Hiding With Her Twin Babies
Chapter 53

As Gabriella reaches the apartment, she looks around. It is neat and spacious. She can live here for a while. She goes to the bathroom and sees men’s shaving cream and other stuff in the apartment that must belong to Bernardo. She will not disturb their property and leaves it as it is. She will use the guest bedroom and guest bathroom for now. She is thankful she met Mabel, which gave her a place to stay. She hopes she does not cause her brother any trouble as that is the last thing she wants to do. Gabriella goes and sits on the bed in the guest bedroom. There is still some of Mabel’s clothing in the main bedroom as she has not moved all of her clothing yet. Mabel, though she had removed everything as she told the housekeeper to pack everything, the housekeeper did not get to it yet.

Gabriella sighs. She feels so alone in this world. Her parents did not want to hear about her troubles, and her mother told her to stay with Riccardo as he is a good husband and she needs to think of her family first. Her father had not talked to her in years, and now her brother had pushed her away. She needs to get a job as soon as possible as she wants to leave the money he gave her in the apartment the day she moves. She had no idea her brother hated her that much. She knew when she was young and slipped out to go and look for him on the street to give him clothes and food. Of course, he did not want anything from her, but when he took the money she sent, she thought he would understand that she was as lonely as he was. She might have lived in a big house with their mother and father, but her mother always missed her son, and her father hardly talked to her as she was a girl and not the boy he hoped her to be. Both her parents hated her. They made her marry a man that hated her for something she did not do, and when she went home, they hardly spoke to her.

Gabriella starts crying. She wondered a lot about her life and always dreamt of the day she could see her brother again and feel a little love from at least one person in her life. That dream shattered today. He hates her as much as everyone else. She should have known better. Did she think her brother would welcome her with open arms? The doorbell rings, and Gabriella quickly dries off her tears. A woman she does not know stands before her when she opens the door.

“Hi, I am Jennie. Mabel sent me to make sure you settled in and have everything you need,” Jennie says. She can see the young Italian woman standing at the door has been crying, and her heart goes out to Gabriella. Mabel told her quickly what had happened at Bernardo’s house. She can see the hurt in Gabriella’s eyes. She walked in with the food she bought and hugged Gabriella.

“Welcome, to the family,” Jennie says. Gabriella is surprised as she does not know Jennie, yet Jennie treats her like family.

“Hi, yes, I am Gabriella,” She says, and the two woman walks to the kitchen.

“I took off early from work today to come and meet you and brought us some food and a bottle of wine,” Jennie says. She is good at listening and good to get people to talk. Mabel knows that, and that is why she sent Jennie over. Soon Gabriella feels comfortable with Jennie. After a few hours, Jennie knows Gabriella’s whole story and how she ended up in the states. She feels sorry for the lonely woman, and she can sense that even if Gabriella negatively talks about her husband, she loves him. The bastard! He does not deserve a woman like Gabriella. Why put this poor woman through so much pain if she had nothing to do with his beloved Mary’s death. It is not her fault, no matter who killed Mary.

“Well, sorry I bored you with my sad life story,” Gabriella says. She realises that they talked about her all day. Jennie is a good listener, and she does not realise she told Jennie all about herself even though she knows nothing about Jennie.

“Don’t worry. My life was not easy, but now I am happy with my husband and children,” Jennie says. She tells Gabriella her life story, and soon Gabriella forgets about hers as she listens to Jennie’s story. Jennie’s story had a happy ending, but Gabriella is not so sure hers will. Finally, Jennie tells Gabriella to come and work for her as she needs an assistant. Jennie is not lying, as her assistant is pregnant and will be going on maternity leave soon. Jennie is also pregnant and can do with help around the office. Gabriella can not believe her luck.

After Jennie leaves, Gabriella smiles for the first time in years. She feels much better and takes a shower before going to bed. On his private jet, Riccardo is sitting working on his laptop. He has ordered his butler to remove all the photos of Mary and replace them with his marriage photos. The butler smiled as he and the staff in the house loved Gabriella. They all knew she had been fighting against a ghost for years, and they all hoped that Riccardo’s eyes would open and he would see his beautiful wife as the great person she is. Gabriella worked with them to keep the house in good condition, and when Riccardo was home, she cooked herself. She never complained or shouted at them. Riccardo looks at the photo of Mary on his laptop. It is his background, and he changes it. He only has one picture of Gabriella and himself where they were at a party a few years ago. She always accompanies him but never touches him. She tried to take his hand once when they walked into a party at his parent’s house, but he pulled away and told her not to touch him. She pulled her hand away and never tried to touch him again.

Mabel called Jennie, and they talked for almost an hour. Jennie told Mabel all about Gabriella’s life, which made Mabel angry again at Bernardo. Mabel walks past him and smacks him on the head. Bernardo, who was watching TV, did not know what that was all about, but he obviously pissed Mabel off again. Bernard knows that when Jennie and Mabel have been talking for so long on the phone, it must be because of Gabriella, and Gabriella must stay where Jennie could speak with her. He sighs when his phone rings again. It is Riccardo, and Bernardo answers.

“Hi, Riccardo, what can I help you with?” Bernardo asks.

“Hi Bernardo, I wondered if you maybe know where my wife is staying. But unfortunately, she has not used her bank cards, and I can not trace her from the airport,” Riccardo says. Riccardo is still on the plane, but he wants to know where to go when he lands.

“The only place I can think of is my girlfriend’s apartment in LA. I will text you the address,” Bernardo says. He looks around to make sure Mabel does not hear him.

“Thank you,” Riccardo says and hangs up without saying goodbye as he is not thinking straight. What if someone gets to her before he does. Does Gabriella know in what danger she can be? It makes him mad to think about her being in trouble, and she did not even think about it in her haste to get away from him. Can he blame her? He did not treat her well since they were married.

“Who was that on the phone?” Mabel asks.

“Business. Why did you hit me on my head?” Barnardo asks. Mabel goes and sits next to Bernardo and starts telling him his sister’s story. He feels ashamed of how he treated her when she came to him in the hope of at least having someone loving her enough to help her. He looks at Mabel, who openly cries as she feels sorry for Gabriella. He thinks of himself giving her husband her address. What did he do? Will Riccardo come all the way from Italy to fetch his sister if he does not feel anything for her? He does not know. He messed up, and if Mabel finds out, she will leave him, that is for sure.

“Let’s elope. Let’s fly to Las Vegas tonight and get married,” Bernardo says out of the blue. Mabel, who loves drama and attention, first wants to say no, but then she thinks again and smiles.

“Why not? It is dramatic, and she will get a lot of attention in the tabloids for being different from her siblings. Bernado is relieved Mabel agreed as he does not want to lose her for something stupid he did. After they come back, he will tell her, and then she can be mad at him but can not divorce him as he will not allow it. Maybe he must get her pregnant to make double sure she does not leave him.

He calls his pilots, and they fly to Las Vegas. A few hours later, they are Mr and Mrs Garza. He gave her a beautiful engagement ring on the plane. Luckily he has already asked Logan and Jen if he can marry Mabel, and they agreed. He knows Jen will be pissed off because they eloped, but he will explain everything to her later. They stay over in Las Vegas for the night, and Bernardo makes love to his wife all night long. He wants that baby in her tummy. They fly back to San Diego the following day, and he feels more secure about Mabel not leaving him. She looks so happy. Jen calls when she reads about the wedding in the tabloids and is not pleased. They promise her they will have a proper wedding later, and Jen is happy again.

Later the day, Riccardo’s plane lands in LA, and he drives straight to the address Bernardo gave him. No one answers the door as he knocks, and he thinks Gabriella must not be home. Riccardo tries to get a hold of Bernardo, but Bernardo is on his plane next to his wife and can not talk to Riccardo at the moment. So Riccardo parks his rental car opposite the apartment building. He will wait until she gets home or Bernardo answers his phone. He knows she is staying there, as his men asked the neighbour. Riccardo is used to late-night long flights and hard days sitting in meetings. At least the car seats are comfortable, and he can get a few hours’ sleep. He thinks Gabriella found a job as she is not a stupid woman. At three, he wakes up from his phone ringing. It is Bernardo, and Bernardo promised to contact the landlord to let Riccardo in. He walks to the door and uses the keys the landlord gave him after Bernardo arranged it. Bernardo talked to Riccardo, and Riccardo promised him he was there to fetch his sister because he loved her and would do her no harm.

Riccardo walks into the main bedroom. He is a man with a temper, and when he sees the bathroom and the men’s clothing and sexy lingerie in the main bedroom’s cupboards and bathroom, his b***d starts to boil. So she has a lover, and that is why she ran away! We will see how she loves to see her lover die in front of her eyes tonight! Riccardo is worked up, and as the front door opens, he sits in the dark, waiting for his wife and her lover to arrive. His hand is on the gun in his pocket as the light goes on, and Gabriella walks in. Gabriella stops in her tracks as she sees Riccardo in the chair.

“Where is her, Gabriella?” Riccardo aks. Gabriella looks at Riccardo as if he has lost his mind, and to be honest. He feels like he is losing his mind. Thinking of his wife in the arms of another man is driving him insane.

“Who?” She asks.

“Don’t play stupid! Your lover, whose clothing and other stuff is in the bathroom and the room’s cupboards,” Riccardo says.

“Oh, you were in the wrong room. That room belongs to Bernardo and Mabel. I stay in the guest room,” Gabriella answers him calmly. Riccardo feels a bit stupid for being so jealous.

“What are you doing here, Riccardo?” Gabriella asks.

“I am here to take you home,” He answers.

“I have no home. I want to stay here,” Gabriella says. Riccardo looks at her, and he knows he has lost his wife. He will have to fight for her and win her heart. Riccardo looks at her, and he can see she is tired.

“Sit. I will order us some food. We have a lot to talk about,” Riccardo says. Gabriella is too tired to argue as it was an eventful day. It was her first day at a new job, after all.