Chapter 2
1887 Words
GABRIELLA
I woke up feeling like s**t.
Never again. Never again was I going to rusk my heart out like that.
From never being fully accepted into his family, to this, I wasn't sure when I started to feel the kind of numbness I now felt and acknowledged.
Three years ago, Alexander had been forced to take a fiance, by hus grandfather who had not necessarily required him to marry, but at least show a little bit of commitment so he could be taken seriously by his family.
I hadn't expected that engagement to last three whole years.
At first, we had made arrangements to see each other just in public, but then grandpa Williams had not been satisfied, so I had spend weekends in Alex's house, and the last Saturdays in his family's home.
The Williams had a tradition of having dinner every last Saturday of the month, which was always filled with drama as Alex had a large family.
All five of the William siblings were required to attend. All of them did, except one.
Ryker Williams.
No one mentioned his name, and just avoided talking about him in general while the rest of the family continued their business like he didn't exist.
I personally didn't care, because a good deal of time was spent with them grilling me with questions of how my relationship with Alexander was going. And when we were getting married.
I couldn't even count just how many times I had been told I was not exactly a great choice for their son, but that if he was happy, them I 'would do'.
It had hurt me every time it was mentioned.
But then again, Alexander had always tried his best to not defend me, but managed to steer the conversation away. I mean, it wasn't what I would had preferred, but the again...
I had endured all of that, for three whole years.
All because, somewhere along the line I had fallen for Alexander.
I was in love with him.
He didn't know it yet, was clear on me not ever making the mistake of falling in love with him, right from the beginning, and subsequently. But the heart dud really have a mind of it's own.
I and Alex hadn't really kissed each other, except it was appropriate, until a whole year later.
We had come home as usual from one of the dinners, making fun of what had transpired between Alex's other brother, and his niece who had emptied her tiny stomach all over his face, when we bumped into each other.
Alex had held me by the arm, to keep me from falling, and then slipped the other hand through my waist and had stayed in that position for what felt like hours, before he had kissed me.
I could swear I had died and gone to heaven that day.
My chest squeezed painfully as I tried to remember what had happened that day and how it had changed the whole dynamics of our relationship.
Somehow, we settled into what I could only describe as what a real couple's relationship would look like.
And it had been great.
But in those three years, we had never ever made love. Even with the toe curling kisses, and the touches that sent butterflies to my stomach, he had been adamant on not going to that extent with me, simply because he wanted to take his time, and savor each moment.
Now I knew what was taking his time. And it started with a 'C'.
I squeezed my eyes shut, then released them as I let them flutter open.
The light was hella bright, and got me all confused for a second or two, before I blinked and took my time, looking around my surroundings.
I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that I was alone, and in my bed.
I checked the time on my bedstand.
2pm.
I knew I had to be at work. But how could I stand being at work when my boss was my ex-fiance, whom I had just caught cheating on me?
It was the sound of my phone ringing that had me jolting out of bed and finally awake.
And the pounding that followed in my head, was not a joke. But I didn't care.
Fainting in your ex's house was definitely not a way to walk out with your dignity still intact.
I picked my phone and frowned when my grandma's name flashed on my screen.
"Hi baby..." Leaved it to my nana to speak to me in the sweetest voice ever, even if it sounded way too low than it normally did.
"Hi, nana. How are you?" Concern flashed through my mind as I got off from the bed, holding a hand to my head like I could take away the pounding headache, while my other hand pressed my phone tightly to my ears.
"The question is how are you, Gabriella. I have been calling you all morning. I was getting worried already." My grandmother countered, coughing a little.
My frown deepened.
That's didn't sound good. "I'm sorry. My phone has been silent all through, and since I'm having a busy day today, I haven't exactly checked my phone." I lied through my teeth, hoping my detective grandmother didn't see through my bullshit.
I wasn't sure I was ready to tell her that the man I had spent the last three years gushing to her about, had cheated on me with the girl who made it her life's mission to eat my grandmother's gingerbread cookies anytime she had the chance to.
There was a pause on the other end and a faint beeping sound, before she spoke again. "I see." Pause. "Where is Alex?" She asked, just as I knew she would, but prayed she didn't..
Fuck!
My chest threatened to constict again, but I pushed the feeling away, as I scrambled for words to say. I hated lying to my grandmother. "Well... Alex...he uhhh...."
Just as I was speaking, I thought I heard a gagging sound, and then the indication that the line had gone dead.
A little bit of dread creeped into my hands as I brought the phone down and dialed the number again.
No answer.
Twice more, and no answer.
I was beginning to get worried, and thought about going to the place where my grandmother worked, when my phone rang again.
I picked without hesitation. "Nana, what happened? I have been trying to call you back." I said, almost immediately.
The voice however, that replied was very far from the voice a was expecting.
"This is not your Nana, Gabriella." A thick baritone rattled into the phone. "And, I wonder why you are not at the hospital already as I instructef Rosetta to inform you about her admission hours ago." The voice sounded annoyed.
And I wonder who his annoyance was directed to.
I blinked. "What are you talking about? Who even, are you?" I asked, wondering what the hell was going on, and why my grandmother's name, and 'hospital' were used in the same sentence.
"I'm waiting. I would send you the address now." The voice said after what felt like a minute, before the line went dead, and I got a messenge from not my grandmother's number, but a number that had only ever contacted me once, and that was as request for the number to be saved.
Ryker Williams.
What in the world was going on!
~
When Ryker Williams has given me the address to the hospital where my grandmother was admitted, I hadn't thought for a moment, that it would be his hospital.
Which translated to one of the most expensive hospitals in the whole of New York City.
I didn't even care about anything else at the moment, other than the fact that I needed to see my grandmother and know what was wrong with her and why she had been admitted.
We had seen last, three days ago, and she had looked okay to me, except for her usual dark circles under her eyes, and her complaining of a head ache.
Nothing else.
The thought of anything had happening to her right now brought a new pain to my chest.
Rosetta was all I had left in the entire world. With a mother that preferred to get married every leap year, and a father that wanted nothing to do with me, I had been pushed into the hands of my grandparents from my mother's side, who had done everything in their power to take care of me.
My grandfather had died of stroke when I was fourteen, and then it had been just I and my grandmother left.
Even at that, she had worked her ass off, even up until now to make sure I hadn't come out of school with any kind of loan whatsoever.
My highschool and college tuition had been paid for to the very last penny, and all I had had to do was study and try not to wuery about anything else.
Rosetta, my grandmother had worked for the Williams for as long as I could remember. Now though, she currently worked for one Williams.
Ryker Williams.
She was the head of his household staff, and pretty much lived with him. I for one, wasn't allowed to visit her when she was at work, which irked he everytime, but she had always told me not to worry and that everything was good.
And did I say that I had attended one of the best colleges in the country?
After college, I had been surprised when I had gotten the offer to work an internship at the Williams Organization, where I had met Alexander.
I scoffed at the thought of him.
It was safe to say that I really did owe the Williams my life in a way.
"Gabriella Stevenson, Please." I said to the receptionist who looked at me with kind blue eyes. "My grandmother was admitted here."
The receptionist nodded and looked at her computer. "What's her name?" She asked, and I swallowed, then gave her the name.
A few seconds later, she was looking up at me, then at the computer, before nodding. "Room 6. It's in the east wing. First floor." She said, and handed me a pass, which I took and ran off, but not without thanking her.
My eyes were wide as I rushed to the elevator and made my way to what I could only describe as a very long journey, because I had never been to a hospital as huge as this one.
Why was it bigger than a shopping mall?
By the time I got to the room, I was sweating slightly, even when the place was well conditioned.
"Nana!" I cried once I got to my grandmother, who lay on the bed, looking drained and had a whole lot of wires attached to her body.
"What is happening?" I asked the nurse who had given me the go ahead to enter the room.
She sighed and looked at my grandmother who was pretty much sedated. "You will have to speak to the doctor about that." She said, then shut her tablet and walked out of the room, leaving me and my grandmother alone.
- Writer
