If I Could

Belle Bulsara was in the sitting room of Garden Lodge with Alice, reading a magazine, her suitcases on the floor, waiting for Roger to pick her up. She heard footsteps approaching her area, and turned her head to see who it was.

"I have to say congratulations. You have found a way to disappoint me even more than you already had," Freddie sneered out of the blue, startling Belle with his presence and annoying her with his remarks.

"Excuse me?", Belle talked to her father with defiance.

"Turns out you had sex with Ben Hardy. I wish I could say I'm surprised but I'm not," Freddie hurled. "Your irresponsability knows no limits."

Belle blinked, befuddled, and started to feel anger flood through her. She bit her lip in order not to say anything back because it was safer that way; She was sure that if she said anything, it wouldn't have sounded too good. However, if Freddie knew about her suspicions that meant he had been purposefully overhearing her conversation with Brian and Belle wasn't willing to stay quiet about that.

"What the hell were you doing listening to my private conversation with Brian?", Belle raised her voice, furiously looking at her father like he was a stranger, someone she had never seen before.

"Close the door next time you tell someone about your extramarital affairs," Freddie snarled. "Anyways, it hurts me to know you don't trust me enough to tell me the things you confide to Brian."

"Well, Brian isn't the one who keeps rolling his eyes at me every time he sees me. Your attitude has been so childish all day, you won't even let me speak to you and explain the situation. Anyways, I'm not willing to waste my time and energy on you when you're not willing to understand."

"Just think about your excuses, Gabrielle. If someone drugged you, they would have to had a reason to do it, and what would anyone who wasn't Ben Hardy or Gabrielle Bulsara gain from it, beyond yours and his physical pleasure?", Freddie scoffed, air blowing out of his nostrils in a derisive manner. "Do you really think there's someone in this world lying awake daydreaming about you having sex with Ben?

"I can't give you explanations on other people's behaviors but mine. And my explanation is that I was drugged. And If I wasn't, well, you're not the only one in this house who spends their time sleeping around anymore then."

"I'm not engaged and I don't sleep with my partner's cousin, unlike you. You don't deserve Roger."

"You know what? I don't have anything to discuss with you," Belle stood up, throwing the magazine back into its place before starting to make her way towards the door, looking incredibly aggrieved as she pushed Alice's pram.

"All right, Gabrielle. Maybe this is my fault, for trying to get you to take responsability for your actions and stop fooling around. Maybe it would be better for me to let you learn the hard way, if that's what it takes for you to stop throwing yourself into pit of fires."

Belle nodded sadly with her head down, looking crestfallen as disappointment ambushed her.

"Maybe there's an actual reason why you named your album Mr. Bad Guy after all," Belle whispered before closing the door.

Freddie's heart broke.

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