Chapter Thirteen

Third person pov. Gabriella took in a breath as soon as the driver had parked Liam's car in the parking space of the infamous Helton family mansion. She had heard about it and seen a few pictures here and there but there's definitely nothing better than seeing something for yourself and confirming its magnificence and elegance. Rumours about Anita being a luxury freak were not exaggerated after all. She thought to herself. "Babe, we really don't have to do this. I still think it's not right." Gabriella grumbled for the umpteenth time, earning an eye roll from Liam. "You do realise we're already here right?" Liam replies in an attempt to snap her out of her nervousness and back to reality and he earns a displeased frown from Gabriella, who wished she had insisted on staying behind and staying out of this drama that she just wasn't ready for. After her unpleasant meeting with Anita, she had almost immediately gotten a call from Liam who had insisted on picking her up cause he had something important to tell her. When he arrived, he explained to her how his mother, Anita, wants him to marry some crazy girl who he absolutely despises with the excuse of trying to protect the company's image and shares. She didn't really understand what he meant at first but seeing that Anita had taken time out of her busy schedule to blatantly threaten her to stay away from her son showed just how desperate she was to get her out of the picture and after thinking carefully about how the events played out earlier today, she also realised that running into Layla out of the blue might not be coincidental after all. Sighing, "Liam, I love you and you know I really do but I don't think it's a good idea for me to go in there with you. You know just how horrible your mother is and Lord only knows how she'll react to seeing me here with you especially since you said that girl whatever her name is will also be here. It'll be a huge mess babe and I don't think I'm ready for it." She says, trying to reason with him but at this point, nothing could convince Liam otherwise. He's hell-bent on putting his mother in her place once and for all. "So what Gabriella? You want me to walk in there by myself and let mom practically harass me to marry that psycho? Listen babe, I know It's gonna be uncomfortable for you especially after the stupid stunt she pulled earlier today but all the more reason we need to show up together. She needs to stop bothering you and trying to pressure me and the best way to do that is by showing up and embarrassing her in front of that useless Garrison. Trust me when I say, that man and his entire family are the worst humans on earth and I can't keep letting mom get away with aligning my name with that family." Liam replies to her, hoping she'd try to understand where he was coming from. The fact that his mother had audaciously threatened her and even brought in Layla as well made him even more furious. He had originally just planned on explaining everything to Gabriella but after she had told him about his mother's invitation, he knew he couldn't keep letting her get away with her nosy attitude. If there's something he knew Anita Helton hated, it's feeling embarrassed and cornered and since she had personally invited not only the Garrisons but also Corey, Cassie and Jessie as well, he could not wait to make her regret her actions. "I know this may sound ridiculous and all but, what if, just what if she actually throws me out of the house?" Gabriella asks, still trying to reason with him and Liam immediately bursts out laughing. "Throw you out? Really Gabriella? You really think that would ever happen? Come one babe, why would she dare throw you out of a house that doesn't even belong to her? It's a shared property, silly!" Liam replies with a light chuckle and Gabriella mentally frowned as she realised that she had run out of excuses. Sighing heavily, "Are you one hundred percent sure I won't be walking out of there with a bruised head or anything like that? Cause babe, I am not at all good at fighting and the last thing I want is getting physical with your mom." She says in a serious tone that surprised Liam and made him laugh even more. "You know what Ella, I see what you're trying to do but it's not gonna work on me, believe me. Let just go inside and when we get inside, we'll find out whether or not they'll be a reason to go physical although no matter how annoying and irritable my mom is, if there's one thing she's very big on, it's keeping the perfect image even in her own home so I doubt you'll have to worry about anything physical cause she's not that tacky." He assures and Gabriella eventually gives up trying to talk him out of going in. She steps down from the car in an all black cocktail dress with a short slit, paired with black ankle strap heels and a small black purse to match. She knew it wasn't exactly an important event or anything special to warrant getting all dressed up but then again, she couldn't help but at least make an effort to an extent since she would be meeting Anita's choice for Liam face to face today. Liam stepped out of the car and stared intensely at the infamous mansion he grew up in with lots of love from the family he used to know. Now, everything has changed and there used to be a close knit bond that is now nothing but history. His mother had single handedly ruined everything with her scheming, her lies, her desperation, her greed and her selfishness and the worst part of everything was the fact that all of this was affecting his younger siblings, Corey, Cassie and Jessie the most. The only person whose life seemed to be going smoothly was Tyler and it's probably because he and Anita had always had a mutual understanding and Anita had little to no say in Tyler's life but unfortunately for Liam, he could not say the same about himself. She literally had complete control over him up until a few years ago because he trusted her completely and couldn't even see anything wrong with her actions or decisions even when Corey would constantly ring it to him subtly that she wasn't to be trusted. "Hey babe, are you okay?" Gabriella asks, after noticing the sad, longing look Liam had in his eyes as he stared intently at the house. "Uh, yeah sure babe, I'm okay, don't worry." Liam replies calmly, snapping out of his depressing thoughts. "Are you sure you'll be fine though? Can you handle this?" Gabriella asks to be sure and when he nods positive, she takes his hands in hers and he leads the way as they make their way into the Helton mansion. ***** Cassie and Corey still could not believe their eyes. When their mother had told them that they'd be having an important guest, the last person they expected was Hannah Garrison and her father, especially Hannah who is supposed to be banned from coming anywhere next to Jessie. "Mom, what's happening here?" Cassie asks with a confused expression on her face. "What does it look like my dear? I've invited Mr Garrison and his daughter, Hannah to have dinner with us cause we have an announcement that we'd like to make so don't be so rude and say hello to your old friend." Anita replies to her daughter, trying hard to mask her nervousness and her guilt. She knew she shouldn't be doing this but she'd rather have her children hate her for the rest of their lives than to have to deal with the embarrassment of losing everything to Garrison including her reputation. If Garrison dared say anything at the moment to the public, she knows for a fact that everything in her life would come crashing down and she couldn't allow for that to happen no matter what seemed to be at stake. "Old friend? Really mom? Did you just call this bitch an old friend?" Cassie raises her voice harshly, still finding her mother's words unbelievable. "Watch your language young lady!" Anita hissed. "You don't have to tell her to do that Mrs Helton, I completely understand how she feels about me and she has every right to feel that way cause I have offended both she and Jessie which makes her hatred for me very valid but then again, I guess I'll have to keep apologising for my mistakes until I'm forgiven." Hannah speaks up with a small smile tugging on her lips and Cassie could not mask her rage. "Mistake? You call that a mistake you bitch? You tried to kill my sister you bitch and that wasn't a mistake! Your crazy ass not only choked her but you also tried encouraging her to slit her own wrist like it was a good thing and you expect me to welcome you with open arms after you messed up my sister for years? What in the world is this all about mom? How could you?" Cassie yells furiously, glaring daggers at her mother. Anita sighed as Cassie's words slowly started to hit her. Hannah did try to murder her daughter and here she was, willing to sell her son to the same girl that put her daughter in therapy for almost seven years. "Show some respect to me and sit down Cassie!" Anita yells, still trying to hold her ground. "You are a ridiculous mother, an absolutely ridiculous one. Just put in mind that whatever reason you have behind this dinner had better be worth it or I swear to God mom, I will forget our relationship and lose the little respect I still have left for you." Cassie warns before taking a seat and glaring back and forth at both Hannah, her dad and Anita. Corey had not said a word but not because he didn't have anything to say but because he was waiting for the right time to speak up and he was just curious to find out why his mother would bring these two rats into their home. Just as everyone settled down on the table, Gabriella and Liam make a sudden grand entry into the dining hall with both their hands interlocked and as soon as Anita spots Gabriella's face, her stomach drops to the lowest pit and she could not contain her fury as her eyes meet with Gabriella's and for a long time, both women simply stare at each other intensely with both not ready to back down.