CHAPTER 16

Gabriella dragged her exhausted body out of bed to go freshen up before school. She knew if she snoozed her alarm one more time, she was definitely going to be late. Her body ached all over, and she was in desperate need of a massage. She'd probably get one after school, she thought.

She sluggish took a shower and moved like a sloth. Minutes before she was done, her Nana knocked on the door to her room.

"You know you didn't have to knock, right?" She asked as she faced the mirror to see if she was tying her hair right.

"Better safe than sorry," Rosalind replied and chuckled, while Gabriella rolled her eyes with a light grin. "Anyway, someone is waiting for you outside."

Wondering who it was, Gabriella looked outside her window since it had a view and was quite surprised to see a car she knew and instantly recognized it.

She hadn't really thought about it until that moment, but Damian drove a pretty expensive black car. She had no idea what brand it was because she wasn't familiar with car brands, but she knew an expensive car when she saw one, definitely not a knockoff.

"Did you dump Keith for someone sexier?" Rosalind asked, with a raised eyebrow.

 "Nana, you know Keith and I were never in a relationship," Gabriella said with a sigh, rolling her eyes once again.

"Whatever, he's waiting for you downstairs," saying this, Rosalind left. She was unbelievable.

Gabriella hurried downstairs, and the person waiting for her was indeed Damian. He had a nervous grin which she had never seen. He probably felt guilty for making her go through all that stress, she felt glad though because she had zero energy to drive herself to school.

"Good morning Gabby,"

"Good morning,"

Gabriella was a bit delighted because he never called her by her name, rather, he used kiddo, kid or stalker kid, which most times got her annoyed.

Gabriella looked around, but her mother was nowhere in sight. After taking a deep breath, she kissed her Nana, who obviously had plenty of questions on the cheek, promising to explain everything to her when she returned and then left the house, Damian following behind her.

As soon as she got to his car, she intentionally patted her back for him to see. He nervously looked away upon seeing this, making Gabriella hold her laughter. She never thought she'd be seeing Damian that way.

"Did I…" He spoke and then gulped nervously

"Did you what?"

"Did I act weird last night?" He questioned.

"Not at all," She said, and he sighed. "But, shortly after we arrived, you kept holding me and telling me not to go," She told him, making him have a horrified expression on his face. He buried his face in his car's steering wheel.

"I'm sorry," He winced

"No worries. Anyway, could we get going? I would rather not be late." He immediately ignited the car and drove off.

After a while of driving in silence, they finally arrived at her school. She stepped out of the car and hurriedly waved at him before heading inside. Meanwhile, Keith spotted the car and instantly recognized it as his brother's own. He couldn't think of a reason why Gabriella would be stepping out of it, nor could he ask her because things between them weren't as good as they used to be.

He was unable to deny the fact that he felt a bit jealous she was getting along with his brother. Furthermore, he felt like his brother was doing it intentionally for whatever reason, but he had no proof. Besides, why would Damian go as far as hanging out with someone younger just to spite him.

★ ★ ★

Rosalind knocked on the door several times hoping Veronica wasn't asleep. Gabriella had just left for school, and it was mid-morning, there was a possibility she was asleep since she cried herself to sleep. She didn't want anyone to know about it, but Rosalind knew from the beginning.

Shortly after knocking for a while, Veronica finally opened the door. As expected, her eyes were puffy with dark circles underneath, she wasn't looking too good.

"For how long are you going to keep torturing yourself?" Rosalind asked with a worried expression, while Veronica said nothing. She sighed as they both walked over to the bed. Rosalind helped her arm and faced down.

"When are you going to tell her?" She asked, and Veronica's expression shifted to that of fear. "You can't keep it from her forever."

Rosalind thought it was time the truth was revealed because she had kept it for far too long. Even if Gabriella was going to resent her, it was better than feeling guilty about not telling her.

"I don't want her to resent me," Veronica said with a lump in her throat. Even if she wanted to reveal the truth, she should have done it from the beginning. She still felt there was hope, she could have a better relationship with her daughter, so she would rather not spoil the chance she had.

"Isn't it better to tell her? If your relationship improves, she'd hate you way more than she already does," Rosalind explained, but Veronica looked away, wanting to show she had already made her mind not to tell her daughter anything.

"If rather risk it, and explain to her when the time comes. I can barely live with the hatred she has for me now, so I don't want her to hate me more than before." She said. Realizing Veronica had already made her decision, she let the matter rest because she knew the kind of person she was. She found it hard to back out of any decision she made.