The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 172

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Avery asked Mina.

It had been a few days since Gabe agreed to the divorce and she was finally being discharged.

Avery was helping her pack her things to leave the hospital. "The doctor said you would be alright after all, and the baby will be fine as long as you’re careful. You don’t have to do this."

Mina sighed. "I’m not just doing this because I almost lost my baby, Avery. You know that."

Avery nodded. She knew that couldn’t be the only reason for Mina to make such a huge decision, and she didn’t want to make her friend relive all her reasons for wanting a divorce. It might just make her sadder.

"You know I’m here if you need me, right?" She said.

In response, Mina pulled her into a hug. "I know. I just...need some time to myself."

Knowing what that meant, Avery felt sad. She didn’t try to talk Mina out of it, however.

When they were done, Gabe entered the ward and lifted Mina’s bag.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, not too pleased with his presence.

He didn’t budge, his stern expression letting her know he would not move an inch nor would he negotiate this.

"I don’t need your help!" she hissed.

That didn’t make him relent. If anything, it hardened his resolve. "Until the divorce is finalized, I am still your husband and I will act as such."

She didn’t want to argue with him so she let him carry her bags and let him drive her home.

Home.

It was odd to think of their marital home as such, knowing it wouldn’t be long before she left it for good.

Her eyes stung when she thought about it, so she looked away and decided not to dwell on it. She had to do this.

At home, Gabe hurried to the kitchen and tried to cook a meal, but he was too nervous and ended up burning it. He ordered out instead and made a fruit platter in the meantime. He searched for a while before finding Mina in their bedroom, but all he could see was a pile of her clothes on their bed and a large suitcase next to it.

He put the platter on the table, barely saving it from dropping on the floor thanks to his trembling hands.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving." She answered emotionlessly.

He could see that, but he still couldn’t understand it. "Why? We are still married..." he realized just as his words left his mouth that his earlier words may have implied something he didn’t intend. "I didn’t mean I was going to force you into having sex with me just because the divorce is not finalized. You know I would never do that."

She pulled more hangers from the closet. "I know."

"Then why?"

This time she turned to look at him, but there was no warmth in her eyes. All he saw was...emptiness. It gave him a chill.

"I could live without the reminder."

Before he could stop himself, he had crossed the room to her and was holding her shoulders. There was no way a woman who loved him so much just a week ago was talking to him like he was her worst enemy and acting that way too.

"Let go of me!" she hissed.

"Is someone blackmailing you?"

He couldn’t think of any other reason for her to be acting like this.

She shrugged away from him. "If you care about me nearly as much as you claim, you will let me leave."

That was the most ridiculous kind of blackmail he had ever heard. He frowned and wanted to say something but changed his mind in the last second. The doctor had said she needed to have rest and should stay away from stressful situations. He didn’t want to be yet another stressing factor in her life. Although it pained him, he left the room.

He sat downstairs in the living room, a glass of gin on the coffee table before him.

More specifically, it was a glass of ice, which had not had the chance to melt before he’d downed all the gin. He poured himself another and downed it all. The liquid burned going down but that was just as well. If he felt some pain externally, it may numb some of what he was feeling inside—though there was no way to mask what he was feeling.

It felt like it had been just a few minutes but he saw Mina from the corner of her eye, trying to carefully pull the large suitcase down the stairs.

It hurt like hell but he rushed over and helped her carry it to the bottom of the stairs. Her phone vibrated and he knew she had already called a cab. It was here already.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Mina..."

After a few seconds, he let go and didn’t say what he was going to. She already knew he loved her but that wasn’t stopping her from leaving. There was nothing he could say to change her mind.

As soon as she was free, she grabbed the handle of her suitcase and wheeled it out, not even turning to say goodbye. All he could see was her disappearing back, until his world started to spin and suddenly he was seeing two Minas and two large suitcases, then she was gone. Just like that.

The car pulled out of Gabe’s driveway and soon so far away that she could no longer see his house. She shut her eyes and couldn’t stop her tears from falling.

She vaguely heard the driver confirm her destination as the airport. She nodded, her hand on her belly.

____

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

Sophie D’aboville arrived a week earlier than the predicted time. After crying her way into the world, it took merely a few hours for the nurses to proclaim her the happiest baby in the hospital.

She had her father’s eyes and everyone swore she smiled just like her mother—even though it was said babies didn’t really smile until they were much older. By the time the mother and daughter were discharged from the hospital, Avery had a pile of gifts from doctors and nurses to ’the most adorable baby in the world’, who’d stolen the heart of everyone who saw her.

It was not a surprise that Angel only had one goal lately. As soon as he got back from school, he would make a beeline for the nursery and spend hours talking to his sister and reading her some of his favorite stories. He wouldn’t leave, not even to change out of his school uniform until it was bedtime.

They had never seen him so happy before. It was no surprise that Avery had gotten calls from teachers about Angel’s constant incomplete homework—but that didn’t matter to her and Damon.

They didn’t care much about their son’s grades. The whole point of taking him to school was for him to interact with other kids and become happier. If his happiness affected his prowess in school, so be it.

Aubrey couldn’t spend enough time with the baby either. If it was up to her, she would have made Sophie grow up faster so she would have someone apart from Angel to play tea parties with.

About two weeks after Sophie was born, Avery finally got a call from Mina. It was a video call too.

She sat down before her laptop and excitedly clicked to answer. Months ago, Mina had fled the country like a bat out of hell. Although she had contacted Avery a few times, it had always been a text to let her know she was alright or a brief phone call. She’d sent a card a week ago to congratulate her for Sophie’s birth and state she would attend the christening when the time came, but that was all.

Knowing Mina was still struggling, she had not tried to push for more communication. The video call was a welcome surprise.

When she saw Mina’s face on the screen, she nearly burst into tears from relief. "Mina! I was starting to think I’d never see your face in this lifetime."

Mina smiled. "You can’t get rid of me that easily. You’re stuck with me."

Avery noticed the other looked a little happier than she did before she left.

"How have you been?" She carefully asked.

Mina waved her off. "Let’s skip the small talk, okay? I have something to show you before I rush back to work."

She lifted her phone and adjusted the angle so Avery would see what was beside her. A crib...and there was a baby inside it.

"Oh my God!" she screeched. "Is that..."

Mina couldn’t contain her smile when she brought the phone back to her face. "Michaelangelo Vaillant."

She had been afraid to ask about the baby, scared she’d learn that Mina had lost the pregnancy and it would reopen old wounds.

"Congratulations." Tears fell freely from her eyes. She wiped them with a laugh. "Sorry. No one told me the emotions become worse after the baby is born."

Mina chuckled on her end. "No need to be sorry. Once, I couldn’t stop crying because I forgot to set a reminder to take my supplements, then I cried because I was crying."

The two were having a laugh when Avery noticed a door open on Mina’s side and someone poked his head in. "Miss Romano, your 3pm is here."

Mina turned. "I’ll be ten minutes."

When the man left, she smiled at Avery. "My appointment is here and I need to feed this little guy or he won’t let the sitter have a second of peace in my absence. I’ll talk to you later."

"How old is he?" Avery wondered aloud, but Mina had already ended the call.

She rested her head against the headrest of the couch with a smile. Gabe would be happy to know he was a dad. He was overjoyed being the uncle of three darlings but was there anything that could beat being a parent?

After Mina left, part of her had hoped he would fall in love again so he wouldn’t be so heartbroken, but he had decided to stay celibate.

She was halfway through dialing his number when she realized that might not be her secret to tell.

Luckily, Mina had confirmed her attendance to Sophie’s christening. There was a chance that the two would meet again. She looked forward to it, hoping Gabe wouldn’t decide to miss it.

She shut her eyes when she thought about it. Was that really what she wanted? On one hand, she understand what her best friend was going through. On the other, Mina’s decisions had hurt Gabriel and he didn’t deserve it. Did she really want them to reconcile?

But again, what was that saying about the bell?

Right. Whoever tied the bell must untie it. The only way for Gabriel to be happy again was if he had Mina in his life, and that realization stung.