CHAPTER 9

Two kills had been made in just in less than a month. Sasha's case seemed to also be murder because her accident was caused by a leakage which had been orchestrated. There was a possibility the culprit was the same person, but they couldn't prove it, neither had they found out who the person was. Unfortunately, when Damian checked the CCTV footage from that night, they found nothing. Meaning no one visited Nicole as Nancy claimed.

Everything seemed to be happening two fast, including Gabriella's mother's visit which, although she wasn't looking forward to, she had gotten herself prepared.

She finished her project with Keith as quickly as possible because she wanted to avoid talking to him. Why was she mad anyway?

She had tried asking herself that question several times, but the answers always seemed silly or petty. She couldn't also avoid that fact that Keith, although exchanged glances, ghosted her complete a day after the death of Sasha. Furthermore, she still didn't see that as a valuable reason to be mad at him because he did the same to his friends, and they all seemed to be cool with everything.

Rosalind had taken care of Veronica's room in readiness for her arrival. Gabriella seemed unbothered with the whole preparation because she knew she was bound to be in a foul mood until Veronica left.

While they both had dinner, Gabriella didn't say anything, and this worried Rosalind. The relationship between mother and daughter hadn't always been that bad, but then after all that happened, they suddenly began to grow distant, making Veronica Gabriella's 'Estranged Mother'.

Soon, the doorbell rang. Rosalind knew better than to ask Gabriella to get the doorbell, so she went instead. Veronica was a tall, dark, curvy woman with beautiful facial features. Gabriella looked a lot like her mother, and she wasn't sure if she liked that, even if her mother was gorgeous.

They hugged each other, Veronica and Rosalind, before they walked to the dining room to meet Gabriella glumly eating her food. She didn't turn to face them, neither did she act like someone had stepped in.

"Honey, I'm home," Veronica said, but Gabriella still didn't turn to face them.

"Yeah, I can see that,". She said. The feeling of hurt was evident in Veronica's expression and Rosalind, who immediately saw this, offered to help her unpack to ease the tension.

Gabriella suddenly stood up from the table, suddenly losing her appetite, and entered her room. She felt like her heart was being squeezed out of her chest, although she couldn't cry, she ran out of tears a long time ago. She detested Veronica's presence more than anything and although it seemed a bit too much, she had her reasons.

Rosalind and Veronica sat on the bed as soon as they entered the room. Veronica had had a long trip, so she needed to freshen up and rest. She was still hurt about Gabriella's nonchalant attitude towards her arrival, and Rosalind noticed this.

"Don't worry," she held her hand. "Gabriella would come around,"

"But for how long, Rosa? How long would it take for my daughter to forgive me?" She asked, at the verge of tears. Maybe Rosalind should have dismissed the feeling or made her feel better rather than mentioning it.

"I know Gabriella, you just need to give her a little more time," She told her with a reassuring smile which earned her one in return. Veronica was beautiful, but she had a visible scar above her eyebrow. One wouldn't really notice it unless they moved forward.

Rosalind, who knew the cause of the scar, saw it and caressed it.

"The scar has refused to fade,"

There were some scars, both physical and emotional. Some were from tiny wounds and some from large ones. The tiny ones rarely left scars and faded away quickly, but the large ones left scars much larger than the wounds themselves.

"I like the fact that it is there, it makes me look tough," She said, and they both laughed. This lightened the mood a bit and they both began to unpack.

"How long are you staying?"

"I'm not certain, probably a week because I know Gabriella isn't comfortable having me in this house," She responded.

"Are you certain? Because I think this is one of the reasons why she gets frustrated. You always leave as soon as possible,"

"I've decided not to force myself on her and give her breathing space. Since it's time she needed, I'd give it to her," Veronica said with a weak smile.

Gabriella drove herself to school the following morning, not waiting for her friends. She was in a daze and had arrived at school early, so she wouldn't have to see Veronica before leaving. Although she didn't see her, she was still in a terrible mood.

Cleopatra and the others finally arrived at school and were obviously annoyed she left without telling them. They had arrived a bit late because of how long they waited for her outside her house. At some point, they were worried after they had called and received no response.

"Guys, I'm sorry," She apologized. As usual, they played hard to get until she finally forgave them. They didn't act that way for long because they had something to tell her.

The three looked at each other, as if contemplating whether to tell her and if they were telling her, who was going to tell her.  Finally, Iris stepped up and finally spoke, bring the smart one among the three.

"Keith and Renee are back together,"