Still on a ban, everyone practically stayed indoors Sunday morning reminiscing the events of the past week, Gina and Gabriel included, although separately. Gina was reviewing everything Monica had confided in her yesterday and couldn't shake off the thought that Gabriel's decision may have been prompted by her sister's action. She knew if she were in his shoes, a budding love affair with another sibling while carrying his child would lead to dire consequences. She did not take kindly to betrayal in any form, and she knew without a doubt that neither did he.

Speaking of the devil, the door opened and in walked Gabriel, frowning vividly. She adjusted on the bed to watch as a maid entered the room to come place a tray on her bedside table before breezing out to allow the pair much needed privacy. Watching him surreptitiously, she spared a glance at the tray before a smile broke out on her face.

"I knew you were a sweetheart, Gabriel. Cucumber, avocado pear, peanut butter and sweetened yoghurt are exactly what your son ordered."

She looked up instantly to catch a grimace cross his features and burst out laughing. "I don't understand how pregnancy cravings work, to be honest. I was certain I got this covered following my previous experience, but apparently, every pregnant woman has a different taste bud."

She raised a brow at his comment. "Is this another case of misjudged stereotype?"

He had admitted to her early this morning that she was not as big or fat as he had ascertained she would be at six months. Her reply had been to laugh at his textbook knowledge of pregnant women.

He nodded, still frowning. "I guess I have been judging you unfairly since I came to know you. You're not exactly what I imagined you'd be or act."

"I don't act how you imagined a stripper would act? How did you expect a stripper to act?"

"Slutty, manipulative," was the simple remark, but even as he strolled to come climb into the bed, she could sense he was attributing it to something else. Or someone else.

"Well, I'm sorry I surprised you. But you know it's not too late to change my act. I still have three months on my calendar."

He chuckled at the sarcastic comment before gagging when she spread peanut butter on a slice of cucumber. "Please, don't feed my son that combination."

She grinned before biting off a huge chunk just to irritate him. "I might actually stop cause this is not how to enjoy this. Groundnut was the better companion, but I was craving the sugary component of peanut butter."

"That explains a lot." He replied dryly, pushing his pillows to help him rest on the headboard, his infamous tablet in hand. A few minutes later, he broke the silence. "What was growing up like for you?"

She gulped a heavy dose of the yoghurt before grimacing at the taste. "I thought you have asked me this question before."

"I was referring to your younger days with your siblings. Now, I wish to know how growing up was for you, family wise."

She tilted her head to regard him speculatively, trying to figure him out, before deciding he was not threat. "Growing up was nice. I mean as nice as a busy widower could manage with five energetic kids. My father had a big farm where he grew virtually everything we ate. Excess farm products were sold at the market place or to local export in order to provide for other things we needed like fancy clothes and toys. Our farm was so big that we were practically stuffed like pigs all our childhood until you guys showed up."

He nearly chuckled at the mental image her comparison brought up before stopping. "Five? I thought you guys were four?"

Gina felt her spine tingle at the fact that he was able to pick up on that slip-up from the story she had just told. Deciding to play his game of innocence, she put up a wall of indifference.

"We were five siblings when I was younger. I had another sister but she died when I was fifteen and we don't speak about the dead at home. My father hates remembering his dead."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

'It wasn't your fault' got stuck in her throat as she fought with her emotions to appear unaffected. Truth was that talking about Amelia's death always brought pain to her family, especially since she was in so much grief days before her death. To understand fully the extent of that grief and how unaffected the man responsible for it was made her heart bleed. "Yeah, but it was a long time ago and we've long since buried it behind us."

"That was six years ago, Gina. No one moves on from grief that fast. Even my family still mourns my mother and my youngest brother to this day, although in their own respective ways."

It surprised her suddenly that this was probably the first time she had ever had any mention of the beloved youngest son of the Asika family. Anthony never brought him up during their two-week interlude and Gabriel only started opening up to her recently. And even though she wasn't too chatty with the other two siblings, she could sense he was not a favourite topic. Was their grief over his death that deep?

"Your youngest brother? You mean Joseph?"

He seemed shocked that she brought up the question and she almost withdrew her query but he shook his head and began to speak.

"Yes, I mean Joseph. He was so young when he died, barely seventeen at the time. He was a promising kid, a little rebellious--" he paused, a scowl on his face, "--maybe too rebellious and too rash. I'm afraid he may have learnt that from me, and while I tried to put a leash on my tumultuous emotions, he erupted the more. In the end, it was his rashness that led him to his death."

From his expression, she deduced he knew more about how Joseph died, so she opted to poke through that source.

"Were you there the day he died?" When he regarded her suspiciously, she shrugged and added carelessly. "Rissa was with my sister on her death bed. She usually has this same expression when she talks about it."

"Well, I guess you're right. I was there the night he died. My father believes I pushed him to his death, but how was I supposed to know a heated argument with my younger brother over a woman would drive him to his death?!"

Feeling suffocated by what she perceived was an onslaught of memory from that incident, Gina watched him sit up quickly before easing out of bed. Her gaze followed him as he strolled to the balcony before sighing audibly. Poking at grief was never a good thing. She should know.

Easing out of bed, she followed after him, waddling to the balcony. Even though she wasn't as big as she had expected, her small feet were swollen, and she knew they weren't letting up anytime soon.

She found him staring off into the distance, his fists balled but she knew his anger was directed at the injustice he dealt with for being partly responsible for his brother's death.

"Gabriel, are you okay?"

"It was her fault he died." He uttered gravely, immobilising her mid-speech. "I warned him to stay away from her, that she was bad for him in every way, but no, and then, she ended up using his emotions against him. The idiot wouldn't even listen to me when I tried to caution him. I suppose being knocked down in the middle of a heavy downpour was more fate than human machination. He was marked for death the minute he laid eyes on her."

Gina felt her heart clench at the venom coating his words. She needed no prophet to tell her where his anger was being channelled. And when he turned to regard her, her heart sank when she understood what he saw when he looked at her, at women in general.

Manipulative devils.

Suddenly, his face broke into a wide grin, dispelling all signs of anger and loathe from his facial features. If she didn't witness it, she'd have thought she dreamt it up. "Enough of all this dark talk. It's making me moody and annoyed and I can snap at anytime. Let's do something fun instead, alright?"

Gina nodded numbly, trying to make head or tail out of his random change in character. "We had fun yesterday."

"No, we didn't. But today, we will. And I know just where we can go to get maximum fun."

The 'fun idea' turned out to be the birthday party of one of his friends, a playboy named Thad, and he had been threatened into coming with a date, or risk getting harassed by women all day. She was pleased with his choice.

Once she heard the name of his friend, her attention peaked, and she tried to hold herself from asking him if the rest of friends would be there as well. Apart from enjoying his company, she now had more reason to attend the event.

Knowing the only way to ensure she met them was to stick by his side all through, she cupped his face and slammed her lips with his, explaining he looked too gorgeous she couldn't resist stealing a kiss.

When they arrived at the one story magnificent structure located in Victoria Island, the party was already in full swing judging by the loud music blasting from the speakers located somewhere around the house. They were led to the back porch by a butler who directed them to the poolside.

As they made their way across the backyard, it stepped down across three stairs into a neatly mowed lawn with a rectangular sized swimming pool located near the white fence, leaving more than enough space to place different seating arrangement with plastic chairs that were obviously rented for the party. Six loungers were placed near the pool area, and the dj booth was set at the narrower end of the pool.

A barbecue joint was set next to a buffet table with assorted dishes arranged side by side. A mini bar was located at the end of the aisle on the other side of the pool opposite the dj booth. With this setting, Gina understood the scantily clad women prancing around the pool was supposed to be the entertainment for the men, and she was quickly transported to a time in her life when this was her job description. A job she had to do because of one man, the same man who had promised her a way out of it.

She watched in a dazed trance as he walked ahead of her to go shake and hug a heavily bearded man chocolaty dark man dressed in a patterned shirt and blue chinos who was grinning hard on seeing him. The rapport between the two men was enough to conclude they were best of friends.

A gorgeous male with a stubble and a lighter skin tone appeared beside the first man, missing out on only a few inches, but dressed equally smartly in white shirt and dark chinos. Gabriel stopped chatting with the first guy, only to receive an uppercut which had the man doubling in laughter.

Gabriel recovered quickly, and surprisingly, he allowed the man to pull him into a bro hug before they broke up, chatting animatedly.

Feeling left out, Gina adjusted slightly on her feet to watch the dj on his headphones as he tinkered with the sound mixer, acting hyped.

"Is that your date?" That was her clue to get back into the moment, and was surprised to find all three men crowding in on her.

Awkward and unsure, she brandished a smile, and waited for Gabriel to do the needful. He left his friends to come take his place beside her, and she instinctively shuffled closer.

"Guys, this is my date, and my girlfriend, Regina. Gina, these are my friends, Christian, and Sebastian, who for some weird reason prefers being called Bash, and the other weirdo is somewhere over there banging a woman old school style." Christian burst out laughing, with Gabriel chuckling hard and Gina grinning at the joke.

"Guys, it's his day. Let him enjoy his bachelorhood in style." Bash reprimanded amidst chuckles.

"Gabriel, are you sure this lady is your girlfriend, no offense," Christian quizzed when composure was attained, offering her long, dexterous fingers for a shake and she gladly placed her palm in his, loving his angular face that held chiselled features that depicted a subtle, charming personality. "Don't mind my doubt, the guy has been celibate for nearly two years. I'm Christian Esoghan, his best friend of nearly two decades."

"I think you mean enemy," Gabriel corrected, pulling her palm still enclosed in the shake away, causing her to wince from the sudden pull, "cause we stopped being friends when you decided to work against me."

"What can I say? It's nothing personal. It's just business."

The glaring matching between the two left Gina puzzling if the cheerful hug she witnessed earlier had been a figment of her imagination.

"I'm Sebastian Ibru, this arrogant fellow's friend," he introduced, making sure to keep the handshake curt. "Don't mind these two idiots. They are never growing up anytime soon."

"Because you're married, you're now the most grown? Guy, don't talk nonsense here." Christian interjected sharply, earning an eyeroll from Gabriel.

"You just strengthened my point in front of the charming lady. Thank you, stupid." He grinned as Christian gave him the middle finger, causing Gina to marvel at the obvious bond between the men.

Gabriel shook his head at the banter before excusing himself to go search for the birthday boy, pulling Christian along. Bash declined the invite to join in the age long tradition, leaving Gina the chance to claim fatigue and latch onto his company which raised Gabriels' suspicions.

Finally alone with the subject of her investigation, Gina flew into stealth mode. "Have you guys been friends long?"

"I have known that foolish 'palm tree' for close to fifteen years now, although the award for oldest friend should probably go to Christian for practically growing up with him."

"Wow! That's impressive. I'm not in contact with anyone I've known for mostly all my life except for my siblings."

"You're lucky. Some don't even have that." He replied, guiding her towards the side of the pool where reclining chairs were placed and a bucket of champagne sat on a stool. "If you don't mind me asking, how far along are you? My sister-in-law is almost due and she's like triple your size and has quadruple the fatigue."

She chuckled at the image as she settled into the chair before accepting the fruit juice he handed her. "Six months but I'm more than ready to drop him already. He's getting heavier by the minute."

"I would strongly advise against that. Knowing Gabriel, he'd literally kill for that child. He's very possessive over those he considers family. He would even lay his life if need be."

"Tell me something I don't know." She laughed at the knowing smirk he passed at her before taking a generous gulp of her drink. "You said Ibru and I couldn't help wondering since it's not a common surname. Are you by any chance related to Tracey Ibru?" At the quirk of his brow, she amended quickly. "I bumped into a Tracy Ibru at Anthony's lawyer's meet at the house. She had a little girl with her and they were absolutely warm and friendly."

"Do we look that much alike?"

He shook his head, slightly chuckling at the thought. It was crazy how she was the only one who assumed that on meeting him. Most people could guess their relation, but then again, those people were from his social class. "Well, no, we're not related, at least not by blood. Tracy is my wife of Eight years. We have a daughter, Cecelia Ibru, and she's the apple of her father's eye."

"Wow. That's lovely. But eight years? Why did you tie the knot so early in life? Please, forgive my prodding. I'm a contemporary thinker who believes marriage should be done when both parties have made their peace with adulthood and life in general."

"I like your theory, but half of that decision was out of my hands. The Ibrus had a long age partnership with the Ekiles and it was a given we'd get married eventually, and we did, maybe a little earlier than we planned. As for age, I was twenty-three and she was twenty-one when we tied the knot and trust me, we had made our peace with adulthood by then." He explained, genuinely impressed with her charm.

"There was a time I wanted to get married at twenty-one and have like three energetic boys, but I may have to push that dream further backwards," she mumbled, her eyes searching the opposite end of the pool.

"If you have your eyes set on Gabriel, I think I understand why your plans will be delayed, but there may be hope for your plans. From what I gather, Local man may be looking to try his chance at love, and you should definitely be on standby when he does."

"I hope so."

After a beat or two of silence, he quizzed. "Why three boys though? What happened to girls?"

"I shared a lot of my father's pampering with my siblings and I won't do it in my marriage. I have to be the only queen in his life."

"Funny, how that is your name exactly." They shared a laugh at the ingenious comment. "I guess it depends on orientation, but daughters are everything to a father. They are born princesses and have you wrapped around their little finger the minute they are born. My Cecelia is everything to me and I knew the very first time I saw her that she was mine."

"But she doesn't look like you facially." Gina blurted out before smacking a hand across her lips. "I mean, perhaps she resembles her grandparents?"

He chuckled at her reaction before shaking his head. "Actually, you're right. She doesn't resemble us. My wife and I had a lot of difficulty in the fertility department and we considered either surrogacy or adoption. Coincidentally, Gabriel was more than happy to help us out with her. You see, her mother had been indisposed to take care of her, something about forbidden love that would have endangered little Cecelia, and so we agreed to adopt her. And we never regretted it since."

"What about her birth mother? Have you ever wondered about her? Do you even know if she's alive somewhere missing her baby?" She was trying to wrap her head around the fact that these people were okay with taking someone's child away.

"I suppose she is, but she signed over the rights away, so it's all fine. Although I think I understand why she did what she did. It was a sensible choice to give Cecelia a great chance at life."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"I strongly believe she was wise in signing over custody to Gabriel since he is basically generous enough to be stressing himself trying to save that little girl's life. You see, Cecelia has Sickle cell anaemia and the doctors are certain neither Gabriel nor Anthony are a match. Although Malcolm might be if only Gabriel and him can reconcile."

Gina's response was cut off when a scream, followed by a series of growls and shouts, erupted from opposite where they sat. Tuned in to the commotion, Bash eased off the recliner, as did she. They burst out laughing when they were able to make out Thaddeus trying to dodge being bathed with two bucketfuls of paint from Gabriel and Christian.

+++++++

Laughing gaily about the acrobatic display Thad rendered for his shocked audience when dumped with paint, the pair slipped out of the car the minute it pulled into the compound. The house was silent and they automatically assumed everyone had gone bed as it was already past dinner time.

Following the commotion earlier at the party, Gina didn't get to continue her earlier conversation with Bash but she could infer there was no need to anymore. Things were beginning to get clearer, and soon, she'd have all the puzzles solved.

Fishing to prolong her bonding time with Gabriel, as he'd resume their living arrangement come morning again, Gina linked their fingers together and brought up light talks about their childhood. Halfway through the verbal battle over who fed more as a child, Gina remembered a question that had been bugging her earlier.

"What about your mother?"

She felt him pause beside her, forcing her to halt too and face him. She could tell he was wondering where the question came from. "My mother?"

She refrained from rolling her eyes at his confused stare before clarifying. "Yes, your mother. Earlier, you told me you lost your mother too, and I know the pain of loosing a mother never really heals, even for me, although I was five when she died while birthing my brothers." She shook her head slightly to dispel the painful memory. "I guess my question is how did she die? Was it as painful as his?"

She watched him swallow, opened his mouth to speak before clamping it shut. Her brows began to crease when he swallowed again and she could sense he did not find this topic easy for some reason.

Finally, the words bubbled past his lips. "My mother..."

As if blasted by blazes from hell, a growling from ahead interrupted the moment.

"Where is she?!"

~~~~~~

At least, Gabriel and Gina can find common ground discussing their dead. I think?

Who can put a calculated guess on what the next chapter would bring judging by this ending sentence?

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Thank you.