55

CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE
GABRIELLE
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Something was not right.
I chewed on my breakfast softly wondering why I was feeling troubled.
Lucian had gone to handle some business matters, he didn't go into complete details with me, but I thought it was weird that no sooner did he leave the house, my father followed. Dad had been in such haste that he even skipped having breakfast. Did something happen with the factory? Or maybe there had been an attack on any of the batch of products?
Mom retired to her room, I couldn't help but notice that even she seemed distracted, after the way our conversation ended yesterday, I've been trying to get answers from her but she always waved it off each time.
A beeping sound disrupted my thought, my eyes located the source of the sound, it was Phoebe's cellphone. She must have forgotten it on the breakfast table before she left for her room.
Maybe it was an important call? With that thought in mind, I picked up the cellphone and started to head towards her room.
I knocked on her door, but there was no response, the phone had stopped ringing as well. I tapped on the door again, this time calling out her name, when I got no response, I pushed the door opened and walked inside. The sound of the shower running reached my ears, that was probably why she didn't hear me. I glanced around her room, I decided to keep the phone on her mirror stand. The dresser below wasn't properly closed, out of plain curiosity, I opened it and decided to snoop around a bit. There was nothing inside except for a few books. There was one thing I realized, all these were the novels that I loved to read, in fact, they were mine. All three of them were birthday presents that I received from Derek each year.
Why did she have them? The Phoebe that I knew hated anything to do with books.
Maybe she changed? I thought. With a shrug, I started to rearrange the book exactly how I saw them when my eyes fell on it.
I slowly took it out and a low gasp escaped my mouth, I could only continue to stare. These were several photos of Derek. I remembered that we both took these photos together, the sharp edges of the pictures told me that I had been carved out from it with either scissors or a razor and in place, Phoebe's photo was glued to the spot I was supposed to be.
"What the hell do you think you are doing!" Phoebe came flying out of the bathroom, I was met by her sharp glare as she snatched the pictures from my hands.
"I should ask you, what exactly is the meaning of that!? "
Instead of a response, she shoved me roughly by the shoulders.
"None of your damn business! If you really want to know, then I just thought it was fun, besides you are married now, I didn't think you would mind, Now will you get out of my room!?" She spat angrily but she was not able to fool me. If she really did it for fun as she said, then she wouldn't look so upset, she was only trying to use anger to block me out.
"So this was the reason you told our father that I was going to disappear? You were jealous of me?" I choked on the sentence, still unable to believe it.

She stared at me for long moments, her eyes were filled with coldness and contempt.
"You still don't get it, do you?" She scoffed. " It's always known that our mom loves you more than me, it didn't matter what I do, you are always her precious child, you always have everything your way!" I was taken aback by the hate in her voice, we've always had disagreements, but I didn't think it was this severe.
"The marriage proposal was the best revenge for me, it had been agreed on, there was no way out for you, even then she ignored the family rules and tried to help you escape."
"And you couldn't bear it, so you told father about the plan." I completed it for her. I wasn't upset about it, not anymore. But somewhere deep in my heart, it hurts to know that my own twin would hate me to this extent.
She straightened the photo in her hand, staring at it for long moments before returning her attention to me.
"Actually, I would not have cared if you had exiled yourself because of a man, that way also worked for me, but you wanted to leave with him!"
She took a step toward me, her mouth curved in a sneer.
"You enticed him with those innocent eyes, he was the only thing I ever wanted, yet you had him wrapped around your little fingers!"
So I was right, she had been jealous of me.
"I loved him, more than you ever did, I decided that if I couldn't have him, then you won't either, that was what happened. Are you satisfied now that you know? Do you feel hurt in your heart? Do you hate me now?"
I shook my head at her negatively.
"I don't hate you, I'm just disappointed at the extent you went just to hurt me, we are sisters after all, but that doesn't seem to mean anything to you. Actually, I should thank you, what you did turn out to be a good thing. Derek is all but my past, so there's no need to hate you for what you did because that would mean that I still care, and I don't. I'm happy now with my husband while you will remain miserable and alone!"
Her eyes narrowed into slits at my words. She didn't even appear the least bit remorseful and nothing I said would stop her continuous hate for me. I started to leave the room but paused in my step.
"Just as Derek didn't love me, your love for him was not true either, it's such a shame, you both would have deserved each other." Just as my fingers made contact with the knob of the door, she yelled after me.
"If you think that his love for you wasn't true, then you are even a much bigger fool than I thought!"
I slammed the door to her room close.
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I sat on the bed, Lucian called some minutes ago, he was going to return any time for now.
It was me who had been eager to come here, now I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
The first thing I was going to ask him when he returns was that if he was done with his project so that we could return home already.
My cell phone beeped, I clicked on it quickly, thinking it was a message from Lucian.
Staring back at me was two words written in capital letters. It stated ;
'WELCOME BACK'
I stared at the message in confusion when my eyes fell on the small purple heart beneath the message and held. The ability to breathe was brutally snatched away from me, I could do nothing but stare at the familiar symbol, unable to believe that this wasn't a dream or my imagination.
I looked around my room feeling my heart pounding twice its normal rate.
He knew I was here.
I was confused for a moment, unknowing whether to call out to mom or dial Lucian. In the end, I decided on the latter.




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