Chapter 9 I Care About You, Amanda

• Amanda
• Gabriel apologized to me after I told him I was a virgin. I was quite happy because I still had the game in my possession.
• Intentionally, I screamed till he got out of the bathroom then I had my bath and made sure I dressed before I left the room.
• Gabriella was seated in the living room. With a smile on her face, she approached me quickly.
• “Did you enjoy last night?” She asked. At that question, I racked my brain and connected the incidents of the night before to the present time. I understood she added something to Gabriel's drink.
• Anastasia served me breakfast and Gabriella talked non-stop. I nearly grew tired of her talking when nature started calling her. She excused herself and I beamed.
• In the lavishly furnished living room, I tapped my feet impatiently on the tiled floor waiting for Gabriel to descend the stairs. He had been upstairs since the bathroom incident but the past remains the past. I need to settle a new score with him.
• Speak of the devil and he arrived. Gabriel Slade carefully made his way down the stairs. He was dressed in a light purple suit with a bow tie.
• “What next?” Gabriel questioned as soon as he stood before me. “Where are you going dressed like a businesswoman?” He also feigned ignorance of the incident earlier. It felt it was better since we both decided not to speak about it.
• “Where do you think I would be heading? J&J Haven, of course.” I answered, unconcerned as I headed towards the door.
• “What is your motive?” He asked, following closely behind.
• “Can't you see? Grandmother prepared this cloth for me. Haven't you heard of the saying, ‘Behind a successful man there's always a woman?” I replied as I opened the car's door. Ethan already left for home yesterday so we were both alone.
• “How do exacting revenge and J&J Haven correlate?” Gabriel asked but I wasn't ready to answer any of them.
• “Will you say something?” Gabriel bellowed after I ignored him.
• “My motive is far bigger than you know so I have nothing to tell you. And let me warn you, don't stop me in my tracks. Maintain your lane while I maintain mine.” I was slightly annoyed with his persistence.
• “What do you want to do?” He said, relaxed for a moment.
• “What I wish to do is none of your business and what I want to achieve is something you shouldn't think of knowing. I just need to be in your shade for it to happen. I promise I won't drag you down. Unexpectedly, if your name gets dragged through the mud, well congratulations then.”
• We both sat in silence till he extended his arm to open the car’s safe underneath the dashboard on my side. I looked away, relieving my eyes from the stress.
• “Amanda,” he called out gently. I turned sharply towards him. He stretched a blue file towards me. “Take. It will be useful to you.”
• “What's that? I don't need it. I can do it all by myself.” I stood on my ground.
• “Just have it,” he urged and placed the file on my lap before he ignited the car's engine and zoomed off.
• As we drove past the bungalows, skyscrapers, people, and cars on our way to work, I couldn't stop but wondered what Gabriel gave to me in the file.
• With shaky fingers, I opened it. My eyes nearly popped out as I stared at the content of the document. “This… this isn't possible.” I quaked.
• “It is possible. Though you tell me nothing about what you plan to do, I do care about you, Amanda.” Gabriel said, confidently.
• My eyes blinked severally as I locked them on him. “Don't stare at me. I just said what I felt towards you. You are already stone-hearted anyway.”
• “Me?” I questioned like I wasn't close to what he described me to be.
• The car came to a halt suddenly and I nearly bumped my head on the dashboard.
• Swiftly, Gabriel faced me and uttered, “I don't know what happened in the past few months but trust me, I looked for you. Hospitals, railway stations, everywhere, I couldn't just find you. I was worried after you left that morning thinking I lost you.”
• “Really? Then how come you didn't find me?” I asked. I might not believe him for most of what he just said but one thing was true. I wasn't in this world.
• Is it to talk of losing my best friend, Sophia?
• Sophia came to my rescue. I did not know how she knew I was at the warehouse cause I never told her I went to my father's house.
• Before the warehouse got burnt down, Sophia emerged from the entrance screaming for help but no one heard her. She assisted by dragging me towards the door while I struggled to stand.
• We nearly got out of the warehouse when big irons fell and blocked the door. Without thinking further, Sophia looked around and joined some rope together.
• Using the rope, we got to the rooftop but only I made it out. Sophia had accidentally stepped on a nail and fell off the slate ceiling despite my tight grip on her. I remembered she had my bangle in her right hand while she fell into the burning flame.
• Broken, I also staggered and fell backward into the river. I thought that was the end until two weeks ago when I woke up from a coma.
• I heard Gabriel was getting married to Ava but I had to come back to stop the wedding and initiate the first plan of my revenge plot. Claiming to be married to Gabriel is just a strategy just like Ava had said — Betraying or defeating an enemy is called a strategy.
• Once Kael delivers what I told him to, the end of my step rivals will officially begin.
• “What are you thinking of?” Gabriel inquired, slowly wiping the drops of tears on my face. “It's okay.”
• A shattering sound of the glass on Gabriel's side brought me to my senses. My heart pounded heavily when a masked figure pointed a pistol at me.
• I debated whether the man was sent to end my life or collect the property transfer papers Gabriel had just given me.
• Gabriel dipped his fingers into the eyes of the figure and snatched the gun from him. He left the gun in the car and followed the masked figure in a hot chase. He caught the figure and tried to remove the mask.
• “Gabriel!” I screamed immediately as the figure pierced a knife into the left area of Gabriel's chest.
• I got down from the car and rushed to Gabriel who moaned following a stab wound.
• A Limousine stopped suddenly. I gazed up to see if it came to my rescue. The backseat window slid down and a man winked at me.
• He had a sharp jaw speckled with stubble, a strong nose, pink lips, and sinfully handsomely, no doubt a gorgeous man.
• I recognized who he was and muttered, “Richard Saint-Clair.”