Lift Me Up | A Gabenath Story

Chapter 4: I Wouldn't Miss You

Of course Nathalie knew Gabriel was wrong. She knew that Adrien would miss her. It would break his heart not seeing her. But she was only doing this for him. For the sake of his relationship with his father.

"Fire me, if you want. Or I quit," she said as she reached for the door, "I don't care about that. I care for the family's well being. For Adrien's well being. This isn't about what I want, but I want you to grow close to him. I want you to be there for him. I want you to be the father he wishes you would be. I want more."

Hearing her say this agonized him. He hated anyone who made him feel pain. He was supposed to show a strong figure. To Gabriel, feeling pain meant being weak. And he also detested showing weakness. His hate made him say the most despicable things.

"I want you to disappear from my life," he found himself telling her. He was shocked and in horror with himself as he watched her turn and stop at the door, not looking back at him. He wasn't in control of himself. He couldn't be. He could not have said that to her.

"I'll do anything to make you happy," she simply said looking at the darkness in front of her before proceeding towards the bedroom to pack her things.

He silently watched Nathalie walk away.

You think that you leaving makes me happy? he mentally called out to her. On the contrary, I need you by my side, desperately.

─

Nathalie was gone by daybreak. Gabriel didn't bother to have breakfast. Although he decided to work in order to forget about last night's argument, he couldn't forget her words: "I want more."

Nathalie moved into her old apartment. She always had the apartment incase of an emergency. On the car ride there, she checked her unread text messages.

Her heart dropped at the realization of his worry. He had cared for her. Gabriel would never text anything that had nothing to do with work. But she didn't understand why his mood had changed from frustration, to worry, to frustration again.

She knew that Gabriel was not pleased to talk about his son during their conversations. She knew that bringing Adrien up during their conversation had infuriated him at the end since he clearly stated it.

Yes, that's why he became so cold, she thought to herself. If only she knew that that was only half of the reason behind his enragement. His last words spoken to her still hit her like a brick, shattering her heart every time she replayed them in her head.

As soon as Nathalie stepped into the apartment, she began to unpack her things. She needed to finish organizing a few stacks of paper for her boss as soon as possible. She guessed that she was still working for him since it wasn't clear if she was fired or not. She figured that Gabriel probably still needed her assistance, so she didn't quit her job either.

Nathalie's apartment was not too small nor too large. The interior design of the two-bedroom apartment was chic. She did not have time to fully decorate it to her taste, so it had always been kept like that.

After she finished unpacking her clothes and placing them in her closet, she made her way to the kitchen. The small kitchen was equipped with a variety of appliances and a few pantry foods. When she opened the refrigerator, she only found a few bottles of water. Nathalie grabbed her keys and set about the nearest market.

Nathalie quickly purchased the week's groceries and was making her way back to her apartment. When she rounded the corner, she ran into a figure, causing her to drop the bags she was carrying and stumble back. The figure quickly caught her before she fell.

"My apologies," she said as she realized that the person was Jean.

"Nathalie," he started, "no need to apologize. We crossed paths for a reason."