Between us

Chapter 17

"You have to try this one!" Isabella exclaimed and gave me a spoonful of risotto.

"Mmm." I moaned and she smiled satisfied. "I think this is the one." I said and she and Gabriella sighed happily.

For the past hour I tasted and rated their famous risottos at the family restaurant and finally we got a winner.

"I'll make this tonight." Isabella said and she and Gabriella made a list of the ingredients.

While she made the list, my phone beeped. A message from Ryder.

'What's taking so long?' I smiled at the text, he is always very impatient.

'Busy making a list for tonight's dinner.'

'How much longer do I have to wait?'

'About two hours more :)'

'No.'

"What do you mean, no?'

'I'm coming to get you in half an hour.' I chuckled and sighed.

'No, if you do that I won't talk to you again, Ryder Storm.'

'Are you testing my patience, Charlie?'

'Are you testing mine?'

'Okay fine, tonight you'll see...'

I blushed and put the phone away, and at that exact moment, Puppet kicked. I smiled and gentle stroked my stomach, Gabriella noticed and also came forward to touch my stomach.

She looked so lost in thought and Isabella cleared her throat. Gabriella regained her posture and then the curiosity got the best of me.

"Gabriella, do you have kids of your own?" And the exact moment her eyes widen, I knew that I should've kept my mouth shut. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." I then quickly added but Gabriella only smiled.

"It's okay, dear. It's time I tell you what happened." She said and I looked at Isabella, who only nodded her head with a reassuring smile.

I looked back at Gabriella and she smiled sadly. "I was also a mother, my dear." She began and I sat upright. She took a deep breath before she continued. "I was married to a milkman, his name was Marcello. We loved each other very much, but my father was against our marriage, he felt that Marcello needed to prove himself."

I felt immense empathy for Gabriella but the look on her face told me that she doesn't need it. I nodded and she continued.

"Then there came an advertisement showing posts in the army. I begged Marcello not to go, but he was determined to win my father over. By the time he left, I found out that I was pregnant. I was so happy and even Father seemed excited when he found out that he was gonna be a grandfather.

Then it happened, Marcello got into an accident and died a few months after he joined. I was so distraught that I blamed it on Father. I ran away from home where I also met with an accident and got a miscarriage."

I didn't even notice that I started to cry until Isabella wiped away my tears. 

"After the miscarriage, I didn't want anything to do with this family, so I ran away. Six years after the incident, I got married to a man called Camillo, a wealthy businessman, just to spite my father. I know, when we are young, we make dumb choices, but I made the biggest mistake of my life by marrying him. Turned out, Camillo found joy by hitting women." 

After those words came out, I immediately thought of Dominic. My spine chilled and I sat upright. 

"Camillo's beatings were so severe that I ended up in the hospital for internal bleeding. That's also when I found out that couldn't have children again. I was so full of rage and pain, that I couldn't think straight anymore." She took a long pause and smiled sadly at me. "I went back home to Camillo, and there I killed him." 

I was shocked to hear those words coming out of Gabriella's mouth. She looks so gentle, like she can't even hurt a fly, but then again, life has taught me not to judge a book by its cover. 

"Father helped me out of this whole situation and the judge gave me a year of therapy. Because after all, I dealt with trauma. I came back home, and Father apologized to me, we got close again, and he promised not to meddle in his children's lives again. And I never got married again, because I realized that I could never love someone like I loved Marcello." 

Throughout this whole confession I kept quiet, but then the annoying curiosity got hold of me again. "Did you regret it? Killing him, I mean." 

Gabriella only smiled. "Till this day, not an ounce of regret is in me. And if I get the chance again, I would do it without thinking twice." 

I slowly got up and went up to her. I then gave her a big hug and then I whispered in her ear. "I would do it to." 

She chuckled and touched my stomach. "I know you would, after all, a mother would do anything for their child." 

I gave her another hug and this time Isabella joined. After we finished, we got back in the car and drove home. But this time, I could've sworn that I saw someone taking a picture of me before I climbed inside the car. 

                                                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~

He grinned as the car drove off. She saw him, he made sure that she felt something was amiss. And by the looks on her face, she surely felt uneasy. He slowly walked back to his car and as soon as he got inside his phone rang. 

"Yes, I've been following her all day, Boss. She's with the two older women. Ryder and his brothers went to the warehouse today, they have no clue what's in store for them. Soon, Charlie will be yours again, and Storm will beg for mercy along with his whole family." 

Dominic laughed at the other end of the call. "Good job, at least you're doing your job well, because you know what happens if you hurt Charlie." 

He swallowed hard and remembered how Dominic made his life a living hell when he accidently caused Charlie to crash into the trees. "Yes Boss." He said and disconnected the call. 

He started the car and drove to the same warehouse Ryder went today. "Time for action." 

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A/n: Hey guys! 👋

Welcome to another chapter of Between us! 

 I know that it has been a whole month since I last published. 🙈🙈🙈 I am deeply sorry and I promise to publish weekly from now on. 🤞 

And as we all predicted...Dominic is back to take action...just when you think that Charlie and Ryder are finally at peace.

Q: Who is this mystery man that works for Dominic? What trap are they setting for Ryder? Will the Storm family be safe? Stay tuned for more action.^_^

Please forgive any typos and please comment...and don't forget to vote! ;)

Kind regards and stay safe :)

A . Freeman

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