“I have to go back soon. I can’t let him take advantage of my mistakes for non-stop service,” Gabriella decided with a sigh.
After half an hour in the toilet, the woman finally breathed fresh air. Unfortunately, the tightness in her chest did not decrease. The image of Roberto’s act made her shudder in horror. Even though she shook her head very quickly, the memories wouldn’t go away.
“Gabriella?” called a familiar voice from the front.
The woman spontaneously straightened her face. Her husband was standing with round eyes and clenched hands.
“What happened? Why are your clothes wet?”
Gabriella immediately lowered her head, letting her hair fall to cover the disgusting mark she failed to remove. That woman did not want to be called weak.
Getting no answer, Max grabbed his wife’s arm. The woman immediately gasped and returned her gaze with a slight tremble.
“Did Amber bullied you again?”
Gabriella’s blink slowly dissipated the tension. “No. I just washed my face.”
Max suddenly looked down and sighed. Under the shadow of his own head, the man expressed a feeling of relief. However, as soon as the fresh air filled his lungs, he straightened up again with a flat face while his grip loosened.
“Next time, whenever you want to go alone, ask me for permission first. I don’t want to bother with you if something happens, like the Amber case yesterday. My time, energy, and attention are too valuable. You understand?”
Again, the woman bowed. Tears almost rolled to reveal her dark secret.
“Look at this heartless man! How could he be so selfish to his own wife?”
“Yes,” Gabriella said, interrupting the sentence in her mind. She was too tired to face endless debates.
“Good. Now, is there something you want to report to me?”
The woman’s eyebrows rose spontaneously. Her lips trembled in doubt. “Reporting what?” she asked pretending to know nothing.
“My secretary said that she heard a commotion when I left earlier. Were you doing stupid things that make my business partner angry?” Max accused.
The woman’s feelings were getting crushed, like being run over by tons of bulldozer. How could her husband be more concerned with the client than his wife?
“It’s nothing,” Gabriella replied after taking a very heavy breath. Her voice was about to crack like her hope to get protection from the CEO.
“Alright then, hurry back to the room! I have to attend a meeting. After I return, you should have finished the task.”
Without nodding or saying yes, Gabriella followed her husband’s order. Tears could no longer be hidden, slid without a chance to hit the cheeks.
Arriving at the table, the woman was still sobbing. Her ragged breaths began to leave a sigh in the air. Even though she pounded her chest hard, the squeezing feeling didn’t go away.
“Why do I keep crying?”
Gabriella desperately wanted to stop wasting her energy on pointless things. However, her heart was too fragile to be forced being strong.
After a while, the woman tried to continue working. However, her hands were too shaking to hold the marker. The tremors had gotten worse.
“Come on, Gaby! You have to do it,” she whispered to herself.
With all her might, the woman forced the marker to move. Gabriella knew that her work was a mess. However, she was more afraid of the punishment that awaited.
***
“This is what you call a pattern?”
Max slammed the pile of papers on the table. Gabriella spontaneously bowed deeper. Tears had flowed along with the rising fear and annoyance.
“I’ve done my best,” the woman said, trying to stabilize her voice. However, her throat was too narrow to be able to show rigidity.
“You were playing with me, hm? Are you upset that I pushed you in front of Amber?”
Gabriella could only shake her head. Her mouth did not dare to open, worried that her sorrow would be exposed.
“You messed up the pattern in protest?”
Again, the woman shook her head, provoking Max’s unfounded anger.
A second later, the man grabbed Gabriella’s arm, forcing her to look back at him. However, as soon as he saw the sadness that had run down his wife’s face, his annoyance suddenly turned into worry.
“Why are you crying?”
“I tried my best, but you still scold me,” Gabriella replied like a child. The sobs could no longer be held back, making Max wonder even more.
“Are you sure about that? Don’t you usually go against my words?”
Instead of answering, the woman wiped her nose with a shaking hand. It was then, Max’s heart stung with shock. In an instant, with eyes opened wide, he grabbed Gabriella’s fingers that couldn’t stay still.
“Hasn’t your tremors gotten better? Why is it like this?”
The woman retracted her hand violently. “Don’t pretend you care about me. I’ve had enough of your charade.”
Max’s heart suddenly throbbed. The cavity that had just been filled before, was suddenly empty, leaving a wound that he didn’t want to show.
“Do you forget that I’m responsible for you? If your hands get worse, I’m the one who’s burdened too.”
“Burdened? You always think of me as a burden. Why don’t you just throw me out on the street? I won’t come back and disturb your life again.”
The man flinched and gritted his teeth. He felt guilty in a sudden because of the prestige that was still maintained in front of his wife.
“Okay. This time I forgive you. But next time, there shouldn’t be this kind of error. Understand? If your hands are tired, be honest. I’ll definitely give you a break.”
The roar of Gabriella’s breath slowly subsided. After swallowing hard, she looked down at the relentless shaking of her fingers.
Looking at that kind of response, Max let out a sigh of relief. A second later, he cleared his throat and took Gabriella’s bag.
“Now we go home. Hope your hand will get better after dinner and rest.”
Without saying much, Gabriella followed in her husband’s footsteps. She wanted to run away and take another route. However, the woman realized that there was nowhere to ensure her safety. She would not be able to survive alone without money or a place to live.
Gabriella really had no other choice.
***
“Have you slept?” Max asked as he climbed into bed.
Seeing his wife unmoved, the man approached and examined the expression on the woman’s face who was lying with her back to him. Gabriella was clearly pretending to be asleep.
“Oh, asleep,” Max muttered, testing his wife’s response.
After a few seconds, Gabriella still closed her eyes tightly. As much as possible, the woman restrained her shaking hands behind Snowy’s body so they would not arouse suspicion. She did not know that her husband was looking at her with warm eyes.
“Should I postpone our important agenda again?” Max muttered, deliberately bringing his mouth close to his wife’s ear.
Gabriella gulped so that her slender neck became a little churned. Witnessing that adorable response, the man secretly smiled. However, two seconds later, the curve of his lips turned stiff. An unfamiliar mark had aroused suspicion.
“Why is there a bruise here?” the man asked while touching the bluish mark on Gabriella’s right neck.
The woman gasped spontaneously. However, as soon as her husband’s anger was detected by her, she quickly hugged Snowy and closed her eyes again. “I want to sleep. Please don’t disturb me!”
Unexpectedly, Max grabbed his wife’s shoulder so she was facing him. “What really happened? Explain to me! How did you get this mark?”
The woman’s eyes began to fill with sadness and horror. The bad memory that she tried to bury had come back to haunt her mind.
“Say it, Gabriella! What have you done?”
The woman shook her head and sighed. She began to have difficulty breathing through her nose.
“Please don’t push me …. I don’t want to remember.”
Max’s heart was beating fast, while his breath was spewing with rage. “So you served him, hm? You gave your body to him when I’m not looking?”
“No … it’s not like that,” Gabriella answered hoarsely.
“Why do you let other men enjoy your body? What has he touched?”
“Stop it, Max. Stop it!” The woman covered her ears and eyes. She didn’t want the picture of Roberto’s hands dirtying her body to become more obvious.
“You should take care of yourself, Mrs. Evans. But why are you lowering yourself?”
The husband’s accusations were like salt on the wound to Gabriella’s heart. The pain she was trying to endure had exceeded the limit.
“Stop blaming me! Stop! Don’t you realize that it was your fault? You left me in your room. You let me get stuck with that bad guy!”
Regret slowly crept into Max’s heart, pressing against his chest with a tightness that froze his vocal cords. Gabriella’s burst of anger had slapped him hard. He realized he had doubled the woman’s suffering.
“You think I liked it when he touched me? No, Max. You don’t know how hard he pressed me. You can’t imagine how scared I was at that time.”
The atmosphere was suddenly blue. Max didn’t know what words to say to heal the wound he had inflicted. He shouldn’t have let his emotions explode to hurt Gabriella.
During a moment of contemplation, Max took a deep breath and lowered his head. After swallowing hard and closing his eyes for a moment, the man’s mouth finally uttered a word. “Sorry.”
For the first time, Max spoke a very sincere word to Gabriella. He no longer maintained his prestige. Another thing had become more important to take care of. The wife’s heart.