Hiding With Her Twin Babies
Chapter 52

Bernardo looks up when there is a knock on his door. He is busy, and the only one that he does not mind disturbing him is Mabel, but Mabel is not here. She visited her parents for the day, so he was irritated.

“Come in!” He shouts he has a stack of paperwork to do and does not have time for anyone disturbing him.

“Well, hello to you too, brother,” A female voice comes from the door. Bernardo looks up and sees his younger sister standing in the doorway. Well, his half-sister. His stepfather and mother had a daughter. He hated her and still does, as she was the one that lived in luxury while he was living on the streets. He knows she married rich one of the Dons in Italy. So what the f**k is she doing here? He had only seen her once or twice before, and she always was friendly to him. She used to go looking for him in the streets to bring him clothing and food, but he refused it as he saw her as his enemy and then she started sending him money. He knew it came from her because no one else would do it. So he took the money and saved it until he could get out of Sicily and come to the states. He owes her a lot, but she took his place in their mother’s life, and he can not forgive her for that.

“What are you doing here, Gabriella? Aren’t you married to Don Marino from Italy?” Bernardo asks.

“I will leave. I can see I am not welcome, and no, I am no longer together with him! Riccardo Marino can go to hell for all I care. You know my father and his father were at war for a long time,” Gabriella says.

“So you are divorced?” Bernardo asks.

“No, not yet, but I have filed for an annulment. I hardly saw my husband since the day we got married. You should know it was just an arranged marriage and that he hates me. He thinks my father killed the only woman he loved, and since the day we got married, he did not touch me, so I am getting the marriage annulled. But, that is my problem. I am glad to see you are doing good. I will leave now,” Gabriella says. She came from the airport straight to her brother’s house as she had nowhere else to go, but she will not tell him that.

“Well, I can’t say it was a pleasure to see you or that I feel sorry for you, but good luck here in the states. A little princess like you will need it,” Bernardo says.

“Goodbye, Bernardo and good luck with the rest of your life,” Gabriella says. She left her one suitcase in the cab’s trunk as she did not know how her brother would react to her being there. Gabriella hardly had money as she did not want to use her bank card. She knows Riccardo will trace her if she uses it, and he will come to fetch her to make her life a living hell again. So he left her in one of his houses, and the only time she was allowed out was when she went to visit her parents. Riccardo never had a lover as he is still in love with Mary Smith. She was an English girl for England, and his father killed her as he did not want his son to marry an English girl, but he blamed her father, and Riccardo hates her family. The sad thing is she loves him, but she will never let him know that. So she slipped away, pretending to go and visit her mother’s house.

Riccardo comes home from time to time and treats her like a servant. He hardly looks at her, and even if she tries to look beautiful, he says nothing and spends most of his time in his office. There are photos of him and Mary in the house. But not one picture of her or even a picture of the day they got married. She threw all their wedding day photo’s in the dustbin before she left. Not that Riccardo will care. Maybe he will be glad to be rid of her. Her parents will not care as they got peace between the Marino and Ricci family as they wanted from the start. Bernardo kept the Garza surname as he never were welcome in her father’s house. Bernardo thought she had a good life, but her mother could not have any more children, and he father ignored her because she was a girl and he wanted a boy. He was sorry he chased Bernardo away, and Bernado would inherit his Don title in Sicily or even Riccardo. As Gabriella is about to leave Bernardo’s house, she stops in her tracks as he calls her name.

“Gabriella, wait! Here is the money you sent me over the years with some interest. I don’t want to owe you anything,” Bernardo says. Mabel walks in as Gabriella stands with the money in her hand.

“Who is this, and why are you paying her?” Mabel asks.

“Oh, no, please, don’t think ill of my half-brother. I am Gabriella, and I dropped by to say hello, but I know I am not welcome, so I am leaving. Sorry if I caused trouble,” Gabriella says and wants to turn around and walk out.

“Wait! You can not let your sister stay in a hotel, Bernardo! I will not allow it,” Mabel says.

“Please, it is not a problem for me and this money. I do not want it, Bernardo. I gave it to you. Besides, it was my father’s money, not mine. So you deserved it,” Gabriella says and turns her back on Bernardo, who is still standing with the money in his hand.

“Let her go, Mabel. I have no family, and she is not my sister,” Bernardo says. Mabel can see Bernardo’s words are hurting Gabriella. Bernardo throws the money on the ground, turns around, and walks to his office. Gabriella feels sad and hurt. She leaves the money on the ground, and Mabel picks it up. She and Bernardo are going to talk about his behaviour today!

“Well, let me walk out with you,” Mabel says. When they get outside, Mabel hands Gabriella her apartment key. It is empty now, and Mabel was thinking of renting it out.

“Here is the address. It is in LA. Go and stay there until you find a place of your own. I will come and visit you tomorrow,” Mabel says. She knows there is more to Gabriella’s story, and she wants to know all about it.

“Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me,” Gabriella says. At least she will have a place to sleep until she can find a job.

“See you tomorrow, and do not fear. I will talk to Bernardo,” Mabel says. Mabel feels sorry for the woman with sad eyes. She is beautiful and but it is evident that she is in pain. Mabel wonders what her story is, and Mabel wonders if Bernardo’s hate is misplaced. He should not hate his sister as she is as much a victim as he is of their circumstances.

“Please don’t. I should not have come here. I do not want to make trouble for Bernardo. he went through enough in his life thanks to my father,” Gabriella says. Mabel nods but does not want to leave it at that. So instead, she walks around to the cab driver’s side and gives him the address in LA. Mabel pays him upfront with the money Bernardo dropped on the floor. The rest of the money she puts in Gabriella’s hand.

“Take it and use it until we figure everything out,” Mabel says. Gabriella takes the money reluctantly. She did not come to her brother to ask for money. She thought maybe he would help her like she tried to help him when he was a young boy, but she did not know he hated her so much. The cab drives away, and Mabel stands there looking at it until it disappears. Then, she turns around with an angry expression on her face. She walks straight to Bernardo’s office, and without knocking, she walks in.

“What the hell, Bernardo Garza? You treated your sister like she was an enemy! From the little I heard, I could make out that she sent you money when she could and knew you wanted to come to the state. She was the only one in your family that cared about you! And now you treat her like this!” Mabel says.

“It was charity, and she felt bad for taking my place in the family. I should have grown up in the mansion that she did. She is nothing but a spoiled little princess! She is ungrateful as well! She is married to a good friend of mine, Don Ricardo Marino. He is a Don in Sicily, and he will not let her live in poverty. Why she has to run away from him, I do not know! He is a good man and never had any other woman in his life!” Bernardo says.

“First of all, it is not her fault your mother picked her father over you! Secondly, a man can be cruel to a woman in many ways. He does not have to beat her or cheat on her. Neglecting her and not showing her love can be just as cruel. No human can exist without being loved. She came to you for help, and you turned her away! Did you think she came to you because she had nowhere else to go? Thinking that maybe you would care about her because she was the only one that cared about what happened to her older brother?” Mabel asks Bernardo.

“Mabel, honey, you do not know how my family works. In Italy, there are a lot of arranged marriages between Mafia families so they can stop wars or grow their territories. Her actions can cause a conflict between the Marino family and the Ricci family putting my mother’s life in danger, but she only cares about herself and not her parents. What kind of daughter is that?” Bernardo asks.

“One that got hurt by both her parents and her husband! You are sleeping in the spare room tonight, Bernardo. You could have at least heard her side of the story!” Mabel says. She slams the door as she walks out, and Bernardo sighs. Now that sister of his made trouble in his house! He walks to the main bedroom, but the door is locked. Bernardo kicks the door in, and Mabel jumps in fright.

“Now, you listen to me, Mabel Casella. I want to marry you, but you need to stop feeling sorry for my sister. The problems between her and her husband are none of our business, and her husband is a dangerous man. I do not want to put your life in danger by getting involved. I love you, and I bought the ring already. So we are getting married soon, and I want you to stay away from my sister as her husband is really bad news. We may be friends, but he is a Don from Sicily, and you do not play with the Italian Mafia from Sicily, do you understand me? I will call Riccardo and find out what is going on. I will try and help fix their marriage, but that is all I can do. Now k**s me and stop being a b***h to me. I am only trying to protect the one I love,” Bernardo says.

“Show me the ring,” Mabel says she can not be mad at Bernardo even if she tried. She will make peace between him and his sister, and she will make sure Gabriella is happy before she goes back to Italy and her husband. Maybe she and her husband had a fight or something. Who knows?

Riccardo comes home, and the first thing he sees is his wedding photos in the dustbin as he walks over to throw away the empty cup of coffee he has in his hands. He has been away from home for a few weeks. What the f**k? Who will throw away his wedding photos? He takes them out and walks to Gabriella’s room. He is angry because of the pictures, and he knows it will only be her who will throw them in the dustbin. He sees the wedding band on the table and all the jewellery he bought her with the bank card he gave her to buy what she wanted. He can smell her in the room. He walks over to her closet and sees it is empty except for the clothing he bought her. His phone rings, and he sees it is Bernardo. Bernardo tells him about the visit from his sister and that she wants to annul their marriage. Riccardo is stunned. So his little wife has guts, after all. He calls his lawyers to make sure they stop the annulment. Riccardo walks to his office and sits down behind his desk. He looks at the photo of Mary. He found out today that his father killed Mary and that he made Gabriella pay for something she and her family had nothing to do with all these years. He looks at his wedding pictures and Gabriella’s face. She is beautiful, and he had to be strong many nights to stay away from her. He looks at Mary again, and he knows he never loved her. Gabriella is the one he always loved, but he wanted her to pay for a life she never took of a woman he never loved. Riccardo picks up his phone and calls his pilot to get the private jet ready as they will be leaving for the states in an hour.