Chapter Twenty One

Gabriella "I still don't think you should have gone to see him and even if you wanted to, you should have informed Micheal and me so we can help you out should anything have gone wrong," Liam argued for the umpteenth time and I let out a frustrated sigh. Ever since I told him of my visit to Martin's house, he hasn't stopped scolding me for going there without informing him first and I was honestly tired of listening to him scold me even though I knew that he had a point. I knew going there was a risk but it was a risk I was willing to take because of how desperate I was and thankfully, I was lucky enough to see Martin before I left even though I couldn't say anything to him. "I'm not disputing that I was wrong Liam and I know that I should have told you but I just got desperate because I hadn't seen Martin in a long while and I was really worried about him because I know that David isn't going to take proper care of him and he's going to try and do some horrible things to him and I just needed to see for myself if Martin was doing okay. Rest assured that I made sure not to say anything to Martin because I didn't want David to use that as an excuse in court," I said to him and he stared back at me with an unsatisfied look on his face. "I understand that you were worried about him and I'm not blaming you for worrying but you have to be careful Gabriella. The second trial is in about two weeks and for the next few days, you need to be more careful with the things you do. I understand that all of this can be very frustrating but you need to know that these people are looking for an excuse to lock you up for something that you didn't do and you cannot allow yourself to give them an excuse simply because you can't control your impulsive emotions," "When the entire thing is over and when you're finally declared as not guilty, that is when you can decide to confront them as often as you want and you can also go ahead and see Martin to make sure that he's okay but until then, you need to lay low and make them think that you're not doing anything to try to save yourself. Don't make them want to attack you even more because that isn't going to be good for the case," Liam responded. I sighed. I would be lying if I said that I didn't understand what he was saying because he was completely right and the fact that I had made such an impulsive decision could have cost me a lot but, I didn't regret what I did because I felt like I just needed to confront the people that I knew were trying to put me in this situation. The last few weeks have been like hell to me because it just felt as though I was going from one unfortunate incident to another and I didn't even understand why all of this was happening to me. After I visited Martin's father, I got called in by the police to testify on the incident that happened with Katherine and just like I expected, the police were indirectly trying to insinuate that I had something to do with Katherine's case. They weren't being direct about it since they didn't have any evidence to point me directly to the case but the cop in charge had insinuated that he found it very weird that not only was Katie's body found in front of the cafe that I owned, it also turned out that she was my employee and the night that all of this happened, a fire broke out and any evidence that could point to how her body arrived in front of the cafe was completely lost in the fire, including the CCTV cameras that couldn't be restored. I was very frustrated with the entire situation. I knew that if this also got out to the public, then there was a high chance that I could eventually lose everything because even if I end up winning the case with Martin, people were still going to judge me and they would look at me some type of way if they're aware that I had to murder cases that supposedly involved me. "Ella, are you okay?" Liam's voice asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Y...yeah, I am. What were you saying?" I asked, not sure if I heard what he said. "I was only asking for your response to what I said earlier but I noticed that you were lost in your thoughts and you didn't seem to hear me when I called out to you for a while. Is there something going on with you? Would you like to talk to me about it?" he asked. "I just suddenly thought of everything that you said and I realise that you are right and that I shouldn't be putting myself in any situation where they could make things more difficult for me. I was just thinking about your words and the situation with Katie just came to mind and I'm just suddenly feeling some type of way about the whole thing," I told him honestly. He let out a sigh before moving closer to me and pulling me in for a hug. "You might not be saying anything but I'm aware that a part of you is blaming yourself for what happened to Katie even though you're still not aware of who could have done that to her or why they did that to her. I need you to stop thinking that way because none of what happened that day was your fault, Gabriella. You didn't kill Katie and you certainly should not blame yourself for what happened with the cafe. I also need you to stop thinking that there's something wrong with you because, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you and very soon, I promise all of this is only going to become a bad memory that'll never repeat itself," Liam said and as much as I tried to agree with him, I just couldn't. Ever since I was born, nothing has ever gone my way and no matter how hard I tried to make things work in my favour, it always seemed like something was stopping me and one way or the other, bad things always happened around me and it always directly affected my life even though I wasn't to blame for whatever it was. I normally wasn't the kind of person that believed in spiritual or supernatural superstitions but with everything that has been happening to me in the last few years of my life, I couldn't help but think that I was cursed and I'm starting to believe that I would be permanently jinxed for the rest of my life. I'm also starting to worry that the situation with me was eventually going to affect the people around me that cared about me and the person I was most concerned about was Liam because should in case I'm unable to win this case, AT fashion would be greatly affected because it was public knowledge that Liam and I were together and that he was still very much on my side and if David is successfully able to frame me, not only would I be going to prison, I would also be causing very serious problems for Liam. "I know you've told me several times not to think negatively or have any kind of thought that I'm cursed or anything about but if I'm being honest with you Liam, I'm starting to lose faith in myself because I just don't know what to think anymore. Remember when I first joined AT fashion and was chosen as the head designer for the fashion show, do you recall what happened eventually? A judge suddenly accused me of trying to seduce him and unfortunately, AT fashion was disqualified and I ended up getting fired for something that I didn't even have any idea about," I reminded him and he frowned slightly. "So what about that? Why are you suddenly bringing up the past when it has already been proven that the judge made a mistake and that everything was all just a misunderstanding?" he asked and I let out a frustrated groan. "You don't get it, Liam. The reason I brought it up is that that happens to be the first terrible incident that happened after you and I met and I can assure you that before I met you, I've gone through a very long list of terrible events and things don't just turn out well for me no matter how hard I try. I've worked so hard all my life because I grew up thinking that I needed to always do better and be better if I ever wanted to be appreciated but every time I try to do something for myself, it always goes wrong," "After mum replaced me with Gabrielle, I thought that I had lost everything but Martin gave me a chance again by getting me a new job and what ended up happening after all of that? Not only did I lose the job, but I'm also on the verge of losing the only friend that has ever supported me in my entire life. One of the reasons why this entire situation with Martin's attempted murder is frustrating is because Martin is the last person I would ever want to hurt. After all, when every other person always seems to leave my side one way or another, he was the only person that stayed by my side and chose me," I said, struggling to hold back my tears. "I owe him so much Liam and as much as I'm trying to remain optimistic that things are going to turn out well and that I won't be put in prison for a crime I didn't commit, I just can't help but think that going to prison might be one of the terrible events that are bound to happen to me in this life and the situation with Katie isn't making things any easier for me," I told him honestly. I had the urge to cry but I tried holding myself back because crying wasn't going to make the situation any better. "I can't tell you I understand how you feel Gabriella but if there's one thing I tell you, it's that you're not cursed, babe. You may think that you are the reason for the bad things that happened with me but believe me, with or without you those things were bound to happen. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing you've ever brought into my life is purpose and happiness and nothing you say or nothing that happens to you is ever going to make me change my mind or think otherwise," Liam assured, and I felt a teardrop roll down my cheeks. "I'm sorry for everything Liam, I am. I feel so guilty for dragging you into this especially when you're so busy with so many other things and I'm sorry that I have to make you constantly defend me when you shouldn't even have to be doing that. I know you say that I'm not bad luck and I'm not going to argue that I am but I'm still going to apologise to you because I know just how much trouble I'm getting you in not just with your family but also at work and I know it's shameless of me to ask this but, please don't leave me," "I don't think that I could have come this far without your help and your support and even though things seem to be going south for me at the moment, I'm grateful that you're still here and that you're still supporting me and I'm shamelessly going to have to ask you to keep being by my side cause I don't think I can deal with any of this before you," I told him honestly. I just couldn't see myself going through all of this without Liam's support and I just needed to let him know how grateful I was for everything that he had done for me because I knew that all of this wasn't easy on him either. "You don't have to thank me, Ella and no, you're not being shameless. Whether or not you asked, I had no intention of leaving your side anyways and both of us are going through all this together and we're going to come out much stronger. I promise you that," he reassured me before planting a quick kiss on my lips and I pulled him in for a hug like my life depended on it.