Chapter Two

"Spare Ade from all these..." Gabrielle storms in to her father's huge office in New York after hearing from Adrian that no hospital is willing to admit his mother anymore.

His mom, who has also been almost like a mother to her is suffering from stage 4 lung cancer. Adrian's family's wealth has all gone now because of his father's gambling and his mother's illness. He get into modelling to sustain their need, he has two younger siblings that are still attending college in London.

Ade has always been her best friend.

Her real best friend..

Their relationship has taken to a higher level not because they romantically love each other. It is far more than that. It is a give and take relationship... One would think that it's only Gabrielle giving in the relationship, but it isn't like that. For her, it's the other way around.

Ade is giving her the family she never had. She practically grew up around his family... She considered them her own family. His mother has always been her mother. The old woman cared for her especially after her own mother passed away just days after she was kidnapped when they were in junior high.

Is she in love with him?

She would say yes. But it isn't the love that you'd have for a person to the point that you'd actually marry him. Her love for Ade is different, so does his love for her. All her life, Gabrielle has only been in love once...

It was with Ryan...

"Stop being a fool Gabrielle. How many times should you make yourself a fool when it comes to users like him?" She heard her father say before clicking his tongue. Gabrielle narrowed her eyes at that.

"Adrian is not what you think he is!"

She snapped for which her father raises his eyebrows at before leaning on the back of his swivel chair with his fists clasped to each other like he is praying.

"You said exactly the same about that swine... Where did it lead you to, Gabby? He ruined you in public because of your recklessness. Because of your stupid emotions."

He is talking about Ryan.

Gabrielle looks away because if that. The spang of hatred and anger are still there. She hated her father for manipulating her relationships. She hated Ryan for using her... and she hated herself more for believing him and for allowing her father to prove that she's wrong about that swine.

"I've saved you from that swine and now you're getting yourself involved with another one! He's milking you of money and power! In a month or so, he will do the same to me too!"

"Hah! With what now father?! I've saved you from spending money too! Now you don't need to pay Ryan for him not to publish our photos or rather, our videos to the world. Everybody knows what a slut your daughter has turned to be. No need to sugar-coat my image anymore!" she answered back.

Her voice is shaky because of anger and hatred. Just remembering everything that Ryan did to her makes her sick. He made her believe in so many lies. She was young and vulnerable. She was so trusting... so stupid to believe her. But now, she knows better.

"Do you ever think of your mom, Gabby..?" Her father suddenly asks which made her blink a couple of times.

In his face lies pain and longing.

They never talked about her after her death. She blamed him, and he as well blamed himself for her passing.

"Don't get mom involved in this..." She said with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"All she ever wanted was for you to grow up well... I guess we both failed on that.."

"Don't involve her into this!" She screamed as tears fall.

"How could you speak about her?! You've killed her abandoning me! You have no right to remind me on what mom would have liked me to be when you have abandoned me in the hands of those kidnappers!!" She screamed which made her father rise in his chair and walk near her.

"All these years.." Her father started as he comes near her, his eyes darting into hers with so much pain.

"All these years, all you ever did was ruin my life!" She said bitterly as she tried to block him from getting near her.

"Have I told you, you look so much like her? So much that it pains me even more to look at you... seeing her in your eyes?"

"Stop the act..! You never loved her! You never loved any of us! You only loved your money, your power! If you die I'll put all your money in your grave so that at least you'll have something with you in hell!" She said heartlessly not knowing how much it pains her father.

They've been in arguments like this before, many time he would just throw back words to her when she talks like this. She is sarcastic and so is he. But now, as she looks into his eyes, all she could see is pain... And disappointment... and longing.

"I really wish you never had to be my daughter.." Said he as he looks at her innocent eyes.

Words that hurts her more... words that she never truly understands the reason behind. At least until that night when her mom died, she thought that her father loved her. But she was wrong. He abandoned her and caused her mother's life doing so...

"Just disown me and let me live my fucking life!! I don't need you to be my father and I resent being your daughter! Same same, huh?! So, stop doing this!" She said with so much hatred towards him.

"Go back home Gabby." He said softly making her jaws drop.

What the hell is wrong with this man? Has he finally gone bonkers? One minute he's telling her how much he regrets having her as his daughter, the next minute he's pleading for her to go home.

"Go home and what?! Rot in hell with you??"

"Go home and Adrian's mother lives... Go home and face your life."

"You're so cruel.." She says shaking in anger.

So, this is his way of torturing her? Another person's life at stake Just to geta hold of her?!

"You can kill anyone just to get what you want... you're the scariest person I've ever met..."

"I'll kill anyone to have you back. I'll kill anyone to fix you..." He said in his mind before he flinches and turns around.

Concealing the hurt in his face as an excruciating pain shoots through his heart.

"That or she dies. That or your boyfriend loses his career. That or his siblings getting kicked out of school."

"You disgust me... so much.." She says turning around to leave.

Banging the door so loud and not minding the pair of eyes that darted to her direction as she left her father's office. Down at the ground floor she tried all she can to take out all she had to help Ade. But her father is truly an intelligent filthy man of power.

"Fuck!!!" She cursed as for the third time she tried, her card was declined.

Her credit cards stopped working last night. Now even her saving account are no longer working. She wouldn't be surprised if all her things are thrown out of her own house now too.

"Fuck..fuck...fuck!" She kicked on the machine. That old man!!! She has her own money and he's taking away all those from her too! It's not as if all she had was from him! She has her own savings that could help Ade's mom to continue her treatment but damn it, her father plays dirty.

"Follow her.." The old man tells him as he stands in front of his table.

He is sitting on his swivel chair facing the window that overlooks the busy city of New York.

"Aren't you being too harsh on your daughter?" He asks knowing how upset she looked after banging the door of her father's office and marching her way out not minding the tens of people watching her with fear in their eyes.

"I have no time, Vincent..." From the reflection on the window, he can see his face turning grim like he was in pain.

"Follow her.. You have no idea how that girl is when upset."

"She's not just upset... She's so mad she broke the screen of the ATM machines downstairs." Vincent muttered.

What a headache. He thought to himself finding the act so childish... She is childish.

"Did she..?" The older man scoffed.

"Check my car. I wouldn't be surprised if they tell me I would have to grab a cab going home tonight." He heard him chuckling which made him just narrow his eyes.

"Why is she doing this, seriously?"

"Just follow her, Vincent. I can't fix her in my time... Fix that girl for me, and I'll give you everything you could ever ask for."

"You're sick, Gabriel." He whispered before turning around to leave and check on this old man's brat.

"I am..." Said the old man as the door closes with a thud.

"Very sick.." He looks up and stare at the sky, hoping that Vincent could truly be the answer to his prayers.

He couldn't leave his only daughter anyhow. He needs someone strong enough to handle her. Vincent may have been an ice cold and heartless dick. But there is something about the man that he liked. Something that he hopes will be what Gabrielle needs in this world...

He hoped...

"Fixing those glasses will be too easy" Gabrielle jumps in surprise after hearing the man's voice that seemed to be coming from six feet under.

His voice was so... so deep... So masculine..

The girl in front of him looks so much more angelic when he's near her like this. Only that, her actions are not really angelic like her face. In her hand is a baseball bat she is using to murder her father's rolls royce. Seeing her aiming the weapon to the front window of the car, Vincent almost jumped to her and stop her. But damn it, her moves together with her sexily angered face stopped him that he ended up just watching her.

The first whip cracked the centre of the window and he continued watching her even if he's already starting to get sick in his stomach. She is savage as fuck.

Her face is showing discontentment even after she finally had the glass break down into pieces. She looks so angry, so hurt and so... Sexy.

Damn! He cursed himself watching her curves move in mysterious ways as she kept on hittng the car using the baseball bat he doesn't know where she got from. Breaking the ATM machine is not enough that she also has to break her father's million-dollar worth of luxurious car?!

Their eyes met and he was stunned.

This is not the first time that their eyes met, but this is definitely the first time he is able to look at how incredibly beautiful she really is even when angered like this.

He couldn't help but walk near her, slowly taking the bat from her harnds. She lets go and just continued watching the beautiful stranger in front of her. But just as she got a grip ready to scold him for sticking his nose into her business, the tall guy with the deepest voice she's ever heard aimed the weapon to the side window of the car and with one heavy hit, it broke into pieces.

Her grin made him smile. She looked as if she just found another wicked soul to form a gang with. Reaching for the pocket of her tight ripped jeans, she took a dagger out and halted the guy by tapping on his hard-muscled back.

One single move she never though had already sent million chills in to his spine. The feel of her small hand tapping him on the back feels a million times different from the taps he'd received for doing good jobs done, it's even more different from all the erotic touch women had done to his muscles, and what this brat did was not even more than a tap! Just a plain tap to halt him!

Vincent looked at her face down to her other hand.

His eyes widened a little finding what's in her hand. It was a dagger, is she always this ready to break things that she actually has a baseball bat and a dagger in hand?

Even before he could ask or say anything, she's already squatting on the floor, aiming the sharp weapon on the wheels of the car. One stab and the wheel whistles.

She's pretty strong and she seemed to know exactly where to stab that he begins to wonder how many cars of her father had she murdered like this in the past?

Vincent watch her in awe as she kept on stabbing the poor tires. It was only when he noticed that her hand starts to draw her own blood that he was alarmed, she's losing a grip now that she just kept on stabbing the poor vehicle aimlessly.

"Hey.!" He pulled her up, hipped on her wrist and took the dagger away before throwing it to the floor but she never stopped, she kicked on the car more as she screams in anger.

"I hate you!!" She screams as she begins to lose it.

Throwing all her anger and hatred to the innocent car.

"Hey! Hey! Enough.!" He pulls her to face hin while shaking her shoulders.

Trying to halt her.

Trying to get her a grip of herself.

"Enough!!" He shook her one more time, again their eyes met. Hers is full of hatred and pain as tears begin to fall down her rosy cheeks.

"Enough.." He whispered softly staring at her face.

He knows she's coming from something deeper. He has no bloody idea why she is like this but it couldn't be just about her accounts being in freeze... Something more grave must have led her to be like this.

"It'll be ok.." He says calmly looking at her broken-hearted face.

For no reason, Vincent pulled Gabrielle from something deeper. He has no bloody idea why she is like this but it couldn't be just about her accounts being in freeze... Something more grave must have led her to be like this.

"It'll be ok.." He says calmly looking at her broken-hearted face.

For no reason, Vincent pulled Gabrielle to his chest. He hated that she's crying like this. He hated that he could see and feel the pain in her eyes like this... In mere seconds, she's already imprisoned in his embrace and that is then... he knew..

That he must hold her like this... That he must keep her like this and stop her tears.