He smirked. “It will be fun to learn.”
“It will be fun to watch your entire plan fall apart,” I barked back. I turned on my heels, marching down the hallway.
“It was lovely talking to you, Ella.”
I slammed the door shut.
Chapter 6 - Westley
Gabriella made good on her promise. She was avoiding me at every opportunity. We planned to meet at the park, and suddenly her sister tagged along with us. We would agree to take a walk, and suddenly she would get a phone call during it. Gabriella was making this a challenge at every turn, and she did it with a smile.
I tapped my fingers on the counter as I stared down the house toward the door where Gabriella’s bedroom was. “She’s good at avoiding people.”
Hazel, who was sitting just across the kitchen at the dining table, eating a bowl of cereal, nodded her head as she chewed. “You have no idea. One time, she and I got into a fight. She didn’t talk to me for two weeks. I finally had to fake being ill to get her to talk to me.”
I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. While Gabriella was avoiding me at every turn, Hazel was everywhere. I found her on the couch in the living room or cooking something in the kitchen. She was always around the house, always doing something. It would almost seem we were married rather than Gabriella and me.
Hazel had adjusted to living in the house. She was comfortable and helpful. While I hardly ever saw Gabriella.
“You think you can talk sense into her?” I asked, wondering if that would help. I figured if Hazel adjusted, Gabriella would follow, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Hazel snorted as she took another bite. “I’m not getting between this. You decided to marry her; you handle the backlash.”
I frowned. “You can’t argue that it was a smart idea.”
Hazel looked up at me, giving me a pitiful expression. “I’m not saying it wasn’t, but I also know my sister. You gave her no choice, and she’s going to fight back. She’s not going to just take this lying down.”
I was getting that. I leaned onto the counter. I should have been getting ready for this meet, but instead I was standing out here, waiting to see if I’d catch her to remind her we’d made plans for this evening.
“Is she going to come out of her bedroom?”
Hazel paused her spoon. “Oh, she’s not here.”
“What? What do you mean she isn’t here?”
Hazel shrugged again. “She said she knew that you would be out of your room by seven, so she was out of the house by six forty-five. She also doesn’t plan to be home until at least eight, which would be far too late for dinner.”
I scowled. “What, did she freaking memorize my schedule?”
Hazel nodded, taking another bite of her cereal. “Yeah. I told you she wasn’t going to make this easy. She told me you pretty much challenged her about this. So, be prepared for a fight.” Hazel pulled herself up, walking into the kitchen. “Which was stupid on your part.”
Hazel left me standing there, questioning my life choices. I didn’t understand why she was acting like this. Sure, this was an uncomfortable position, but it wasn’t like I was treating them badly. I gave them each their own rooms, and they were free to do whatever the hell they wanted. All I asked was that Gabriella act like we liked each other outside these walls.
I headed to work in a sour mood. I walked into the meeting with a large mug of coffee and plopped my ass down. Brandon was the only one in the room, and he had been flipping through his phone. But he paused and scanned me.
“Long night?” he asked, setting his phone aside.
I nodded. “Just adjusting to everything still. You know me, I have always lived alone.”
Brandon snorted. “Takes time. I remembered when Jade first moved in.”
I wanted to tell him the truth, but I also didn’t want to involve him. I didn’t want to muddy the waters when we had so many other goddamn issues right now.
“Wow, you didn’t bring us any coffee?” Kaleb was the next to walk into the room, looking tired, and I knew it was because he had worked overnight last night. His bags were dark, and his eyes looked a little bloodshot.
I slid my mug toward him because he clearly needed it more. He shook his head. “I’m hitting the bed after this, and that’s only going to keep me up.” He slid it back to me as he sat down.
“Long night?” I asked. I knew how Asher and I looked after a hard night, but we had been doing it for months now and had adjusted.
