Chapter 99 - 98

Another week had passed, and Violet's mother was recovering faster than she anticipated. And because all she did was sleep and eat the past few weeks, she was getting tired of staying at home. Before she got sick, she had a job, went to the supermarket, cooked their meals, and went out whenever she wanted to. But these days, she felt so cooped up, so she asked Violet if they could go out to the mall and just walk around. 

How could Violet say no when she was just so happy that her mother was getting better, and since they never used to do this before, Violet thought today was a good day to start.

There weren't too many shoppers walking about, so it was easy to spot Gabriel walking at the mall. Violet and her mom were walking to one of the clothing stores when she saw him. She had missed him since they went out for their date, so she excitedly tried to catch his attention.

But that's when she saw that he wasn't alone. Gabriel was out shopping with a gorgeously dressed woman. She halted in her tracks but then thought maybe she was a sister or a cousin. They never really talked about his family, so she doesn't even know if he had a sister. 

She tried to step forward again, thinking, "I'll just say hi. He said, he was serious about me, so maybe it's time I met his relatives, right?" 

The woman smiled up at Gabriel, and he just nodded and kept walking. Violet was trying hard to keep up when she saw the woman grab the paper bag from his hand and say out loud, "Oh honey, thank you so much for the gift,' she smiled as she hugged Gabriel's arm.

Violet's heart dropped. Whoever that was, wasn't his sister, or even a close relative. She called him honey, and he didn't even say no to her. She ran back to the clothing store with tears in her eyes. After she wiped off her tears, she told her mother there was something important she needed to do at work, so they have to leave right away.

The scene kept playing again and again inside her head. Gabriel told her that he was serious about her, so why was he out dating another woman? She locked herself in her bedroom and let all the tears she's been holding free.

'Why would he date someone like me? Boring ordinary me? When he can have that gorgeous, classy woman whose clothes probably cost more than my salary.' she felt pity for herself.

She recalled all the times they had been at the grocery when all the women openly admired him, whispering how he could be dating somebody as plain as her. She didn't mind them before because as she looked at Gabriel, his attention was directed only at her. He never even smiled at the cashier who was being too over-friendly or the other women who tried to strike up a conversation and show him their boobs. He always hurried her up instead, telling her he was hungry and that she should cook him dinner right away.

Violet often wondered what Gabriel saw in her. But with his constant care and attention, she forgot all her doubts. She appreciated that he was snarky when it came to other women, but gentle and kind to her.

But today, more doubts entered her mind, "Did Gabriel finally realize that I will never be his match? And he needed someone more sophisticated?

And that robin's-egg blue paper bag that he had in his hand, wasn't that from the most expensive jewelry store in town? Isn't that a very intimate gift?

Everybody knew that jewelry and perfume were never given casually, they always represented love, so they were always given and received by lovers."

She cried her heart out until she fell asleep. 

Later that night, Gabriel called Violet, as per usual. So she decided to ask him about his day, what he did, and where he was, but he responded that he was at work the whole day because it was very busy.

'No! No! You liar! You were with another woman!' she screamed in her head. He was usually honest about how he spends his days, so today, she thought, maybe he had been lying to her all along.

When he asked how she spent her day off, she said she had to go. She couldn't pretend one more second that everything was normal. In a couple more minutes, she would have screamed at him on the phone if she did not cut the call.

He was taken aback when she said she was not feeling well and needed to go. She never made this excuse before. Even when she was not feeling well, they would chat for hours and hours until she fell asleep.

When he said no, she made another excuse. She had to prepare her mother's dinner, and that she needed to make sure her mother took her medicine at the exact time every night.

He let her go, but he knew there was something else behind the excuses. There was something in her voice that said she was lying.

The next day, Gabriel came to the office to pick her up. Violet was not ready to see him right now, but she can't just turn him away, otherwise, he'd probably throw a scene, and she did not want that.

She forced a smile on her face and walked toward his car. "Hey, I didn't know you'd be here."

"I missed you a lot, and I couldn't wait," he hugged her tightly, "I wanted to surprise you."

But she could not hug him back, and he felt it, "What happened? Is everything fine?"

"I'm a little bit tired. There…. there was too much work today," she stammered because she was not used to lying to him.

There were too many questions running through her mind, but she couldn't get herself to ask about the woman she saw him with. It was either she had no confidence in herself, or she was not strong enough to hear him say that he did not want her anymore.