13– Gabrielle

Everyone had that one person they went to when they desperately needed clarity.

For me, that person was Grace. 

She was the only anchor I had left in the world. Which was exactly why I was standing under the dim awning in front of her apartment door at midnight, clutching a cold bottle of tequila. 

I was holding onto a hope that we would get completely knocked out of our minds, drink until the buzzing beneath my skin stopped, and bitterly rant about how unfair life was.

I pressed the doorbell for the third time, the sharp chime echoing down the hallway. Finally, the deadbolt clicked. The door creaked open just a fraction of an inch, and Grace peeked her face through the narrow space.

She looked out of place. Her eyes were wide with panic, and a patch of nervous sweat glistened on her forehead.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she whisper-yelled, her voice laced with terror.

I blinked, thrown off by her hostility. “What do you mean? I came to spend time with you. I need a drink, Grace.”

“Bad timing, girl. Terrible timing,” she hissed, casting a frantic look over her shoulder into her own apartment. “Your mother is in there.”

The breath caught in my throat. “My... what?”

“I already told her you haven’t come to see me in days, but you chose today of all days to show your face?”

“Wh-what?!” It was my turn to yell in a panicked whisper, my chest tightening with immediate anxiety. “Fuck! Grace, why didn’t you text me?”

“Because she’s been hovering over me since she walked in! You know how your mother is. And I didn't think you'd randomly drive over here at midnight!”

“Jesus… I should just go. I'll slide back down the elevator—”

“You should what?”

My mother’s cold, authoritative voice cut through the air from inside the apartment. 

Before Grace could stall any longer, the door was violently pulled wide open.

A wave of panic rippled through my veins, but years of rigorous training under her roof kicked in. I forced my posture to straighten, pinning a bright smile across my face. “Hello, Mom.”

Her face twisted with a look of disgust. She trailed her vicious, calculating eyes down my frame, examining my casual clothes. “Is this a new habit of yours, Gabrielle? Driving around the city in the dead of night with a bottle of alcohol?”

I cleared my throat, awkwardly raising the tequila bottle high and waving it in the air, my lips still desperately holding onto that stupid, artificial smile. “It’s unopened!”

I heard Grace let out a soft wince. That was the moment I realized I was making a fool of myself.

My mother remained silent. She just stood in the doorway, watching me with an intense, frozen glare. Her eyes drilled into my skull with so much malice that I involuntarily recoiled, taking a cautious step back into the hallway.

“If you’re trying to intimidate me with this silence, Mom, then congratulations. It’s working,” I muttered, my smile finally cracking. “You can stop now.”

“Is this the grand career you were so excited about?” she asked, her voice dangerously quiet.

“Mom, I can explain the news—”

“What is there to explain?” she interrupted, stepping out into the hallway, her presence dominating the space. “When I allowed you to go work for Arthur's agency, this degrading display was not what I expected from a daughter of mine.”

“This is not my fault,” I defended, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to keep it steady. “Kayden Alvarez is the one who—”

“Whose fault is it then?” she mocked, tilting her head. “Mine? Your sister’s? Your brother’s?  Your father’s? Tell me, Gabrielle, whose fault is it that you have dedicated your entire life to bringing nothing but shame to this family name?”

“You’re going way too far, Mom,” I snapped, the anger burning through my fear. “It’s just a standard dating scandal. It happens in sports management every single day.”

“There is nothing more shameful than being dragged into a sordid dating scandal with a reckless, low-class athlete, Gabrielle. That is an undeniable fact,” she spat. “If you wanted a man so badly that you had to compromise your dignity, you should have come to me. I would have paired you with someone of actual stature.”

“I don’t want a single thing from you,” I ground out through clenched teeth. “And as for my career? You didn’t allow me to do anything. I earned this. I chose this path for myself.”

My mother let out a sharp, mocking laugh that echoed off the walls. “You actually think Arthur Sterling would have taken a mediocre girl like you under his wing if it hadn’t been for my personal influence?”

“Arthur took me under his wing because he saw my potential!”

“And yet, here you are,” she sneered, gesturing vaguely to the hallway. “Your very first high-profile, independent client, and you couldn’t even manage to get him to keep his hands off you. You let him ruin your reputation in a single night.”

“Mom…” The tears of frustration were hot behind my eyes, but I forced them back. “This is just temporary. We're just trying to fix the metrics. I’m just—”

“You’re a garbage collector, Gabrielle. That’s exactly what you are to that firm.”

I froze, the words knocking the wind straight out of my lungs. 

My features contorted into a mask of confusion. “I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“What is there not to understand, Gabrielle?” my mother asked, a cruel smirk touching her lips as she realized she had shattered my armor. “Kayden Alvarez has a toxic, unmarketable playboy reputation. For a long time, the league and his sponsors have been screaming at the agency to clean up his image. And you? You gave them the perfect opportunity on a platter.”

She stepped closer, her voice dropping into a venomous whisper that made my stomach churn.

“You’re changing the narrative about him at your own personal and professional expense like a blind, desperate fool! Is this the kind of career you envisioned? Is this the kind of cheap scandal you want permanently attached to your name?”

“Mom, stop—”

“When this contract ends, you will be chewed up and spat out by the public for breaking their golden boy's heart,” she predicted. “And do you know what he will do? Alvarez won’t lift a single finger in your defense. Why would he? He’ll be sitting on top of a mountain of endorsement money that you built for him while you're blacklisted from the industry.”

“What?” The word was barely a breath.

“Oh,” my mother murmured, her smirk widening as she took in my wide, horrified eyes. “You didn't know?”

“Know what?”

“Now that you have successfully painted Alvarez as a changed man, a loyal guy who is capable of a committed, exclusive relationship, there is a handful of multi-million dollar global brands foaming at the mouth to bring him onboard,” she revealed, delivering the fatal blow to my chest. “Did Arthur not tell you during your little lunch date? Did Alvarez himself not bother to mention that you are simply a disposable tool being used to redefine and redeem him?”

“Th-that’s not true,” I stammered, my voice sounding weak and hollow even to my own ears. I gripped the neck of the tequila bottle so hard my knuckles throbbed.

“Is it not?” My mother tilted her head, her expression devoid of warmth. “Why on earth would I lie to you, Gabrielle? I am your mother.”

“Maybe because you’re desperately trying to force me to go to law school,” I spat, a surge of anger masking the ache in my chest. “I already told you, Mom. I am not walking the same path as you, or my sister, or my brother. I'm not becoming another drone in your firm.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to invent a conspiracy just to bring you to your senses,” she said dismissively, waving a hand. “You’ll come around to your senses in due time. Real talent always realizes when it's being wasted.”

“Go fuck yourself,” I whispered.

“Watch your mouth, young lady,” she snapped, her eyes narrowing into slits.

“So what if I’m just a tool to them, Mom? It doesn’t even matter…” I lied through my teeth, trying to protect the tiny shred of dignity I had left in front of her. “I am just doing my job. It's a thirty-day contract.”

“Your job is to keep his image clean, Gabrielle, not to jeopardize your own future for his financial gain.”

“You—”

“You will go to Alvarez tomorrow morning, and you will tell him that you can no longer continue this pathetic sham,” she ordered.

“That would be a direct breach of a legally binding contract,” I argued.

“It doesn’t matter. I will personally step in and ensure that none of the legal fallout comes back to bite you,” she stated. “I will clean your image so thoroughly well that you will be left looking as shiny and innocent as new.”

I stared at her, feeling a weight settle deep into my stomach. “And what exactly do I have to give you in return for this favor, Mom?”

“Just come home,” she said, her voice softer. “Come back to your own people. Quit this ridiculous firm, and forget about this foolish dream of being a glorified babysitter for grown men.”

I remained silent. I just stood there, watching her, feeling the last of my resilience slowly draining out of my boots.

My mother stepped forward, closing the final inch of distance between us. She reached up and gently cupped my face. Her thumb stroked my cheek once—a gesture that should have felt loving, but instead felt like an inspection. Then, she dropped her hand back to her side.

“You should go to Alvarez, tell him that you are ashamed to be associated with a man like him, and walk away,” she instructed, looking down her nose at me. “Be my daughter for once in your life, Gabrielle, and allow me to finally be a mother to you.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, the clicking of her expensive heels fading into the night.

My legs shook beneath me. I stood frozen, staring blankly at the open doorway of Grace’s apartment like I was trapped in a trance.

My lashes dampened and tears tracked a wet path down my skin.

“G-Grace…” My voice was so small, so broken, I didn’t even believe the sound had actually come from my own chest. “She… she didn’t ask how I was doing, did she? I didn’t hear her ask me how I was handling any of this.”

“Aww, baby,” Grace murmured, her face crumpling. She stepped forward, wrapping her arms tightly around my shaking shoulders and pulling me flush against her. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”

“How can she be like this?” I gasped out, the tequila bottle slipping from my fingers and clattering against the floor. “Did I… did I want any of this to be like this?”

Grace held me tighter, burying her face in my hair. But even with her holding onto me, the last of my strength evaporated. 

My knees buckled and I sank onto the floor, a raw sob breaking out of my throat.