Chapter 36 - Bright Light

Valerie picked her sister up from the airport, borrowing Gabriel's car to take her around town. When Gabriel wasn't on the move he insisted she used his car instead. He mentioned it reassuring him about her safety. If it gave him one less thing to worry about Valerie didn't have to think twice about it. So she agreed using the car as if it was a luxury she could afford. Valerie stepped out of the car and leaned against it, waiting patiently for her sister to join her. When Rachel stepped out of the airport and headed straight for her Valerie could tell her sister had been stressing over her relationship with Ethan. Rachel didn't look like her usual put together self. She looked lost, someone living inside their head because they had a lot going on. Valerie didn't like seeing her sister like that. Rachel was supposed to have things figured out, she was the planner and plotter. Always knowing what to do or what to say. The confusion between Ethan and her was taking its toll on her. They'd sort it out though, Valerie was determined to help the couple out. Ethan and Rachel always supported her relationship with Gabriel. It was without a doubt her turn to support them.

"Ethan keeps texting me, thought he was a busy man."

Valerie sighed, "He is, I guess you really are important to him."

Rachel rolled her eyes at that, "Yeah, I'm glad that I mean something to him. But the question is do I really mean something to him or is he trying to get back what he had with Tiffany?"

Valerie didn't know how to respond to that, because she actually didn't have a clue as to what Ethan was actually feeling concerning her sister. The way he talked about Rachel made her assume the man was falling in love with Rachel, but this obsessive behavior hinted to something else. She hoped it wasn't true that he was replacing Tiffany with her sister. No one deserved to be a substitute.

"We'll figure it out." Valerie promised her sister, "If you're not opposed to it I'd like to talk to Gabriel about this situation."

"Yeah, I'm not opposed to it." Rachel quickly told her, "I mean, Gabriel is actually more reliable than I thought. He is very loyal, isn't he?"

"He hides the gentle person that he is with sarcasm and sharp words." Valerie explained, "A lot of people get offended by it and steer clear from him. They never get the chance to meet the most gentle and loyal guy ever."

"I see that now." Rachel reached for her iced late and sipped it, "You should marry that guy."

Valerie knitted her eyebrows together, "I am marrying that guy, you forgot?"

Rachel brushed her off, "It's easy to forget since you're signing a piece of paper and having dinner afterwards. It's like your regular Tuesday."

It was another not so subtle way of Rachel letting her know she didn't approve of the choice Valerie made. Valerie wouldn't change her mind though, she was looking forward to it. It was quiet, no one making a fuss and afterwards they'd have amazing food to fill their bellies. The fact that it could be a regular Tuesday was what he liked about the whole idea.

"Yeah." Valerie grinned, "I love it."

Rachel inhaled deeply, clearly still not impressed by her, "I guess if it makes you that happy we should let this whole boring wedding thing go."

Valerie snorted, "YOU should let it go."

Sharing a smile they discussed the dress options which would match Gabriel's suit while the driver took them to her apartment. Gabriel would stay at his apartment, giving them some space today. They'd fall back into their routine after Rachel felt a little better. She texted Gabriel to let him know what his mission was to fix the tense situation between Ethan and Rachel.

***

Valerie was seated on her couch, eating spicy pumpkin soup together with her sister when Gabriel suddenly walked in, a determined look on his face as he took a seat beside her. She shot him a questioning look, not quite sure what Gabriel wanted from her. He reached into his jacket inner pocket and held his phone in front of her, giving it a shake to make a point. She didn't understand what he was trying to say by shaking his phone at her though.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Gabriel demanded to know.

"What?"

Reaching for his phone she was even more confused when he pulled away and then focused on his phone, scrolling down and then showing her his phone again. She then realized what he was referring to.

"This cryptic message which caused me anxiety for the rest of my day." He then read the text out loud, "Question Ethan about his relationship. It's important." Gabriel trailed his eyes to Rachel, "Is something going on? Are you okay?"

Rachel snorted, "I'm fine, my dear sister should have known that it would confuse you by sending such a weird message. I'm sorry."

Valerie wasn't having any of it though, "She's not sorry, Ethan is acting extremely weird in their relationship. Like obsessive weird. Asking to move in together when they just started dating kind of weird." She noticed Gabriel connected the dots without needing the exact words from her, "I need you to reach out to him, having a guy's night out or in, whatever and figure out if he's falling back into his old habits."

"Even if he is it should be on Rachel to change that." He shared a look with her sister, "You should talk to him about how you're feeling, actually talk to him. Ethan is a reasonable guy, a gentle soul. You don't have to worry about your relationship ending just because you were honest with him. If anything he'd appreciate it even more than asking me to interfere."

He had a point, Valerie was well aware he made a damn good point here. Ethan had been lied to by the woman who he thought he'd spend the rest of his life with. His relationship with her had been based on lies. He didn't need that from Rachel. He'd appreciate her more if she was honest with him from the very beginning even if she knew he wouldn't like hearing what she had to say.

"Gabriel is right, you should go talk to Ethan." Valerie also shifted her gaze to her sister, "It might not be a pleasant conversation, but having everything out in the open will do you both some good."

Gabriel wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, tossing his phone upon the coffee table. She tried to balance her bowl of soup in one hand while she glared at her fiancé for suddenly pulling her in like that. Someone could have gotten hurt, her soup was still fairly hot.

Gabriel ignored her glare, his attention still on Valerie, "My car is waiting for me, why don't you take it to see Ethan?"

Rachel hesitated, probably encouraging herself to face her fears. Rachel shared her fears with her, her sister didn't want to mess up the relationship she had with Ethan. Despite all her insecurities Rachel genuinely loved Ethan. It was that love which made it hard for her to share with him her honest feelings. Gabriel somehow managed to convince her though, because Rachel got to her feet and smiled at them, that smile softening up her face.

"I'll do that." That soft smile turned devilish letting them know the plans she had for tonight, "Don't wait up for me. Better yet, why don't you stay over and keep her company instead?" She gave a subtle nod to Gabriel, "Well, I should get going. I'll fill you in tomorrow."

Valerie watched her sister collect her things and rush out of the apartment. She needed to wrap her head around what just happened. Her eyes widened when she felt the bowl of soup slip through her fingers, glancing aside she sighed in relief as she watched Gabriel sipping from it. The gleam in his eyes told her he liked it.

"Yeah, of course. Just help yourself."

He innocently smiled at her, not looking like he'd give her back her pumpkin soup, "This is great."

Valerie leaned into him, raising an eyebrow at him when he didn't feed her a spoonful of spicy goodness, "Seriously?" She asked, "That's unlike you Gabriel Starr."

"Why do I always have to be the adult?" Gabriel asked her, "Whenever Ethan and you are around me I feel like I need to take the role of a stern parent to keep you both on track. It's really tiring, you know. My best guy and my best girl always challenging each other like that." The darkening of his eyes causing her to put her guard up, "Not to mention my best girl sometimes having sexual fantasies which involves my best guy." He let out an exaggerated sigh, "The things I have to deal with."

She moved away from him, "Oh, it's so tiring." She got to her feet, "Is this about you trying to hide getting cold feet? I'm sorry, Gabriel, but you gave me your word." She raised her hand and showed him the ring which he gave her without her knowledge, "You can't act possessive one minute and reluctant the next."

"I'm not getting cold feet." He kicked his shoes off and got comfortable on the couch, "You know very well I was only teasing you. It had the opposite effect, so I'm sorry for making horrible jokes like that." His eyes gestured to the empty spot beside him, "Please sit down again, I'll even share this with you."

She pressed her lips together to hide a smile, "It's mine, I'm sharing it with you, you know."

"What yours is mine."

Laughing she snuggled into his side and got more comfortable, "Thought you'd stop with the horrible jokes." Her smile widened when he fed her a spoonful of pumpkin soup.

They snuggled on the couch, drinking the soup which she prepared together with Rachel to get their minds of things while also sharing some wine. It was comfortable and warm, she was glad he came over and decided to stay. It made the tiring day she had listening to Rachel's fears and giving her advice without being subjective a lot better.

***

Two weeks later Valerie was getting ready for her big, important day as most people described it. To her it was just another Friday. Rachel kept referring to her impending marriage like that and she loved it. Valerie attended a meeting in the morning, got a few things done and then went home to get dressed in her white off the shoulder dress. It was made out of lace, mid-length and matched Gabriel's suit. He was also getting ready, they were signing the license first together with their witnesses and would then join their family and friends at a restaurant of Gabriel's choosing. Their witnesses were seated in the living room, needing privacy because apparently they were going through their honeymoon phase. Valerie rolled her eyes at the thought. It was great things were better between Ethan and Rachel, but she wished they kept it behind closed doors. She didn't need a visual image of her sister enjoying her intimate time with Ethan. If she had weird dreams at night again Gabriel would never let her live through it. Forever she'd get teased by her soon-to-be-husband. Not a thought to look forward to so she tried to make an effort to avoid awkward situations which involved Ethan and Rachel.

"Someone getting cold feet?"

She glanced over her shoulder, "No, just trying to forget about this horrible phase Ethan and Rachel are going through."

Gabriel wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a soft kiss to her temple, "Me too." The displeased noise which followed causing her to laugh.

"We're the ones getting married yet they're living it up." Valerie turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in to kiss him, yet stopped leaning in when loud knocking caused both of them to tense up.

Gabriel pulled away from her and strolled to the door, opening it to reveal Ethan and Rachel, looking as impatient as ever. Valerie moved away from the mirror and joined them.

"The lawyer is here." Rachel told them, then lowering her voice, "And he's hot."

"Great." Ethan muttered, "We always wanted to know how hot our lawyer is." Ethan shifted his attention to Gabriel, "You ready Gabe? The family arrived at the restaurant already. We shouldn't keep them waiting. I'm not sure if it's okay to leave Amanda and Alexia alone together."

Rachel bit her lip, "Well opposites attract, right?"

"Let's not test that theory and get this over with." Gabriel told them, walking right through the couple to join the lawyer in the living room.

Valerie enjoyed the surprised looks on the faces of Ethan and her sister. It was like getting back at them without actually doing something which would be either awkward or hurting. She guessed it was why Gabriel decided to push forward like that. Hiding her smile she also pushed right through them and joined her soon-to-be-husband to sign the license.

"We need the witnesses in this room." Gabriel called.

Valerie couldn't hide her smile anymore and watched as Ethan and Rachel joined them. Signing the license and officially being a married couple happened within five minutes. It was over and done with faster than Rachel could make a sarcastic remark about it being boring. They managed to surprise Ethan and Rachel even more by exchanging rings. Ethan and Rachel didn't expect that, because it had been a secret they had kept from everyone. Gabriel wanted rings to make a statement and she didn't reject the idea. Her now husband liked showing the world she belonged to him and she wanted to do the same. She wanted the world to know that Gabriel Starrs' Heart belonged to her.

"You're really claiming Valerie, aren't you?" Ethan asked, a chuckle following.

Valerie smiled at him, "Well, I like to be claimed by the man I'm spending the rest of my life with." She trailed her eyes to Gabriel, "Hopefully."

"That's not ominous at all, Valerie." Rachel sighed, "You're the least romantic person I know." Rachel stepped forward and grabbed her hand in hers, observing the engagement ring which now had a matching wedding band, "At least your husband has great taste."

"Speaking of Gabriel's great taste in all refined things in life, we should move this to the restaurant." Ethan reminded them.

Not wanting to keep their family and friends waiting, they took the elevator down to the awaiting car. Ethan and Rachel were considerate enough to take their own vehicle to the restaurant. His car was parked across the street, so they were saying goodbye for now.

"After you Mrs. Starr." Gabriel told her, holding the door open so she could climb in first.

Valerie wanted to climb in when she remembered needing to have a quick talk with Rachel about tonight. Ethan had been rushing them the minute they arrived at the apartment to get dressed. She handed Gabriel her clutch and excused herself.

"I'll be right back, I just need to have a quick word with Rachel."

"Can't this wait till we're at the restaurant?"

"We won't have any privacy there." Valerie reminded him, she gave him a reassuring pat against the arm, "I'll be right back, promise."

She smiled at him and then crossed the street, a bright light catching her eye before a numbing ache washed over her. She blinked her eyes, trying to get rid of the blur. She tried to move her hand to rub her eyes, but her body wouldn't move. The squealing noise which filled her ears was hers she realized. Her breathing hurt and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and give into the extreme exhaustion she felt.

"Valerie!"

Someone screaming her name over and over again was heard in the distance. She couldn't register it though. Giving into exhaustion she closed her eyes, the pain finally fading.