As the evening came, Claire made her way back to the villa.
"Good evening, Claire dear." Gabriel said with a warm smile as soon as she stepped in popping out of the dining room, already having his suit jacket and tie off. He quickly moved towards her, pecking her cheek and helping her to take her coat off.
"How's your hand?" Claire asked worriedly.
"Alright." Gabriel lied at which Claire scowled and shook her head.
"When will you stop trying to hide the truth from me?" Claire asked unhappily wrapping her arms around Gabriel's neck and giving him a gentle kiss. Gabriel hasn't answered. "Did you speak to Eva yet? She didn't remember my confession from last night." Claire said quietly.
"That's a shame. It was spectacular." Gabriel laughed. "I haven't yet. She's been too busy interrogating all of our staff."
"Why?" Claire furrowed her brows letting go of Gabriel.
"She's hoping to find out whom I am dating from them." Gabriel laughed. "I thought that we can tell her again tonight."
"How could she forget it?" Claire mused.
"I hope that this memory will forever remain ingrained in my brain." Gabriel said with a wide grin.
"So, you want to remember your wife accidentally flashing the entire room of people?"
"I think I've managed to conceal most of it anyways." Gabriel said in a more serious tone. "No one caught it on camera, I can assure you of that. And as far as I'm aware, no one caught more than a glimpse of you."
"Is that meant to be reassuring?" Claire asked as they walked into the kitchen.
"I have no idea how else I could comfort you." Gabriel said earnestly.
"Let me burn in shame, Gabriel. I deserve it."
"Claire, dear, it wasn't your fault that Eva ripped your top."
"That part was definitely an accident but…" Claire turned red.
"How come you don't get hangovers?" Gabriel changed a topic.
"Honestly, I don't know. Do you need help?" Claire asked as she eagerly looked around the worktop where Gabriel have been cooking.
"No, I'm almost done." Gabriel returned to cooking. "Do you want to pick a wine to go with the dinner?"
"I think I'll abstain. I did enough of stupid last night."
"That's fair. I don't think any of us is really in the state to drink." Gabriel nodded. "If you're getting along with Eva, would you be okay if she stayed here?" Gabriel asked carefully.
"More so than you." Claire said teasingly as she walked around and looked over his shoulder as he was preparing to serve the food.
"Oh, I can pack my bags if you really want to."
"And where would you go?"
"Mark's? He may let me crash on a sofa."
"Do you really think Mark would even let you in?"
"Not if you tell him not to." Gabriel laughed.
"I don't mind Eva staying here. I was surprised that you send her away last night."
"I felt that dealing with you was a priority. With how drunk and vulnerable you were, I didn't want to add a pressure of a guest on you ."
"I see." Claire said with a nod as she picked some crispy chips that Gabriel pulled out of the oven. "I wouldn't have minded, you know."
"How is it?" Gabriel asked as he noticed her picking at the food.
"Delicious." Claire answered enthusiastically. "I forgot to have lunch today so I can't wait for dinner."
"You really need to take better care of yourself, Claire dear." Gabriel said unhappily.
"Says you." Claire replied as she scowled at his sprained hand. "I've had a few snacks and a protein bar. It's just been hell in the office."
"When did the accident happen?"
"I found out this morning." Claire said with a sigh. "A construction worker fell off the fifth floor. He survived but he's in a critical state at the moment. I'm dealing with it. All insurance policy is in motion, health and safety investigation and audit are underway, and we hope to find out what happened so it never happens again."
"That sounds incredibly stressful. How are you keeping up?"
"Honestly? Not that well, but I'm coping." Claire admitted. "I am fairly certain that there was no mistake on our side. My team is truly diligent and all of our contractors have gone through the approval process that is even more extensive than company standard. But… mistakes can be made and I'm not sure how I will deal with it if it turns out that it's our mistake. I have nearly been kicked off the board this morning because of the suspicions of us being together, never mind what will happen if it were my team that made a mistake. I'd have to resign from Diamond Corporate altogether."
"I'm confident that it wasn't your department." Gabriel said sternly. "It'll be fine."
"It's a tragedy, nevertheless. I am due to meet this man's family on Monday to work on a settlement but… I feel guilty that it happened and I feel so sorry for them all."
"I understand." Gabriel nodded as he pulled Claire into the hug. "I'm here for you."
"Thank you." Claire nodded as she buried her head briefly into his chest.
"I'll attend the meeting with the family with you."
"I'm not sure if it's a good idea." Claire admitted. "But we can talk about it later on." Claire's eyes landed on the plates of food. "We have other short-term issues in sight first."
Gabriel nodded as he let go of Claire, taking the plates across to the dining room, and with Claire's help set up a table.
"Come on, Martha!" Eva whined while walking behind Martha who looked fed up.
"I do not know anything, ma'am." Martha replied. "This isn't going to change even if you ask me a thousand times."
"Marthaaaaa…" Eva whined again.
"Good evening, Claire." Martha smiled as she noticed Claire who stood by the dining table. Eva's eyes quickly shot across to the dining room.
"Claire!" She bounced before running towards her and hugging her. "Thank you, Gabriel, for inviting Claire along!" Eva said to her brother who raised his brow but didn't comment on it. "What are we having for dinner?" Eva looked over Claire's shoulder eagerly.
"I've made glazed salmon." Gabriel said looking worried.
"You can cook?" Eva looked surprised.
"I'm learning. Hopefully, this is going to be edible enough." Gabriel said rather humbly.
Gabriel sat at the end of the table with Eva on one side and Claire on another.
"This is very good." Claire said eagerly.
"Not nearly as good as your cooking." Gabriel answered with a smile that didn't leave his face. Eva noticed the glimmer in his eye, the unmistakable glimmer of a man who is looking at a woman he loves.
"Years of practice, Gabriel. But this is amazing!"
"I appreciate the praise." Gabriel nodded. "By the way, thanks for sending the meeting schedule with BGN Group across. I've cleared my calendar for all of the meetings so I'll be there."
"Thanks."
"Tiersen is going on tour." He said to Claire.
"Why are you bringing up some obscure musicians?" Eva grumbled.
"It's okay, Eva. I do like Tiersen too." Claire said with a smile. Something about Claire defending Gabriel didn't sit right with Eva. She looked at her new friend suspiciously.
"I didn't expect that. Gabriel's taste in music is rather interesting."
"Claire, what was your first job?" Eva chipped in.
"Paid or unpaid?" Claire asked with a smile. "I used to help out my parents in the restaurant which was like my first job. But first proper job was as a Junior Designer at Diamond Corporate."
"Oh, so how long have you been with Diamond Corporate?"
"Almost six years." Claire admitted. "What about your job?"
"Oh, I have a degree in finance and economics and that's what I worked with ever since." Eva said with a sullen face. "What was your degree in?"
"Architectural Design with few minors."
"Go on."
"Linguistics. I did French and Spanish. Literature. A few bits in business and project management."
"And music." Gabriel reminded Claire.
"Yes, and music." Claire nodded.
"That sounds like a lot." Eva nodded.
"If that was all that she did at uni. But she also was involved in sports and she was volunteering." Gabriel said with pride. "And she still finished at the top of her class."
"Did you memorise her entire CV?" Eva laughed.
"Actually, yes." Gabriel nodded. "When Gary chose her as his replacement I was slightly dubious. After all, she was the youngest head of the department in the company." Gabriel chuckled. "Obviously, there was no need to worry."
"You're about my age, aren't you?" Eva asked.
"Claire is a few months younger." Gabriel answered for Claire, which didn't stop Eva from being even more suspicious.
"My twenty-sixth birthday is next month." Claire said with a smile.
"I may have to extend my stay then." Eva chuckled. "Since you're a CDO now, I'm guessing you have to work with Gabriel more."
"Indeed. Besides that, we have been working together on my latest project."
"And how do you manage that tragedy?" Eva asked Claire.
"I think you should be asking Gabriel." Claire replied with a laugh.
"You did mention something about walls?"
"Oh, that hasn't happened in months." Claire waved her hand dismissively. "We're all good. Besides occasional temper tantrums."
"Yeah, work-wise we're doing great. I don't think we had any major disagreements over work." Gabriel nodded in agreement. "We're usually on the same page with the management aspect. We did have a few disagreements over the clients that we undertake projects with but we're past it, I think."
"I hope so." Claire said with a smile.
"That's good." Eva nodded, hoping that she can go back to her cunning plan. Gabriel was definitely into Claire and she seemed somewhat okay with him, so in a sense, it was the ideal pairing.
"How's your head now?" Gabriel asked Eva.
"Much better, thanks. Claire might have mentioned that you caught us red-handed last night."
"Oh yeah, it was quite a show." Gabriel said, winking at Claire, who blushed in embarrassment.
"I had such a vivid dream last night. I mean, they were delirious." Eva said eagerly.
"It must've been that tequila." Claire said with a nod. "I had very vivid dreams too. I woke up rather confused over what was real and what wasn't." Claire shook her head, too embarrassed about what she did, and her accidentally flashing the room full of people, before falling off the table and landing below Gabriel. "But the bruise on my buttock is enough of a reminder of how bad last night went."
"A bruise?" Gabriel quickly looked at her with worry.
"Well, look at who's talking." Claire said as she pointed at his bruised wrist that was in a brace.
"Good point." Gabriel nodded.
"How bad is it?" Eva asked.
"It's a sprain. Anywhere between two and ten weeks, but likely at the lower end. It wasn't that bad."
Claire shook her head in disapproval.
They chatted about some other things till the end of the dinner. They brought some drinks and snacks across to the living room where they sat down on the sofa around the coffee table.
"Mrs Thompson, may I have a word?" Harry asked as he came in.
"Of course." Claire stood up and followed Harry in a hurry, leaving Eva looking at her with eyes wide open.
"I just wanted to double check whether this is right, in just over a week you removed all security from the schedule."
"It is. I don't think it'll be necessary, but I hope it's okay if we get back to it closer to the time."
"Of course. I just wanted to check that this wasn't an unexpected error."
"No, it's just me." Claire answered with a smile, returning to the living room moments later.
Eva stared at them interchangeably as she sat between them. She was trying to compose a question.
"Is Mrs Thompson the woman in the news?" Eva asked Gabriel at last.
"Yes." Gabriel nodded, sipping on his drink.
"Okay." Eva nodded.
"Fire away, Eva." Claire encouraged her.
"Are you married, Claire?" Eva asked her.
"Yes." Claire nodded.
"Gabriel, you don't want to release the statement to the media, do you?"
"No, I don't want to." Gabriel admitted.
"Hmm…" Eva thought for a while. "And Claire, you're upset with my brother because it affects you, doesn't it?"
"Yes." Claire started to snicker.
"Gabriel, sorry for my bluntness, but do you like Claire?" Eva asked. Gabriel laughed into the back of his hand trying to not choke on his drink.
"I guess." Gabriel answered spilling the drink over his white shirt.
"If you do like her, why are you so angry at her?" Eva asked and then realisation dawned on her. "It's because she doesn't like you back, isn't it?"
"Eva, did you come here to aggravate me?" Gabriel asked more seriously.
"No, of course not. I'm so sorry. I cannot say how sorry I am that you cannot pursue her." Eva said earnestly which made Claire and Gabriel burst into laughter.
"Well…" Gabriel hesitated. "Eva, I need to tell you something and you won't like it."
"Spit it out! Don't make me wait!" Eva was getting impatient.
"When you've said that I can't pursue Claire… it isn't completely true."
"Claire is married." Eva said coldly. "As much as I want to support your love for her, I can't support you breaking her relationship up."
Claire and Gabriel looked at each other trying to conceal their laughter.
"Eva, Claire is married to me." Gabriel said.
"What?!" Eva exclaimed, her eyes and mouth wide open.
"Don't worry, it's completely against my will." Claire sneered.
"Why wasn't I invited to the wedding?!!!" Eva exclaimed as she stood up to face them both at once.
"Because there wasn't one." Gabriel leaned back.
"Hang on, you can't do that to me." Eva shook her head. "You married and you didn't even tell me?! Not to mention no wedding?! There's nothing in the world a woman can do to not deserve a wedding!" Eva was fuming at her brother.
"Eva, I am so sorry for this but this entire thing is a fiasco." Claire said with a sigh. "This marriage thing was only really a business transaction."
Gabriel stopped laughing and scowled at Claire.
"No! Absolutely not! Do dad and Rachael know?"
"No, very few people do." Gabriel answered as he returned to sipping his drink.
"I am having none of this! Claire, you are my sister-in-law, and I'm so excited about it. I always wanted a sister instead of that tw*t. I am sorry that he treated you like this." Eva turned to Claire with such a saddened face.
"Eva, please don't interfere in this matter." Gabriel said with annoyance. "The way our marriage came to be is none of your business."
"I'm talking to Claire. You already made a mess. It's time for someone to clean it up."
"Eva, sorry to disappoint, but I'm with Gabriel on that one." Claire responded.
"I don't think I understand." Eva furrowed her brows.
"I do not want a wedding." Claire said as she looked down.
"Why?" Eva asked.
"I just don't." Claire smiled. "Weddings are not my thing. It's just a fancy one-day party that costs a fortune and it's for people who want to flaunt their money."
"Is she serious?" Eva asked Gabriel.
"Yeah." Gabriel nodded. "If anything, Claire is the one against it as I've already suggested that we have the ceremony."
"One way to throw me under the bus." Claire said with annoyance at Gabriel.
"I'm still processing what happened." Eva admitted as she held her head. "You're married?"
"Yes." They both nodded.
"To each other?"
"Yes." They nodded again.
"How long?"
"Over five months." Gabriel answered.
"Seriously? That must be some awful practical joke." Eva mumbled in disbelief. "And you like that tw*t?" She turned to Claire.
"Like is a strong word." Claire chuckled. "I tolerate him on a good day."
"At least we've moved on from pure hatred. I'm happy with that." Gabriel chuckled as he put his healthy hand over Claire's. Claire squeezed it as she briefly turned to face him, giving him her warmest smile.
"And I came here because I was worried about how this scandal will affect you!" Eva raised her voice at Gabriel, clearly angry.
"Eva, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I think this marriage happened in the most unorthodox way possible, and I don't think either of us was ready to share it straight away." Gabriel started cautiously.
"How did it happen?" Eva asked.
Claire and Gabriel looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"Good luck explaining that one." Claire said to Gabriel between fits of laughter.
Eva scowled at her brother as if she already knew an answer.
"Okay, hmmm… I liked Claire for a while before we married, but I don't think I've done that great with it." Gabriel stuttered as he tried to formulate an answer.
"Oh no." Eva facepalmed.
"I drove Claire towards resigning from our company but I couldn't let her go." Gabriel sighed. "As I've read through her resignation letter I knew that I'll do anything to keep her, work-wise and otherwise."
"I don't like where this is going." Eva said with worry, her forehead creasing.
"After long contemplation, I've called Claire and I asked her to come in. She negotiated fiercely, putting the most outrageous demands forward. And I mean, she demanded over 20% of shares of the company." Gabriel smiled with some hurt over the memory. "I've called in Watters and he jokingly suggested marriage. This planted a seed in my mind. After Claire left that evening, I had our marriage contract drafted, and the following morning I brought it to Claire."
"Seriously? You're batshit crazy, Gabriel, and a tw*t." Eva said decisively. "No woman wants a proposal that includes a marriage contract to save her job."
"I ended up begging her to sign it in front of her entire department." Gabriel said as he rubbed his forehead. "And she did."
"You did?!" Eva turned towards Claire looking at her in disbelief.
"I was in a desperate state." Claire shrugged.
"So, it was a business arrangement after all." Eva sighed. "And it was five months ago?"
"Yes." They've nodded in unison.
"And then, how did you get along?" Eva asked curiously.
"We didn't." They replied in unison again.
"That's not unexpected." Eva concluded. "And now?"
"Well..." Gabriel looked at Claire cautiously. "From my point of view, over the last month, in particular, I think we have been getting on really well."
"I think so." Claire nodded in agreement. Gabriel moved closer to her, taking Eva's spot, caressing the back of her hand with his healthy hand.
"So…" Eva run her hand through her hair. "What I thought was a delirious dream was real? Did you…?" Eva turned to Claire.
"If you're asking if she shouted that she's Mrs Moore, yes, she did." Gabriel said with a chuckle.
"I'm so sorry if I've got you into trouble with him." Eva said to Claire as she pointed at her brother.
"Trouble?" Claire asked looking over at Gabriel. "If anything, he took it too well."
"Really?" Eva asked in disbelief.
"I've said that I wasn't best impressed with Claire standing drunkenly on a table and pouring alcohol everywhere. That's just an accident waiting to happen." Gabriel explained as he lifted his sprained hand to show what kind of accidents he had in mind. "But the ripped top was unintentional so I am not going to blame anyone for it. And I am more than happy for Claire to scream that she's my wife. I am not the one who wants to hide it."
"No yelling? No lecture?" Eva asked in disbelief.
"Shockingly, no, Eva." Gabriel said, hurt by her expectations of him but also reminding himself that she was away for so long that she didn't witness his transformation and she didn't have a chance to see his hard work yet.
"When did it change?" Eva asked. "I expected several angry outbursts already, and yet you're composed, Gabriel. How did it change?"
"May I?" Claire asked Gabriel for permission. He nodded unsurely. "Gabriel has been doing a lot to work on himself over the past few months. It's all a result of his work and his willingness to change. I think it's rather amazing how far Gabriel has come and how much effort he put into himself." Claire turned to Gabriel. "I'm proud of you." She said quietly as she rested her head on his shoulder. Gabriel instinctively kissed the top of her head.
"Eva, I've screwed up with Claire really badly. I don't think I would have been able to continue the same way as I was before for a long. I was on a path to my demise. Claire saved me in so many ways."
"But how did you do it?" Eva asked curiously.
"Counselling and anti-depressants mostly. It seems to be slowly working." Gabriel admitted looking disappointed in himself.
"You're in therapy?" Eva asked in disbelief. "That's something I never expected to hear."
"Almost every Thursday at lunchtime." Gabriel nodded.
"I never expected to hear that you, the untouchable and unchangeable Gabriel, will go to therapy." Eva scoffed.
"I think that it's amazing." Claire said to Gabriel reassuringly.
"It is." Eva nodded in agreement. "I support you fully, Gab." She sighed heavily. "I support you guys together too. I'm just shocked…"
"I'm sorry, Eva." Gabriel said quietly as he started playing with his fingers nervously. "I didn't know how to tell you."
"I'm just glad that it's not really a scandal and that you're not spiralling out of control." Eva laughed. "I'm just glad to see you happy."
Claire looked back at Gabriel trying to work out if he was happy with her or not. He definitely smiled more around her, she could tell because every time he smiled she was astounded by it.
Gabriel noticed Claire's studious glance and he smiled at her. Claire reciprocated it as she couldn't contain her amazement at his dimples.
"I am happy." Gabriel admitted with a nod. "I am the happiest I've ever been."