Chapter 64: He was shot
1534words
It took me almost an hour to calm myself. The scene where my dad was slapped repeatedly replayed in my head. I groaned, hitting the bed in frustration. It took Gabriel a few moments to come into my room.
'You overreacted," he said, closing the door behind him as he entered with my mother.
'What would you have had me do?" I groaned.
'Nathan doesn't know your father," he said, sitting beside me.
'But he is still Johnson's son."
'No child deserves to pay for their parent's mistakes, Scarlett. You hit him too hard," my mother said, sitting on the other side of me.
'I wanted to kill him. Why wasn't he reacting? He should have cried out like my dad did. Why didn't he?"
'Because he wanted you to pour your frustration on him. What if he got chest pain? Weren't you thinking about that?" my mother asked, her tone soft but firm.
'He can die for all I care!"
'Nathan was already in the USA with his mother when this whole thing happened," my mother began, arousing my interest.
'You knew?" I asked.
'Your dad told me about it, but I never knew it was Nathan's dad," she continued. 'I was your mother's friend. Your family was wealthy then, Scarlett. But in the blink of an eye, their wealth was gone. They were thrown into abject poverty to the point that your dad couldn't pay your mother's hospital bills, so she died of kidney failure."
Tears filled my eyes. 'That means my mother died because of Nathan's family," I sobbed. 'If they hadn't taken everything from him, he would have been able to save my mother." Gabriel pulled me closer, consoling me.
'After the death of your mother, your father became a shadow of himself. He stayed out late, drinking and smoking. You were only two years old, yet he didn't care. Or, he just didn't know how to care for you alone. I wanted to take you with me, but he refused and insisted on staying close to you, so I only came by to take care of you often," her voice broke as she explained. 'One fateful night, your wailing wouldn't just stop. I had to come to see you, only to find your father drinking himself to a stupor in the living room while you were wailing on the couch beside him. It was that night he took advantage of me, and I became pregnant with Kristine. He decided we should get married so I wouldn't have my child out of wedlock, and you would have a mother to look after you. But then, your dad died of lung cancer as a result of the smoking. You know the rest of the story, Scarlett," she concluded.
By then, her cheeks were wet with tears. I pulled away from Gabriel to hug her. 'Stop crying, Mother," I consoled her.
***
'You have to go home now, Gabriel. It's getting late," I told him later in the day.
'It's just sunset. By the way, I think you should call Nathan to apologize to him," he said.
I furrowed my brows. 'For what?"
'He is innocent, you know? He didn't even know what his father did."
'But I'm sure that's the same company he is managing. That was supposed to be my dad's."
'It's still not his fault. Besides, you heard your mother say he was in the US with his mother. His father must have sent them away just to carry out his evil deeds. So, call him and apologize," he stated.
I chuckled slightly. 'Are you taking sides with him now?" I tilted my head.
'If you are going to spend the rest of your life with him, then you two shouldn't be fighting." He really tried to hide his emotions when he said that, but I noticed.
'And who says I want to spend the rest of my life with him?" I snuggled closer to him. 'Nathan is my past." I brushed my lips against his, and he pulled away.
'But you love him," he said.
'I can learn to love another," I whispered, kissing him. He relaxed under my touch for a minute, but when I tried to deepen the kiss, he pulled away again.
'It's getting late. I should be on my way," he stood up.
'You said it was just sunset earlier," I frowned at him.
'There might be traffic," he avoided my eyes. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down on the bed.
'You never cared about traffic," I said, straddling him.
'What are you doing?"
'What does it look like?" I began unbuttoning his dress shirt, and he held my hands on his chest.
'I'm not interested."
'Then, let me make you," I leaned in to kiss him, but he turned his head. 'What is this baby attitude about now?" I whined.
'I can only help you when you are having the effect of Desirella, but not like this. You are only going to make me love you more, and that shouldn't be happening anymore," he stated firmly.
'Why shouldn't it be happening? I want to learn to love you. Nathan doesn't deserve my attention after everything he and his family did to us. I want to stay with you. I care about you so much, you know? So, loving you wouldn't be far-fetched."
'What if you never did?"
'What if I do?"
'We shouldn't be doing this."
'But I want you, and you can't deny me that. This is the first time in 10 years that I've desired a man willingly, so please, don't spoil this for me," I leaned in to kiss him again. This time, he didn't pull away; he only deepened the kiss. 'That wasn't so bad, was it?" I smiled, pulling away to catch my breath.
Without a word, he turned me on my back. 'You asked for it," he smiled back, kissing me again.
'I love the feel of you, Gabriel," I whispered, wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling him into me.
The following morning, a phone call woke us up. I fumbled to get my phone from the nightstand, Everleigh's name popping up. My heart skipped a beat. What could be wrong with her? Why is she calling so early?
'Eve?" I yawned, sitting up on the bed.
'Sunshine," she cried out, her voice shaky. 'It's Nathan. My father shot him."
'What? Why?" My heart leaped to my throat.
'Just come over, please. Pasay Teaching Hospital." With that, she hung up.
'What's the problem?" Gabriel asked, sitting up.
'Nathan was shot!" I scrambled out of bed, rushing to the bathroom.
We were at the hospital some moments later. We found Everleigh crying in the waiting room. 'Eve?" I called, moving closer. She hurried to hug me.
'I'm scared, Sunshine; I'm scared," she sobbed in my arms. Tears filled my eyes as I tried to console her. If she is this scared, then how can I show mine?
We stayed in the hospital for half an hour before the doctor came out of the operating theater. 'How is he?" we sprang to our feet.
'We have successfully removed the bullet. He will be fine," the doctor said.
'Are you sure, doctor? Is he breathing fine?" Everleigh sobbed.
'Yes, he is. He should wake up any moment now."
'Can we see him now?" I asked.
'Sure, you can, but allow the nurses to transfer him to a ward first." With that, he left. I couldn't contain the excitement bubbling in me.
We entered Nathan's ward after he was transferred. He was still unconscious with a strap around his tummy; his abs perfectly glowing. 'How did it happen, Eve?" I asked as her cries turned into soft sighs. 'Why would your father shoot Nathan? What did he do?"
'He found out about the flash drive and came to confront me at my dad's place. My dad got angry and shot him."
'He could have called security on him, not this," I said.
'He already hates Nathan. That's why he shot him."
Out of anger, I called the police, and they took my dad away," she began crying again. I moved closer to her, patting her shoulder. 'I never knew my dad could be so wicked. He had burnt down Reyes Legacy Jewels and also killed the man he sent. It feels as if I never knew my dad. He used to be loving and caring."
Tears filled my eyes as the charred body of Razi flashed across my mind. 'He killed my daughter," I said, my voice choked with emotion. 'I'm going to make your father pay dearly, Eve. That's a promise," I added, wiping my tears.
Nathan woke up at that moment. 'I thought you died," I spat without giving him space to process his environment.
'I thought you would be the last person I'd see when I woke up," he retorted, sitting up and wincing. 'What's your bodyguard doing here?"
'Call him that again, Nathan, and I will punch you back unconscious," I warned him, clenching my fist.
'Are you two supposed to be fighting now?" Everleigh interjected, and I rolled my eyes.
