The Millionaire's Arranged Marriage (12 page)

CHAPTER 21

Tyson

- - -

Tyson sat on
the couch in the living room, waiting for Gabrielle to come downstairs. He was taking her to Padma’s house today, where she would be meeting to talk about the community garden upkeep for the fall months. With October approaching, she wanted to discuss new vegetables to plant.

He admired her work with Padma. Gabrielle was a woman who didn’t mind getting her hands dirty, who didn’t place emphasis on things that didn’t really mat
ter.

He’d been unable to stop thinking about the kis
s they shared this morning, even while he was showering. He hadn’t been with a woman in three years and to have Gabrielle there, sharing his time, space, meals and lips made him realize how much he missed being in a relationship – being in love.

Is that what this was? Love?

He had considered that it could be, but for one to truly love another person, they must be sure of what it was they were feeling. He was helping her, taking her from a bad situation and from the abuse being delivered upon her at the hands of his cousin. He provided a safe environment for her, a new beginning.

Tyson scooted to the edge of the couch and rubbed his hands together. He had to admit to himself that he enjoyed her company – their runs on the beach, cooking together,
even their conversations. What he didn’t like was how often she brought up Dilvan.

For a man who’d hurt her so much, Dilvan was always on her mind for some reason, like she wasn’t
completely over him. Tyson had a suspicion that this was the case, but he wouldn’t bring it up unless she did.

Tyson stood up when he heard
Gabrielle coming downstairs. She had on a pair of black slacks, a long-sleeved, low-cut pink blouse that showed cleavage and a pair of black loafers.

“Wow. You look stunning
.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t you think you’re a little too overdressed to be working in a garden?”

“We’re going to
talk about the garden...don’t think we’re working in it today.”

“Oh, okay. Well, if you’re ready, we can go.”

“I’m ready,” Gabrielle told him.

* * *

The thirty minute drive to Padma’s house was a quiet one. Tyson was at a loss for words when usually he was conversational. He was thinking about he kiss he shared with Gabrielle, how he could still feel the warmth of her lips against his mouth.

She hadn
’t said a word either, Tyson noticed. She just stared out of the window, probably doing the exact same thing he was doing – reliving every second of their kiss.

He pulled up behind Padma’s
car, shifted his Range Rover in park and asked, “I know it was a rather
wild
morning, but did you remember to grab your phone?”

Gabrielle rummaged around in her purse looking for it. “Yes, I have it, although I’ll probably get Padma to drop me off.”

“Okay. Well, you know the routine...call me if you need me.”

Gabrielle smiled. “I will.”
She reached for the door handle and Tyson grabbed her left hand.

“Wait,” he said.

She looked at him.

“We need to talk about this morning,” he told her.

She nodded. “Yeah. We do.”

Tyson kissed the backside of her hand, but that wasn’t enough. He wanted her lips again, as evident by the way he lifted out of his seat and went after them, tasting them with the same fervor as he had in her bed this morning.

When they separated, he said, “Call me if you need me, Gabrielle.”

“I will.”

Tyson watched her open the door, get out and walk up the stairs. He smiled, then put the car in reverse and drove away.

CHAPTER 22

Gabrielle

- - -

Sitt
ing across from
Dilvan gives me so many bad memories. Why did I even agree to meet him for dinner? And why had he chosen a romantic restaurant, one with dim lighting and candles – the type of place one would have to make reservations in order to get a table.

He’d ordered dinner.
My stomach was too nervous for me to eat. And why would I want to break bread with my enemy? I opted for a glass of wine instead.

“H
ow have you been?” Dilvan asks.

Ignoring him, I swish
the wine around in my glass, enjoying the aroma of it. Coming here was a mistake, I realize, because all the things he did to me are flashing in my head like visions. Reminders...

“You can look at me, Gabrielle.”

I frown.
Oh, now I can look at you, when before, I wasn’t allowed to make eye contact with you.

“Did you hear me?” he asks.

I nod and take a sip of wine.

“Then look at me.”

“No thanks,” I say.

He sighs heavily. “I asked you here because I wanted to apologize for the way I’ve treated you. You didn’t deserve it and I’m sorry.”

I roll my eyes. His apology means nothing to me. It can’t change the past and his mistreatment of me. It won’t undo the name-calling, the pushing and shoving, the way he forced himself on me and my two miscarriages.
I’m sorry
are just words, and for a man like Dilvan, there is no meaning behind them.

CHAPTER 23

Tyson

- - -

“Been a minute
since I’ve been over to your bachelor pad,” Heshan said.

Tyson
nodded.

The men were sitting in the living room, drinking beers and watching ESPN.

“Wait...I take that back...it certainly is not a bachelor pad anymore, now that Gabrielle is living here. How has that been going?”

Tyson forced a smile away from his face. “It’s going good.”

“Yeah, but I know you must want your house back to yourself.”

“U
m...haven’t really thought about it. It’s actually been nice having her here with me.”

Heshan sat up straight
. “Really, now?”

“Yeah.
”

Heshan gave Tyson a hard stare. “Wait...you like her, don’t you?”

“Of course I like her. How else were we able to get along for three months?”

“No, I don’t mean that kind of like. I mean, you got the hots for her.”

Tyson smiled, then turned up the beer bottle to his mouth. “And if I said I did?”

“Wow. I knew it!”

“Heshan, chill man. That was a hypothetical question.”

“
Sounds more like an admission to me. I thought, after Desiree, you were done with relationships.”

“Who said anything about a relationship?”
Tyson asked, unable to remove the smile from his face.

“You don’t have to say it, my brother. It’s written all over your face.
How long has it been since Desiree anyway? Four years?”

Tyson shrugged. “Not sure. All I know is I like spending time with Gabrielle, but she’s hella young.
”

“How young?” Heshan inquired.

“You don’t know how old your sister-in-law is, man?” Tyson quipped. “She’s twenty-one.”

“How did I not know that?” Heshan asked, and after thinking about it for a moment, he said,
“Well, whatever the case, you can help yourself with the love thing...I’m not going there.”

“You better before Aunt Padma makes you marry somebody of
her
choosing.”

“Nah...she won’t do that to me.”

“But isn’t that your culture? What people back in your homeland do?”

“Yeah, but we’re not there anymore.”

“So how did she get Dilvan to agree to marry Gabrielle?”

“Easy. She told him she would cut him out of the
will. He’s always been somewhat of a shark when it comes to money.”

“Interesting...”

“No...here’s where things get interesting. Get this, Dilvan and Gabrielle aren’t even married.”

“
Say what?” Tyson asked, turning to look at Heshan so fast, he could’ve fractured his neck.

“Yeah...M
om said that even though they had a marriage ceremony, the license was never filed with the state...therefore, they aren’t legally married.”

“Hmm...” Tyson rubb
ed his chin.

“
I’m curious...what
is
it
about Gabrielle that you like?”

“Why
did you ask the question like that? Like there’s something wrong with her?” Tyson asked.

“Didn’t mean anything by it...I’m just curious.”

Tyson took a sip of beer. “Well, she’s interesting...she understands me, and I understand her. I enjoy her company, and I haven’t felt this way about a woman in a very long time. My only issue with pursuing her is—”

“That Dilvan is your cousin.”

“It’s not even that...not trying to diss your brother or anything, but I could care less about Dilvan or his feelings. My issue with Gabrielle is, I think she may still have some feelings for Dilvan.”

“
I think you might be right.”

Tyson frowned.
“Why you say that?”

Heshan took a swig of beer and,
while gesturing with beer bottle in his hand, he said, “Okay...so this morning, we had brunch at Dilvan’s place...he was going on and on about how sorry he was for all of his wrongs...said something about not being perfect...that he made mistakes with Gabrielle, blah, blah, blah...long story short, she’s having dinner with him as we speak.”

“
She who?” Tyson asked, frowning so hard, he could make the muscles in his face burst.

“Gabrielle...she’s having dinner with Dilvan.”

Tyson shook his head. “No she’s not. She’s with your Mother. I dropped her off there myself.”

“Yeah, she was
with Mom earlier, but Dilvan told us this morning that Gabrielle agreed to meet him for dinner today.”

Tyson
glared. If Gabrielle
was
meeting Dilvan for dinner, she would’ve told him about it, right? He’d even mentioned to her, a while ago, that whenever she was ready to face Dilvan, he would be right there to support her – to make sure she was comfortable. That was before he had feelings for her. Now that he cared for her, the thought that she was spending time with Dilvan incensed him. Did she really go to meet Dilvan alone, over dinner, after all the things he did to her?

CHAPTER 24

Gabrielle

- - -

I don’t like
the way I feel in Dilvan’s presence. One glass of wine down and I continue to maintain a sense of nervousness, like he’s going to reach across the table and slap me if I don’t accept his apology. Before I even realize what I’m doing, I glance up at him and he’s staring at me with his intense gray eyes like he wants to have his way with me, like he misses the Tuesday and Thursday trips to my bedroom.

“Did you hear me?
” he asks. “I said I’m sorry.”

I shrug.

“You have nothing to say to that?”

“Nope.”

“Come on, Gabrielle...I’m trying here.”

He has some nerve, and with his statement, he’s struck a nerve.
He’s trying
...

“You’re trying what?”
I ask.

“To make amends with you.”

“Dilvan, all the apologies in the world won’t be enough for me to forget the things you’ve done to me. You humiliated me. You abused me and—”

“Listen...
we have to start over from somewhere.”

I frown. “No
we
don’t. What makes you think I want to start over with you? I’m not good enough, remember? I’m too ugly, too black, too stupid to be your wife.”

“
And I just apologized to you for the things I’ve said and done.”

I shake my head and cross my arms in defiance.

“Look, Gabrielle. I know the things I’ve done are probably unforgivable.”

“Probably?”

Dilvan blows a frustrated breath. “If you give me a chance, I promise I will make things right and be a better man for you.”

This conversation baffles me
...makes me wonder what’s behind his change of heart. Before, I wasn’t good enough. Now he wants to give me the world. “Why now?” I ask, not because I’m seriously considering getting back with him, but for my own knowledge. “Why do you want to be good to me now?”

“
When I found out what you did for my Father it made me realize how stupid I am and how special you are. I don’t deserve you, Gabrielle. I don’t. But I’m asking you for a chance to prove my love.”

Before I can stop myself, I’m laughing out loud.
He didn’t just say the word love, did he?

“You’re right about one thing, Dilvan...oh,
wait...I’m sorry...you still want me to call you
My Lord
or is Dilvan acceptable now?” I ask him, eyebrows raised.

He sighs.

Meanwhile, I’m inwardly smiling. I have what it takes to stand up to him now. If only I would’ve done this months ago. I continue, “You said you don’t deserve me and that’s precisely the reason why you don’t have me.”

“So you don’t love me? You don’t feel anything for me?”

“I used to,” I say honestly, because I did care about him, confusing his abuse with love. I foolishly thought the way Dilvan treated me was how he loved. But I realized it wasn’t love for me. It was love for himself.

“Do you feel anything for me now, because if there is a
microscopic bit of love in your heart for me, we owe it to each other to give this thing another go?”

Another six months of torture...no thanks.
“No. I don’t feel anything for you anymore,” I tell him as I stand. “Goodbye, Dilvan.”

“Gabrielle, wait...”

“Goodbye,” I tell him. It actually feels freeing to walk away, to officially end this virulent relationship that has been hanging over my head for months. Now it’s over. For good.