Chapter Seven

Gabriella. I paced around the living room impatiently as countless theories and possibilities started to flood my thoughts at once, making me feel slightly nauseous and nervous. I've been pretty restless for the last few days after noticing Liam's strange behaviour and as much as I don't want to admit it, I have a feeling I'm the reason he's suddenly being so off and distant. There's definitely something he's keeping from me and the fact that he wasn't sharing whatever it was that bothered him made me feel ten times worse and even if whatever he's going to say would hurt my feelings, I needed to know as soon as possible so I don't end up losing my mind over it. He normally used to come back home around 6pm but nowadays, he suddenly started to come home pretty late and whenever I asked if something was up with him, he'd use his work as an excuse or simply try to ignore my questions by distracting me with a kiss and claiming to be too tired to talk. All of this made me feel like a burden and if there's one thing I don't want to be to anyone, it's being seen or considered as a burden or a liability. I'm very much capable of surviving this whole issue on my own and if he already feels like my problems are too much for him to handle then, I'll walk out of his life the same way I came in and he wouldn't have to deal with me ever again. As much as the thought alone hurts me, I can't afford to stay in a place where I'm not wanted and be treated like a fool that I'm absolutely not. I've been too much of a good person all my life to deserve such treatment. It's almost 8pm which means Liam will be back anytime soon and as much as I don't want to seem inconsiderate, I can't afford to spend an extra hour with him acting completely off and lost in his thoughts. I'd rather know my place as soon as possible so I don't end up crying myself to sleep. About half an hour later, I hear the door open up and unsurprisingly, Liam walks in with his usual tired look and when his eyes meet mine, my heart immediately drops to the lowest pit of my stomach and I suddenly feel suffocated and depressed. He didn't look too happy to see me. "Hey," I greeted nervously, swallowing hard to avoid the tears that were threatening to pour out. "Hey babe, what's up?" he greeted me in a low tone, walking up to me and planting a quick kiss on my forehead. "How was work?" I asked, faking a small smile. "Tiring, as usual. Nothing new," he replied boredly. "Do you plan on going to bed anytime soon?" I asked. "No, not yet. I still need to finish up some things and then I'll be off to bed. I need to get up early tomorrow morning cause I'll be going for an important meeting with some new investors for the next collection," he replied and I let out a shaky breath before finally speaking up. "C...can we talk for a while? I'll be quick," I stuttered nervously, feeling rather embarrassed with how foolish I was being right now. "Yeah sure. Any problem? Does it have to do with the case?" he asked. "No, no, nothing about the case. It's about us," I replied nervously and he looked a little confused. "Can we sit please? My legs are kinda hurting right now," I muttered foolishly, as I could not exactly trust my legs not to fail me. "Sure babe but is everything okay? You look pale," he pointed out but I ignored his comment and quickly got straight to the point. "Listen Liam, it hurts me to have to ask this but I don't think I can take this anymore and I feel like I'll end up suffocating if I don't bring this up…," I'm saying, he chimed in. "Bring what up? What's wrong Gabriella?" he asked. "Just let me speak, please?" I pleaded calmly to avoid breaking down in tears. "I don't know if you've noticed but you've been acting really weird with me in the last few days and it's really starting to make me feel very uncomfortable. I don't know if I did something wrong or you're simply just tired of me or if it has anything to do with what's going on with Martin's case but I'm very certain there's something you're not telling me and it's honestly taking a toll on me mentally. I feel so choked watching you act so indifferent towards me and I honestly don't think I can take this anymore," "I just want you to be honest with me right now and tell me what exactly it is that I've done so wrong that made you change overnight and if it's simply because you're tired of having me around, then just tell me so I can walk out of your life instead of feeling like a burden to you," I said to him in a slightly shaky tone as I struggled to hold back my tears. He stared back at me quietly for a while with an expressionless look on his face and at this point to me, there's nothing deadlier than his silence. "Aren't you going to say anything? Even if I'm right at least tell me to my face so I don't keep feeling stupid and out of place!" I snapped at him impatiently as stupid tears start rolling down my cheeks without permission. He surprisingly remained quiet, moving towards me and using his thumb to wipe the tears off my cheeks. "I honestly have no idea what to say to you right now Ella," he finally spoke up after what felt like hours of deadly silence. "How about you just tell me the truth Liam? If you're scared that I'm gonna hate you or judge you for whatever reason then you're complete wrong. I'd rather you tell me how you feel right now than to keep lying to me and making me feel like something you wish you could throw away but your conscience doesn't allow you to," I responded to him, taking his hands off my face and wiping off my tears myself. If truly he's about to end our relationship then I shouldn't embarrass myself by crying. That's the worst that could happen and it's definitely not the end of the world for me. "Okay Gabriella, I'll explain things to you but the first thing I'd like to correct is that thought you have of me getting tired of you and wanting you out of my life. I honestly don't even know where all of that is coming from because I didn't realise my sudden mood change made you feel that way and I'm sorry about that cause that is definitely far from what is on my mind," he assured and I'm confused. "Then what exactly is on your mind? Did something happen? Why did you suddenly start coming in late and then you go to bed really early and we barely even have proper conversations?" I asked. "Well firstly, coming in late isn't my fault. We have a new collection coming and they're a few glitches with the outfits. Most of the designers have been coming up with similar outfits with previously released collections and a few of the fresh ideas seem to be a bit too much and don't relate with the theme of the new collection so we're pretty short on ideas right now and that's why I've been coming home so late cause we're working really hard to get new designers and new ideas," he explained and I deadpanned. Was I really being paranoid all this while? But why didn't he just tell me? I would have understood. "You know you could have just told me right? Now I feel foolish for not knowing all of this and by the way, it still doesn't explain the distance between us. You were barely talking to me," I pouted childishly and he rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll apologise for that cause I didn't even realise I've been acting that way. It's just that the whole thing with the collection was really tiring me out cause the truth is, if we mess this one up, we may end up losing our company to bankruptcy or even worse, our arch nemesis takes over and then eventually sells my family's hard work to the highest bidder," he explained and I honestly have never been more relieved in my entire life. "Listen babe, I'm really sorry I made you feel all alone and ignored. It really wasn't my intention at all and I'm sorry it had to be when you really need me the most. If there's something I'm sure is real and genuine in my life right now, it's definitely my feelings for you and nothing, absolutely nothing can change that. Please forgive me," he apologises, planting a quick kiss on my lips and I couldn't help but grin widely. "It's okay babe. I only wanted to be sure we were okay and fortunately, it was all a misunderstanding. By the way, why didn't you just tell me about the issue with the designs? Did you forget that your girlfriend is the best designer on planet earth?" I teased, he chuckled. "Not exactly but I just didn't want to bother you with everything that's going on right now," he replied and I frowned. "You'd actually be helping me even more Liam. You know how much I love working and nothing takes my mind off things as easily as work does. So how about we do this, you'll explain the theme of the next collection, show me a few examples from the designers and I'll immediately start working on it. I can also help correct already submitted designs that seem off but only if they can be corrected, sound good?" I suggested in excitement. "It sounds great and all but if you design them, it'll be a bit difficult to give you the credit because of how fragile the situation is right now and I don't want you to feel bad," he replied. "I never mentioned anything about wanting to take credit. That would only put the entire company in jeopardy because of my current dilemma. So how about the credit is given to both Fabian and Martha instead? I'll do my part, you'll give it to them and they'll figure out what next and I'll also keep in touch with them so that I'm certain that everything goes well, much better isn't it?" I suggested and although he didn't look too excited about it, he eventually agreed after I had tried to make him see reason. A phone call interrupted our conversation and when we checked, it turned out to be my phone and surprisingly, an employee of mine was the one calling. "What is it Taylor?" I asked as soon as I picked up, wondering why she'd be calling this late. "G..good evening miss. I'm so sorry to bother you b...but I just got a call from Katie's phone and it was the p... police miss," she stuttered, obviously in tears and I'm confused. "What do you mean the police? What happened? Is something wrong? Is she okay?" I blurted out worriedly, hoping nothing had happened to her. Katie was one of the employees at my cafe and she's someone I could say I'm pretty fond of. She and I last spoke yesterday after she had called to tell me that Elle had showed up and like I instructed, she told her I had no interest in seeing her. "M..miss, Katie's d...dead. They found her dead body right in front of the cafe," she tells me, and I deadpan. "W...what do you mean by that? How is that possible? What the hell happened?" I asked shakily and Liam was quick to tap me with a confused look on his face and I put the phone on speaker so he could listen in. "I don't know miss. I'm currently on my way back to the cafe and I just called to inform you cause the police would be calling you anytime from now. I'll let you know what happens when I get there," she replied and I thanked her quickly before hanging up. "What happened?" Liam asked. "One of my employees was found dead right in front of the cafe," I tell him shakily as tears immediately start to stream down my face. What the hell is happening around me?