Chapter 12.

Gabrielle.
"How did things go with Sandler?" My mom asks and I give a tight smile in response, hoping she would just get the message that I didn't want to talk about it but as should be expected, she wanted details.
"You need to learn to trust me Gabrielle." She hisses and I frown.
"Come on mom, if I don't trust you, who am I gonna trust? Besides I'm sure you can already guess what went down between that old bastard and I. I asked him to screw Ella over, he agreed but of course, sex is his payment," I give a quick explanation and she sighs.
"I really don't get your obsession with screwing Ella over. I thought you'd want her where she is so you can show her you're the better twin," she answers back, earning a bitter chuckle from me.
"Mom, let's face it, if Ella and I stood in the same position here in this industry, it would take me years to achieve what Ella would achieve in months. You and I know, I'm not the one with the talent of being a professional designer. I might be good at it but not as good as Ella so in order to avoid getting crushed by her one day, it's best I push her out now," I reply sternly and my mom bursts out laughing like I said something hilarious.
"What's so funny?" I ask.
"You are what's funny." She responds still laughing.
"How?" I grit my teeth in anger, getting furious with my mom.
"You're funny in the sense that you still believe that only the best designers make it in this industry. Haven't you already seen how it works? The best designers never make it past the second stage of success until they do the necessary evil." She explains and I'm confused.
"I know what you mean by necessary evil but why does that affect the designers?" I knew my question sounded dumb the minute she knitted her brows in confusion but she chose to give an answer or better still ask a question.
"Haven't you asked yourself why I always support you over Ella?" She asks a very surprising question and now that I think about it, I have no idea why mom treats me well and pays no attention to Ella.
"I don't know mom, you tell me?" I responded curiously.
"You see Ella is a very talented child and when I took note of it, I wanted to groom her into becoming a great woman who can hold up your father and my legacy in the fashion industry but unfortunately she had a flaw and that was weakness."
"Ella is a weak and submissive person and a person like that doesn't have the mentality or the courage to hold a company together for a long time but as for you my dear, you were outspoken, courageous, beautiful and you are impossible to push around unlike your sister who spends all her life running from the attention she was born with as my daughter." She explains calmly and I stare at her for a while, contemplating on whether or not I should ask my next question but I go ahead anyway.
"So I was just a replacement for Ella?" I asked and she did not look the least bit offended or surprised by my question instead she held my hand lightly and sighs.
"I knew you'd think that way but no that wasn't my point. I wanted both my daughters to rock the fashion industry together, but Ella is way too feeble and she's living in a dumb bubble where she believes the world is just black and white forgetting they are other colours out there that needs to be acknowledged. I don't know if you understand me." She adds and I nod positively.
"Listen my dear, I loved you both a lot but you are the chosen one, the one with the courage and charisma that Ella can't in a million years possess. So stop trying to show her the way out the fashion industry cause no matter what, you'll be more successful because with money and power the best designers can be bought and Ella would have to crawl all her life to try to be in your shoes." She explained and a feeling of pride overwhelmed me.
After listening to mom's analysis, I feel bad for getting Ella fired for no good reason but at this point, there was absolutely nothing I could do. I can't tell Sandler to go back on his accusations as that would only cause problems for him which could affect me.
"I'm sorry Gabriella. You should have just taken my advice from the start." I whisper quietly to myself before getting my focus back to the matter at hand.
☆☆☆☆
The top three places had been announced and as expected Elite came first but instead of feeling happy and excited, I felt miserable like a sore loser.
The image of Gabriella leaving in an ambulance couldn't stop replaying in my head and I found out she got fired which I expected but secretly hoped would not happen.
Mia hadn't stopped laughing and making uncomfortable comments about my sister but she shut up when I snapped at her but not before asking me if I was okay and truthfully, I wasn't okay.
Unfortunately for 'AT' they got disqualified and lost their second position to 'SOUL' fashion whilst 'ZARA' came third.
"Gabrielle sweetie, we made it!" My mom's high pitched squeal breaks me out of my thoughts and I give her a tight smile in response.
"Yeah, hurray mom. I'm going home." I reply boredly and she frowns.
"What do you mean by going home? The after party has barely started and this is a great opportunity to meet new people that could help your career." She answers back and although she's right, I knew I couldn't stay here cause if I did I was gonna do something I'd definitely regret in the morning.
"Make up an excuse for me like you always do mom and butter them up on my behalf. I really don't feel well so I'm leaving." I tell her quickly and with that I bolt out to avoid further questioning.
I was driving home when Mia called to tell me where to find Ella and I immediately took a U-turn to go see her even though I knew I was the last person she would want to see right now.
I walked into the hospital, nervous at the thought of her actually throwing me out of her room, that would definitely be embarrassing but it was worth trying.
Since it's already past midnight, I hope whoever her supposed guardian is, already went home but who am I kidding, of course he was still gonna be there.
Martin and Gabriella are more siblings than she and I have ever been so he definitely wasn't gonna go home. I walk in and see both Martin and Fabian sitting beside her bed and although I'm not surprised to see Martin, Fabian was a shocker for me, and it seems they were talking to her which means she's awake.
I clear my throat and three heads turn simultaneously to me, their faint smiles immediately turn to scowls and Martin was the first to charge at me.
"What the hell are you doing here bitch?" He yells harshly, forgetting we're in a hospital.
"I'm here to see my sister Martin." I replied as calmly as possible, although a little part of me was starting to regret coming here.
"Now she remembers that she has a sister!" He half laughs and half scoffs at me but I remain quiet although, feeling an itch to give him a tight slap.
"I don't think you have the right to be here Gabrielle." Fabian chirps in, sounding much more calm and polite.
We may have never been best of friends but Fabian and I never crossed paths in a bad way, he was my best friend's boyfriend and I respected that although I still thought of him as a complete loser.
I turn my attention to Gabriella and she turns away immediately but not before I caught a glimpse of the tears that had been trickling down her face.
"I promise I'm not here to cause any trouble, I just really need to talk to Ella." I sigh in defeat, still staring at Ella.
"Guys, leave us alone." Gabriella finally speaks up, earning a disapproving look from Martin.
"God forbid Gabriella! I'm not leaving you here with this stupid bitch. For all I know, she could be here to kill you!" He protests sternly and I almost scoff at how childish he's acting.
"Let's go Martin, she'll scream if she needs us." Fabian chimes in quickly before pulling Martin out.
Third person pov------ Bliss.
"How are you?" Gabrielle finally breaks the silence after five awkward minutes had gone by with both parties contemplating on what to say.
"I think you should answer that." Gabriella replies quickly, not meaning to sound harsh but she could care less about being polite right now.
Gabrielle sighs in frustration, understanding where Ella was coming from but still wished she could give her a break.
Seven minutes had gone by and neither one of them knew what to say to the other till Ella decided to ask the question that had been on her mind and had been burning her for more than twenty years.
"What did I ever do to you Elle?" Gabriella's question came as a surprise for both of them as Ella never thought she'd find the courage to ever ask that question and Elle never thought she'd ever have to answer that question.
"You were perfect Ella." Gabrielle replies after minutes of trying to dig out an answer.
The laughter that erupted from Ella was neither joyful nor sorrowful but instead it was angry, furious and hateful at the same time discouraged.
"So you ruined my happiness out of jealousy?" She blurts out bitterly. It wasn't even a question, it was merely a repetition of what her sister had said and it hurt her even more when she recalled the incident at the fashion show.
"I'm sorry Ella." Gabrielle blurts out and Ella's face goes blank. In her twenty six years of knowing Elle, she has never heard her say that word 'sorry' and to say she was surprised would be an understatement.
"Did you just apologize?" Ella questions, earning a scowl from Elle.
"Yes I did, but I already regret it." The look of disappointment was very readable on Ella's face and all she could do was stay quiet and wait for her sister to get bored and leave.
"I regret getting you in trouble at work and costing you your job. I regret being jealous of you even when you were pitiful. I regret a few more things but believe me, I still don't like you." Elle's sudden words almost made her sister laugh and at the same time, it wasn't funny.
"I had nothing against you, but well right now I don't like you too so I guess it's fine although I want to know why?" Gabriella asks, seeing as she's getting a rare opportunity to have a proper conversation with her sister.
"That's the easiest question you've asked. I don't like you because you're gullible and dumb. Simple!" She shrugs nonchalantly and they both stay silent for a while, getting consumed in their own thoughts.
"What are you gonna do now?" Elle asks.
On a normal day Gabriella would have thought that question was to mock her but obviously today wasn't exactly what she'd call normal so she gave an honest answer.
"I don't know yet. I can't possibly design again cause no company would accept me as a designer so I might as well look for another career path." Gabriella replies with a faint smile, that only worsened Gabrielle's guilt.
After contemplating and repeatedly telling herself in her head that what she was gonna say next would not work in her favor and that her mother wouldn't agree, she ignores it and decides to ask the question anyway seeing it as the only way to ease her guilt.
"How about you come back to 'Elite'?" She asks out of nowhere and Gabriella deadpans in shock.