Chapter 282 - Is She?
Gael knocked at the door to the room where Gabriella was staying in Nonna Flavia's house. It was left ajar, and when he heard her say "come in", he lightly pushed the door open and found her just coming out of the bathroom, patting a towel on her face. They had just finished their celebration downstairs, and it was nearly three in the morning. "Hey…"
"Hey…" she said back. "What's up?"
"Just checking up on you. How are you?"
Gabriella looked at him for a few seconds as if trying to figure out why he actually came here. She draped the towel on a hook and sat on the bed while he leaned against a dresser by the foot of the bed. She shrugged. "Thrilled for my wedding day. You think I should get a tan?"
The sarcasm in her voice was violent, causing his jaw to tick. "I'm sorry you had to find out that way."
"This is a big deal. I hate it when all of you keep things from me like I'm a baby. I'm freakin' twenty-three, for crying out loud!"
Gael pressed his lips together to stop himself from smiling. No matter how much Gabriella had grown, he still saw her as that snotty little girl when he first saw her. It took a while for him to be friends with everyone in Italy, but Gabriella was the kind of girl who'd force herself to be in your life even though he'd ignored her most of the time. She wiggled her way into his heart and planted herself there. It wasn't hard to love Gabby despite her being a brat at times.
Now she's telling him she's no longer a baby, and yet he didn't want to believe it. All everyone wanted was for her to be safe. The men in their family always looked out for her, and it would stay like that no matter how old she'd get. Not telling her about the order was part of them protecting her. She didn't have to know, especially because they didn't have plans on going through with it. So there was no point in making her anxious.
Pushing himself off the dresser, he sat next to her. "You're gonna get married one day, Gabby. But not like this. I promise you. You'll only get married to the person you love—whoever that may be."
"He's so certain, though. Like… He's so sure this marriage is going to happen."
He briefly glanced at her clenched fingers. She was fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "Who?"
"Mariano." Her brows drew together as if mentioning the name brought some memories.
Gael examined her face for a few beats as she stared at nothing in particular. "Have you met him before today?"
Gabriella swallowed, her fingers stopped moving, and she blinked a few times before looking up at him.
"Gabby?"
"Actually… I did meet him back when they took me after you got shot. They put me in a cell in a basement. He was there…"
His heartbeat raced a hundred miles per hour as he listened; his eyes were instantly menacing. "This is why the bastard wants to speed up the wedding? What a fûcking psycho! Did he touch you?"
She was so shocked by his outburst, her eyes widening as she grabbed his arm. "Calm down! Lower your voice. You're gonna wake up Nonna. No. He didn't touch me, okay? It's not like that."
"Then what the fûck happened?"
"He… He was in a cell next to mine," said Gabriella. She then described that there were three cells in the basement with steel bar dividers. There wasn't any furniture inside, so she had to sit on the floor and lean against the steel bar. Her hands were bound behind her, and she was blindfolded at first. She was tense as she recalled what happened, her eyes looking down before she paused and took a deep breath. She didn't want to say all the details. When she opened them again, she added, "Anyway, he was there."
This time, Gael was thoroughly confused. "Wait, what? He was in a cell? Are you sure it's him?"
"Yeah. I wasn't sure who he was back then. He didn't tell me his name was Mariano. I've only heard about that name but never knew his face. When I met him there, he told me his name was Miano… What a liar." She scoffed and folded her arms. "He was still there when I was released. I didn't even know he was a Morelli...because why would they put him there, right?"
"Right…" He racked his brains on possible reasons why they had put the next underboss in a cell but couldn't think of any.
"I met him again today. Then I found out who he really was and that I'm supposed to get married to him. It's just...weird."
Gael rubbed his forehead. He had to get out of here to get some sleep. His head was already pounding as it's almost twenty-four hours since he was awake. He nodded, checked his watch, and then got to his feet. "Go to sleep, Gabby. We'll have brunch with Grandma tomorrow."
…
Just as he reached the ground floor, he rounded the place and said goodbye to his relatives. His father was in the office alone, drinking when he checked in on him.
"Dad, I'm heading home," he said as he stepped inside.
Alessandro was slumped in an armchair with his top button undone, and he held a glass in one hand. He nodded as he set the glass on the table. "What time are we visiting your mother tomorrow?"
Gael's chest stung at the question. It's been so many years, but it was still depressing whenever he was reminded that his mother was no longer there. He gazed at the window, his back facing his father as he answered, "We can go at nine. Then head over to Grandma's for brunch."
"I miss her. Isabella." Alessandro sighed while pouring more scotch into his glass.
What could he say to that? Nothing. So Gael remained quiet. There was silence for a couple of minutes, and when he was about to turn to say goodbye, his father spoke again.
"Tell me about that woman in Esmea."
Gael knew his father would ask him soon about Angela. He was sure the other had already done some digging. There was no point in hiding it. "She has a name. Angela Su."
"I don't realize she had one. You never told me."
Gael rolled his eyes before closing them.
"Su, huh? From Su Corp?" asked Alessandro.
"Yes." Keeping his answer brief, he turned around and sat in an armchair. He was only half surprised that his father knew about Angela's family's business.
"Are they friends with the Chos?"
Gael nodded. Last year, Daniel, Samantha, and their kids visited Italy and met his father as he toured them around Rome. His father spoiled the kids during their visit, and the kids loved him. They even cried when they were leaving.
"Then they're good people," said his father.
Gael nodded again. "They are."
"Why haven't you told me about her? She's clearly important to you."
"Because they're good people."
Alessandro looked at him with an expressionless gaze. It was like looking in the mirror. His father didn't say anything and was clearly waiting for him to say more. So he relented.
Running his fingers through his hair, Gael huffed. "I didn't want to drag her into our mess. She… She wasn't supposed to be…"
"Serious?" his father punctuated his thoughts.
"Yeah. I didn't want to hurt her."
"And you did?"
Gael softly chuckled. "I still am." He shook his head and leaned against the backrest. "I knew I'd hurt her either way, and I went ahead and did it anyway." He told his father how he met Angela nearly four years ago, sparing him about the book, and that she knows about his family because of Nina being connected to the Morellis.
"She knew, and she still wants to be with you?" his father asked.
"Right now... I don't think so. We haven't been okay since she found out about the arranged marriage." Gael scrubbed his face and heard his father laugh. "I'm glad I'm amusing you," he muttered in total sarcasm.
"I'm sorry, son, but you have the shittiest luck with this woman—Angela."
"Gee, thanks." He was ready to leave. He got to his feet, and so did his father.
"I knew this was serious the moment you brought her here last week to meet your Nonna and grandmother." Alessandro walked with Gael towards the door and placed his arm around the other's shoulder. "But you're not acting like yourself."
"What are you talking about?" Gael cocked a brow.
"You've always been tenacious. When you wanted something, you'd take it no matter what was in the way. Has she brought you to your knees and made you weak?"
The thought of being on his knees in front of Angela only reminded Gael of their plane ride back to Esmea. 'Get your head out of the gutter, idiot,' he scolded himself.
When he didn't answer, his father added, "The way I see it, you're scared, and that's okay. Being scared only meant that she's worth it." And then he threw a million-dollar question. "Is she?"