He took Rosalind’s hand and pulled her gently until she stood. She gazed at him, curious to see what he wanted to do. Then he kneeled on his foot and held her hand while staring at her with an intimate gaze.
“My beloved, lovely Rosalind Miller, it’s been four years since I’ve waited for you. When you agreed to be my lover and fiancee, you brought joy into my life. Now, you will make me a father too. My happiness is full. Darling, can you make me the happiest man in the world by accepting me as your husband?”
Rosalind gasped as she didn’t expect Gabriel would propose to her right away in the middle of his family. She stood before Gabriel with an open mouth, as she was too surprised. She thought it was only a small gathering with the family and another chance to learn from Anna to cook Gabriel’s favorite food, but it turned out he used the opportunity to pr
“Are you happy?” Gabriel cupped Rosalind’s face with both hands. His eyes shone as he looked into her eyes.“I’m happy.” Next, she climbed onto his lap and hugged his neck. She buried her head in the intersection of his neck and shoulder, then wept.He could feel the wetness on his shoulder, so he asked, “Rose? Are you crying, baby?”She nodded with no sound, as it was impossible for her to utter words. So he only stroked her back and kissed her hair and cheeks.After she could calm herself, Rosalind giggled. “You must find me weird. I just laughed and cried at the same time.”“I guessed it’s because you’re happy, right?”“Yes.” Then Rosalind hugged Gabriel’s neck agai
Gabriel grinned and nodded to hear what his mother said. “Yes, Mom.”After Gabriel returned to the dining room, Anna escorted Rosalind to a small garden outside of the house. The kitchen itself was at the back of the house, and the garden was near the kitchen. So they walked to the garden through the kitchen’s back door.After sitting there and enjoying the silence for a few seconds, Anna smiled at Rosalind. “I brought you here to thank you.”“What for?” Rosalind raised her eyebrow. “I did nothing.”But Anna shook her head, completely disagreed with Rosalind. “No, you’re wrong. When you accept Gabriel’s proposal, it means a lot to him.” She took a deep breath. “Gabriel once almost married another woman, but she disappeared. My son …” Anna took a deep breath and wep
Bianca nodded. She was curious now. “Yes, Mom. Tell me, hurry! I want to know!”“So when I went upstairs to Gabriel’s room, his room was locked. Gabriel opened the door for me, but Rosalind was still on the bed. So I could figure it out if they wanted more time to be alone.”“Mom!” Bianca shook her head. “Maybe Rose was just tired. It’s too short for Gabriel to ….” She blushed and patted her cheeks. “Ah, Mom, you have a naughty mind.”“But they will have a baby soon. It’s logical, isn’t it? What do you think?”Bianca shrugged. “Maybe, but surely Rose is healthy, right?”“I think so. If not, she’ll surely tell us.”“Good, then.”The two
Rosalind gulped and tried to clear a lump in her throat because she was too happy. After a few seconds, she finally nodded. “Yes, Gabe. I’m so happy. At first, I thought I would only be your mistress ….” Taking a deep breath, she gazed at him full of love. “I thought it was only sex—”“But you are wrong,” he said, interrupting what she wanted to say.“Yes, I was wrong.” She smiled, and her smile made her more beautiful. “Thank you ….”“For what?” He raised his eyebrow.“For this … Also, for proposing to me. For loving me.” She shook her head and smiled wider. “I can’t ask for a better man. I’m so lucky to have you.”
Gabriel said nothing and leaned his head on a pillow. Rosalind stirred in her sleep, so he reached out his hand to stroke her hair. She smiled without opening her eyes.“Gabriel?” Anna asked.“Sorry, Mom. What did you say?”“Your mind was distracted. Has something happened?”“Ah, I just saw Rose in her sleep. She is so gorgeous.”Anna laughed, happy to see how her son was completely in love with his future wife. “Okay, I won’t disturb you again. Please kiss and hug Rose for me.”“Yes, Mom.”Then he stared at his fiancee again. She slept so peacefully un
Rosalind nodded as she kept staring at the rings. “It’s lovely and not too big. So I can use it every day. The pair is beautiful too, but I wonder if you like it. What do you think?”“I like it,” Gabriel said.Then she smiled at him. “Try the ring.”“Put it on my finger.”“It feels like we are already married.” She giggled, but she did what Gabriel said and put the ring on his finger. The black diamond fitted his finger until she let out a satisfied sigh. He put the smaller ring on Rosalind’s finger too. She smiled as she stared at the ring.Gabriel nodded because the simple ring was something he liked, but he wanted Rosalind to decide. &ldquo
At night, Rosalind enjoyed dinner with Gabriel. She prepared chicken caesar salad, garlic butter shrimp, and a thick ham and chicken cream soup.While she poured orange juice for herself, Gabriel kissed her neck and hugged her from behind. “Baby, what did you cook? The smell is so good!”“Why don’t you see it yourself?” She continued pouring champagne for him into another wineglass.Afterward, he took the two wineglasses with a hand and held her hand in another. Placing both glasses on the table, he grinned to see the meals. “My, my, I will be rounder soon if you keep cooking many tasty meals like these.”She giggled and shook her head. “You haven’t tried them yet. Let’s eat!”
The next day, Gabriel went to the office as usual. Rosalind got ready to visit some wedding dress boutiques by choosing to wear a sleeveless V-neck emerald baby doll dress and a pair of flat shoes in a similar color shade of her dress.Luca called her, “Miss Rosalind, I’m on my way. Do you want to go earlier?”“No, we will go as scheduled,” she said. “Have you had breakfast yet?”“Not yet, miss, but I’ll have one when I’ll be waiting as you go shopping.”“Come earlier. I’ll make you a sandwich and salad.”Luca grinned as he loved Rosalind’s meals. “Thank you, miss.”Ten minu
Gabriel nodded at his mother. But then he bent his head, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He wiped his eyes quickly, but Anna could see a drop of tear fall from her son’s eyes. Later, Gabriel straightened his back and smiled as if he didn’t shed his tears for the woman he loved. Doctor Gianni then walked out of the VVIP room. He smiled to see the Da Costa family. First, he shook hands with Leonardo, Anna, Bianca, then he smiled at the youngsters. “Gabriel, you can go inside to see Rosalind and the baby,” the doctor said. “Both are healthy. Congratulations to your new son!”Gabriel shook hands with Doctor Gianni. “Thank you so much, Doctor. I don’t know what I have to say.”The doctor patted Gabriel’s shoulder. “Go inside. Rosalind is waiting for you.”When Gabriel entered the room, the nurse was still wiping and cleaning their baby. So, he approached Rosalind first and kissed her sweaty forehead. “Thank you, baby. You have fought so hard. I can’t imagine what you had been th
Gabriel called his mother right away while waiting for Rosalind to deliver their baby. “Mom, please come to Good Health Hospital. Rosalind’s water has been broken!”Anna was excited but also worried because it was a week faster than the doctor’s prediction. When she delivered Gabriel and Bianca, those two times were even past the due dates. Bianca delivered Jeremy and Isabella passed the due dates too, but with Antonio, the delivery was faster by only two days.Gabriel’s mother frowned as she recalled her memory about hers and Bianca’s giving birth.“Okay, I’ll come to the hospital right away. I’ll call your grandpa and Bianca too.”“Yes, Mom. I’m nervous now. Rosalind asked me to wait outside while I wanted to accompany her.”
Rosalind kept smiling to see how happy their little family was. They had been through a lot, and now they were together in peaceful harmony and happiness. What a priceless gift! She wouldn’t trade her family for anything.“What are you thinking of, baby?” Gabriel said.“Nothing, just how happy I’m to see us together.”He squeezed her hand and nodded. “Let’s have breakfast first.”“Let’s eat!” She nodded and smiled.After eating, they went to the university with Luca as their driver. They walked to the entrance to see many students who would attend the graduation day had already gathered there.
Time went by so swiftly. It was the time for Rosalind’s graduation. To her surprise, she would have a graduation day along with all students who attended the study in the university. So, she was excited to attend the graduation event.Gabriel hired the makeup artist and hairdresser to help Rosalind on her big day. At dawn, they were already busy putting makeup on her. When the makeup artist had finished with her job, it was time for the hairdresser to arrange Rosalind’s hair in an elegant bun.“Mom, you are so pretty!” Jane said. She jumped around as she was excited to see her mother in makeup.“Oh, thank you, sweety.” Then Rosalind glanced at the makeup artist. “Can you help to put on some powder and lip gloss for my daughter?”
Gabriel kissed Rosalind’s forehead and turned her body so he could spoon her. “Baby, you won’t need to worry about,” he stopped for a while, “Richard anymore.” He decided not to tell Rosalind the truth.“What happened?”“Well, I sent him to a rehabilitation center. Then he would go to jail.”Rosalind was quiet. She blew her breath and shook her head. “Richard only brought us troubles …. I’m sorry ….”“It’s not your fault.”“But he’s my brother.” She let out a long sigh.Gabriel had no choice because without telling Rosalind the truth, his wife would keep
After some reassurances from the doctor, Gabriel brought Rosalind back to the car. He nodded and smiled at the couple whose he cut the queue. “Thank you so much for letting us go first. I truly appreciate it!”“Don’t mention it. Is your wife okay? The baby?” The pregnant woman asked.“Yes, My wife and our baby are okay. She only needs a complete rest.”The woman smiled and nodded. “Thank God! We are happy for you.”Gabriel nodded and smiled at the kind woman. “Thank you so much!”Since the doctor’s assistant then called the woman’s name, she waved her hand at Gabriel and entered the examination room with her husband.
Gabriel shook his head again. “No, you just try to get away from the consequences of what you have done, not because you are truly repentant. It’s the punishment that scares you, not the hideous effect of what you have done to Rosalind and Jane. You are a hopeless case! The jail will help you to realize what you have done.”“You will send me to jail?!” Gregory’s voice pitched higher.“Yes.”“Then, go ahead!” Gregory spat to the ground. “I’m not scared!”Gabriel smirked and looked into Gregory’s eyes. “We’ll see. Once you are inside, you’ll shout to ask them to let you die.” Then, he straightened his back. “I’m the man of my word. Since I alr
Warning: this chapter contained violence and heavy cursing. Reader discretion is advised.Again, Pietro followed what Gabriel commanded and poured the water into Richard’s head and body. The man was conscious after a while.“If you don’t want to die, there’s no better time than now to confess,” Gabriel said. “Your name!” he shouted.“I-I’m … Ric—”A punch struck Richard’s cheek. “Again, one lie will get a punch. Keep lying to me and don’t blame me if you will die with no teeth and blood left.”“I’m truly Richard—”Gabriel hit Richard again. “Go on! I
Warning: this chapter contained violence and heavy cursing. Reader discretion is advised.Pietro stared at Gabriel who stood and stared at Richard with a menacing look. As he had been working with Gabriel for twenty years, he knew his boss would do harsh things to Richard. Yet, what Richard did was too much. So he could understand Gabriel’s mood. So Pietro cleared his throat. “Boss, what will you do?”Gabriel only grinned to hear that and removed his tie and opened his button shirt one by one. He even took his time to fold the shirt and tie neatly, then put them on a table. Later, he took his phone from his trouser pocket, pressed some buttons, and put the phone on the table next to his shirt and tie. Pietro gulped again. It reminded him when Gabriel was in his late twenties or early thirties. It was the time when he dealt with someone who betrayed him. “Boss, remember Mrs. Rosalind and little Jane? You don’t want to—”But Gabriel stopped Pietro’s words. “Remove his shirt.”It was a