Chapter 86 - 85

They stopped at her house, and he said, "I want to have dinner."

"Just leave the groceries at the door, so you can get home faster," she said, still clueless about what he meant.

"There is no one at my house," he tried giving her a hint, hoping that she would understand what he wanted.

"Just order takeout then. We better do this fast, so I don't have to bother you any further," she said.

If he was the eye-rolling type, he would have probably rolled his eyes at her inability to get the hints he was throwing at her. He was trying to subtly tell her to cook dinner for him and invite him to dinner, but she was just not getting it.

"Why don't you go on inside and cook me dinner. I will bring you the bags from the store," he said explicitly to get the message across.

"But…," Violet was hesitant. She had never invited any man to her house, much less cooked for anyone other than her mother. Being alone with a man at this hour was bound to result in gossip.

"So you're saying no to your benefactor? You're not going to feed me even though I waited for you and even bought you groceries?" he complained.

"Oh, okay, that's great. This could be the favor I promised you," she said.

"What? No, of course not, this is just for the groceries," he replied.

She scrunched her eyebrows, how is she going to repay him if he would not accept dinner as a payment? What she didn't know is that when she agreed, he set her up for something he was planning. Just like Dimitri, Gabriel was a capitalist, giving her a job constituted a bigger favor than she thought.

She was hesitant to let him in, but as he said he bought all that food so she could feed him, so that is what she was going to do.

Her house was charming, it was small and not overly decorated. It only had one bedroom, and they had the barest of furniture, mostly threadbare and well used, but very well taken care of.

"Uhm… you can watch TV while I make dinner," she said as she handed him the remote.

"Take your time. I'm okay, I have messages to check," he said as he sat down on the couch. Gabriel's big tall frame made the house seem tinier than it was, and it highlighted his masculinity, making her more aware that he was in her house.

Violet was an average cook, she did not know how to cook a lot of dishes, but she was not lacking, she perfected the ones that she knew how to prepare. And the food always reminded you of home, something your mom used to cook, and it always made people feel good.

Gabriel felt overjoyed when he saw the dishes she made for dinner, but then he noticed that she wasn't really eating, "Hey, why are you not eating? Everything tastes good. I hope you didn't add anything to the food to make me sick," he teased.

Her eyes grew large, she would never even think of doing that to anybody. "I'm kidding," he added. 

"Don't be shy keep on eating, this is your house," he chided.

Violet cursed him in her mind. She couldn't wait to get this experience over with. He had been roaming freely about her house and had been commenting on anything and everything that he saw. He was so comfortable in her house that he made her nervous, it was like she was visiting his house instead of the other way around.

He kept stealing glances at her the whole time they were eating that she felt a little strange. It was like he wanted to tell her something.

After dinner, he just left, saying he had something to do, and she was relieved. She ate little during dinner because she was dreading what he might say to make his stay longer. She had a long day, and she just wanted to turn in for the night and relax.

The next day she decided to pass by the hospital during her lunch break. She had a ton of leftovers, so she thought of bringing those to her mom, so she could enjoy them too.

When she got there, one of the nurses approached her and told her that a health care donation agency had decided to sponsor her mother's surgery. They would cover everything, all the expenses, the hospital stay, and even the medicine.

Their prayers had been answered, and as she told her mother the good news, they both cried in joy. They couldn't believe the luck that was suddenly bestowed upon them.

They had scheduled the surgery at the soonest possible date, they instructed her mom to stay at the hospital while they waited to prevent any accidents.

Violet was happily walking towards the bus when she saw Gabriel in the lobby of the hospital.

"Hey, Gabriel! Why are you here? Are you visiting someone?" she asked.

"You could say that. How is your mother?" he pretended he didn't know anything, when in fact, he sponsored her mother's operation and her bills. He knew that she would never accept the money if he gave it to her directly. But he was so moved by her caring, so he decided to help her.

"An organization sponsored my mom's operation, and hopefully, everything will be successful. I can't thank them enough for making everything possible. I don't need to worry about my mother anymore," she said with a brighter aura and a smile on her face.

"That sounds good. I'm glad for you," he said, smiling a secret smile. 

"Hey, I can't stay long, I'm on my lunch break, and I'm heading out," she said as she ended their conversation. She was walking out the door when she noticed Gabriel behind her.

With raised eyebrows, she looked back at him. "Do you want to have lunch together?" he asked. 

It was a very joyous day for Violet that she did not mind having lunch with Gabriel. She was just happy that her mom had hopes of getting better, and sharing the news with someone did not seem so bad, even if it was Gabriel.