The Black Dahlia (Cartel Series #1) ✔️

63. The Choice

Gabriella

Have you ever pondered the sensation of your most improbable dream unfolding into reality? That one aspiration you held onto despite the odds, suddenly materializing before your eyes? Right now, I'm enveloped in a surreal sense of disbelief, struggling to accept the truth of what has transpired.

Right now, it's as if reality itself is refusing to acknowledge what has transpired, leaving me grappling with a mixture of emotions that words can barely capture.

I have lost the count of number of times I've beseeched the heavens for the return and safety of my mother and brother, fervently pleading for their well-being. I've even bargained my own existence in exchange for theirs. Yet now, as if in a cruel twist of fate, when divine intervention finally grants my wishes, all I can muster is denial-a gut-wrenching disbelief that this newfound reality could possibly be true. It feels like a betrayal of hope, as if the very essence of my prayers has been tarnished by doubt.

Definitely a lie

A Lie

As I sat there, frozen in disbelief, my eyes locked on the figure before me, I couldn't shake the overwhelming sense of confusion washing over me. This couldn't be real. It simply couldn't. My mind raced, desperately trying to make sense of the impossible scenario unfolding before my eyes.

"He's... he's supposed to be dead," I muttered under my breath, the words feeling foreign and unreal as they escaped my lips. But there he stood, solid and alive, defying everything I had come to accept as truth.

A surge of conflicting emotions threatened to consume me. Disbelief warred with a flicker of hope, a spark igniting deep within me despite my mind's insistence on rejecting it. How could I reconcile the image of my supposedly deceased brother with the living, breathing man standing before me?

My heart hammered in my chest, each beat echoing the tumultuous storm raging within me. Denial clawed at the edges of my consciousness, a desperate attempt to shield myself from the overwhelming truth threatening to shatter my reality.

I reached out, my hand trembling as if afraid to confirm what my eyes were telling me. But as my fingertips brushed against his arm, a flood of memories washed over me, memories I had buried deep within my soul.

Tears welled in my eyes as the realization crashed over me like a tidal wave. He was alive. My brother was alive.

No it's a lie. He is supposed to be dead.

It's a lie

He is an imposter. He's not alive; he's been taken by death's cold embrace, leaving behind only echoes of his presence. This pretender is nothing but a twisted mockery, toying with my emotions, weaving a sinister web of deceit around my fragile mind.

I screamed.

As tears streamed down my face, my only release was a primal scream that reverberated through the sterile corridors of the hospital. It was a raw, gut-wrenching outcry of anguish and despair, echoing the depths of my soul. Startled by the intensity of my cries, Sandra rushed into the room, her concern palpable in the frantic beat of her footsteps and the worry etched across her face.

"Gabriella, calm down " Gabriel gritted.

As Gabriel approached to offer solace, I recoiled, consumed by a tempest of grief and rage. Each attempt at comfort was met with a violent shove, accompanied by a chorus of anguished screams. I struck out at him, my fists pounding against his chest in a futile attempt to alleviate my pain. Yet, he remained steadfast, absorbing my blows with a silent fortitude as if he was punishing himself for something. Yet, behind the facade of his resilience, his gaze softened with empathy, reflecting the depth of his understanding and unwavering support in my time of need.