Chapter 23

It was time for dinner so they all went to the dining room. On the dining table were grilled chicken, seasonal veggies, chicken Caesar salad, and chocolate-filled banana cake for dessert.

Nicole couldn't help but feel hungry after seeing the different dishes on the table. They sat down and ate quietly.

"So..when are you two getting married so you can start making babies?" Helen suddenly asked making Nicole choke on her salad.

"I know that reaction," she continued.

"Weren't you guys planning on getting married?" She asked staring from Gabriel to Nicole, Nicole gulped down a glass of water.

"Mom, we haven't talked about that yet," Gabriel replied.

"You two are never going to talk about it if it's left in your hands Gabriel but don't worry, I'll take care of it... I have no idea why I still have to do things for you." Halen said murmuring the last part more to herself.

She called for a maid and asked her to get her phone, Nicole wondered what Helen was about to do, she turned to Gabriel and stared at him in confusion, it hadn't been up to twenty-four hours and there was already a mix-up.

"Say something," Nicole mouthed to Gabriel.

"Um Mom, I don't think-"

"Oh no honey, you don't have to say anything and Nicole doesn't pay any attention to him. Jacob almost played the same trick on me, that was why we only had Gabriel because he was always busy," Helen said preventing Gabriel from saying anything.

"Honey, can you just let them be?" Jacob, Gabriel's dad said to his wife after noticing how uncomfortable Nicole and Gabriel were about the subject.

"Oh no no no, Jacob. I know our son better than you do," she replied collecting her phone from the maid and dialing a number.

"Hello Angela, I think I'll be needing your services," Helen began.

The air suddenly became suffocating for Nicole, she was no longer paying attention to what Helen was saying anymore. Everything and everyone around her became silenced.

How did they get here? She wondered.

"It's done. You both are getting married in a month." Helen said with a bright smile on her face after the call.

Nicole suddenly lost her appetite, this wasn't the plan.

How was she going to get out of this now? Gabriel was going to hate her right now but why wasn't he saying anything to stop his mom? She wondered.

Dinner was over in no time, all Nicole wanted to do was go straight to bed because she was numb.

"Mom, I need to talk to you," Gabriel said to his mom as soon as they were out of the dining room.

"Oh baby, I'm so tired. Can we talk some other time, maybe tomorrow?" She replied already going upstairs.

Gabriel went into his study, he immediately turned some whiskey into a glass and gulped it down his throat, completely emptying the glass. He was in shock, he couldn't understand what exactly happened during dinner, his mom just arranged a wedding between him and Nicole right in his presence, she didn't even let him speak.

How was he going to clean up this mess now?

His mom wasn't one to take excuses, so how was he going to get out of this?

Asking Nicole to pretend to be his fiancee was more than enough for him, he didn't want to force her into anything more than that. She shouldn't be pleasing him or his family, she had her own life to live, and he, he was no good for anyone to be with. He deserved to be alone, that should be his punishment for his previous negligence. After that thought, Gabriel decided to go to his bedroom. He hoped to get some sleep after tonight's event but he doubted if that would be possible.

Nicole was asleep in her bedroom when she felt someone's hands gently stroking her hand to get her to wake up. She woke up and was surprised to see Helen, she couldn't help but look at the clock and saw that it was midnight. She wondered what Helen wanted at that hour.

"Is everything okay?" She groggily asked. Helen took a seat by Nicole's side on her bed.

"I know you two aren't talking to each other," Helen said making Nicole stare at her with wide eyes.

How did she find out?

"Yeah. I could tell from both your body language. I'm not a kid you know." she continued.

"I um...we..."

"You don't have to explain anything, couples fight. It's normal," she said cutting Nicole off.

"What I want from you two is that you settle whatever disagreements you're having and I want you both to do that right now," she said helping Nicole up from the bed.

"It's late, can't we do that tomorrow?" Nicole said trying to avoid having any conversation with Gabriel.

"I insist," Helen replied.

"Besides, I have no idea why you two sleep in separate rooms. Come on let's go, you'll be sleeping in his room tonight. You both need to learn... I don't even get how you children these days behave." she concluded guiding Nicole out of her room.

"Um, Mrs Harrison..." Helen glared at her and she immediately corrected herself.

"I meant to say, Helen. I don't think this is the hour for such a discussion. He would probably be asleep by now and I don't want to be the one to wake him up." Nicole nervously said.

Tonight was already an eventful one, Nicole didn't want more drama but Helen was bent on her decision.

"You aren't doing anything wrong honey" she replied before knocking on Gabriel's bedroom door, after some seconds the door opened.

Gabriel stood at his door surprised to see his mom and a sleepy yet slightly nervous-looking Nicole. He had no idea how Nicole did it every time without even noticing, as she was looking sexy in short black pajamas, he could see those beautiful legs again, they were always his distraction.

"Mom. Is something wrong?" He asked trying to take his attention away from Nicole's body.

"I want you two to make up." his mom replied taking him by surprise.

"Excuse me?" He asked wondering how his mom got to find out about that.

"You don't need to deny it, I know you too well. I could tell from the moment I stepped foot in this house, so you both should talk it out... And I don't want any excuses." she said gently pushing Nicole into his room, closing the door, not giving him any chance to object.

Why was his mom always on his case? He thought to himself.

How did she expect him to face Nicole again after that day which neither of them is ready to remember, not to mention discuss it? He wouldn't blame his mom, she has no idea what transpired between them.

Nicole leaned on the wall with both arms folded on her chest. She couldn't help but stare at a shirtless Gabriel, she hadn't seen him shirtless before. She had to be honest with herself, this man is hot. He had a body to die for. It was killing Nicole slowly knowing that he or his body didn't belong to her.

How did he even manage to maintain this body when all he ever did was work?

Nicole closed her eyes so she would stop staring at Gabriel and having wild thoughts.

"Don't worry, I'll leave once I'm certain she is asleep," Nicole said to Gabriel who was now seated on the couch, busy on his phone.

Nicole wondered why he wasn't asleep yet. This guy is a robot, she thought to herself.

"You'll have to wait forever for that. I know my mom, she'll check on us later. Go to bed." he said gesturing for Nicole to go lay on his bed because he could tell she was feeling sleepy.

Nicole didn't argue as she immediately went to lay on the bed. This was paradise, she thought to herself as her body came in contact with the bed. But she couldn't get some sleep to her displeasure, she just stared at the ceiling to see if that would help.

When Gabriel was done with whatever he had been doing, he joined her on the bed. They both stared at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing, neither of them saying a word.

"I'm sorry for bothering you the other day," Nicole finally said breaking the silence between them.

Gabriel felt hurt and guilty hearing the word 'bother', Nicole wasn't a bother to him, she could never be. The truth was that he enjoyed her company. He also felt relieved after hearing her apology, he was glad she didn't yell nor was she mad at him as he had thought.

"I'm sorry for the things I said. I never meant any of it," he apologized.

Nicole felt a sudden peace within her after hearing Gabriel's apology.

"Can we be friends again?" He asked. Nicole couldn't help but smile at his question, she never believed he considered her as a friend before.

"Sure," she replied with a smile before lying on her side to hide the blush that must have appeared on her cheeks.

"Goodnight," she whispered.

"Goodnight," Gabriel replied.

He didn't believe that Nicole would forgive him so easily, he thought it would be difficult to get her forgiveness. He smiled to himself knowing they would return to being the way they used to before. He slowly closed his eyes, letting himself get consumed by sleep.

Yaaaaay!

They made up

Who's excited?

Sorry guys if you're bothered by the pictures, it's just that I have a thing for visuals

They make the story more interesting for me

Tell me what you think about it

And please your votes and comments would really be appreciated

Love y'all 😊 😘