Author’s POV
It's been a few days and two weeks since Gabriella and Diego got married and the both of them had a lot to do and say.
Gabriella certainly didn't have something she was looking forward to when she got married but it didn't include her getting forehead kisses early in the morning, it didn't include her always waking up in Diego 's arms, it didn't include Diego accompanying her to school a few times, it didn't include patiently waiting for Diego in the evening so she could share how her day went and what lecturer pissed her off and what her friends Mona and Angel did to her that day, it didn't include Diego laughing hilariously at her and then making nerve cracking jokes, it certainly didn't involve her chest beating furiously on her chest each other she stared at him. It was supposed to be an arranged marriage, an arranged marriage that neither of them expected to be able to co-exist peacefully under the same roof.
Diego had surprisingly transformed from being the arrogant man Gabriella had married a few weeks ago, to a very sweet and loving man. Gabriella still couldn’t wrap her fingers around why he changed towards her.
Diego even broke off his relationship with Valentina, his ex girlfriend, just so he could be a good husband to Gabriella.
Gabriella opened her eyes and for the first time in a while, the bed was empty but she soon realized why the bed was empty when her eyes drifted towards the digital clock placed on the table.
Cursing underneath her breadth, she rushed out of bed and quickly rushed into the bathroom. Having gotten woken up late quite a number of times before; getting ready in a rush wasn't such a big deal. Deep down she was mad at Diego for not waking her up; didn't he know she had school today?
She was trying to wear her sweat shirt when she got into the car,
“Adbed, step on it please" Gabriella said, bending down to tie her messy shoelaces. Abded had obviously realized how late she was and wheezed through the streets till she got to school.
"Have a nice day" he hollered after her as Gabriella got down from the car hurrying into the school premises.
Remembering the professor who was to teach her that morning, more profanities spewed from her mouth.
She could feel her phone buzzing in her back pocket and she was sure that it was either Mona or Angel or worse comes to worse; it would be both of them.
The female lecturer who took that particular course was used to students claiming her class was very hard and it was hard to pass so she was sued to very few students passing very well but after teaching Gabriella's set, Gabriella totally crushed her ego as she kept getting full marks in her tests and class works, assignments not excluded. She made her assignments and tests even harder and Gabriella would either get full marks or almost get full marks, over time, she had grow an irritation for Gabriella and everyone in their department knew it. But just to be on the safer side, Gabriella almost and made sure she never got on her bad side. She was always in class early, never gossiped with Mona and Angel during her classes making her unable to find fault with her but it seems as
though her jar of luck with her had expired that morning because Gabriella could clearly see the triumphant smile on her face as soon as she stepped inside.
"That's new" she started.
"You are late Lopez" she added as
Gabriella winced trying to wear a straight face. She knew trying to come up to her or give excuses no matter how reasonable it was useless.
"Good morning Professor Martha "
Gabriella greeted in reply as the woman nodded quietly. She was an
Black- American who had a flawless dark skin and was very much admired by most of the students. She had earned the respect on her own.
"Let's see how well you did on your assignment" she said as Gabriella froze.
She had gisted with Diego the night before and totally forgot about her assignment.
She turned towards the students and met Mona's eyes who were asking if she had done the assignment. Both hers and Angel 's eyes widened when she slowly shook her head.
"I'm waiting for you Lopez" Professor
Martha said. She had gotten a hint that Gabriella didn't do her assignment.
Happiness filled her heart as she watched Gabriella gleefully, now she could pour out all her pent up frustrations, Gabriella sighed as she dug into her bag and brought out her note while handing it over to her without even checking it. She was sure she didn't do it and she was so in for it with professor Martha but as she looked up she frowned as a look of surprise fitted across her face. Professor Martha glanced at Gabriella in surprise then glanced at the book in front of her. The assignment had been done neatly in her note. A firm but neat and conscious handwriting spread through the note.
She knew it wasn't obviously Gabriella 's handwriting and what was more; the assignment had been done in such a way that even her dullest student would easily understand. She had to swallow all the words in her mouth as she gave Gabriella back her note.
"Lopez, you want to tell us why you came late and why there's someone else's handwriting in her note?" she asked as the class went into an uproar.
Gabriella wasn't very familiar with most of her departmental mates but they all knew and revered her. They all knew of her family situation and when they needed help, they were quick to look for help and she would always help.
She had no friends aside Mona and
Angel so it was a huge surprise to hear that there was someone else's handwriting in her note.
Gabriella had long flipped open her note and was shocked to see Diego's handwriting spread all over her notes.
She couldn't even imagine when he had done it. A small smile fitted across her lips but she was quick to hide it. She closed her note and stood upright meeting the Professor's eyes as she answered her question.
"I woke up late, '' Gabriella replied honestly as Professor Martha raised her eyebrow and chuckled.
"And?" she asked; she wanted to know who the owner of the handwriting was.
It was rather a beautiful handwriting that had caught her attention. She couldn't take her mind off it.
"Professor Martha , can we step outside for a moment?" Gabriella asked as Professor Martha raised her eyebrow before stepping outside with Gabriella.
"So?' she asked as Gabriella swallowed her saliva.
"I really didn't do the assignment myself. And I didn't want to say this in front of all the students because it could cause something else but my husband did" Gabriella replied as Professor Martha froze for a second before she chuckled.
"Your husband?" she asked in pure shock and surprise.
"Yes. My husband did" Gabriella replied, pursing her lips as Professor Martha stared at her as if she had grown two heads.
Most of the Professors knew of Gabriella's family situation so most of them never gave her a hard time and most times gave her a leeway when necessary and what was even more, Gabriella was a straight A student despite her family situation so she had won the admiration and love of most of them so it was Professor's Martha first time of hearing that Gabriella was married.
"Put your husband on the phone"
Professor Martha said as Gabriella frowned lightly.
'He's at work. I don't think he would be able to answer the phone" Gabriella replied as Professor Martha chuckled.
"Are you saying your husband won't pick up your call?" Professor Martha asked as
Gabriella winced and chuckled internally.
Professor Martha 's question had poked her sore spot and although she had never called him during work before, Gabriella was nervous as she brought out her phone and dialed Diego 's number.
At Rodriguez Corporations, Diego was currently having a meeting with the 122 Directors of the company.
Most of the Directors had sweat sticking to the back of their shirts with their suits and coats hiding their nervousness and fear.
Who said Caleb Rodriguez was harsh and overbearing? Why don't they take a look at his grandson? The conference room was quiet and no one spoke while keeping their eyes on the younger man in front of them.
A phone suddenly rang in the room bringing an end to the silence and almost everyone wanted to insult the owner of the phone but they all looked on in shock as Diego grabbed his phone and the frown on his face disappeared as he picked the call.
"Hey" Gabriella's voice drifted into his ears.
"Where are you?" Diego asked, his voice soft and low.
"School. My professor wants to speak with you" Gabriella replied as Diego raised an eyebrow.
"Why?' he asked.
'It's all your fault" , Gabriella replied through gritted teeth. Her voice was low but Diego could clearly hear her.
"You did my assignment and now she's asking who did the assignment. She won't believe my husband did it" Gabriella said.
"Oh" Diego replied as he lowered his head and a light chuckle escaped his lips freezing everyone in the room to their seats.
"Good morning Mr, well I'm sorry I don't know your name. Are you Gabriella's husband?" a light female's voice drifted into Diego 's ears as a straight look appeared on his face.
"Yes, I am Professor Martha .
How can I help you?" Diego asked as there was silence on the other side.
"Er... i..
I wasn't sure.... i didn't know that Gabriella was married" she replied after a while stuttering as she spoke.
"Professor Martha ," Diego called quietly.
"I understand that you've been giving my wife a hard time," Diego started.
"From now onwards, you will treat her like every other student and you will not make things hard for her," Diego added.
"And yes, you will hand over the phone back to Gabriella with a wide smile on your face and apologize for going through all these trouble" Diego said as he sighed.
'You asked for my name earlier. You can call me Diego , Diego Rodriguez ".
Gabriella sighed softly as soon as she handed over the phone to Professor
Martha . She was so relieved when Diego picked the call on the second ring. The moment his voice drifted into her ears, she felt her inside turn over.
No matter how many times she had heard that voice over and over again, she couldn't exactly get used to it.
She listened to Professor Martha talk to Diego then went quiet before turning to Gabriella quietly. Her ears seemed to have gone red and she wasn't saying anything.
The next time Professor Martha spoke, she was stuttering much to Gabriella 's shock.
"E....i wasn't sure.... i didn't know
that Gabriella was married" she said as Gabriella sneered inwardly. She clearly told her but she refused to listen.
Gabriella folded her arms and watched as Professor Martha 's face went white and then shock spread across her face. Then she wore a smile that Gabriella needed no one to tell her that the smile was forced.
She watched as professor Martha handed back the phone to her.
"I'm sorry" she muttered as Gabriella stared at her in surprise before nodding her head.
"It's okay Professor Martha , no one would believe i am married either" Gabriella replied as Professor Martha nodded, winced and stepped inside the class when almost tripping along the wall making Gabriella very much curious to know what Diego had said to her.
She placed the phone back to her ears slowly.
"What did you say to my Professor?"
Gabriella asked giggling quietly.
"She almost tripped just now," Gabriella added.
"Oh really?' Diego asked as Gabriella nodded even though she knew that
Diego couldn't see her.
“Yes. Her name is Professor Martha , she's such a pain in the ass" Gabriella replied as Diego nodded.
"So that's her name" Diego said as Gabriella nodded.
"Yeah," Gabriella replied as she pursed her lips.
"Thank you Diego "
As soon as Diego dropped the call, he turned to face the Director who had submitted the proposal. Everyone was sure he was going to fire him moreover, six directors had been fired ever since he took the President position. "I want a new proposal before the day ends," Diego said as he stood up and stepped outside. The director in person fell to the ground, relief coursing through his veins as his other colleagues helped him up while congratulating him on not losing his job. Only in Rodriguez Corporations would you congratulate someone for not losing their jobs. "Send Gabriella's picture to the bodyguards and securities, whenever she's coming over, no one is allowed to stop her" Diego said as his secretary nodded. 'Is Miss Gabriella coming today?" he asked as Diego continued walking in long strides. "Probably" Diego replied as he walked into the office. "Set up the online meeting with the branch in Vietnam," Diego said as his secretary nodded. "On it sir" he replied. Mona burst
Gabriella was quietly nodding her head to the music playing in the car when the car suddenly swerved to the side. The driver was quick to apologize to Gabriella immediately. "I'm sorry Miss, the car suddenly blocked me on the way" he said as Gabriella furrowed her brows and nodded politely towards the driver. "It's okay Uncle. You can just reverse and go" Gabriella said as she craned her neck realizing that unless the other person moved his or her car, they barely even couldn't move. Gabriella furrowed brows even became more profound as she stared at the flashy BMW in front of the car. It was one of the new series that BMW had just recently released. "I'll go tell the other person to move the car" the driver said as Gabriella shook her head. "Ha, no need, i..." she didn't get to finish her statement because the latter opened the driver's door and a woman wearing sunglasses and a well proportioned suit clung to her body like a body hug cloth rather than a suit. It was obviou
As Gabriella stepped out of the cafe, a frown appeared on her face as she got back into the car. It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience but Gabriella didn't know what was going on. She had no idea of what was going on in her head or with her body at all.Even though she knew Diego had zero feelings for Stephanie, she couldn't conceal the hate in her heart at all. She sighed as she threw her head backwards and different thoughts began racing through her head.The driver turned into the premises of Rodriguez Corporations and Gabriella glanced at the tall building indifferently."What did you just say?" Diego asked again."Miss Omo arrived in the country late yesterday night and blocked MissGabriella 's way while coming back from school. They had a discussion in a cafe" his secretary replied as Diego raised an eyebrow."Is Beth okay?" Diego asked as the secretary winced and dropped a laptop in front of Diego . His wife had brutally murdered the other woman eventhough she was c
Diego stared at the teary lady in front of him as he rubbed his forehead."Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" He asked quietly as Stephanie swallowed her saliva."I wanted to surprise you," Stephanie said with a small smile as Diego nodded."Fair enough. I was really surprised when I heard that you had gone to visit my wife" Diego said as Stephanie paled slightly before wearing an aggrieved expression."Didn't we agree to marry each other?Didn't you agree to wait for me?"Stephanie asked as Diego wore a surprised expression."We?" He asked."You and who?" He asked again as he smiled, his smile not in any way looking like a smile."You were the only one who made those decisions yourself. I have nothing to do with them" Diego said as Stephanie felt her heart being squeezed directly."Diego !" She exclaimed."How could you do this to me?"Stephanie asked in pain."Do what to you?" Diego asked clearly not affected by whatever face Stephanie was making."You know how much I lov
Gabriella had long admitted that whatever everyone said about Diego online was a big lie and a complete mess. Whether be it the part of him being a cold statue or him being unable to relate with other people because with her, he never exhibited those traits or characteristics. Whether he was pretending or not, she had no idea but one thing she knew for sure was that he was always relaxed at home.Unconsciously after being a marriage with him over a month, Gabriella found herself always wanting to hurry home, wanting to wait for Diego to come back home, waiting for him so she could share all the details of how her day went. Her friends thought that this was normal; after all they were in love, only Gabriella knew that it wasn't in the least normal. It wasn't normal. It was a marriage where she was supposed to be a free bird, maybe date and then spend money. She wasn't supposed to start getting feelings for him but Gabriella knew better.Fear and emotions entangled together leaving her
Both Diego and Gabriella arrived home at the same time. Diego raised an eyebrow as soon as he walked into the house and saw Gabriella trying to remove her sneakers."You just got home?" he asked asGabriella nodded her head."Yeah. Stayed at Alex's ward while coming back from school" Gabriella replied."Ohhh. Being a while we've gone to see him. How's he now?" Diego asked asGabriella smiled."He's responding well to treatment but he's still very weak. He can barely stand on his feet for more than ten minutes" Gabriella replied as Diego chuckled as they walked into their room."That's an improvement if you ask me.Could he even stand at all before?"Diego asked as Gabriella smiled."I guess so" Gabriella said as Diego nodded her head."I have a quick meeting with someone.Wash up, I'll be downstairs with you in a bit" Diego said as he walked into his study and closed the door behind him.Gabriella raised an eyebrow at the door as she chuckled. She suddenly realized that she hadn't eve
At exactly two minutes past 11pm, the person watching the CCTV cameras for the server room noticed abnormalities but as he was instructed before, he didn't make any movements. All he did was dial a number on the telephone beside him and the latter picked up on the first ring."The guest is here" he muttered."Then no worries. Do not alert him, allow him do whatever and let him leave" a feminine voice replied him."Yes Director" he said as he dropped the telephone back curious as to what the person wanted to do.Barely less than fifteen minutes later, he watched the person fully masked attach another device to one of the severs and as quietly as he came, he disappeared. Even he had to admire the skills of the intruder. He was too good but unfortunately, he wasn't good enough.Gabriella yawned as she laid on the bed stretching her legs while scrolling through her Instagram, unlike interacting with others in person, Gabriella preferred to scroll their pages on Instagram and go through t
Diego turned to his younger brother slowly as he furrowed his brows."What do you mean by do I know if she took a tech course?" Diego asked asNoah shrugged his shoulders."I asked you if you knew" Noah replied as Diego shrugged his shoulders."I don't know" Diego replied as Noah nodded."Why? You saw something?" Diego asked as Noah pursed his lips."Yesterday at Alex's; the way she was using her computer, one would think she was an hacker" Noah said as he burst into laughter."But then Alex said his sister did a lot of weird things to make sure he was able to receive treatment" Noah said as he folded his arms."Is there a way to schedule an overseas check up? I really want him to get better" Noah added while Diego turned to him."You as much as handle that yourself or can't you?" Diego asked as Noah swallowed his saliva quietly."You know about it?" He asked quietly as Diego laughed.*I'm not your elder brother with just a title okay?" Diego replied as he nodded."Talk to Like, he'll