Chapter 10

Gabrielle glared at Elijah with all the hate in the world. Elijah who did

Leave Feedback not look at all fazed by her fierce glare, if anything he looked amused. Eugene looked back and forth from Elijah to Gabrielle searching for answers.

"Gabrielle, what is he going on about?"

"I... I-"

"You dare to deny it." Gabrielle looked lost. Eugene waited calmly for her to explain herself, his eyes bore into her almost as if he could see the lie about to come out.

"Why did you leave?" Everyone seemed surprised that I spoke out. Gabrielle opened and closed her mouth, I watched as her eyes watered with tears.

"I didn't want to, I was so scared... so young. Sweetie, there was no way I could raise a baby."

"What about my father?"

She let out a shaky breath. "He... he didn't know about..." She didn't have to continue for me to know what she was speaking of.

"You never came around... never called to see how Gran was doing. How could you just forget?"

"I didn't want things to be this way, you have to believe me Gabby." Her tears were falling fast now and a wave of guilt hit me, I had no right to judge her, it wasn't my place to judge people.

"Cut the bullshit Gabrielle." Elijah said lazily to my birth mother. "Stop with the lies and tell her the fucking truth. You owe her that much." Gabrielle's tears stopped almost immediately. Gone was the sadness that was once on her face, instantly anger filled her gorgeous features.

"You don't know a thing." She snapped. Elijah watched her with amused eyes.

"No? You didn't want her, but instead of handling your responsibilities you left her on your mother."

"I never wanted that! I never wanted her!" My heart stopped at her words. "My mother never gave me the choice. I told her if I were to take care of you I would only resent you... you were going to ruin my life." Is... is that how she saw me... was that how they all saw. As if I was naught but a burden.

"You did not tell my father because of this?" I asked calmly.

"I loved him... I didn't want him to leave me, but he did once he found out about you. He wanted you, but I wasn't ready to commit to being a mother."

"Why not just get rid of me?" I forced myself to ask. I needed some kind of closure, needing to understand what was her reasoning.

She let out a frustrated sigh. "My mother... she would not allow it. So I gave you to her and ran away... you should be thanking me. If I would've stayed your life had been miserable as would mine, but instead you were raised who you are today." She shrugged carelessly.

"Gabrielle!" Eugene scolded coldly.

She glared at him. "It's true... I never asked for her. She would've ruined my life, like now... she's out to ruin me." I would be lying if I said her words did not hurt.

"You're right, I wouldn't be the person I am today if you haven't played the part you did. There's no need to explain yourself further. It was your decision to make not anyone's and it's certainly not my place to judge you."

Standing, I faced Eugene. "It was very nice meeting you Mr. Knight and thanks for letting me stay here comfortably." He stared at me with sad eyes, a frown pulling along his lips. I then turned to Elijah. "I think you have gotten what you wanted, I'd like to go home now." He raised a brow. I didn't dare back down from this. Finally he stood but not before turning to Eugene.

"You have such good taste in women." With that he grabbed my hand and pulled me to our room. I grabbed my things as he did his and we were off.

After hours of being on the road we finally came to a stop at the mansion. Elijah did not say one word during the drive and neither did I. The things my birth mother said were still fresh in my mind. It hurt, although I did not want to admit it, it hurt... a lot.

Somewhere between time I'd forced myself to believe my mother did want me, and was only afraid and confused. Gran had always told that I was very loved, not only her but by everyone I met. My heart was made of gold she would say.

I convinced myself that my mother had to care... that my father would one day find me, but the truth was I had no one. And that truth hurt more then anything.

In the house I wanted nothing more then to go to my room and forget the past events that took place. I was ready to do just that when I felt Elijah grabbed my arm.

"Where are you going?" I hesitantly pointed to the stairs. "No, dinner should be ready."

"I'm not hungry," I mumbled.

"I don't give a fuck, you will eat." He all but dragged into the dinning room and forced me to sit. Minutes later a maid placed a plate of food in front of me. I stared down at it, not having an appetite. "Gabrielle I swear I will shove it down your fucking throat."

I sent him a glare before slowly nibbling on my food. He seemed satisfied enough with that. Silence lingered throughout the room, that is until Ruth came to join us. She took a seat across from me and beside Elijah. I continued to pick at my food silently.

"Where were you?" Ruth asked Elijah accusingly. Elijah didn't even spare her a glance as he continued to eat his food, he ignored her completely. "What's going on Elijah? You been acting strange ever since she appeared." Elijah looked at her now, his blue eyes piercing through her.

He let out a tired sigh while massaging his temple with his index and middle finger. "Ruth not now, I'm fucking exhausted."

"Not now? Then when... why not just let her go and be done with her?" Ruth was asking all the right questions now.

Elijah eyes darkened dangerously. "She is not up for discussion."

"Explain to me why? Why is she still here?"

"Because I'll kill her if she leave." He said simply. Ruth eyes widened in disbelief.

"You love her..." What? Elijah leaned back in his seat all while eyeing Ruth out darkly. His silence had my insides twisting with anxiety. "Do you love her Elijah?"

"Do I love her..." He repeated slowly, his head tilting ever so slightly. Ruth looked ready to throw a fit.

"Elijah..." When he did not acknowledge her distress she looked over at me. "What game are you playing at?"

"Pardon?"

"Does it not bother you that me and Elijah are together and you are fucking him?" My eyes widened at the accusation.

"I... I-"

"You hide behind your innocent looks when really you are a man stealing slut."

"That's not true, I never..."

"Enough with the innocent bullshit. You're an attention seeking whore... you forced Garrett to want you and let's not forget Noah. You like having men lust after you?" I was dumbfounded at what she was accusing me of. Is this what they thought... that I craved for attention.

"Get out," Elijah suddenly said. Ruth's astonished eyes widened.

"W-What?"

"Get the fuck out... grab your shit and get out. You have until morning... I don't want to see your face." Elijah then turned to me. "Up," Slowly I stood, not prepared for him to grab my hand and pull me along.

"Elijah!" I heard Ruth cry after us. I wanted nothing more to see if she was okay but Elijah grip tightened painfully on my hand. His grip did not loosen until we were in the room, only then did he let me go.

"You did not have to do that." He ignored me and got into bed, laying on top of the comforter. His arms supported his head as he stared at me, his head tilting ever so slightly.

"Do what?"

I glared at him. "What you did to Ruth... that was uncalled for, she have every right to be upset."

"And what right is that?" The stupid confusing man continued to mock me. I shook my head, mumbling incompetent words under my breath.

"Do you not care at all that she feels deeply for you."

His blank eyes watched me with an unreadable expression. "Come here,"

My brows furrowed together. "Why?"

"Here... over here."

I bit my lip nervously. "But why?"

He was getting aggravated. "Once more Gabrielle. Get the fuck over here." I frowned, he did not have to be so rude. Reluctantly, I made my way towards him. He stared at me for what felt like forever, his piercing gaze had me shifting uncomfortably. To my confusion he tugged lightly on the blouse I wore. "Off... take it off." My heart skipped a beat.

"Why?"

"Because I fucking said so," My breath hitched, the tone he used was all too familiar.

Timidly, I did as he said and took off my blouse. He indicated for me to remove my pants which I did after my protests went unheard. I was literally shaking with anticipation of his next move. What I did not expect was for him to remove his shirt and force me into it.

"In bed," Still very confused I got into bed beside him. My brows drew together as I stared at him hard. "If you keep looking at me like that I will be tempted to fuck you." My eyes widened and I felt a blush heat up my cheeks, I quickly looked away from him.

After a moment of silence I found myself turning to look at Elijah. His eyes were now close, hiding his beautiful blue orbs behind his lids. Unwillingly my eyes scanned the rest of his face. His features were out of this world, never have I met anyone so handsome and arrogant, he never tried to hide his looks and openly used it to his advantage.

"Why did you take me to meet my birth mother?" His eyes flickered opened and I was able to look into the unique orbs. When he did nothing but stare at me I continued. "Why? Were you trying to prove to me that you were right... that I have no one... no home, no one to run to."

He only watched me, his intense orbs piercing through mine, gauging my reaction. I let out a sharp breath, all the exhaustion hitting me full force. "Gran was the only mother I knew, although she always made sure to tell me about my birth mother, I always saw her as that motherly figure."

"When Gran passed, I realized there was no one... I had no one. It was then I started to convince myself that possibly my birth mother did want me... maybe my birth father is out there looking for me somewhere. Anything was better then nothing." I shook my head stupidly feeling my eyes water, it was a pathetic way of thinking.

"That small hope was what held me to believe I was wanted... that possibly someone did want me and did not only see me as a troublesome child, but that little hope is now gone and there's no one to blame none other then myself." My heart broke at the thoughts that I wasn't good enough for anyone, if anything I was a burden everyone seemed to have to deal with.

There was no one at fault. I couldn't blame Elijah for knowing all along... not my birth mother for giving me up... not Gran for leaving me. I was the one to blame, I'm always getting into trouble and causing everyone problems

Perhaps Ruth was correct, perhaps I did desire attention, I always find myself in trouble, that seemed to be the only way possible to get anyone to notice me. Maybe there was something wrong with me.

The involuntary tears fell, no matter how hard I tried to keep them at bay. Placing my head on Elijah chest, I made sure to keep my face hidden into his chest, although I'm sure he could feel my shakes and hear my soft sniffles. I was unable to hold it all in anymore, hating how weak I appeared.

Elijah did not comment... his hand caressed my hair lightly, but he did not say a word. We stayed like that until I was finally able to fall asleep in the comfort of the bad man's arms.

Two weeks flew by and Elijah was once again ignoring me, not that I had any idea as to why. He would leave for most of the day and return around the time dinner was served.

Whenever he was around, I would try to make conversation with me but he always answered with one word responses or didn't answer at all, he would do anything to get away from me. Everything I do always seems to upset him. Although I was very unsure why, I had a haunch it had a big part to do with him Ruth no longer being here.

With Elijah not around boredom was beginning to get to me, not having anyone to talk to or even associate with was killing me. So I did the one thing I could do, I got into trouble, which was not hard seeing the littlest things I did irritated Elijah.

Every afternoon I would go talk with the same guard, he never talked to me, he would just stand there ignoring me. But that was enough for me, he did not need to talk as long as it looked like he was listening.

I continued to go to him and vent, telling him everything there was to know about me. His face stayed blank through it all, so I did not know if I was bothering him or not. Patrolman was what I called him since he never talked for me to find out his name.

Mr. Patrolman was good to keep my mind off of things, though he never spoke to me it was nice to be able to talk to someone. Nevertheless it was still very boring whenever he switched shift. A big oaf of a man would then stand guard. I tried talking with him but it wasn't the same, his face was too serious.

Baking was also what I did to distract myself, but that was no longer an option. Elijah and the cooks had banned me from the kitchen. I tried to argue but Elijah had threatened to fire the main chef forcing me to give in, I didn't want the poor chef to lose his job for something I did.

One morning after I was finished getting dress I made my way down the stairs in hope of being able to make it to the kitchen. Tiptoeing throughout the place, I prayed Elijah would not hear me. God was not on my side. Elijah, to my disdain, caught sight of me and called me out onto the patio.

"Sit," I did, very slowly. Elijah raised a brow at my confused face. "What was it you were doing?" Um...

"Nothing..."

Elijah shook his head to himself. "The fuck were you doing Gabrielle?"

I bit my lip and shrugged. "I wanted to go to the kitchen." I answered as if it was not a big deal.

He swore under his breath. "And what the fuck did you plan on doing?"

"Starting breakfast," I stated proudly.

He rubbed a hand over his neatly trimmed chin, eyeing me out with his dark orbs. "No... no more cooking for you."

"Why not?" What was I suppose to do if I was not allowed to do the one thing I feel passionate about.

He let out a tired sigh. "Not now Gabrielle."

"Why not? Why am I not allowed to bake..."

"You almost burned down the fucking house. Is that not a good enough reason." Okay, maybe I did, but it was an accident. I had went to read a book leaving the stove unattended and ended up losing track of time. The mansion was very smoky and if it weren't for the cooks noticing my mistake I don't know how bad the fire would have gotten.

"What am I suppose to do now?" I asked wanting to cry. He looked over me, dismissing me completely. I drew in a breath knowing there was no getting through to him.

Minutes later breakfast was brought out. I sent the nice cooks a smile and began eating. It wasn't long before I devoured everything on my plate. Elijah did not bother to say a word to me, the silence was becoming deafening.

After sitting there for more then an hour I was ready to find anything to distract myself with but Elijah had different plans. As I went to stand he asked me where did I think I was going. "Inside... I'm bored."

"No you're going to sit right here."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because I fucking said so." With my brows together in confusion I sat down.

"You are a very mean man."

"Am I now?" I nodded.

"Yes you are, you should try asking people for once instead of demanding them to."

Elijah raised a brow. "And why would I do that?"

I stared at him in disbelief. "It's the right thing to do."

"Yeah, because I love doing the right thing." He stated mockingly. I glared at him, hating how he made me feel so stupid.

"One day you're going to be sorry for the way you treat people. You'll see that we're as much human as you are, and that we also feel and have emotions. You'll ask god for forgiveness and pray for him to have mercy on your soul. Gran always told me to treat people the way you want to be treated and by the way you treat people you're not going-"

"For fucks sakes. If I knew you were going to be this much trouble I would have gotten rid of you the moment I stepped foot into your shop." He shook his head and took out a smoke.

"How rude," I mumbled. He took a drag of his smoke, "Why do you smoke?"

"Because..."

"Is there a reason you started?"

He eyed me out darkly. "Is there a reason you're looking for?"

I shook my head. "I'm curious as to why. I don't know a lot about your life but Eugene seems like a good man... he's very wealthy, I'm guessing he took care of you to the fullest."

"Yeah..." He agreed boringly.

"Why is it you treat him the way you do?" Elijah eyes narrowed as he stared at me.

"Because I can,"

I shrugged, dismissing his words. "He cares about you, yet you still treat him as if he means nothing to you."

"That because he don't." My eyes widened at the cold man sitting beside me.

"That's a cruel thing to say about the man who raised you." He ignored me, taking a drag of the deadly substance and blowing the cloud of smoke in my face. My hands tried to swipe it away as I coughed furiously. I glared at him once I got my bearing together.

"You're vulgar," I scolded angrily.

He smiled a beautiful smile. "No... I'm Elijah," My eyes narrowed at the handsome jerk.

"That's a terrible joke."

Elijah was thoroughly amused. "I think it was pretty good."

I drew in a breath. "I'm serious Elijah,"

"No, you're Gabrielle." His smile widened as my frustration grew.

"This is not funny, stop being a nuisance"

"Your distress amuses me." My brows knitted together and his eyes lit. "You look so fucking adorable when you scrunch your face up like that." What? I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Elijah," I chastised, very confused about what he was speaking of. When he did nothing but raise a brow I let out an exasperated breath. "There's no getting through to him." I murmured to myself, shaking my head. With that I made my leave, but not before hearing Elijah let out a laugh that sent shivers down my spine.

After dinner I realized I had yet to see Mr. Patrolman today. As I was about to do just that I felt Elijah grasp my arm and pull me into his lap. I tensed at the intimate position and tried to stand, but he did not relent.

"Let go,"

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk," Something told me he already knew exactly where I was going.

"I don't want you taking these walks anymore." Before I could get a word out, Elijah pulled me out of our seated position and to our room. He released me to walk into the bathroom, I took the chance to change. I was already in bed with my back facing him when he walked out. The bed dipped and I felt a large arm wrap around my waist, pulling me into a wall of muscle.

He was confusing me, one day he was mean and cold then the next he was a normal human being. I never met a man as confusing as Elijah, so hot and cold. It was times like this that made my heart hurt. Why did he have to be like this... why couldn't he just let me try to hate him?

He nuzzled his face into my neck, inhaling deeply. "I do not understand you Mr. Knight."

I felt him nip my neck receiving a squeal from me. "Good," I soon fell asleep in his warm embrace.

The next morning I was surprised to see Elijah still in bed. Very quietly I got out of bed and dressed, not wanting to disturb his sleep. I made my way downstairs and out to the garden, to my shock Patrolman was there. Without thinking I walked towards him, he quickly looked in a different direction when he saw coming his way.

"Good morning Mr. Patrolman." He did not say a word, not that I was expecting him to. "I'm sorry, I was not able to come talk to you yesterday. I was... busy."

"You're here early, is that big man not here today?" Silence, "Shame, you're probably exhausted. It must get boring to just stand here, good thing I found you, hopefully I bring a little entertainment for you. I out of all people can understand how boring it can get in this house especially with-"

"Gabrielle!" I froze, before slowly turning to face the mad man. "Over here," I drew in a breath and walked to him. Elijah did not look happy.

"The fuck did I tell... I swear you do shit just to irritate me." I frowned, I do not... not all the time. "I don't want you speaking to Liam again." Liam? Was that his name?

"Why?"

Elijah drew in an exasperated breath. "What the fuck goes through your head, did you not learn shit from the past."

"Who am I suppose to speak with?"

"I'm right here Gabrielle," Oh... ohhhh.

"But you're always ignoring me."

His blue orbs showed how aggravated he was becoming. "Fine, I won't ignore you."

And he didn't, I would talk his head off for hours and he would make his snarky remarks. The times he would leave I would spend in the library seeing I was still banned from the kitchen. Those days would be the longest. Elijah, for some reason I did not understand, was behaving differently ever since that night I vented to him about my true feeling towards my birth mother and Gran.

He didn't scold me as much, only when I went to see Patrolman one last time did he get angry but even then he did not react as much as I expected him to. It was as if he was trying to control his anger when it came to me.

It wasn't until Noah called him did things take a turn for the worst. Noah called one day and informed him about Garrett and the shipments he refused to give over until I was in his captivity. Elijah did not like that, be began blaming me saying it was my fault. I tried not to let it get to me but hearing it almost all hours of the day was overwhelming. One night as we were in bed I told Elijah I wanted him to take me to Garrett.

"The fuck did you just say?" I held his cold gaze, not letting him intimidate me.

"I want to go to Garrett."

"You want to be with that fucker?" His eyes were so dark, he looked ready to inflict some serious damage on me.

"Yes, that way he will give you what it is he owe you." He stared at me. "It's not like you care... you would no longer have to tolerate me." The look he gave me had my heart pounding in my chest.

"You know, you're right... he can deal with you. Get up," I watched him in confusion as he began tossing my clothes on the bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Get dress, we leave in five." Oh... we were going now. Ignoring the pain in my chest I started packing.

As soon as I was done packing Elijah wasted no time to get on the road, we drove for hours, he refused to pull over and find us somewhere to rest our head. It wasn't until the rain started falling heavily did Elijah find us a small motel to spend the night.

He did not say a single word... not on he road, not when he paid for our room, not when he walked pass me and into the bathroom... I changed and got into the small bed, watching as Elijah silently followed. I expected him to turn his back to me and ignore me but he startled me when he stroked my face ever so softly.

"No one will have you Gabrielle." Um... "I will kill anyone who think to take you away from me... You're mine, only mine. Mine to fuck. Mine to hurt... Remember this." My eyes widened in shock. The way he said it, with so much honesty scared me. Nothing more was said that night.

The next morning we were on our way again. As we came closer to our destination I couldn't help but feel uneasy. I would no longer be under Elijah's control, Garrett would now have a say on my life. Maybe I could convince him to let me go.

All too soon we pulled up in front of Garrett's mansion. Elijah strolled in so casually, arrogant... very arrogant. Garrett was sitting in the living area, not at all surprised upon our sudden appearance.

"Elijah," He greeted Elijah who did not even acknowledge him.

His gaze flickered from Elijah and onto me, instantly his eye lit up, a look of longing passing threw them. "Gabby, I'm very please to see you again." His intense stare was becoming unsettling. Only when Elijah spoke did he tear his gaze away from me.

"Where the fuck is it?" The tone in his voice could've had anyone shaking in there boots.

"I will send one of my men along with you to show you the location." Elijah nodded.

"No more games Garrett, if the shipments are not in my hold by tonight I will find you and slice your fucking throat." Oh my... Garrett smiled but I did not miss the emotion that flashed in his eyes. He suddenly stood and extended his hand towards Elijah.

"I don't want unnecessary enemies Elijah, let's forget this ordeal and continue the way we have." He stared at Garrett with no emotion what so ever, it was really scary. Elijah did not shake Garrett's hand, he turned on his heel and walked out of the mansion without so much as glancing at me this entire time.