That was not the last fight we’ve had in the past few months. We always fight over little things, like my schedule, places, and people I’ve been with, and guys who just want to talk to me about some random things. All those small little things, he got possessive, jealous, and sometimes freaked out which sometimes I wasn’t sure if I still can call possessiveness or obsession.
I tried to understand him because I know it was just his way of showing me that he loves me. Even though there have been times, I can’t help but wonder if I was the reason why he suddenly became like that. A possessive Alpha towards his Luna.
He drove me to work every morning and picked me up every afternoon. It’s a sweet gesture actually, but it gets to the point that he doesn’t want me to go home without him and go somewhere else without him next to me.
And even when having a girl’s night out, with Noelle, Sandy, and Nancy, he also wanted to be there. Yes, let’s say he’s just protecting me… but often gets overprotective. And when you say ‘over’, it’s literally over that you can’t decide for yourself and sometimes you feel being in a cage and can’t able to breathe.
And there’s one time when Bryan, my brother, informed me that he’s going to fly to Chicago. He invited me for a brother and sister get-together, but because he has some friends with him, I asked Noelle and Sandy to come with me.
Gabriel has been on a business trip in Texas for three days, but I still want to let him know, so I called his number. But I’d been calling him for almost five minutes, but his phone was always out of coverage, so I decided to send him a text message before we headed to the nightclub, where Bryan told me. We arrived at exactly seven o’clock with Noelle and Sandy behind me.
“I haven’t met your brother yet.” I turned to Noelle and smiled at her.
“Me too.”
“Well, now you’re going to meet him.”
“Is he handsome?” I chuckled at Noelle’s question, and an idea came to my head.
“Yes, and you will forget whatever feelings you have for Greg when you meet him.” I winked at her.
“Ohh..” she became speechless and both Sandy and I laughed at her blank face.
When we entered the club, the music was already on full blast. I received a text from Bryan and he said they’re on the second floor of the club.
“Let’s go upstairs.” I pulled the two and headed for the second floor.
“Wait, have you informed Gabriel about this?” Noelle patted me on the shoulder.
“I tried to call him but he’s out of coverage, so I just sent him a message” I raised my voice a bit because of the loud music.
“Wow! This is so amazing, Madi! They also have a dancefloor on the second floor,!” Sandy said in awe and I just chuckled.
We found Bryan in the VVIP section and he immediately stood up when he saw me.
“Madi.”
“Bryan.”
I excitedly ran towards him and hugged him tightly. He kissed me on top of my head.
“How are you, Sis?” he asked me with a wide smile.
“I’m now okay, Bry. By the way, what are you doing here?”
“I’ll tell you later, it’s a surprise.” he smiled, and then I remembered the two girls.
“Ahm… anyway, these are my friends, Sandy and Noelle. And girls, this is my brother, Bryan. The number one womanizer in town.”
“Ohh… girls, please don’t believe her. She’s just bluffing.”
I watched them as they exchanged their hands for handshakes, but it seems like a slow-motion between Noelle and Bryan. He smiled at her with a different amusement written in his eyes.
“Aherm… Bry, Noelle is one of my managers at Maiden.”
“Hmm… really?”
I raised my eyebrow when he asked me as he didn’t even glance at me.
“Do you have a boyfriend, Noelle?”
Ohh… direct question? Sandy also noticed the two and she nudged my elbow.
“No, I don’t have a boyfriend,” Noelle answered with a knowing smile.
“Great.”
Sandy and I, both shared a look at Bryan’s answer.
“Excuse me, are we just going to stand here?” I asked my brother as I suppressed my smile.
“Oops, I’m sorry. Come on girls, I’ll introduce you to my friends.” he made us sit inside their booth and introduced us to his friends, Jacob and Henry.
After an hour of chatting, laughing, and watching Bryan flirting with Noelle, he asked her to dance and she was grinning when she accepted his hand. And the two boys also invited us to the dancefloor. We spent ten minutes dancing in the middle. When the music changed into something romantic, Bryan didn’t let go of Noelle so, we have no choice but to return to our seats. When they finally come back, Bryan asked me for a dance and I gladly accepted his offer.
And because we’re brother and sister, it’s okay for me to be close to him on the dancefloor.
“So, how do you find her, so far? Is she ‘pretty?” I asked him in a whisper.
“Find who?”
“Tss! Bryan, I wasn’t born yesterday. I know you like Noelle.”
He chuckled at me.
“Come on, Bry.. she’s single.”
“Oh, Sis, you’re playing cupid, ahh.”
“Yeah, but please give me a word Bryan. If you’re just going to add her to your collection and flavor of the week, stop it right now. She’s my best friend.”
“Is she really single?”
“Why, you don’t believe her?” I looked at him.
He shrugged. “Well, with her looks… I doubt it.”
“And what do you mean, ‘with her looks’?”
“She’s pretty, like what you said. So, I don’t believe—”
“That she’s telling the truth? Well, to tell you honestly my big brother, Noelle is a hundred percent single, but she’s already in love with someone.” I smirked.
“What the fuck! Then why are you still playing cupid, if she’s already in love with someone?” his eyes widened at me.
“Because the man she’s in love with, is also in love with someone else. And I want her to be happy, Bryan.”
“And so, what do you want me to do? To make her happy and—-”
“To fall in love with her!” I winked at him.
He chuckled again. “Oh goodness! You’re really a smart woman, Madi.”
“That I am!” I stated proudly.
“Sis, I can’t promise anything regarding that matter. But I admit, she’s beautiful and I want to know her more.”
“Yes! I love you, Bry.”
He just shook his head.
“Why can’t you answer me, I love you too?”
“Damn! You already know it!”
“But I want to hear it from you!”
“Fine, I love you, too!”
I laughed triumphantly after that. And since I was busy teasing my brother, I didn’t notice the newly arrived guest at the bar and his eyes were searching the crowd and now looking exactly at the couple on the dance floor.
“By the way, you haven’t answered my question yet. Why did you fly here so suddenly?”
“I told you, it’s a surprise.”
“And what is that surprise?” I pouted to urge him to speak.
He chuckled. “I’m extending my business here.”
“Wow! Really.. that’s great, Bry!”
He owns some premier hotels and bars in Colorado, and just by thinking of that, my eyes widened in realization.
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yes. I now owned this bar,” he said and I squealed excitedly.
“Wow! That’s really a surprise, Bry!” I hugged his neck tightly and he lifted me and spun me around.
And that’s exactly the scene that got Gabriel red and turned into a beast. The next moment I know, I was pulled harshly from my brother’s embrace and almost fell to the ground, if I hadn’t been caught in time by someone behind me.
I screamed so loud when I saw Gabriel punch my brother and choked him on the floor.
“Oh my God! Gabriel, what are you doing?” I leaned over and grabbed his arm but he didn’t budge even a bit. He continued his assaults on my brother’s face.
“You’re a mother fucker! How dare you touch my wife?”
Noelle, Sandy, and the boys helped us stop Gabriel from punching Bryan. Somehow, I thank God that Bryan didn’t punch him back or even move, he just let Gabriel do it to him. But my eyes widened when I saw the two familiar men in the crowd, pulling a gun from their waist. They were Bryan’s secret men and I saw them twice in our Dad’s mansion. I stood up immediately and pointed my finger at the two.
“Don’t you ever pull that, Enzo, James! Or I swear I’m the one who will kill you both and chop your lives into pieces!” all the crowd turned to me even the two.
Gabriel was now standing with two guards holding him by the arms and preventing him from punching my brother. When Bryan finally got to his feet, he spits the blood out of his mouth and chuckled sarcastically. I started to panic when I noticed his dark aura.
“I’ll just let it slide this time—-”
“Bryan, I’m sorry,” I said getting Noelle’s handkerchief and putting it in his mouth.
“Why are you apologizing to him?” Gabriel’s question.
“Why are you saying sorry?” Bryan’s question.
And they both asked me in unison.
“Madi, stay away from him! That fucking—”
“God damn it, Gabriel! Can you stop it! He’s Bryan and he’s my brother!” I cut him, couldn’t help but shout at him.
That made him stop and speechless at the same time.
“Go home, Madielyn. Let’s talk about this tomorrow.” I turned to my brother and tears flow down my cheeks.
“Shh… it’s okay. Don’t worry about me. I’m your big brother, right?” he pulled me into a hug as the tears of frustration continued to burst out from my eyes.
“Go home and talk to him. I’ll let it pass this time, so don’t worry, okay?”
I nodded before I glanced at the two girls who were just watching us in the middle. They got the message and nodded back at me. But before I could step, Gabriel called my name.
“Madi…” I turned to him with tears in my eyes and shook my head before going downstairs.
He followed me outside. He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me into a hug but I pushed his hand.
“I’m sorry, Madi. Please talk to me. I-I didn’t know he’s your brother.”
“I wanna go home.” He sighed and I let him pull me to his car.
I didn’t speak a single word on our way to the hotel. He kept glancing at me, but I turned my gaze out the window. This is not the relationship I want for us. I want the kind of relationship with trust and understanding and not this one full of doubts and fights over little things.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he finally parked the car in the underground parking of the hotel, we stayed inside in silence. But it was him who broke the deafening silence between us.
“I’m sorry love. I-I didn’t know he’s your brother. I got jealous when I saw you hugging him on the dance floor.”
I closed my eyes tightly and let out the heavy breath I have in my lungs.
“I thought you were on a three days business trip? What happened?”
“They canceled it, so I decided to go back early.”
“I called you, but your phone was out of coverage.”
“Maybe, I was currently on the plane.”
“So, instead, I sent you a message and said I’m going out with the girls,” I said not looking at him but at the dashboard of his car.
“I read that.”
“Then I texted you again, that my brother came here from Colorado, and he invited me for a get-together and to catch up on some things between us.”
“Y-You texted me about y-your brother?”
My head immediately snapped at him when I heard the confusion in his voice.
“Didn’t you check your phone? You came to the bar without reading my last message?”
“I-I didn’t have the time to read your second message. I go straight to the bar after reading your first text.” He said scratching the back of his head.
I chuckled bitterly as I brushed my hair with my fingers out of frustration.
“God, Gabriel! You could have killed my brother!” I snapped at him.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know—-”
“Sorry? You didn’t know? That’s why I texted you and informed you ahead of time before I decided to go there!”
He didn’t say anything, he was just looking at me not knowing how to explain his behavior.
“I love you, Gabriel.”
I said with tears in my eyes, and he straightened his body as his eyes widened in surprise.
“I love you so much, but I don’t know if this…” I pointed to myself and him.” I don’t know if these things between us were still right.” I faced him and I saw how his face turned into confusion.
“W-What do you mean?”
I sighed again and the tears started to blur my vision.
“Madi, what do you mean about these things between us, if they were still right?”
“Maybe we need to… we need to file the divorce papers that you didn’t file before.”
“What? No!” panic arose from his voice. He took my hand and brought it to his lips. “No, Madi, please, don’t say that.”
I wiped my tears using my free hand. “We’re not growing as a couple Gabriel and we’re not growing as individuals.”
“Wait, is this about what happened at the bar? If it’s the reason, I’ll apologize to your brother and—-”
“No, Gabriel. It’s not just about what happened at the bar.”
“Then what? Tell me. If I have to go to Colorado and ask him for permission, I’ll do it, but please Madi, don’t do this. Talk to me.”
“You don’t understand—”
“Then tell me what should I do. I will do everything Madi, just tell me. You said you love me—”
“Yes, I love you. I love you so much, Gabriel. But we can’t base this relationship just by saying I love you and I missed you to each other! We need to trust each other, and we need to grow for this relationship to become healthy. You need to trust me—”
“I trust you. I do Madi because I love you.”
“No, you don’t,” I shook my head. “Yes, you love me, but you don’t trust me. I don’t know how to say this… but you became overly possessive and jealous over little things. You didn’t let me decide for myself. We’re partners here, Gabriel, but you’re caging me.”
“I’m not caging you—-”
“Yes, you do. You just didn’t notice but you do. I love you and I understand, but let me breathe! Let us breathe for a while, Gab.”
“I’m sorry if that’s what you feel, but trust me, I didn’t mean to do that to you.”
Small sobs escaped from my lips when I saw unshed tears in his eyes.
“I know.”
“I love you, you know that right?”
I nodded.
“Then don’t do this, please? I can’t afford to lose you again.”
“You’ll never lose me again, Gab. I just want us to breathe for a while. Let’s file the divorce papers, so we can start over together. We started this in a wrong way, maybe if we try to know each other first, we will understand each other easily the next time.”
“I can’t Madi. I love you so much,” he said shaking his head and a lone tear fell from his eye.
I smiled bitterly and I pulled him into a hug. “I love you too, but we need to do this, we need to find ourselves again. We have lost it together over these past years. You have lost yourself by finding and searching for me, while I have lost mine by trying to forget what I feel for you. And when we met again, we forgot that in a relationship, we also need to breathe, proper communications, trust, and deep understanding of each other.”
I could feel the warm liquid soaking my shoulder. I pulled back and noticed him in tears. I don’t know what to feel and what to say when I saw him crying. I felt my heart melt seeing him in tears. How could I explain it to him? That I love him so much but I need to breathe for a while.
He pulled me again and rested his head on the crook of my neck.
“If you want me to stop being possessive with you, I will, Madi, I’ll try. If you want to breathe for a while, then I won’t show up for days or weeks, but please not the divorce. I can’t let you go this time. If I do, I don’t know how to find you again, I don’t know how to live again.”
“G-Gabriel—–”
“If you want to go back to Colorado, I will let you or if you want to talk to Greg because you said he’s your friend, I will let you talk to him. You can go out with him, and hang out with him. And if you don’t want me to call you or send you messages, I will stop. If you don’t want to see the flowers in your restaurant, I will ask someone to remove them and I will stop the florist to deliver a new bunch tomorrow and for the following days. But please, don’t ask me for a divorce, Madi. Because if you do, just ask me to kill myself. I can’t lose you again, I can’t lose you anymore.”
I remained quiet while in tears. I hugged him on his neck as he also hugged my waist.
“I love you, Gab,” I whispered in his ear.
“I love you, too.” I felt his arms wrapped around me in a tight hug. We stayed there for a moment and just hugged each other.
And when he pulled back, he wiped my tears and gave me a quick kiss on my lips which I expected to be a passionate one. But to my disappointment, he didn’t give me the old and passionate kiss that he always gives me every time we say goodbye.
I closed my eyes and bit my lips to suppress the sobs that wanted to escape from my throat. When I opened them again, I found him staring at me. He wiped my tears again and gave me a half-hearted smile.
“Let’s go inside. It’s getting late.”
I nodded. I sighed as he got out of the car and waited for him to open the door for me.
We went upstairs in silence. He didn’t talk to me until we reached our doors. He pulled me into a tight hug and I hugged him back. He then gave me a lingering kiss on the forehead.
“You know I love you so much, right?” he asked stroking both my cheeks. “I’ll give you time to think, I’ll give you days or weeks. But I hope in the end you still want to stay with me, and not ask me to end what we have.” he paused. “Good night, Madi.” sadness intertwined his voice before he took a step back.
“Good night, Gab. I love you.” I said looking directly into his eyes.
“I love you too. Come on, take a rest, it’s getting late.” He responded with a sad
“What about you?”
“I still have some work to do. Good night.” and he gave me one last peck on my lips before he turned around.
“Gabriel,” I called him and he turned to look at me again.
“Hmm?”
“Take care, please?”
“I will.” he walked towards the elevator.
When he’s finally out of my sight, it’s just the time I opened the door. I leaned on the closed door and closed my eyes. Then I let the sobs and tears to rolled down my cheeks.
Am I right with my decision to breathe for a while or am I just being selfish that I want him to understand my reason?