But he isn’t and neither is Gabriel.”
“What has gotten you to soften up?”
“Stupidity if I am going to be honest.” I laugh at her answer, feeling better. Reneè always knows how to lighten the mood. “You do not have to talk to Gabriel now but let him explain himself.”
“I can’t,” my voice breaks at my own words. She tilts her head slightly, questioning my answer. “You are right I do have trust issues but also I am a kind of weird person. Ever since Ben and you peep talks about how men who betray us aren’t worth explaining themselves. Well, I do not have the strength to hear him talk because all I will think about is how much of a fucking arsehole he is.”
“Oh,” she says in a surprised tone.
“What?”
“You swore. Never heard that.”
“It’s becoming a habit.”
“Keep it up. You sound hot when you swear.”
“Weirdly enough you are not the first person to say that to me.”
“Ohh, who is?”
I hesitate for a short moment before I mumble. “Gabriel.”
“Oh,” she wooes in delight, walks up to me and throws an arm over my shoulders. I tilt my head at her vague answer. “What? I’m happy for you and you’re not-afraid-of-commitment-heart that I so wish I had.”
“Maybe try therapy. Has helped me.”
“Never. Are you trying to dive me more into debt?”
“Therapy is not that expensive.”
“Maybe, but do I look like someone who likes to talk about my problems to a complete stranger?” she asks me and before she lets me answer, she moves away. Standing in front of me she places her hands on her hips. “Nope, forget it.”
“Therapy is not that bad,” I try to reason with her. She exhales harshly and gives me a knowing look. “Okay fine I won’t bring it up again.”
“Thank you,” she gives me a warm smile, dancing like a child.
“But one day you will go there.”
“Elena!”