The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 86

Gabriel seemed to understand her concern soon after he caught her staring at him and then at her reflection in the sun visor .

"That’s not necessary. If you were a man, you would look like my twin. And if I were a woman, there’s no asking who I would be identical to. Do you need me to pull out a filter that would show us that?"

She shook her head vigorously at the mere thought of it. "That will not be necessary. I can find out the truth in less horrifying ways."

He laughed at her choice of words. What was so horrifying about having a third party let her know how similar they were to each other? He then dug into his breast pockets to produce a folded sheet of paper. "You are in luck. I have this."

She took it from him suspiciously but opened it nonetheless, and wanted to scoff when she saw the DNA test results. "Who the hell walks around with DNA test results? Never mind. I’ll tell you who. A man who is about to lie to the woman he wants to believe him." She directly accused him.

"What?" He was speechless for a moment. "What the hell would I gain from faking a sibling?"

She raised an eyebrow silently. The same thing Shirley gained from pretending Damon was her brother, maybe? She checked for the test again. Oddly, it was quite dated, so she scanned the sheet of paper.

"If you are wondering why it doesn’t look old, that’s because I preserved it carefully. People do keep documents around for decades, don’t they?"

She couldn’t deny that, but the fact that he had once again guessed what she was thinking proved that he was either a psychic or she was an open book. And since she didn’t believe she was an open book, she rolled her eyes. "I think you went for the wrong woman. You should have fallen for Mabella instead. The two of you would have fun reading each other’s minds as a date night hobby."

He grinned. "You think so? I’m flattered. However, I prefer the cute, shy ones who pretend they’re unfazed when they want nothing more than to bolt away in fear. Mabella is too bold."

She didn’t need to know her brother’s taste in women but she cringed. "You want a woman whose heart you can break and blame it on her for wanting to explore." She didn’t want to hear his asshole response so she changed the topic. "So you are my full sibling."

"You saw it on the DNA report." He reminded her. "If you wish, you could take another test on your own." He plucked a strand of hair from his head and gave it to her.

"It’s pointless. There won’t be any difference anyway." She rejected his strand of hair, but that didn’t mean she was not going to do the secret test. She just didn’t want him to know she intended to do it, in case he wanted to have the hospital alter the results. "Since you are already here, let’s discuss something in my office in a bit. I need to show you something." She told him, coming up with an excuse to get him into the same space as her for a bit. He didn’t detect anything and blindly followed her, even though she would have discussed whatever it was with him on their way.

When they arrived, she disappeared for a moment and left him in her office to sit on the couch and wait for her. A minute didn’t pass before Mina happily brought him a drink on a tray.

"Would you like some coffee, handsome? I figured you would want a mocha." She placed the cup on the table, earning his smile.

"I’m not a coffee person but I’d drink gasoline if you served it to me." He picked it up and would have thrown away the drink whose taste he found repulsive. However, he sipped it with a smile, making Mina inwardly laugh.

"What’s taking my sister so long?" He asked when he was done enduring the torture of the weirdest thing he’d ever had to drink. It had been half an hour since Avery asked for a minute. Mina had come back to check on him for the third time and like the first two, she was at a loss.

"I’m sorry. A rowdy client just came barging into the company and she has to deal with them. Would you like something else while you wait for her?" She stuck her fingertips together in apology.

"If you are going to stay with me, I can wait all day." He flirted, but she had to turn him down.

"I’m at work. Maybe I can find you later?" She proposed.

One glance at her and he knew she was lying. She just didn’t want to spend time with him. He didn’t push. "If that’s the case, have my sister know she can ask for my help if she needs it. If not, she can give me a call once she’s done."

She nodded and bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything she may not be able to take back. She saw Gabriel out and returned to her office where Avery was sitting, waiting for her.

"How did it go?" Asked Avery.

"How could you do this to him? Is he really your brother?" Mina scolded her.

"That’s what I want to find out."

"Right."

"So?" Avery probed.

Mina reached into her purse for the ziplog bag where she had slipped Gabriel’s disposable coffee cup and have it to her.

"I hope no one saw it." Avery asked cautiously.

"Not at all. I was careful." She sighed and sat opposite Avery, pouring herself a cup of tea in distress. "Avery, do you think ’birds of a feather flock together’ means close friends have the same taste in men?"

Avery nearly dropped the DNA sample she had worked so hard to get. "What the hell do you mean?"

"Since you think you fell for the wrong guy, do you think that’s the situation with me as well?" Mina tried to make light of the matter, but Avery was worried.

"Are you trying to say you’re falling in love with Gabe?" She choked the words out like they were poisonous.

"I can’t help it. I mean, have you seen him?"

"For twenty-two years, yes." And she didn’t think there was anything special about him. She didn’t see it in the past, and now six years later, she didn’t see it either. What did girls see in him that they thought was worth the heartbreak?

"Mina, do you know anything about him?" She asked, trying to get her friend to think rationally.

"Apart from his name, I know nothing." Mina admitted. "However, he is your brother. What can be so bad about him?"

"That’s the thing. This freak..." she stopped herself from tarnishing his name too much. He had said it himself that all he had wanted was to protect his little sister. Maybe that was not how he treated his girlfriends. But aside from Mina, how many women was he trying to lure?

But at the same time, what if he was different now? It had been six years, after all, and he might have outgrown his debauchery. If this was the case and she ruined his potential future relationship by bringing up his past, what would that say about her as a sister?

"Did you just call your brother a freak?" Mina looked shocked.

Avery sighed in defeat. "You don’t understand."

"I do, actually. Why were you so scared of his return when I first told you he had sent a text message?" Mina remembered.

"Let’s just say, we didn’t have a good relationship before. Misunderstandings." She forced a smile. "What if you don’t like his past?"

"That’s why I wanted to cut off whatever it is that was budding between us. I told him I couldn’t spend any time with him but..." she sighed.

"It breaks your heart, doesn’t it?" Avery hugged her. "Oh, Mina." She had already fallen for the man.

It took a while for Mina to gather herself together and when she did, she took the ziploc bag. "Which hospital should I send this to?"

"Not a hospital. Send it to Mabella D’Aboville, she will be expecting it."

Mina sent it right away, and soon enough, Mabella called to let her know the results would be out in two days.

Two days. It sounded like two lifetimes.

In an attempt to kill the time as well as not make him suspect anything, she dropped by his penthouse later in the day.

"I wasn’t expecting you." He lied.

"Did you think it would be Mina? We both know she doesn’t have access to your penthouse." She looked around to avoid having to face him after lying and investigating behind his back. If he knew the truth, he would feel betrayed.

"I should correct that, shouldn’t I?"

"Are you okay?" He looked suspiciously dull and she knew him better than to think it had anything to do with Mina.

He offered her some of his vodka and as expected, she turned him down. He laughed. "So what if you drink a little? Do you think becoming a mother is enough reason for you not to do what you want? You can have fun and be a good mother at the same time. It’s all about creating a balance."

Her brows furrowed. "This is about our parents." Or else, he wouldn’t suddenly rant to her about parenting.

He averted his gaze. "He was my father."