The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 87

"Was?" Avery’s back froze stiff at his words. It was one thing for him to mention Bryce being his father in such an odd tone but why did he have to make it sound as though Bryce was no longer in the picture?

"You didn’t do anything to him, did you?" She asked him. He didn’t say a word and didn’t look like he had heard her so she inched closer and lightly tapped his shoulder. "Gabe."

He looked down at her. "What if I did something? Will it make you hate me?"

That was a no-brainer. "For a man who admitted to hating me for no reason? Of course not."

He pulled her in for a hug. "It’s just you and me now. And Angel, and although I hate to admit it, Damon and Mabella. I wish I could say Mina too."

"You feel guilty." She observed. He wouldn’t be rambling about other people. He was probably only doing it to take his mind off what he had done.

"You were right. You know nothing about me." He smiled. "If you knew the slightest thing about me, you would never assume swatting an annoying fly would make me guilty."

He was denying it so she didn’t push. "Earlier I wanted to let you know that it will be Mina’s birthday in a few days." It had taken her ages to finally find something to tell him that would explain why she had called him to her office.

"She didn’t tell me anything about that." He felt bitter about it, especially since he had thought their relationship was budding.

"That’s because she doesn’t know anything about the party I want to plan for her. I need your help."

He took several steps back. "If you want me to find out what she loves for you to incorporate it into these birthday preparations, you came to the wrong person. Why the hell would I ask for information you know nothing about?"

"When is my birthday?" She asked him. When he went silent, she knew he had fallen into the trap. "See? You don’t know your sister’s birthday despite having known me for all these years."

"15th December." He cut her off.

"I was excited to be a brother and couldn’t wait for the day to arrive. On other years, I would be excited for Christmas and would make cards for my friends but since the month began, I gathered toys for you, hoping we could play together once you were born. I couldn’t wait to be a brother."

Her words dried off at the tip of her tongue. Not only did he remember the day, but he also remembered the exact year and what happened before she was born. "Well, my point is, you can’t know everything about a person. Not even if that person is yourself. You have to admit this."

He grunted in agreement. "I’m not helping you."

She rolled her eyes. Why did he have to agree and give her false hope? "Not even if this is important to Angel? He loves Mina very much and would be happy to celebrate her birthday."

"You are evil." He groaned at her way of making him give in to what she wanted. However, "I don’t want to ask her out. It seems to make her uncomfortable."

"Don’t worry about that. Ever heard of family dinners?"

"I was right. You are evil." He chuckled but he was overjoyed. "When is this dinner? Tonight?"

"Tomorrow, unfortunately. But don’t worry. Time will fly before you know it."

And she was wrong. He couldn’t do anything meaningful while waiting for time to pass and for him to be at the same table with Mina. He had tried to watch a movie, sleep, and work but he was distracted. In the end, he showed up at Avery’s villa the next day at 5 pm even though dinner was at 6 pm.

After successfully getting past the nanny who thought she should inform Avery of his arrival beforehand, he followed the enticing aroma to the kitchen where he knew Avery would be doing her culinary magic. Avery’s voice and Angel’s happy giggles echoed through the house and when he got to the open kitchen door, he was met with the sight of what looked like a fun game. The trio was wearing matching aprons with different animal prints. Angel’s had a fluffy puppy drawn on its pocket, making him look cuter than he already was.

He was holding a carrot like a mic and dancing to the song Avery was singing with a spatula as her mic while Damon recorded them like an enthusiastic fan.

A smile lit up his face. "I guess I’ll just wait for Mina on my own."

Luckily, it wasn’t long before Mina walked through the door. His eyes nearly popped out. "You wear jeans too?"

She looked down at herself and frowned at him. "What’s wrong with wearing jeans?"

"I’ve only ever seen you in work attire. I’m not saying you don’t look sexy. You look perfect." He wanted to bite his tongue out at how awkward he sounded. To think he had laughed at Damon years ago when he got recordings of how awkward he sounded trying to hit on Avery. He wasn’t better off.

As expected, Mina was weirded out and relieved when Avery came to get them.

"What the hell is he doing here?" She pointed at Gabriel.

Avery shrugged. "It’s a family dinner and well, Gabe is family."

"Urgh. I should have known you wanted to set me up." Mina lamented and realized what trap she had fallen into when she didn’t see Mabella, who Avery had claimed would be present.

"Dinner’s ready," Avery announced and ran away before Mina could attack her for tricking her.

At the dinner table, it was as though Angel was in cahoots with his mother. At first, he had wanted to sit with his uncle on his left and Mina on his right. But as soon as they sat down, he left the seat and relocated to be between his parents, leaving him and Mina beside each other.

"Hey, did Avery make you do this?" Mina exploded when she realized the only thing between her and Gabriel was an empty chair, which he filled the second after she noticed it. Was this a family dinner or a double date?

To calm the explosion she knew was about to go off between the two, Avery broke the silence. "I tried a new recipe for turkey today. Does anyone want to try it?"

"Is it Christmas already?" Gabriel joked, and immediately realized how strange it was that Avery would cook turkey, much less learn a new recipe for it. She had hated it ever since she first tasted it, and the fact that he loved it made her hate it even more. "You are hiding something."

Just a DNA test result I dread will change everything I know about you, she thought. If Gabriel wasn’t her brother, it would shutter her entire world, especially if he had known the truth for years.

On the surface, she kept a nonchalant face. "Damon and I are trying to teach Angel how to make the people around him happy. He made a new friend and doesn’t know how to interact with her. Right, Damon?"

Damon had no idea what was going on but he nodded along.

Although Gabriel didn’t believe them, he stopped asking and ate his food. It wasn’t every day his sister cooked his favorite meal after all.

As soon as dinner was over, he grabbed the chance to find out Mina’s preferences.

"What do you do when you are not gracing the earth with your beauty and expertise?" He asked, making her roll her eyes.

"Have you always been this cheesy?"

"You should have known." He chuckled, using it as a starting point. "I didn’t realize there was an entire world about you outside Vaillant Telecommunications. I thought your work was your everything and now that I found out I was wrong, do you mind telling me about everything else you find fascinating?"

Avery smiled on her way out. She didn’t need Gabriel’s help to know what to get Mina as a present, but it was alright as long as he didn’t have the time to think about their conversation in the prison parking lot and link it to the drink Mina gave him.

As if on cue, Mabella called.

She glanced at Gabriel and was relieved that he was distracted. She answered the call as she shut the door behind her and moved as far as she could from the house. "Is it out?"

"Yes. Do you want me to bring it over?"

"No." She glanced back. "Are you at Damon’s? I’ll come over and get it."

To her relief, Mabella was on her way to Damon’s villa and was only a mile away when she called. Avery arrived before her, anxious and taking deep breaths to calm herself down in vain.

When Mabella finally arrived, she was nearly boring a hole through the garage floor by pacing.

"Mabella!" She ran over to the woman as soon as she opened the car door. "Did you check? Just tell me if I should be worried."

"See for yourself," Mabella responded by giving her a white folder with a security folder. "Don’t worry. There is zero chance that the results were altered."

That was why Avery had asked for Mabella’s help; since she knew people she could trust. She turned the folder over and ripped it open, knowing the seal was going to waste her time. Then she turned over the sheet of paper that made her heart race in fear.

____

AN

Make a guess XD. What’s the DNA test result going to say?