Chapter Ninety Three

Chapter Ninety Three
Gabriel
“Let’s not do this tonight,” I muttered, shaking my head. “It's Dad’s birthday.”

“I just wanted to say... congratulations,” Giancarlo said.

“For what?” My voice carried suspicion.

“You thawed the heart of the ice princess,” he grinned, “and you finally managed to convince Lucille to sign the divorce papers as well. Two birds with one stone.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?”

He lifted his hands in mock surrender. “You’re my big bro. There’s no way I could insult you.” His smile only widened. “Does this mean she’ll become my sister-in-law soon?”

“Would that be a problem for you?” My tone hardened. He was pushing, probing, like a little brother who didn’t know when to shut up. But something about the smug tilt of his grin told me he had more ammunition ready to fire.

“I was just...” he hesitated, then shrugged. “I overheard Gabi telling Mom last month that her husband said Arian would never be able to give you a child... even if the two of you got married. Is that true?”

The audacity. He didn’t even flinch as he dropped the bomb, as if he hadn’t just shoved a knife between my ribs.

“Do you know what I feel like doing right now?” I asked, my voice low.

“You want to punch me,” he stated, still grinning. “If you punch me, then it’s true. If you don’t... I’d take it that Gabi made it all up so that Mom could disapprove of your relationship with Arian. Which is it?”

Before I could answer—or knock the grin off his face—the subject of our discussion appeared. Gabi walked up the stairs, turned the corner, and froze when she saw us. Her gaze flicked from me to Giancarlo, but she thankfully didn’t linger on me. If she had seen the fury burning in my eyes, I wasn’t sure she’d have been able to bear it.

“What’s going on here?” she asked cautiously.

“I was just telling big bro about you, big sis.” Giancarlo slung an arm around her waist, the gesture so smug it made me want to rip his head off. “Didn’t you tell Mom that big bro’s girlfriend would never be able to give him a child? You also said that if they did get married... the marriage might not last very long. That’s why Mom and Dad gave their blessings, yeah?”

Gabi stiffened beside him, her eyes sliding to mine, panic flooding them. She didn’t deny it. She didn’t even try. That was when the truth hit me like a brick to the chest—Mom’s blessing hadn’t been genuine. She had simply weighed the pros and cons, decided I wasn’t worth losing over something so “insignificant,” and handed me her shallow consent.

“Gabriel... I—”

“You were even worse than Lucille,” I snarled, my brows furrowing so tight my head ached. “I can’t believe my own twin sister can be this selfish and callous.”

“Gabriel...” Her jaw dropped, shocked at my words.

“You are dead to me.” My finger pointed at her like a blade. “Don’t you ever call me, visit me, or think you still have a twin brother.”

“What’s going on here?” Mom and Dad appeared, with Aurora, Uncle Carlos, and Aunt Layla trailing them.

“Did you just disown your sister, Gabriel?” Mom asked, horrified.

“You as well,” I snapped. “I didn’t want to be a part of this family anymore.”

The words scorched my throat as I stormed back into Kary’s bedroom. My sweet girl was fast asleep, but I lifted her into my arms none too gently, and she stirred awake, blinking up at me.

“Daddy? What’s wrong?” she mumbled.

“We are going home, sweetheart.” I pressed a kiss to her temple as I carried her out. “Goodnight.” I brushed past them all, ignoring Dad’s call to stop, and barreled down the stairs.

I didn’t stop until I was outside, striding across the driveway with Kary clinging to me. I settled her in the backseat, fastened her belt, and shut the door. As I rounded the hood to climb into the driver’s seat, Uncle Carlos appeared and held the door.

“Let’s talk about this amicably, nipote,” he pleaded. “Please.”

Damn it. Anyone else, I would have ignored. But not him. Never him. He was the closest thing to a second father I’d ever had.

I got out, jaw tight. “Thirty minutes.”

“Fine.” He nodded.

I circled the car and tapped on the passenger window. It rolled down and Arian leaned toward me. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” I whispered.

“It’s fine. Take your time. I’ll stay here and watch over Kary,” she assured me.

I nodded, squeezed her hand gently, and turned back. If I was staying, it damn well better be worth it.

Inside, the whole family was gathered in the living room. Simon was consoling Gabi, who sobbed into his chest, but I looked away. Her pain didn’t move me. She had crafted it herself.

“Will you calmly tell us what we’ve done this time?” Dad asked. “I thought we’d put this matter to rest.”

“I thought so too, Dad,” I spat. “But that was until your precious son Giancarlo called my attention to the fact your consent wasn’t genuine.”

“Of course it was!” Mom looked appalled.

“He also told me Gabi told you Arian wouldn’t be able to give me a child, which prompted you to give in to me.” My voice was sharp as glass. “Even without you making comments about her infertility, she’d have been burdened by it and wouldn’t have seen the need to remain married to me.”

I turned on Simon, my former best friend. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret. I told you that in confidence.”

“I don’t keep anything from her,” Simon defended. “We tell each other everything.”

“You couldn’t have kept this one secret for me?” I growled. “How about I tell her the one secret I knew you’d never dare to share?”

“I said I don’t have any hidden secrets.” He frowned.

“Don’t you?” I arched a brow. “Remember Hector Michaels? The boy my sister had a crush on? You didn’t like him, so you set him up on Valentine’s Day with Emmanuella Ambrose. You knew he was going to confess to Gabi, and she had already told you she planned to ask him to be her boyfriend. You paid Ella to break them apart because you wanted her for yourself.”

The sobs cut off immediately. Gabi’s head snapped up. “Is this true?”

“You were the shoulder she cried on,” I pressed, “and I beat up that poor guy for breaking her heart. You got the girl. I was happy for you both. And when it was my turn to ask for support, I thought you’d have my back. But instead, you stabbed me with betrayal.”

“Is he telling the truth, Simon?” Gabi’s teeth clenched.

Simon dropped his gaze. “Yes. I was jealous and immature. I couldn’t stand seeing the two of you together.”

“Thank goodness I asked forgiveness from Hector before he died,” I muttered. “I’d never have forgiven myself otherwise.”

“Hector is dead?” Gabi rasped. “I saw him this year.”

“He died this June. A day before his birthday,” I replied. “Car accident.”

Her brows furrowed. “I saw him in June. His birthday was in June. He was standing in the road, with cars passing through him, but none touched him. He waved at me with a sad smile. Someone called my name, and when I turned back, he was gone.”

“He told me to tell you he was sorry for breaking your heart,” I said quietly, “and that you were the only woman he’d ever loved.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she sobbed.

“I wanted to,” I admitted. “But I didn’t. And I’m glad I didn’t.”

“Let go of your anger toward your sister, Gabriel,” Zia Layla pleaded. “You both share an unbreakable bond. You need to sort it out.”

“That is the problem, Zia. I already tried, but she refuses to see it from my point of view.” I looked at my watch. “I don’t give a damn what she thinks anymore.”

I leveled my gaze at Mom and Dad. “I’ll take your word for it that you’ve accepted Arian.”

“What choice do we have,” Dad muttered, “when you love her so much you’d disown your family for her?”

“Goodnight then.” I rose. “Buona notte, Zia Layla. Zio Carlos.”

I didn’t wait for them to speak. I strode out, slammed the door, and slid into the car. Arian stirred as I buckled in and pressed the ignition.

“I’m sorry I took so long,” I whispered.

“It’s okay. Is everything sorted out now?” she asked.

“I’d like to think so.” I kissed her knuckles before dropping her hand in my lap, put the car in drive, and honked for the guard to open the gates.

As the compound shrank in the rearview mirror, I thought grimly, let’s see Simon try to wriggle out of the twelve-year-old mess I’d just put him in. He wasn’t the only one with a big mouth anymore.