I am done with love

Why?

As she came to, Nathalie was lying on the backseat of the limousine, her feet up in the air, while Gabriel was watching her with concern, one of his hands lying on her belly, the other was cupping her cheek.

"I had a weird dream, Gabriel. We were walking towards that tree and saw an older woman, who turned out to be my mum. I...", she began to cry.

"It wasn't a dream!", a familiar voice uttered, making her wince. Her head shot around and she stared at the older woman.

"Mum! Why?", she started to cry again.

Gabriel laid his arms protectively around her, as the supposedly dead mother of his wife asked:

"Can I hug you?", noticing the designer's reaction, she added, "I'm not going to hurt her!"

He scoffed, but Nathalie nodded and looked at him, whispering:

"It's fine."

He nodded and helped her into a sitting position.

"My baby! You're still so pretty. And you're having a baby of your own. Is it your first?", she asked softly and just a moment later Nathalie let herself fall into her arms, vigorously crying into her chest.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I had to get you out of there and I had to do it fast. And like that, you didn't have to go through all those things he would have done to hurt me and you, to try and make you hate me, to try and take you a-a-away from me.", she was sobbing too now.

"I missed you so much. And I still hate him for all he did to you. I can't even remember, how many times I wished, he had died instead of you!"

Nathalie's mum cupped her face and placed a loving kiss on her forehead.

"So tell me about the baby. Is it your first? Or do you have more children?"

Nathalie shrugged, then smiled as she laid a hand on her belly.

"It's the first time, that I'm having a baby, but I love Gabriel's son just as if he was mine!"

Her mum nodded. Then she smiled too.

"That's going to change. The child that grew inside of you feels different. I never let your half brother feel that, when he was staying with us, but though I loved him dearly, you are a part of me, you lived inside me. My great grandmother was different, she loved her stepchildren more than her own. At least I tried, to not treat him and you differently!"

"I know, mum. He was so desperate at the funeral. He kept blaming himself, because he knew, how dad treated you sometimes and didn't interfere often enough!", the pregnant woman whispered and wiped her tears.

The older woman was still holding her daughter in her arms, her hand gently rubbing her upper back.

Gabriel cleared his throat.

"May I introduce myself? I am...", but Nathalie's mother interrupted him:

"You are Gabriel Agreste, the fashion designer. It was all over the worlds news, when your....well...your wife died", she turned to her daughter, "is he the father?"

Nathalie nodded and beamed widely.

"Yes, and we have also been married for almost three months now!", she narrated.

"Well, congratulations for both of you. And welcome to the family Gabriel. It's okay for you , if I say Gabriel, right?"

"Of course it is, uhm..."

"Sorry, just call me Anna. It's all a little...you know..."

He nodded as he said: "I know and I understand. It's nice to meet you!"

He held out his hand, but was pulled into a tight embrace, being shocked, how strong the ol lady was. He of course hugged her back, then turned to Nathalie again.

"Are you feeling better? Should we go somewhere to have something to eat or drink?", he asked her with a concerned look at her belly and her pale face.

"Why don't you come home with me. I'm back in our old house. And it's completely renovated by now. I had someone helping me back then, to fake my death and everything that followed. And well, this person introduced me to their association and now we are helping other women in similar situations. I was lucky though, that your dad rejected to keep anything that belonged to me, so I never had to be officially declared dead. So the house is still mine and we have also officially been divorced two months after your eighteenth birthday. Sadly, you were already gone and had broken up every contact, so nobody could tell you, that I was alive. I still come here every day, hoping to meet you one day. There has always a note with my number in an envelope placed for you just in case. But I haven't seen you since that day, thirteen years ago, when you said goodbye and left forever. I had almost stopped you, but then I saw your father, who had brought you here, I saw how full of hate your look at him was and I knew, if I showed myself to you then, before the divorce was over, he would do some stupid thing, to hurt us both. If only I had known, that you would leave the next day....", Anna sighed deeply and wiped away her tears. "I would of course understand, if it was too painful. I kept all your stuff in your room by the way. Your bed, your desk, your clothes. Everything you didn't take too your aunt's. I just cleaned it up a little!"

Now she winked at her with a smirk.

Nathalie blushed deeply at the mentioning of her living in a complete, chaotic, mess as a kid. Gabriel looked at her with a mischievous grin.

"Well, well, who would have thought. You're so organized right now, that i sometimes think, you must be a robot or something, because a normal brain can't think of so many things at once. But ", he turned to his new mother in law, "as you mentioned, you came here, hoping to meet her, we came here, because Nath felt sad, that you weren't there anymore to see how happy she is and to see your grandchild."

The older woman's eyes filled with tears again.

"Oh sweetie, I am so sorry. I hope, you can forgive me one day." Cupping Nathalie's face, she wiped her daughter's tears away with her thumbs. "But no more crying now, okay? You should be happy and smiling. Your baby can tell, if you're sad."

She pecked her cheeks again and hugged Gabriel, then said:

"I do understand, if you can't visit me right now, but can we please exchange our numbers? I don't want to ever loose you again!"

Nathalie nodded and whispered:

"Thank you, mum. I love you!"

"I love you too. And you get her home, she looks as if she could use some rest!", she said with a wink, as Nathalie handed her a business card of Gabriel, displaying her phone number instead of his.

"Oh, so you work for....I just don't ask, as long as you're both happy, I am too. And please let me know, when the baby is born, or if it's about to be born. I'll do anything I can, to make you feel better, even if it means, walking to Paris. Don't look at me like that, it's just a four hour drive and I have a fast car!"

They watched her as she got out of the limousine and into her own car, driving of quickly.

"Feeling better, my love?"

"I.....yes and.....no.....I need some time to.....but I got my mum back....I...just take me home please!"

"Okay. I would have liked to take you to a hotel or something and get some rest, but I can tell, you want to get far away at the moment, right?"

Nathalie nodded.

"Thank you my darling!"