The Mafia Doctor

Pipe Dreams

Estella looked back towards Erin's office. Their eyes locked, he was watching her, arms folded over his chest as she leaned against the door frame, a smirk on his lips.

Turning she got out of there as fast as possible. Sitting in her Bug she gripped the steering wheel as it warmed up. What was she going to do? If she went home she would have to face him sooner or later. And that could get ugly. If she went to her parents...they would start asking questions. Could she really tell them she wanted to divorce Gabriel...when everyone thought they were so happily in love? Could she go to Erin and indulge herself? Cheat on Gabriel? Her moral code screamed at the notion, but her heart cried for love and affection she would never get again from the man she loved. And to top it off...she had no one to go to. She couldn't tell Tilly or Ariel. She most certainly couldn't tell Stephen.

Sitting in silence for a few moments longer she made her way back home. Fighting the tears that threatened she ran through scenario after scenario of what to do. What if they just remained married...and did what they wanted? But around their families remained the happily married couple everyone thought they were? What if they began to expect children? What if they each fell in love with someone else?

"Why did it end up this way..." she sighed and dragged herself up to the apartment. Opening the door she stood there, looking inside of the huge empty place she had dreamed of filling with their children's laughter. Pipe dreams now. She set her keys on the counter and eyed the cake she had made for Gabriel's 27th birthday. Rosina had told her what kind of cake he liked as a kid, red velvet. Estella had made it from scratch, using his grandmother's original family recipe. Letting out a sigh, she sat at the counter and stared out at it. She just wanted to wake up from the nightmare. From seeing Gabriel almost fucking another woman, to being kissed by another man, everything around her was crumbling.

Resting her head on her arms she looked out the window. It was snowing. First snow of the season. This was her favorite time of year. Normally. She couldn't bring herself to feel merry. Her eyes fluttered shut.

A door slammed what felt like moments later. Estella shot up, eyes darting to the stove that read 6pm. She slept for 4 hours on a bar stool?! The apartment was dulling in light and the sunset was the only thing illuminating her surroundings until a bright light flipped on.

Gabriel hung up his winter jacket on the coat rack and hung up his keys. He didn't even look at her, but Estella could feel the anger rolling off of him. HE WAS ANGRY!? He was the one who did everything! Estella should be the one angry! Instead she was hurt. Her heart was crushed and now she knew what it felt like when people said they had a broken heart. First love is always the hardest. Wasn't that the truth. The urge to confront him was strong, but for some reason she couldn't find her voice.

Gabriel made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and made himself a drink. His eyes looked sideways at the cake. Then his brows knit together. Confusion marked his face but it quickly faded to a non expressive look. Typical.

"Happy birthday..." she finally spoke. Not the words she wanted to use. She wanted to scream. Screaming never got anyone anywhere, so what good would it do her now? Pushing off from the counter she made her way to the other side where he stood and grabbed a bottle of wine. No glass...just the bottle. He watched her curiously as she walked back out to the living room and sat down on the couch. The only thing he could see now was her taking a rather large drink from the bottle. Gabriel shook his head and stalked off to his office, shutting the door behind him.

The evening dragged on. Estella felt the tears coming back as she downed the last bit of the wine they had brought back from Italy. The same wine Gabriel had chosen when they went out to eat. In her lap rested her sketchbook, repeatedly she looked at them. All the sketches she had done of Gabriel when he wasn't looking, or the ones she drew out from her memories. In the background she had her music playing to drown out the thick silence. Glancing down she was at her favorite. The look Gabriel had given her the moment he saw her walking down the aisle. The fake look he gave her, she reminded herself. Gabriel should have been an actor instead of a doctor. Even a professional poker player would suit him. On the coffee table, their wedding album set open, all the pictures she had picked out as her favorites. Their first kiss, dance, everything. She had chosen every moment.

Then their song came on from their first dance. Five Finger Death Punch- When the Seasons Change. That did it. Her head was swimming from the alcohol hitting her hard. Normally she didn't drink, and this was more than she ever usually consumed. The tears were flooding her sketchbook pages. She thought she was stronger than this but she was wrong. Not when it came to love. Letting out a scream of frustration, Estella chucked the bottle of wine against the wall, shattering it and putting a good size hole in the wall near the TV. Next was the sketchbook, then the wedding album. Pictures and drawings scattered the floor as she stood there, chest heaving, her fists clenched. It wasn't fair.

Gabriel came barrelling into the room, his gun in hand as he surveyed the situation, thinking they were being attacked. He was surprised to see the mess in the living room, and a drunk Estella with her hands in her hair, screaming and shaking her head, crouched near the ground.

"IT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR!" She bellowed like a small child who didn't get their way. This was drunk her. Something only Stephen and the girls had seen a couple times. She became depressed. This was her 'blackout' drunk. She went from giggly and clingy to just straight dark.

Gabriel looked at the wall where the last bits of wine dripped down and a good size hole remained. Narrowing his eyes, he holstered his gun, seeing as it was just her. Her screaming snapped him to her. Gabriel snatched her by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. She began fighting him.

"-ET ME GO!" Estella yelled, hitting his back, sobbing and clutching at his shirt. Her emotions were no longer filtered. "You hate me!" she cried as Gabriel kicked open the door to their bedroom and in long strides made his way over to the bed before tossing her onto it. "HATE ME!" Her heart and stomach churned as she landed on the bed with a thump.

"Shut the fuck up." Gabriel said in a calm tone. Too calm. But he was pissed.

"All I did was love you!" Estella's lip quivered, she looked a fright. "A-a-and you... you broke my heart!" she blubbered on.

"I SAID SHUT UP." He pushed her down, pinning her arms above her head. "You annoying little fucking girl. Maybe I should just get you pregnant so you will have something else to focus on instead of driving me up the Goddamn wall." He growled low. "One last fuck for you? Would that make you happy?"

Estella was shocked, she stared at him, her lip quivering. She could smell the whisky on his breath. He was drunk too. "N-no..." she whispered. "I don't want your children..." the words slipped out. "I want someone who will love me!" Estella struggled against him. "Why couldn't I have met Dr. Erin first!" she screamed.

"What did you just say?" Gabriel stared down at her, a bit taken back by what she said.

"Dr. Erin!" she repeated, "He told me he wanted me! To leave you!"

Gabriel's face went dark. Evil dark. A smirk spread across his lips, "Oh really? Then why don't you go fuck him?"

Estella's eyes dropped to the side, staring blankly at his arms that held hers in place at the sides of her head. "I'm not you..."

"You should be. You'd be a lot happier if you did." Gabriel pushed off from her. "Do whatever you want, mia cara. Just keep it hidden." He stalked out of the room.

"He kissed me..." Estella said softly before he left. Gabriel hesitated a moment then slammed the door to the bedroom.

Estella just laid there, blinking back tears. He didn't care what she did. Even encouraged it. Her eyes began to feel heavy, and she curled up on the bed and fell asleep immediately.

~* Another updated chapter...Wow...this is how I wanted the story to go originally...this is hard for me to write out...I like sunshine and lollipops in my stories LOL mushy gushy romance! Even though I am a dark and evil person...anyway, hope you guys are liking the new and improved chapters :3 ya'll rock*~