Chapter Four

Gabriel's POV

Two years later 

“You are worthless!” I grabbed a vase from the side table and hurled it against the wall in fury. Natalia gasped in shock as she watched my meltdown.

“What are you doing?!” She yelled.

“Shut up! All this would have been avoided if you just gave me an heir.” I hissed, grabbing a glass cup and smashing it to the ground. “It’s been two years. Two fucking years and yet you can't give me an heir.”

“How dare you, Gabriel!” Natalia’s eyes misted with tears which had zero effect on me. “There’s nothing wrong with me. I've been to the best doctors. Maybe, you’re the problem.”

I felt my anger rising even more. Did she just insinuate I was impotent? Me?

“Don't you dare turn this around!” I clenched my fists, trying my best not to lash out at her. “There's absolutely nothing wrong with me. You're the problem, you’re the one that's supposed to ensure the continuation of my legacy.”

“What legacy are you talking about, Gabriel? You're just a scumbag who uses people like puppets. I'm sick of you.” She screamed the tears she was holding for so long streamed down her cheeks.

“You don't understand anything. Acknowledge your mistakes and get yourself fixed woman.”

“I’m not a toy that needs fixing. Dammit.” She grabbed a vase in frustration and threw it in blind rage against the wall.

“Stop breaking things!” This argument was starting to become a screaming match. “You have no idea what's at stake here. My reputation….”

“Fuck your damn reputation!” She interrupted. “What about me? What about my feelings? My body? Do you think I haven't tried? Do you think I haven't suffered every time we fail?”

“Shut your foul trap woman!” I advanced towards her. “Don't you dare play the victim? I’ve done everything for you, given you everything. And you repay me by being barren? You’re absolutely worthless!” I hissed.

“You're a monster! You treat me like an incubator, not a wife. Maybe you're the one who is incapable you impotent hypocrite!” 

Her words cut deep into my soul and before I knew it, my hand shot out and slapped her right across the face. The force sent her staggering backward, her hand flew to her cheeks as she gasped in shock. Her cheeks turned a deep crimson.

“You…..you...you hit me.” She whispered in disbelief.

“I should have never married you in the first place. You were a mistake. A huge mistake.”  I finally spat out the words I kept bottled in for so long.

Her eyes widened in shock and her face paled. “Wh…What do you mean?”

“I mean, I would have been better off with Joyce. At least she understood me and never made me feel like a failure.” 

“Joyce? That whore that took everything from me since we were a child?” Natalia’s voice broke but I didn't care. “You can't be serious. You would compare me to my sister? The woman you betrayed to be with me? How dare you. How dare you bring her into this!”

“Get out, I can't bear to look at you right now.” I waved her off.

Natalia let out another scream of anguish and ran out of the room 

“Dammit!” I grabbed another glass, ready to smash it against the wall, But I stopped myself in the nick of time. The room was already a mess so what good will another broken item be?

Instead, I picked a bottle of whiskey and filled the cup with it.

Downing the content in a single gulp, I felt the burn of the alcohol and my mind began to wander back to a time when I had the best woman in the world all to myself. Joyce.

How had it all gone so wrong? I had fallen for Natalia's seduction so badly that it made me ignore all my family's warnings and cancel my marriage with Joyce to marry her sister. Now, she couldn't even give me what I desired the most. A child, an heir to my empire.

I downed the whole bottle and slumped on the chair.  I badly wanted to hear her voice once again. Reaching for my phone, I typed in her number.  It was crazy how after all these years, I still remembered her number even after I deleted it.

With trembling fingers, I dialed.

As expected a message flashed on the screen. “This number has blocked you.”

“Damn it!” I hurled the phone onto the bed in rage. Of course, she blocked me. After what I did to her,  why would she want anything to do with me?

An urge to see her suddenly overwhelmed me. I wanted to know how she was doing, and how she was coping after all these years. After some thinking, I decided to visit her place.

I grabbed my jacket and stepped out of the room, calling my driver while I was at it.

“Get the Mercedes ready,  We're going to Calle de Alcalà.”

The driver nodded and hurried to prepare the car. I stepped out of my villa as the car pulled up. Stepping in, the driver drove out of my compound and headed towards her home. 

The drive felt interminable,  as I replayed memories of Joyce in my mind. The look on her face when I left her, the pain I caused. I had to make things right, even if it was just to apologize.

We arrived at her apartment building after almost an hour. I could feel the eyes of the neighborhood on me but I didn't care. I was not here for them, I was here for Joyce.

I got down from the car and gulped, trying to calm my nerves as I walked towards the front door. After a brief hesitation, I rang the doorbell.

My heart pounded in my chest as I waited.

“Coming!” A voice sounded from inside.