"Oh, I'm afraid not. That's right, it's today. She might be in the library or she might also be in her class. You can check the garden and the poolside, you'll find her somewhere there but I'd advise you to give her privacy, she needs it.
Gabriel POV After searching around the school, I decided to take a look at the poolside. It was the only place left that I hadn't checked. Entering the indoor pool, I found her in it. I let out a big sigh. I never knew she was a good swimmer. I sat on the bench and watched as she dived in and around the pool. She made swimming look easy but I knew better. The first time I tried to swim was the last time I attempted. It felt as if the water was going to swallow me up. Even though I was on the shallow side, I still felt inside and eventually lost my balance. I drank a lot of chlorine water. I wonder what she is thinking, swimming here alone, what if something happens? How would she call for help? I waited till she came up and grabbed her robe. She didn't notice me until she turned around and flinched. "Saints! You are so creepy. You almost had me slipping," she said and tied her robe. She took off her swim cap and glasses. The light in the room reflected on her body, making her loo
Gabriel POV I was caught by surprise. "Well, say something," Danielle said. "Wow." "Something original." "You taste like Certs." She kissed me again. "Spearmint flavored. I think I'm hooked on the darn things." I rolled to my side. I could see she was highly amused by my nervousness. I had never seen this part of her before and how she switched so fast after coming back from school… "I'm lousy at this part," I said. "In other words, you'd rather skip the chitchat and get to the fucking." I felt my cheeks get hot. "That's not what—" "I'm teasing." I sat up quickly. She was too much. "Gabe, you are sweet for being there for me today. Not that I needed you, but sweet. I figured you deserve a smooch." "It was…very nice." "But I'm going to get into more trouble which will get you too hooked. Here's what you'd do now: get into your car and take the first flight back home. Back to your family, back to your life. You've done more than enough for me." "No way." "Look, I'll be
Danielle's POV After kissing Gabriel as a sign of gratitude, the only sign I knew I could use to please him enough, we spent the rest of the night in each other's arms, telling ourselves our past lives and stories. I explained how I was told all the stories of my Father leaving and my mom also abandoning me with my Gramps. To be candid, I have more reasons not to look for her anymore. Gabe told me about his college and high school and how they were trained like soldiers. He said that was the reason why he was that tall and we'll build. A school for men alone, what would that look like? We finished off my reading a book to my babies even while they were asleep. Gabe slept first, leaving me with my thoughts once more. For a minute, I could almost feel Clara drifting back to who she was. Something was wrong with her and I wanted to know what it was. No matter how much I lie to myself that I do not care about her, deep down, I know the truth. The truth is that I wanted her back. I wa
BRYAN POV Danielle Arnold wasn't the typical girl you'll see around playing with their lives and times. She was someone who took her job seriously, I knew that from the very first day she arrived. The way she dressed, talked…everything was intact. I glanced at the characters she sent to my computer once more. I told her to make one, yet she made five for me to choose from. The idea is that, naturally, it takes my employees more than a month to finish up a character. I wonder how she made five in one month. Her smile was equivalent to the smile of the characters she submitted. As expected, they all had gray eyes. I sent the characters to the operating team. All they had to do was fix the character in the game. The robotics company would know what to do with the rest. After one week, Jack came to my office with the daily report. "Sir. It's a jackpot." I slammed the pen with me on the table and stood up. "Finally. I'm preparing for lunch. It has to be a very big occasion. This is
Danielle POV The launch of the new game took place in the company's biggest hall on the ground floor. I didn't know it existed until that day. Mr. Bryan made me dress like a chairwoman, making me do things I didn't intend to do. He told me the lunch was mostly in my favor. The partnering company was present in a very large number, perhaps they brought all their employees to the party. Gabriel was present too, he insisted that he would come to watch me speak on the stage. I was to give a stage presentation and talk about what the new game was all about. I ignored all the murmurs from other employees, most of them weren't so cool about me being the one to talk about the game. I heard some of them saying that I was a new person in the company and that I hadn't even started working there when they started with the game. They all had a point, I wasn't a worthy person to talk about the game, all I did was provide the last missing piece. I plan to talk to Mr. Bryan about it after lunc
Danielle's POV Four years later. The weather this morning wasn't cool. I wondered if the sun would still rise. Everywhere was dark, the clouds shed tears all night till the morning. Gabriel made coffee and sandwiches. I put on my thickest cardigan and wrapped the babies as if it were freezing outside. I finished up with school, and Clara and Isabelle were absent from it. I could only think of one thing, they must have gone with Mr. Bryan to wherever he went. I think he said he was going to Singapore. Over the last few months, I have been doing a very good job in the company. All the employees loved me, I treated them well. Every weekend, I send a weekly report to Mr Bryan through his mail. Linda had been of great help too. I thought she was one of those ladies who get jealous of other girls. Technically speaking, she looked like one of those girls, but the blonde had been acting so nice and clingy. She said she was happy to have been my friend from the first time I arrived. Who
Bryan's POV Danielle Arnold. Everything about her had changed. From the moment I stepped in, all I wanted to see was her face. Her burnt gray eyes were dusty. She looked more like a woman now than the lady she used to be. Having her stand before me had a lot of effects that she imposed on me without even knowing. "So, I am waiting," I said and crossed my legs the old-fashioned way I used to when I was here. "All you need to do is go through your mail. Read through everything. You'll understand it all. If that is all, I'd like to excuse myself… Boss." She turned around and went back to her courtside like I always called it. Savvy woman, she hasn't changed a bit. I didn't bother her, I would get used to it. Used to it? When did I start getting used to nonchalant average people? Danielle doesn't fall in that category, or so I thought. I went through the emails she sent but they were way too much. How did she remember to send a letter at the end of the week? If I start reading this,
Danielle's POV "Mom, I want more," Mila stood with me in the kitchen with her plate. They just finished breakfast and I wondered why she was eating so much. None of them eat much food. Most of the time, they keep remnants and I end up throwing them in the thrash. "Okay," I collect her plate. "Go back to the dinning now, I will be back with a full plate." She nodded and hopped back to her seat. I could hear their chitchats on the table. The three of them have grown older than their ages. They were talking about a particular subject which I have found interest in. I refilled Mila's plate and joined them at the table. "...and that is how we get money here. That is why Mom goes to work every day," Ella said. "But I don't agree with you. I believe there are other things Mom can do at home that would still give her a better income. How much is she taking anyway." "I smiled and dropped Mila's food in front of her. "Thanks, Mom." "Mila, you eat too much. You'd soon be fat and heavy," Li