Page 76 of For Always
“The one where you and Austin were involved in a relationship that you eventually ended. When I confronted Austin about it, he told me it was a lie. That you’d probably said that because he hadn’t been satisfied with your work on the last project and suggested you find another position. I told him I would have liked to talk to you about your position and I would have liked to see that project that he was so unhappy with. But he brushed it off saying that he’d handled it and it was over.”
Gabriella kept her smile in place. If she had been feeling any measure of guilt for intending to come to his job and tell Austin’s employers what a sick bastard he was, she definitely wasn’t now.
“I assure you, Faran, we definitely had a relationship. I have the text messages, emails and doctor’s bills to prove it,” she quipped.
Faran immediately began shaking his head. “No. Don’t tell me he was abusive. I will not stand for such a thing. Not at my firm.”
“Oh no, Faran. Austin never laid a hand on me. I’m talking about the baby I lost because Austin wouldn’t take me to the hospital when I begged him to,” she said and while there had been a pinch of sadness and pain at her words, the look on Faran’s face was enough to make it better.
By the time Gabriella left, she felt confident that Faran was going to call Austin and tell him that she was back in Greenwich. That was what she’d wanted when she decided to go there. Now, all she had to do was wait for him to come to her.
And he did, not three hours later.
He knocked on her apartment door and Gabriella had answered it ready for whatever was about to happen. At least she thought she was before she saw him.
Standing at six feet even, Austin Sterner was one fine black man. His clean-shaved head and muscled chest only accentuated how brilliant he was in the real estate market. He wore gray slacks and a gray dress shirt with the first two buttons left open. The shirt was fitted because Austin liked to show off all the work he put in at the gym.
“So you returned,” he said as he walked into her apartment without an invitation.
It was fine. Gabriella had let him in. If she didn’t want him there, he wouldn’t be.
“I have.”
“And you’re running your mouth about me already. Look Gabriella, I told you I wanted you back. We could have worked this out, baby. You didn’t have to go running to Faran feeding him a bunch of lies,” Austin said.
Gabriella folded her arms over her chest and stood with her back against the door.
“Oh, they were lies? I thought for sure that I’d spent three days in the hospital earlier this year because of a miscarriage.”
Austin shook his head. “I told you to deal with that situation well before that time. It’s not my fault you waited,” he told her.
She nodded. “You’re right. It was my decision to continue with the pregnancy. But it was your decision to leave me on that floor bleeding when you knew I needed to go to the hospital. It was your decision to tell me that bullshit about not wanting another child when you barely ever remembered to use a condom when we were together. Now, true, that was my fault. I should have never trusted an ignorant bastard like you. But I’m cool with my mistakes now, Austin. I’ve come to terms with them and I’m ready to move on.”
He took a deep breath and held out his arms to her. “It’s about time,” he said. “Now, come here and give me a hug, girl. You standing there looking all fine in those jeans and that shirt. Got yourself a little tan too. Makes you look more Cherokee than Brazilian, but you know I’ve always loved your exotic look.”
When she didn’t move, Austin came to her. He was in just the right position for her to pull her knee up and slam it into his groin. When he stumbled back, speechless from the pain, Gabriella walked toward him.
“You’re a spineless coward, Austin. I know you set my car on fire because I wouldn’t take you back and I know you told Faran that I lied about our relationship and that I messed up on one of my projects that’s why you wanted me out of the office. You’re a liar and an ass and if I never see your face again it will be too soon,” she said.
Austin still couldn’t speak and she’d backed him up until he was close to the couch. He was bent over and holding his stomach while he gasped for air. She started to push him, just to see him roll onto the floor. But she stopped. It was enough and she’d already won. Seeing him in pain was just the icing on the cake. Gabriella went to the table by the front door and picked up her phone. She dialed a number and said, “I’m ready.”
In less than five minutes, Detective Cole Desdune and his partner came through the door. The next words Gabriella heard were, “Austin Sterner, you are under arrest.”
That had been a day that Gabriella knew she’d never forget.
Earlier today, Austin had been in court for a bail review. It ended with him being remanded back to jail and held without bail because Faran and Gabriella testified that he was a flight risk and posed an existing danger to her. Austin yelled every name he could think of at her in the courtroom and Gabriella held her head up high as she stared him eye-to-eye and waved goodbye.
Now she sipped her champagne and enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment.
“She was fierce, Mama. You should have seen her,” Adriana said.
Her sister was now six months pregnant, with a bump that resembled a basketball tucked beneath her shirt. She and Parker had arrived in Connecticut two days ago as a surprise to check-up on Gabriella.
“No. I just did what I had to do,” Gabriella said, casting a thankful glance at Monica who was sitting on the other side of the table.
“Not every woman can do that,” Beatriz told her youngest daughter. “You should be proud that you stood up. Not only for yourself but so many of those who could or cannot stand for themselves.”
Gabriella nodded. She understood exactly what her mother was saying, without looking at Monica again.
