"No!" Gabriella said as she leaned for support against the door. Blayne stood in front of her trying to catch her breath. She was staring at Gabriella as if she had been betrayed somehow. Gabriella now stared at her as if she had been the one that somehow should apologize. For one brief instant she saw betrayal written clearly in those eyes that were now coldly looking back at her. The passion was now gone and Gabriella could physically feel the cold once again emanating from Blayne.
Blayne turned her back to her and walked further into the house.
"Can your mother watch your children or shall I arrange for someone to do it?" Blayne asked then turning to face Gabriella as if nothing had happened between them.
Gabriella stared at her in disbelief. "I am not going anywhere with you!" She said as she walked past Blayne.
"Why are you fighting me?" Blayne asked point blank.
Gabriella turned around. "Are you deaf? I said I am not going! Not going! Not going!"
Blayne stood her ground. "Go pack," Blayne said without a hint of agitation. "I have a meeting in Boston this evening and I will have to rush as it is."
"And here I thought you were semi-intelligent. I…AM…NOT… GOING…understand?" Gabriella said slowly mocking her.
Blayne was in front of her in two strides, grabbing her by the hair as her other hand pulled her against her hard. "I have tried nicely…don't fight me lady, I can chew you up and spit you out before you know it. Now get your ass moving. We are leaving," Blayne said between her teeth.
"Fuck you!"
Blayne kissed her hard again and tore the front of her blouse. She released Gabriella who fell back on the couch and stared at her in horror. "Get out of here!"
Blayne grabbed her again and began to tear the rest of her blouse off. When Gabriella tried to grab her hair she found herself pinned down under Blayne.
"Get ready or get fucked understand?" Blayne hissed her face so close to her that Gabriella saw the chips of anger in her eyes.
"Get off me!…get off me," Gabriella said as her nerves began to shatter.
"Say no,...say it…I would rather fuck you then take you back with me," Blayne hissed to a horrified Gabriella.
"Get off me, please," Gabriella whimpered as she tried to push Blayne off her with her body.
"Yes or no honey, answer now or I won't care what you say after 10 more seconds like this."
"Yes, I'll go with you. Just get off me," Gabriella said quickly.
Blayne searched her eyes and got off her slowly. She held her hand out to help Gabriella up. Gabriella chose to ignore it and got up on her own.
"If you are thinking of backing out of our deal, don't. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry," Blayne threatened.
Gabriella stared at her not sure whether to believe the threat or not. Who could she count on to help her against someone like Blayne? The truth was there was no one. Joseph was far away. And her mother…
"I will make sure that your mother is not pulled into this," Blayne said to her almost as if she knew what she was thinking.
Gabriella looked away and took a few steps away from Blayne as she put her arms around herself to cover her nakedness. "I don't want to see him," Gabriella said as she began to cry. "He didn't want me."
Blayne stared at her back and for a brief moment felt like going to her and comforting her but, the thought quickly disappeared a she lifted her chin effectively disconnecting herself from what she was doing.
"Call your mother. I think it would be best if the children stayed with someone they know. As to your husband…you can call him later," Blayne said coldly.
Gabriella faced her now with tears falling down her face. "No wonder my father wants to see me…" Gabriella said in disgust.
Blayne's eyes formed a question. "Meaning?"
"If he is surrounded with the likes of you…no wonder he is looking for needles in a hay stack." Gabriella meant the comment to hurt and she took great pleasure when she saw the recognition of the insult in Blayne's eyes.
"You are quite right. None of us is what Arthur wanted," Blayne said without so much as a blink of an eye. "We have all come up short."
Within two hours they were getting onto a private plane. Flying out of a small private airport in Princeton, they were scheduled to arrive in Boston in less then an hour.
Blayne looked towards Gabriella who had not said a word to her in the last hour.
"If I feel you can't handle things with the family I will take you back home," Blayne said suddenly.
Gabriella turned towards her and searched her eyes in surprise. At that moment Blayne saw all the fear that she had been hiding. Gabriella turned away for a second then looked down at her hands before she spoke.
"Why does he want to see me?"
"Because he can't hide from the truth. He is out of time," Blayne said as she looked out of her window. They were taking off now. She couldn't wait to get off the plane she had just gotten on.
"I don't understand," Gabriella said looking at Blayne's profile.
Blayne said nothing.
"Did you mean it?" Gabriella asked softly.
Blayne looked back at her now.
"What?"
"Did you mean it when you said you would take me back?" Gabriella asked holding her breath.
Blayne looked at her for a moment without saying anything. "Yes."
Gabriella looked back down at her hands again. "This is going to be unpleasant."
"Yes, it is. Chaz, will probably be aggressive and Diana will react very much, if not worse, than I do actually," Blayne said coldly.
Gabriella looked up in fear. "Like you?"
"She is headstrong and opinionated, but no, not exactly like me if that answers your question. I can handle them," Blayne said, as she looked Gabriella straight in the eye.
"Are they…?"
"Chaz, is my brother. Diana is your sister and mine," Blayne clarified. "Chaz, will resent you and Diana is antagonistic towards everyone."
Gabriella looked down at her hands again. "And your mother?"
"My mother will do as I say."
Gabriella looked up at Blayne again. "She must hate me."
"Perhaps, but she will play along." Blayne reassured her.
"Yes, I can see that people have a hard time saying no to you," Gabriella said with a touch of anger.
"They learn rather quickly it's best not to try."
Gabriella's eyes challenged her. "I will take you at your word."
"I have given it to you and I will keep it." Blayne replied with a smile that was meant to frighten her and it did.
"I believe you will. Therefore there will be no need for a repeat performance of your behavior towards me."
Blayne stared at her.
Gabriella did not look away as she waited for an answer.
"As you wish."
"I do."
Blayne and Gabriella checked into the Harbor Inn, in Boston. Gabriella looked around and admired the hardwood floors, the Victorian styled furniture and the oriental carpets the filled the Inn. They were taken up to one of the suites that faced the city rather than the atrium. Blayne immediately got on the phone as Gabriella went into her room.
A few minutes later after freshening up Gabriella went out to the sitting room they both shared and found that Blayne was still on the telephone. Gabriella walked around the room. She looked out the window admiring the city at night. She respected preservation of the past and the Inn was a perfect example of that with its exposed brick and granite walls. The sitting room had all the modern conveniences that Blayne needed like data ports and high Internet access and yet it was all hidden within the old. Finally, she sat down and waited for Blayne to finish on the phone.