Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel) novel Chapter 164

Gabriel’s POV

“Which part?” I growled. “Dating my son? Or crawling into my bed, moaning my name like it meant something?”

“No one sent me.”

“Still lying,” I hissed, gripping her arms—maybe too hard, but I didn’t care. Not now. I needed the truth. I needed it like air. “You don’t just fall into bed with two men from the same bloodline by accident. So who the hell sent you?”

She writhed in my hold. “I’m telling the truth! Gabriel, you’re hurting me. Please…”

“Not until you tell me the truth,” I bit out. “This is mercy compared to what I’ll do if you keep lying.”

My fingers sank deeper into her skin. I shut down whatever was left of my conscience. I was done being reasonable. The truth was coming out—no matter the cost.

“I know you planned this,” I growled. “Every move. Every kiss. You made me fall while you played your sick little game. So tell me—who sent you?”

“I’m begging you,” she sobbed, struggling against me. “Let me go, and I’ll tell you everything.”

I stilled.

Her eyes met mine—wide, wet, and filled with something that stopped me cold. For a split second—just one cruel, goddamn moment—I saw her. The woman I once imagined forever with.

Clairessa. My Clairessa.

Fuck.

I let go of her arms, backing off just enough to pull the rage from my face—but not the threat from my voice. “Start talking.”

Her eyes widened in fear, lips parting like the words were stuck in her throat.

I didn’t soften.

This had to be a performance. Another manipulation. Play the victim. Draw me in.

Not this time.

The threat returned to my voice. “Now.”

“No one sent me,” she said, her voice trembling. “I swear, I don’t know where you got that from.”

“Then why the hell did you come after me?” I demanded. “Why seduce me?”

“If you’re so desperate to point fingers,” she muttered, rubbing the red marks on her arm, “maybe start with your son.”

My eyes narrowed. “Don’t you dare drag Adrian into this.”

She looked me dead in the eye. “It started because your precious son broke my heart. I caught him cheating—with Nicole. And I ended up finding out she worked at your company—he even helped her get the job. I was angry. Humiliated.”

“And what the hell does that have to do with me?”

“I wanted revenge,” she admitted, her voice cracking. “I wanted Adrian to feel the pain I carried. I was so consumed by it… I didn’t realize how twisted it had become until it was too late.”

The air left my lungs. My chest tightened painfully.

I stepped back, as if her confession physically burned me. She hugged herself, trembling, her back pressed against the wall like it might shield her from what was coming next.

A part of me—some desperate, pathetic part—had hoped she’d give me a better answer. Something redeemable. Something that didn’t make me feel like I’d just been a pawn in her little game of vengeance.

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