The Debt That Changed Everything

CHAPTER 14

Gabby was halfway through breakfast when Manuel walked into the dining room.

He was already dressed for work, his expression as unreadable as ever.

He picked up his coffee and glanced at her.

"Are you ready?"

Gabby looked up.

"Ready for what?"

"The office."

She blinked.

"You want me to come with you?"

"Yes."

Gabby stared at him for a moment and then placed her spoon down.

"Actually, I don't think I want to go today."

Manuel's eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Why?"

"I want to stay home."

He studied her.

"Doing what?"

"Sketching."

There was a brief silence.

"You're refusing?"

"I'm not refusing, I'm choosing not to go."

Manuel stared at her as though he couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or amused.

"You've become comfortable making your own rules."

"I didn't know I needed permission."

"You don't."

He picked up his coffee.

"Fine."

Gabby expected an argument, but there wasn't one.

Manuel simply walked away.

She watched him leave.

"That was surprisingly easy."

She returned to her breakfast.

Later that morning, Gabby sat in the small room she had turned into her temporary art space.

A blank canvas rested in front of her.

She held her pencil loosely between her fingers.

For several minutes, she stared at the empty surface.

Then she began to draw.

Slowly and carefully, the lines came together.

A woman standing beneath a wide sky.

No mansion, no expensive furniture, no guards, or cameras.

Just a woman who seemed so free on an open road stretching into the distance.

Gabby stopped and stared at what she had drawn.

It reminded her of home.

Not the physical house but the feeling, the freedom, and the life she had before everything changed.

She set the pencil down and thought about it.

She missed waking up without wondering what the day would bring, she missed her father's voice, she missed being Gabriella Edian, not Mrs. Reyes.

A quiet knock interrupted her thoughts.

She let out a sigh.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Ms. Bennett stepped inside.

"I thought I might find you here."

Gabby smiled.

"I've been here all morning." She said in a very calm tone.

"I can see that."

Ms. Bennett looked at the canvas.

"That's beautiful."

"Thank you."

She moved closer.

"What does it mean?"

Gabby hesitated.

"I don't know."

Ms. Bennett smiled.

"Sometimes our hands say things our mouths don't."

Gabby looked at the drawing again.

"Maybe."

Ms. Bennett sat nearby.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then Gabby asked,

"Ms. Bennett?"

"Yes?"

"How long have you worked for the Reyes family?"

"Many years."

"Did you know Manuel when he was younger?"

"I did."

Gabby smiled faintly.

"You've told me he wasn't always cold."

"He wasn't."

"What happened to him?"

Ms. Bennett's expression softened.

"Life happened."

Gabby sighed.

"You keep saying that."

"Because sometimes there isn't one simple answer."

Gabby looked at her.

"Was he happy?"

Ms. Bennett thought for a moment.

"There were times when he was."

"And his father?"

"Mr. Antonio loves his son very much."

"I know."

Gabby lowered her gaze.

"I think Manuel just doesn't know how to show what he feels."

Ms. Bennett smiled.

"You've noticed."

"Sometimes."

Gabby paused.

"Do you think he'll ever change?"

"I think people change when they're ready."

The room became quiet again.

Then Ms. Bennett asked gently,

"Gabby, have you heard anything about your father?"

Gabby's fingers tightened around the pencil.

"No."

Her voice was barely audible.

"Nothing?"

She shook her head.

"Nothing."

Ms. Bennett watched her carefully.

"I'm sorry."

Gabby tried to smile.

"I'm fine."

But her voice broke.

She looked away quickly.

Ms. Bennett reached for her hand.

"You don't have to be."

That was all it took.

Gabby's eyes immediately filled with tears.

She lowered her head.

"I miss him."

The words came out broken.

"I miss my father so much."

Ms. Bennett squeezed her hand.

Gabby tried to hold herself together, but the tears began falling.

"I know he made mistakes. I know he caused problems. I know he left me with things I never asked for."

She wiped her cheeks.

"But he's still my father."

Her voice trembled.

"I just want him back."

Ms. Bennett pulled her into a gentle embrace.

Gabby cried against her shoulder.

She had spent weeks pretending she could handle everything.

The marriage, the mansion, the loneliness, and the uncertainty

She had tried to be strong because she had no other choice.

But sitting there with Ms. Bennett, she finally allowed herself to break.

"I want my old life back," she whispered through her tears.

Ms. Bennett held her tighter.

"I understand."

"I don't belong here."

"You don't feel like you do?."

Gabby pulled back and wiped her face.

"Sometimes I feel so lonely."

Her voice was quiet.

"Everyone here has a place, everyone knows where they belong, but I don't."

Ms. Bennett's expression softened.

"Perhaps you're trying to find your place in a life you never chose."

Gabby looked at her.

"Exactly."

She swallowed.

"I want to go back."

"Back to what?"

Gabby looked down.

"My old life."

Ms. Bennett remained silent.

Gabby continued.

"I know I can't just wake up and go back."

She laughed bitterly through her tears.

"But sometimes I wish I could."

Ms. Bennett gently brushed a tear from her cheek.

"Don't lose yourself simply because your circumstances have changed."

Gabby looked at her.

"What if I already have?"

"You haven't."

Ms. Bennett smiled.

"The fact that you're still fighting to find yourself means you're still there."

Gabby looked down at her hands.

For the first time that day, she felt slightly less alone.

Both women were so carried away by emotions that they didn't notice the figure standing quietly outside the room.

Antonio had been walking past when he heard voices.

He hadn't intended to listen.

But then he heard Gabby's trembling voice.

I want my old life back.

He stopped.

He heard her speak about loneliness.

About her father.

About feeling as though she didn't belong.

Antonio's expression changed.

He had always known the marriage was difficult for her.

But he hadn't realized just how deeply she was hurting.

Inside the room, Gabby wiped the last tears from her face.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore."

Ms. Bennett squeezed her hand.

"You don't have to figure everything out today."

Antonio remained outside.

His eyes lowered.

For several seconds, he stood completely still.

Then he quietly stepped away from the door.

His expression was thoughtful.

Because now he understood something he had not fully understood before.

Gabby wasn't simply struggling to adjust to the Reyes family.

She was grieving the life she had lost.