Gabriella removed her sun glasses as she looked at the view from her the hotel window. They arrived in Costa Rica shortly after 11am. Check in at one of the most prestige five star hotels, in the honeymoon suite. Placing her hand on the balcony she looked out into the water of the secluded beach down below.
She was wearing a cotton white t-shirt and jeans that had been wore through the knees. Bringing a hand up to shield her eyes she took in all there was to see. It was the first time since her father died that she took a vacation from the restaurant. The wind blew softly over her face and she let out a breath of relief. She felt empty inside ever since David left the restaurant. He wanted her back and she was married and not by her own accord.
This marriage had been her mother's doing, her mother's planning, and her mother's idea of fun. The night before she officially had been introduced to her husband she had been in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea before bed. She had been idly plotting out her to do list for the next day, when her mother came into the kitchen.
She didn't even know who her mother was talking about, didn't know who her mother had been gushing about so profoundly as she told her she was to be married. To be married? Gabriella looked down at her ring. Her mother needed 23 grand to keep the bank from buying out the restaurant and shutting it down. The money from her father's life insurance was gone. They had nothing to leverage with the bank but their home which was already on leverage for Gabriella's tuition. To be married? The words echoed again and Gabriella held the ring up to see it on her finger. She'd been trying for the last four days to get it off her finger. It wouldn't budge.
She was someone's wife, the little woman, Mrs. Bolton to one Troy Bolton who magically waved his fingers and came up with the money to buy the restaurant from the bank under the conditions that the Montez family, continue to work there. He also brought their home from the bank as well paying off all their debt for clean slate under one condition, a two year marriage, another pause in her life she had to take for her family's sake. The sliding doors opened behind her and she put her sunglasses back on.
"A toast?" Troy said holding out a champagne glass filled with orange juice.
Gabriella lips pulled into a tight forced smile as she took the glass from him.
"To a magical week in paradise," he said watching her drown her glass in three gulps, "Slow down there," he said taking her glass from her hands as she handed it to him.
"Stay away from me," she said before making her way inside.
Troy frowned as he placed the glass down on the balcony railing as he let out sigh and looked out into the view. He liked it better when she was quite; at least she stood in the room. Troy lifted his glass to his lips and took a sip casually as he thought over the past four months of marriage. Picking up the other glass he turned around to make his way into the bedroom looking around and spotting her sitting on the couch wiping her nose in a tissue.
Troy came over and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, "Hey," he said placing the glasses on the coffee table, "What's wrong now?"
"Nothing," Gabriella said wiping her nose with the balled up tissue.
"Then why haven't you said a word to me since we left home," Troy said moving over a bit.
Gabriella shook her head as she looked away from him, "I just don't want to be here, okay."
Troy moved closer to her and reached for the tissue box, "Alright, truth time," he said offering her a fresh tissue.
Gabriella looked at the box then back at him.
"I purpose a new deal," Troy said offering the box closer.
"I don't want to talk deals. Especially with you," she said crossing her arms.
Troy let out a sigh as she shifted on the couch so she was facing away from him, "Let's be friends."
Gabriella frowned as she looked back at him questioningly. "What?"
"Friends," Troy said pulling out a tissue himself and putting the box down. "Look, don't get me wrong, I'm not changing my mind about the whole marriage thing, it's still very much part of the deal but as far as you and I go," Troy shrugged.
"You want to be my friend?" Gabriella said slowly.
"Yeah," Troy said with a smile.
"I don't think you're capable of being a friend," Gabriella said.
"Why not?" Troy asked reaching for her sunglasses and removing them from her face. "It seems to me that you need a friend more than you need a husband, business partner, or the weight of the world on your shoulders any more than it already is," he said ending with a small laugh.
"Don't mess with me Troy," Gabriella said with a warning tone in her voice.
"Do I look like I'm messing with you," Troy said bringing the napkin up to dab away at a few of her tear, "I'm trying to get you to stop crying."
Gabriella took the napkin from him and used it to wipe her own tears, "Things are just so messed up right now."
"Does this have to do with David?" Troy asked knowing full and well that it did. He'd taken the liberty of looking into David with more depth than what Isabella had to offer. He knew that David was mediocre chef, nothing compared to the grades or heights that Gabriella had gone in her college career. He was teaching a class at the university and currently staying in motel room with a sofa bed. Obviously money was tight for David, which raised Troy's suspicions about his sudden appearance.
Gabriella's face softened as she looked at him with caution, "We were supposed to be married, you know."
"What happened?" Troy asked.
"I choose my family," Gabriella said tightly, "he left because I was holding him back and he wanted to make his mark on the world." Gabriella spat out the last part with a little more resentment then she intended. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
"You're too nice," Troy said standing up and walking over to the pitcher of orange juice and bringing it back over to their glasses. "You still have your own mark to make on the world you know?" he said pouring her glass.
"I'm fine with my mark," Gabriella said taking the glass from him, "I just want to keep the restaurant open because it means so much to my mom."
Troy frowned a little at her admission and he poured himself a little more orange juice if only to avoid her glaze. "Gabs," Troy said placing the pitcher down, "Having a passion for what you do is only 50% of the battle."
"And I do have a passion for it, honestly I'm just trying to preserve the dream my father had," Gabriella said looking at her glass.
"Well I think, and this is my friendly opinion," he said looking back at her, "I think you need to let the past be the past. Figure out how to make the future a presentation of the past, and present. This is no longer your father's dreams, it about you and your dreams."
"That sounds a lot like the business part of you," Gabriella said lifting the glass to her lips.
"No, because the business part of me would tell you to get a grip and forget about the past, the only people who make money on the past are people who believe in syndication," Troy said standing up to walk over to where the tray of fruit was. "Thinking about the past is a one way ticket to regret alley or repressed central, which is why it's the most common cause of alcoholics or drug abusers."
"Really," Gabriella said with a raised brow, "I'm curious what would the husband in you say?"
"That you should do whatever you want to do because I want nothing more than for you to be happy," Troy said plucking a grape from the bunch and bringing it to his lips. After a moan of delight he opened his eyes and smirked. "Happy wife, happy life as they say."
Gabriella was quiet as she thought about each piece of advice he'd given her. About the different aspects of the problem that needed to be considered. Everything drifted away because the only thing she could think of was David. David had come back for her and she wasn't there. "This is exhausting," Gabriella said with a blank stare as she looked over at the fruit tray Troy was currently picking on.
"You're exhausted?" Troy said looking up at her the same charming smirk, "I'm the one being three different people here."
Gabriella stomach tightened and she looked up at him with a frown. "The other night, at the restaurant, David came back for me," Gabriella said quietly.
Troy's hand jerked and he looked up to see her looking away from him, his movements stilled and he suddenly didn't give a fuck about the fruit. "What did he say?" Troy said looking back at the grapes on the tray but listening closely to her answer.
"He said he wanted to talk about us, but it was the way he said it," Gabriella said wiping a stray tear away.
Suddenly he was now aware of why she had been so upset, "So as a friend I would say this is a good thing?"
"This is awkward," she said shifting in her seat.
"Who do you want to talk to about this?" Troy said a little helpless in the situation.
"No one," Gabriella said getting up from her seat on the couch and walking back over to the windows, "What does any of it matter, I'm married to you for two years remember?"
"You want out?" Troy said watching her carefully.
Gabriella spun around, "My father's restaurant?"
"Is mine regardless," Troy said lifting the glass to his lips.
"Then no," Gabriella said turning back to look out at the water. The room was silent as she lifted her glass to her lips. The cold taste of the orange juice was refreshing against her tongue, and it was soothing from the heat. Pulling the glass from her lips she moved a strand of hair from her eyes behind her ear with her free hand. "What happens if you don't make good on your investment?"
"If you'd stop fighting me I could," Troy said looking down at his glass, "I've been really nice about all this. I understand your position is compromising but at some point you're going to have to let me do my job."
"And if you fail?" Gabriella turned around fully to face him, "If you can't get your money back, what happens?"
Troy was quite as he placed his glass down and began to undo his cuff links. "I'm getting tired of this game," he said calmly.
"Yeah, well I wish I could say this was a game to me," Gabriella said turning around to look back out the window.
"I'm going to shower and get ready for our lunch with Mr. Danforth," Troy said removing his shirt and revealing his tight undershirt beneath.
Gabriella watched his reflection in the mirror; her eyes followed the curves of his body as he moved. His body was sculpted like a god, nothing like she remembered David's to be. He removed his shirt exposing his bare chest while walking across the room towards the bathroom. The very fact that she couldn't tear her eyes away from what she was watching made her feel disgusted. She shouldn't be thinking of him this way, she shouldn't even be attracted to him. He was an asshole, he was disrespectful and everything about him reminded her of her early days in the kitchen when men thought they had a god given right to be there.
They would rub against her, stand closer than usual, and push her around as they made their way around the kitchen. Back then cooking as a profession was very much a male dominated career. A career not suited for some little girl from her father's small town restaurant. As a freshman she almost felt like it was hopeless, it had taken her three days before she been able to finish her dishes in time with the service. She had to learn the hard way; she'd pull her hair back, cut super short to hide it under her hat. She had to learn to stand tall, to speak up and bark out orders and have the strength to fight for her space. Being around Troy reminded her very much of that time in her life.
When he disappeared from the image on the window she turned to make her way toward the fruit tray quietly she picked up a strawberry examining it before bringing it to her lips, taking a bite she closed her eyes and let the erotic juices swirl in her mouth mixing with acidic after taste of the orange juice.
"I want you to wear this," Troy's voice whispered in her ear from behind as he held up a box in front of her.
Gabriella jumped in surprise as she felt his body close against her back, "What is it?"
"Put it on," he said quietly.
There was a pull in his voice, a harsh command to it that made her insides spark and her lips dry. Putting down the other half of the strawberry she took the box with her free hand and opened it. Her eyes widen as she looked down at all the sparkles of diamonds, "Troy," she said with small frown, "This is-"
"A necklace of exquisite beauty, fashioned in 14K white gold, this line of diamonds like you in a passing glance is incredibly simple yet so strikingly sublime that it will take your breath away," he said reaching for the piece of jewelry and bringing it up to her neck. Troy was quiet as he did the clasp and then lifted her hair pulling out and over the back of the necklace.
"Troy, I can't take this," Gabriella said with a small frown.
When he was done he leaned in closer to her ear so that he could whisper. "If I don't get my money back on this investment," he said gently resting his hands on her hips, "Then I'm keeping my bride. So I suggest if you want to confirm your freedom, if you want that chance to live happily ever after with your ex-boyfriend who left you flat on your ass because he had better things to do, that you start accepting the fact that for now you do belong to me and so does your precious restaurant."