Where Do We Go From Here? (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 26

They found a nice quiet restaurant nearby. They ordered some food and they talked. Mia told him everything she knew about her mother and the little bit she knew about her father which was that he had done her mom wrong and so she had gone back to Hawaii to have her and raise her on her own, only she didn't get to raise Mia like she'd planned. The mixture of emotions that showed in Gabriel's face as Mia talked was heartbreaking.

It was Gabriel's turn to talk. He cleared his throat before he spoke to make sure his voice didn't crack. All the emotions that were coming to him now were indescribable. "First, I want to start off by saying that I did not cheat on your mother. I could never! She was.... she was my everything." Mia's eyes got watery but she tried to hold it in as he continued to speak. "It was all a big misunderstanding but she never gave me a chance to explain. You see, before I met your mother I was supposed to marry someone else. We weren't in love.... well, I wasn't. It was an arranged marriage. Coming from the type of family I come from, something like that is not uncommon. Your mom and I, we became good friends in college. We got along instantly and when I realized I started developing feelings for her I broke off my engagement. My parents weren't happy but I didn't care. That's when I asked her out. When she said yes I was so happy.... we were happy." He paused for a second and smiled as if a beautiful memory was on his mind.

Mia watched him for a second but she was eager to hear more. Tears still threatened to escape her eyes but Bruno's gentle hand on her lap gave her the comfort she needed to keep it together. "So what happened? What went wrong?"

Gabriel shook his head as if trying to clear the memory he was having. "She and I, we had talked about moving in together immediately. We were probably moving too fast but we were young and in love and thought we knew it all." He let out a soft chuckle that warmed Mia's heart. "The morning before she left she had called me and told me she had some big news to give me. She sounded so excited. So I planned a surprise dinner for her. I didn't know what the news was going to be but I knew if it was enough to make her excited, I would be excited too. That night I was gonna give her the key to my apartment and...." He let out a sigh before he continued. "I was going to ask her to marry me." A tear escaped and he wiped it away almost instantly.

It was enough for Mia to let her own tears come too. She started gently sobbing and Bruno caressed her back to calm her down. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a baby it's just.... it's hard."

Gabriel reached over the table, took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's fine. I know what you mean" he said then released her hand. It was a small gesture but it was such a tender one. "Before she got to my place that night my ex fiancé showed up. She had somehow found out about your mom and she called herself trying to get me back but I was done with her. My parents had even accepted the fact that I loved your mom. They loved her the second they met her just like I did. The only one that didn't know about us was Elijah. She was scared to tell him because she thought he might make her go back home To Hawaii...... I'm sorry, I keep getting off track.... So anyway, when she came to my place that night my ex was there and it just so happened that when your mom walked in she kissed me. I was working on pushing her off of me when I heard Elena's gasp. I quickly got up and told her it wasn't what it looked like and asked her to let me explain but she ran out the door. I tried to chase after her but Laura wouldn't let me by. She kept pulling on me and I didn't want to use my strength with her. When I finally got free she started screaming and making a scene. She said that if I left her standing outside to go chase Elena she would call the police and tell them I hit her. People stared coming outside and I didn't want it to get worse than it had. I figured I could just calmly make her leave and then go talk to Elena after she was gone. I didn't know she was going to run away and I would never see her again."

Mia was sobbing uncontrollably now. It was so sad that her mom left her father on the night he was going to ask her to spend forever with him because she thought he was cheating on her. Through her tears she spoke as best she could. "I guess I was the big news she had for you."

Gabriel reached for her hand again. "I guess so. I'm so sorry. I should have tried harder to go to her right then and there and asked her to marry me.... so she could tell me she was pregnant and we could have started our forever." He had tears in his eyes again.

The moment was so emotional that a tear even escaped Bruno's eyes. He couldn't help but think that if she had a father her life would be different. But then again, if her mother had stayed in LA he never would have met her. So in a way he was thankful that things happened the way they had.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. You didn't know anything that was going to happen. I think everything happens for a reason. So, where do we go from here? Mia asked him.

"Well, first, I know that we should probably take a paternity test just to make sure.... so no one has any doubts.... but I honestly have no doubt in my mind that you're my daughter." Gabriel said to her.

More tears escaped Mia's eyes. His daughter. There was no doubt in her mind he was her dad either. She was someone's daughter again. She had a Dad. Her heart was overjoyed. "I'm okay with that. But when! I have to back to Hawaii."

Gabriel nodded his head. "Right. Then, I'll go with you and we can take care of everything there."