Claire was very busy throughout the afternoon but she was caught by Eva for a coffee not much later after the occurrence with Francesca. Gabriel had his own meetings to attend to in the little time that Claire had free so he couldn't join them.
Eva then left Claire to find Gabriel again and to bother him some more.
Claire finished significantly later than Gabriel that evening, leaving him to spend most of the afternoon in his sister's presence.
"Hey, Gabriel." Eva smiled at her brother as she caught him in the kitchen that evening.
"How was your coffee with Claire?"
"Honestly, I love her to bits." Eva said with some gentleness in her voice. "Mum would have loved her too."
"I know." Gabriel nodded, grabbing spices from the cupboard as he decided to prepare yet another dinner.
"I'm not best impressed with what you did." Eva said carefully.
"I'm not either. I'm not proud of it." Gabriel furrowed his brows.
"I'm happy that you're working on yourself now."
"I think it was a pretty harsh wake-up call." Gabriel nodded. "I needed it. I just wish it wasn't Claire who had to deal with me."
"You know, Claire hasn't said anything negative about you. She has been praising you every time I ask about you."
"That can't be true." Gabriel said in disbelief.
"She mentioned that you've dealt with…" Eva stopped thinking about how she should phrase it. "The men that assaulted her."
"Yeah." Gabriel nodded. "The men from her university. Then there were these men that mugged her, and Daniel Jones."
"That girl really had some bad luck with men." Eva sighed. "I am not sure how to approach it, Gabriel." Eva hesitated as she tried to phrase the next sentence correctly. "She obviously has a lot of scars when it comes to relationships, and I just hope that you are respectful of it."
"I am aware, Eva. I don't need your lecture. Ever since we've been together I've reinforced it that consent is the most important aspect of our relationship and that she has a full say in it. I respect her in every way."
"I don't doubt it. It's just that it must be difficult for you to pick up her broken pieces too."
"It's not. Being respectful and treating her right is not difficult."
"So, what do you love most about her?" Eva asked as she leaned against the counter.
"Why is everyone asking it as if the answer was that simple?" Gabriel mumbled. "I love everything about Claire, every single attribute and flaw. I love that she inspires me. I love her for her strength, perseverance, intelligence, humour, stubbornness, and courage."
"I'm glad that you didn't say that you love her because she's beautiful." Eva laughed.
"She is. She's the most beautiful person I've ever seen. But her beauty on the inside is what really got me to fall for her." Gabriel thought for a moment. "I know that as we get old, as our looks wane, I'll love her all the same if not even more." Gabriel said out loud his very thoughts, not realising that Claire came back home and his words reached her. She stopped in her track, feeling overwhelmed by his words in the most positive way. Gabriel's face turned into a sullen one very quick.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure if we'll ever get old together. I don't think I can keep Claire for myself for all this time, and stop her from loving someone else the same way as I love her. I know that one day she'll find someone for herself and that I will let her go."
"I wouldn't be so sure that she'd be that keen to run away from you." Eva replied in a reassuring tone.
"I don't think I have enough money to buy her over." Gabriel joked.
"By the way, why does it bother you that Claire isn't using your money? Isn't it good that she has her own financial independence?"
"I respect that. I don't mind us keeping some of the finances separate. But, I want to give her the life she deserves. I feel like in many ways we're just housemates. With separate rooms, financial lives, and even going by different surnames. Using our money together would make me feel like we're not just dating, but that we're actually married. It's really the only thing I'd like to change. I don't mind Claire going by her maiden name, and I respect that she needs her own space and time."
"So, it's about togetherness?" Eva asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. But also, part of me always worries that she doesn't have the best of things, which is what she deserves. That if she needed or wanted something, she wouldn't even ask."
"I don't think Claire would bother about a lot of luxuries that people tend to buy to show off. I wouldn't worry about that too much. Did you ever mention why you want her to use your joint finances?"
"No. I'm afraid that if I told her, she'd do things just to please me rather than for herself. I want her to decide for herself. She's too much of a people-pleaser for me to just tell her what I desire, without her feeling guilty if she were to say no."
Claire started backing off, feeling like she intruded on a very private conversation. She felt her heart sink a little as she heard them speak about her, but somehow she felt warmth spread through her when she realised that Gabriel was very respectful about her behind her back.
"I guess her 'No' wasn't sufficient enough in the past." Eva said sadly. "I still can't believe it about Daniel."
"Please don't bring him up. It took a lot not to kill him on the spot." Gabriel sighed.
"How are you managing Francesca?"
"Was she always this irritating?" Gabriel asked.
"Yeah." Eva giggled. "Why do you think I magically left the room whenever she came in whilst you were dating?"
"First of all, I don't think I ever noticed. And secondly, can you really call it dating?"
"Well, it seemed fairly serious at the time. But also, it seems like nothing compared to what you and Claire have now."
"Any tips on how to cut that weed out?" Gabriel asked with worry. "She's been more irritating than ever before."
"I suspect that she doesn't know that you're married, not that I expect her to respect that." Eva thought out loud. "Do you think she'll be bothering Claire more?"
"That's what I'm worried about." Gabriel said honestly.
"Give Claire a fair warning so that she can prepare herself."
"How do I even warn her of a psychotic ex that will quite likely try to kill us?"
"Hey, Gabriel." Mark walked in with a worried face. "Just as a heads up, your wife is crying outside."
"What?" Gabriel answered in surprise.
"She said that she's fine and it's just some mood swings, but I thought you ought to know." Mark shrugged. Gabriel walked past him without a word heading for the front door. "Good luck!" Mark shouted behind him.
As Gabriel opened the door, he spotted Claire sitting on the front step.
"Hey, Claire, dear." Gabriel said softly, walking up to her. He squatted beside her. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Claire said with a smile. She wasn't crying anymore but Gabriel noticed her reddened eyes.
"Why are you out here?" Gabriel sat down on the step beside her, leaving her some space.
"I needed some fresh air and a moment to myself."
"Ah, I see." Gabriel nodded, resting his elbows on his thighs and leaning a bit forward. "I'm here if you need me. Whether it's silence, pointless babbling, venting, or a conversation. I'm here. You can also tell me to bugger off."
"It's alright." Claire chuckled. "You don't have to sit with me. I'll be inside within a few minutes."
"I can't tell whether that's a kind way of telling me to bugger off or whether you're saying that because you don't want to bother me." Gabriel said honestly.
"Make your pick." Claire joked.
"My pick is that I'll sit here with you a little longer. Besides, your new best friend is giving me a headache. She's been talking at me an entire day. Which wouldn't be an issue if she were at least somewhat kind. I've been criticised over everything."
"She's your sister." Claire reminded him. "Isn't that her job?"
"Maybe." Gabriel nodded. "I was waiting for you to come back rather impatiently in hope that you'll be able to defend me a little."
"That's risky. I might join Eva's side."
"I beg you not to." Gabriel looked genuinely worried. "How was your meeting this afternoon?" He changed a topic.
"The investigation hasn't found anything yet." Claire sighed. "The worker is recovering surprisingly well. I think we might be able to sort it out through the settlement. But… I still don't know how it happened and it kills me."
"It'll be fine, Claire. As you've said, the person is recovering well. We will support him and his family for as long as needed. Accidents happen no matter how many safety factors there are. Sometimes you can't predict those things." Gabriel said reassuringly as he grabbed Claire's hand. "I do not doubt that you did all you could to prevent it from happening."
"I am starting to doubt it myself." Claire admitted. "If there's no conclusive answer, I will take full responsibility for it." Claire said decisively. "I can't bare the fact that it might have been my negligence. I'll step down as soon as the final report is published."
"You can't do that." Gabriel said quickly. Claire smiled as she looked up at him. Gabriel knew that the correct answer was indeed for Claire to resign and take responsibility. That's what a good leader would do and Claire was one of the best. Claire rested her head on Gabriel's shoulder taking a deep breath in. "I'll support you through it, Claire. Whatever will happen you have my support." Gabriel said more calmly as he wrapped his arm around Claire's back.
"Thank you." Claire said with relief. "Did Mark send you out here?"
"Not really. He did let me know that you seemed upset though. It's only natural that I came straight out here to check on you. That's what my job is, isn't it?"
"Is it?" Claire looked up at him.
"Well, yes." Gabriel said decisively. "We might be starting from zero. We might be dating after getting married. We might've done things in the wrong order. But you're my wife. My duty as your husband is to support you through everything."
"I don't like what you've just said." Claire grumbled.
"No?" Gabriel looked at her with surprise.
"It sounds like you're here solely out of obligation and I do not want that."
"Okay." Gabriel nodded, pulling her in closer. "I don't think I've phrased it right then. Because it isn't just an obligation. I want to support you and be by your side. Being your husband is a pretty good bonus though."
"We shouldn't leave Eva alone for so long." Claire said worriedly.
"Maybe not. Mark is there though so she's not alone. But I was making dinner so maybe, if you're feeling alright, we could go inside."
Claire nodded and they've made their way in.
A few days later, they were all getting ready for the event that was going to gather most of the influential people in the city.
Claire knew that Michael Moore - Gabriel's father - was going to be there and that it was the riskiest place to be, especially just before the lawsuit goes live. The lawsuit that she didn't tell Gabriel about yet and which was going to destroy their relationship.
She dressed up in a rather simple black long dress with a long slit on its left side that revealed her leg just as she walked. She looked effortlessly elegant and stunning in it.
As always, Gabriel was speechless as he saw her, looking at Claire with pure amazement and admiration.
"How are you so attractive?" Eva asked Claire openly. "Honestly, you are so out of Gabriel's league. You can have just about any man you want, why would you settle for him?" Eva pointed at her brother who smiled at Claire and ignored his sister's remark.
"Don't be silly, Eva." Claire laughed as she studied Eva with admiration, treating her as a role model. Eva wore a blue dress that highlighted her eyes, looking elegant as always. "You look gorgeous." She complimented Eva.
"Yo, I'm here!" Mark announced as he walked in. Gabriel was the only one who hasn't turned around as his eyes were fixated on Claire. "I see that Claire is still making Gabriel drool over her." Mark laughed. Claire looked at Gabriel curiously.
"Well, as I've just said, she's way out of his league. He better know that." Eva said again to Mark.
"Don't be silly, Eva." Claire laughed nervously. "Gabriel is the sexiest man in 2018, surely it makes him beyond my league and a bit further."
"I agree with Eva." Gabriel said at last as he reached his hand to Claire. "You look wonderful, Claire dear. You're so out of my league that it pains me."
"Now, I know that Claire will retort with some form of either a compliment to Gabriel or denial, and whatnot, but it's time to go." Mark said with an eye roll.
Claire chuckled at Mark's directness, quite keen to leave the subject behind.
They all got into a limousine driven by Klaus. Claire was particularly quiet as the rest chatted quietly.
Gabriel noticed it and he just held her hand tighter to make her aware of his presence.