Fateful Day at the Bakery
Isabel never meant for that last bit to come out that way. She never even thought that the information would come out of her mouth. She was planning to let Elena know about Angela somehow but not this way. Now she was cursing herself for her rare display of impulsiveness. Isabel wanted to see how Elena would react if she knew Gabe was off the market. She wanted to know what her sister felt about the captain. Isabel wanted to know if Elena and Gabe had a chance of happening. But she was not expecting to see her sister's heartbreak. Well that's your answer, Isabel thought a little sarcastically to herself. If she could just go back in time, she would just have shut her mouth and Elena would be none the wiser. Elena had Richard anyway. Isabel replayed the conversation she had with her sister this afternoon.
"He's probably going to spend the day with his girlfriend tomorrow."
Isabel watched her sister as bitter jealousy and heartbreak flooded her face. Her eyes were so hurt. She had never seen Elena like that before, not even 44 years ago when the duke she was crushing on and flirting innocently with got engaged to another woman. Well the duke was older anyway. But this, this was something way beyond that. The hurt Isabel was seeing seemed like it reached Elena's very soul.
"Isa, what do mean girlfriend? Gabe doesn't have a girlfriend," Elena said, managing to laugh nervously.
"I'm sorry, Elena. I shouldn't have said that. It is something that shouldn't have come from me," Isa said, apologizing to her sister. "But I already saw them together. And they kissed," Isa said in a silent voice filled with sadness.
"It was probably just a friendly kiss. Gabe kisses me all the time," Elena justified.
"Elena, you don't kiss your friends on the lips," Isabel added, worry filling her as she saw the tiniest of hope left Elena's face. Tears filled Elena's eyes, which Elena quickly wiped them away.
"Tell me about this woman," Elena said and Isabel reluctantly told her of what she knew.
Now, Isabel felt bad for Elena. She had always felt that there was something more between her sister and the captain. She just didn't know how deep until she saw Elena's reaction. Isabel was a young girl but she already could read people. Well, to put it correctly, she was getting better at deductions, like a good detective. She had seen how Elena and Gabe were when they were together. There was always happiness and joy and calm in her sister's eyes. Gabe was easier to read. He had very expressive eyes. There was always that near constant admiration whenever he was with Elena. There was always the look of pure love in his eyes. How the two of them never saw this was beyond Isabel. Their abuela seemed to know though. Luisa was not surprised nor was she worried when Isabel told her that Gabe had a girlfriend and that she was against it because she always wanted Gabe for her sister. Luisa, always kind and wise, just said that true love will always find a way. That was why Isabel thought that she shouldn't have blurted out the information about Angela. She was waiting for true and pure love to make its move.
Elena's tears were now flowing freely. God, what is this I'm feeling? Am I jealous? Bitterly jealous? Elena asked herself. Why does it hurt so much?
Gabe had a girlfriend. Was that the reason why Gabe had taken as many days off as he could? To be with that Angela? Was that the reason why he was suddenly distant and detached? Was that the reason why he didn't seem to care anymore when he saw Richard kiss her? That he was not affected anymore? Was she going to lose the Gabe she knew for good? The tender and loving Gabe who had come to mean so much to her? What did she really feel about him?
Elena found herself reflecting on her feelings for Gabe. She was not going to deny that she was attracted to him. After getting over that epic fail of an introduction, she had come to know that real man behind the uniform. He was always tender and loving. She had seen how he treated his mother, so full of love and care. She had seen how he adored Isabel. None of Isabel's requests were too big for Gabe. And he was always the first one to be with the young princess when Elena could not. It only made Gabe more endearing to Elena.
Elena was also impressed on how much strength of character Gabe had. He was not embarrassed to admit that he sucked at Olaball; that he just did it to make his father proud. It was something not many people would admit. Gabe also felt terrible after being affected by the El Guapo sword. He knew it was a mistake to take the sword and he knew he acted like a jerk when he was under the curse. Gabe didn't find being under the curse an excuse though. He humbly apologized to the professor and told Professor Mendoza that she could order him around as penance. The archeologist just laughed as the apology was enough for her. But it still highlighted the kind of person Gabe was. He didn't really have a mean bone in his body and he didn't have bad intentions. He even sought Mateo's help to undo the curse. He was also very patient. She saw this when they were in Cordoba. He could have taken a swing at Alonso for being so arrogant and for not caring for his people. But he didn't and just waited for Elena to come to her senses.
He was her greatest supporter in all the things she did. Gabe had learned that she could take care of herself. Elena appreciated the fact that Gabe was not intimidated by her and her position. He was not afraid to call her out when she was being too reckless. But he would support her nonetheless. And it was comforting to know that Gabe always had her back; that he was always there to catch her if she falls. That was probably the reason why she became uneasy and uncomfortable without Gabe around. Heaven knew she needed him now more than ever with all the rumors of Shuriki's minions spreading. She was always on edge.
And there was also the way Gabe was when they were together. He was always so in tuned to her. He knew her well; could read her well. Gabe knew how to soothe her. He always put Elena's welfare before his own. And it felt so natural and not because he was just doing his job. Elena always felt that whatever Gabe did for her, it always came from a deeper source that just a job. When they were together, Elena felt free to be just Elena, to be just like anybody else. Sure she was queen, but she also had fears and doubts, hopes and dreams, insecurities even. She knew she couldn't show any weaknesses in front of everybody. The kingdom was expecting her to lead them. But whenever she was with the captain, Elena felt that she was free. Free to be just a normal girl. She was free to show vulnerability and knew Gabe wouldn't be disappointed; Gabe wouldn't judge her. He accepted every facet of her life. He accepted all of her.
They had sweet moments. All those jaquin rides, the ice cream dates, the sunset which they enjoyed so much, their quiet time together at the end of the day, they all just made them closer. No matter how busy they both were with the jobs, dusk was always their time. Elena always looked forward to those sweet and quiet moments. Elena found herself drawn more and more to him. He had this calm aura about him that was a perfect balance to her fire. And when he looked at her tenderly, she felt she could drown into those tender soft brown eyes.
When Gabe started pulling away from her, she found herself missing him terribly. Nothing seemed right. Yes, he was busy being captain and all that but that was not it. They always found the time for each other. It was when she felt that he was actively avoiding her that affected her. It was when she felt Gabe didn't want to be around her that she found painful. Did their time together mean anything to him? Was it just to accommodate the queen? Or was he jealous of Richard? Why should he be? Richard and I were not together, she thought. But you were singing Richard' praises right in front of him. You labeled Richard the perfect prince.
The news that Gabe was with another woman shattered her. It threw her off balance. Elena always thought that she meant something more to Gabe. She thought she was someone special to him. She felt bitterness sweep her heart when she learned that Gabe preferred another woman before her. And it pained her more when she learned that Angela was Gabe's first love. Beat that, Elena told herself. Gabe and Angela had history together. Even a queen couldn't compete with that, could she?
Elena knew of Gabe's high standards of professionalism. He wouldn't cross their boundaries even if Elena remotely thought that Gabe liked her. That was why she just snorted when Esteban asked if she was describing Gabe as her ideal man. It was not as if she couldn't see herself with him. And now it seemed too late to find that out.
Elena did not want that to happen. She would not give up on Gabe without knowing how he felt about her. If anybody knew Elena, they would know that she would not give up without a fight. She would only give up on Gabe if Gabe told her to. She wanted to sort this out; to really understand what was happening to them. She couldn't go on with all this are we or aren't we situation.
She had to go to the bakery tomorrow to find out.
Needless to say, Elena could not wait for her meetings and engagements for the day to end. She was free in the afternoon. Esteban advised her to use this free time to brush up on her reading. Elena smirked. She had better plans for the afternoon. So she was naturally nervous during lunch. Elena didn't know what to expect. There was a big fat chance that Angela would be there. There was also a chance that Gabe wouldn't be in the bakeshop. Isabel said he did a lot of things during his day off. Worse, Angela and Gabe could be on a date.
Since the rumors about Shuriki started going around, Gabe was not taking any chances with her security. He had started to be her guard again. But that didn't mean that they had gotten back their usual companionship. He was still distant and detached, almost too business-like. And on days like this when he was not around, Gabe assigned two or three of his best lieutenants to protect her. Right now, she had Rico Villalobos and Andres Sousa. Andres was outside beside the driver while Rico was inside the carriage with her. She was heading to the bakeshop. Although she though it was a bit excessive, Elena also thought that it was necessary. And it touched her heart that Gabe was still looking out for her despite of what was going on between them. He still had her back even when he was not around; although she preferred to have Gabe here personally.
Gabe was spending the day with his parents, helping out in the bakeshop. He was at the back kitchen, kneading some dough. He was getting better at this. Oddly enough, he found it therapeutic. It was rather relaxing to just repeat the motions of stretching the dough. It helped him take his mind off things. But although he had been taking his days off, recently he just wanted to be with Elena. He knew she was on edge ever since those rumors started cropping up. And he would be damned if he let anything happen to her. He would not let that happen. Those minions would never touch even a single strand of her hair and get away with it.
Gabe sighed when he heard the door open and heard Angela greet his mother. He had been spending time with his former girlfriend. She was very clear on her intent to get back with him. He didn't encourage her but he also didn't push her away. He was trying to see where this could lead to. Gabe thought that if they started as friends, something might grow. Seeing that Elena was now off limits to him, he was seeing this as a chance to somehow get over the queen. He heard Blanca tell Angela that he was at the kitchen.
"Hey there," Angela greeted him.
"Hey," Gabe replied, looking up at her for a second. He went back to kneading.
"So what are we making today?" Angela asked, putting on one of the aprons hanging from the wall.
"Uhmm..I was just trying to create something new for the shop. Don't know yet how this one will turn out," Gabe answered.
They started talking about how their week went. Well, mostly Angela. He didn't really want to talk about the state visit or the fact that he was bitterly jealous of the prince. That wouldn't be proper when you were trying to restart something with your ex. Angela talked about all the fantastic things she and the professor found and all the research and cataloging which went with each artifact. Gabe just noticed that Angela was getting closer and closer into his personal space. If it was Elena, he would have pulled her in and kissed her. But he hadn't reached that point yet with Angela. Right now, the archeologist was just a friend to him.
What Angela did however, took him by surprise. She suddenly turned towards him and cupped his face, planting a very deep kiss on his lips. He was so shocked at her forwardness that he couldn't react.
But his eyes went wider when he saw Elena at the door of the kitchen, looking at them with so much hurt in her eyes.
Elena could not believe what she was seeing! She caught Gabe and Angela in a private moment! She felt her heart shatter to a million pieces. Gabe caught her and their eyes connected. She couldn't take what she was seeing anymore and so she quickly turned around and walked as fast as she could back to the carriage. She knew tears were streaming down her face. But she didn't care; she just needed to get out of there. Elena didn't even hear Blanca call her.
Gabe quickly pushed Angela away and ran after Elena. His mother intercepted him at the shop and was about to ask him what happened but Gabe was barreling down towards the door. He was obviously chasing the queen. But the carriage was already pulling away when he reached outside.
"Elena!" Gabe called out to her with so much anguish in his voice. Gabe was trying to run after the carriage but he could not catch it. He wanted to explain. He wanted to take Elena in his arms and tell her that that kiss meant nothing; that it was Angela who kissed him. He wanted to wipe all those tears away and soothe her.
When he went back to the bakery, Blanca was there with Angela, their eyes searching him for answers. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He just went straight to his room and slammed the door shut. Blanca and Angela flinched at the force by which Gabe slammed the door. It shook the whole house.
Elena went straight to her bedroom after that fateful trip to the bakery. She couldn't believe it. Gabe was really out of her reach now. It hurt so much to think that another woman already had a claim on him. Now she understood why Blanca was uncomfortable at seeing her this afternoon. Gabe's mother was always so welcoming and warm towards her. Her abuela was just coming down the grand staircase when she saw Elena. Her granddaughter's face and overall demeanor told her that something terrible happened. But Elena seemed oblivious. She did not even hear Luisa call her. The older lady saw Rico and drilled the guard for information.
Elena could not believe how painful it felt to see them together for herself. It was painful enough when Isabel told her about them. It was a hundred times more painful to have it validated for herself. Bitter tears were running down her cheeks. She wanted Gabe to just magically appear in front of her and tell her that it was just a big misunderstanding. She wanted to be in Gabe's warm embrace. She wanted him to make all the pain go away. Damn you Gabe! What are you doing to me? Elena cursed the captain silently.
She heard the door open and for a moment, she hoped it was him. It was Luisa with a very worried look on her face. Elena looked at her grandmother and Luisa felt her heart broke when she saw her.
"What's wrong, mija?" Luisa asked, embracing her tightly and stroking her hair. For a moment, Luisa wished her daughter was here, soothing Elena and making things right again.
"Gabe," Elena started, choking on her tears. She could barely breathe. "He can never be mine!"
"Sshhhh, everything will be alright," Luisa assured her. Elena couldn't see how it can be alright.
"It will never be alright abuela. He loves another woman," cried Elena bitterly. And Elena recounted what she saw at the bakery. She also told her grandmother all that she was feeling, from their sweet moments, to their dates, to Gabe suddenly becoming distant, to missing him terribly even if he was just there in front of her. "Abuela, why does t hurt so much?"
Luisa just smiled tenderly at her. She knew the answer but she wanted Elena to realize it for herself.
"But Elena, you already had something going with Richard. Maybe you can explore that possibility," Luisa advised her. Elena just shook her head. Richard never felt this way.
After Elena calmed down, Luisa went down to bring her dinner. Elena was not in any shape to come down to dinner and have everyone see her this way.
Now that Gabe was never going to be hers, she thought that it was probably time to give Richard a chance.
