?Chapter 0498


    "Is the food ready?" I ask our housekeeper once I step into the kitchen.


    She answers with a kind smile "Not yet, but it will be in a few."


    "Okay, let me set the table then."


    She goes to argue, but I shut that argument down quickly. I wanted to help. Since she is cooking, this is the least could do.


    *Do you need any help?"


    I look up to find Gabriel''s mom on the opposite side of the dining table. I ce the te I was holding down and give her a smile.


    "Sure, but I am almost done."


    She walks towards me and begins helping with the sses and spoons.


    *So, Harper, how has my son been treating you?" she asks out of nowhere.


    I don''t answer immediately. I take some time to just think about her question, not because I don''t know what to say, but because of the tone of her voice.


    She isn''t just asking to make conversation; she genuinely wants to know how Gabriel has been treating me.


    I must have taken too long to answer because she stops what she''s doing and adds.


    "Don''t take it the wrong way. I am not butting into business, but given how he treated you before, I just want to make sure that he is treating you like you deserve.


    The concern is evident in her voice and in her eyes. She''s genuinely concerned about my treatment.


    I ce the final te down and smile. "You don''t have to worry; Gabriel is treating me really well. I am notining. Trust me when I say, If he were, I would have left him; everything else be damned."Content belong to N?velDráma. Org.


    "You would? Why now, though? Why didn''t you leave during those first three years you were married?"


    "Honestly, I guess because I was young, na?ve, weak and scared. Being a mother and going through what I went through changed me. When I was away from him, I learned about my self-worth and how to stand up for myself. I had a daughter and I needed to teach her how to be strong and stand up on her own two feet."


    "And you did an amazing job with Lilly. I see her and I know she''s going to go ces. Those two, Lilly and Noah, are like our boys. They''re going to take thepany further than their dads did."


    Hearing her say that made my heart swell with pride. I''ve heard Gabriel say the same thing about Lilly and Noah too. I believe them because I know my daughter, and I know she''s more than capable.


    "Thank you," I whisper.


    "Do you know that my marriage to Antony was arranged by our parents?"


    My jaw drops, and I stare at her in shock. That is something that I didn''t know. Whenever I saw them, they always looked so in love. I always thought they married for love, just like my dad and mom.


    "I didn''t know."


    *Few people do. Rowan and Gabriel don''t either," she says.


    "You look so in love and happy."


    She sighs and puts down the spoons before pulling out a chair and sitting down. "We weren''t always like that. In fact, Antony hated me. I would actually say that the word hate is mild. He detested me, and his hate nearly destroyed me."


    Just like she did, I pull a chair out next to her and take a seat. My focus ispletely on her.


    "It''s so unbelievable. No one can tell that he hated you."


    "It''s something I don''t like talking about because it''s in the past." Staring into her eyes, I see the pain that has been masked for years. The pain that scarred her. "Don''t get me wrong, we do love each other. He pulled his head out of his ass when he realized he loved me and begged for my forgiveness."


    I continue to stare at her, not really sure why she was telling me this.