ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16

GABRIELLE’S POV

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I finally settled on a black body hugging dress with a deep V plunge in the front and a slit on the side from my ankle that stopped at my upper thigh.

When I stepped downstairs, Damon was already waiting by the door, looking at his wrist watch.

“I’m ready,” I said as I stepped into the room.

He looked up, his eyes sweeping through my body and pausing briefly on my cleavage before giving me a nod.

“You look good tonight,” he said.

I adjusted my gloves. “Yeah, I know.”

He reached for his jacket and held the door open, unable to tear his eyes off me. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

I gave a curt nod and walked out, feeling the weight of his gaze even as I stepped past him.

The drive to the event was quiet. I didn’t bother starting small talks with him. He was either going to ignore me or kill the conversation with two words.

It was like speaking somehow hurt him. I’d never meet anyone so weird and cold. I even doubted if he was human sometimes.

But as I stayed in the silence with his presence clouding my senses, it began to get uncomfortable fast.

I cleared my throat. “You know you can choose to be a gentleman for one minute, right?”

His eyes flicked toward me, one hand resting lazily on the steering wheel.

“No.”

I raised a brow. “No what? No, you don’t know or no, you choose to not be a gentleman?”

“I could be,” he said flatly, “but I don’t like pretending.”

I scoffed. “Pretending to be decent?”

“Pretending to care,” he said, turning back to the road.

I bit my tongue, heat crawling up my neck. He wasn’t even trying to be cruel, he was just honest, and somehow, that made it

worse.

“So you don’t care about anything?” I asked, looking out the window.

“I care about what matters.”

“And what matters to you, Damon?” I asked, refusing to let it go.

His fingers tightened slightly on the steering wheel, his jaw ticking once. The headlights from oncoming cars cut across his face, highlighting the line of his cheekbone.

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Chapter 16

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God, this man was fine. Infuriating yes, but undeniably attractive enough to get away with his attitude.

He didn’t answer right away, and the silence dragged long enough to make me regret asking.

Finally, he said, “Discipline and loyalty.”

I turned to him fully this time, studying his profile. “Not love?”

He exhaled softly, almost like I’d asked something childish. “Love complicates things and makes people lose focus. Why would I care about that?”

“Why?” I asked. “Love is like the paint on the plain canvas. Life would be so boring without any kind of love, not just the romantic one.”

He sighed. “Ok.”

“You sound like a robot,” I muttered.

He looked at me then, the faintest frown forming on his forehead. “I hope you’re not one of those people that try to fix other people.”

“And what’s so wrong with that?” I asked. “If they’re as obnoxious as you are, yes. It won’t hurt to fix them.”

He didn’t respond.

“So what about Lila. Don’t you love your daughter?” I asked.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, the muscles in his forearm flexing. For a second, I thought he might pretend he hadn’t heard me.

But then he said, quietly, “Don’t bring her into this.”

I frowned, confused. “Why not? I’m just asking a question. You said you don’t care about love, but you have a daughter. You must care about her. And you must have loved your ex–wife to have a child together.”

His jaw tightened. “That’s not the same thing. And I never loved Anya.”

“Why not?” I pressed, unable to stop myself. “You either feel something or you don’t, Damon. You can’t pick and choose when to be human.”

My curiosity was eating me alive and he was making it worse with his evasive answers. He didn’t respond again and well fell back into silence, but it wasn’t empty anymore.

It pulsed tensely, and it felt thick and alive.

Every time his hand moved to shift gears, I caught the faint brush of his dark cologne, and I hated how easily it unsettled

1. me.

When we finally pulled up to the venue, I was almost relieved for the distraction Cameras flashed outside, and voices echoed from the red carpet ahead.

I turned to him. “What the hell? I can’t go out with this much media coverage? Father might see me with you.”

“I don’t care, Gabrielle and neither should you. Let’s go,” he said.

I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m not going out there a few days after my failed wedding, Damon. Are there cameras

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Chapter 16

inside as well?”

He pulled out his phone and made a call. “Damon Gravari…. Get rid of the press.”

Then he ended the call.

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Within minutes, I watched in disbelief as security began dispersing the crowd outside. It was like watching power move.

Not even Father had that kind of power.

I turned back to him slowly. “You can just make people disappear like that?”

He slid his phone into his pocket. “When they’re in my way, yes.”

“You’re ruthless,” I said.

“You didn’t want to go out so I got rid of them for you. What are you complaining about now?”

My pulse skipped, and I hated that he was right. He stepped out of the car and opened my door for me. I stepped out, staring at the building in awe.

I’d lived in this town for years but I had never been here before. It was probably because I spent most of my time out of the country on vacations.

When he turned back and extended a hand to me, I froze.

‘I can walk on my own,” I said.

He nodded. “I know. But remember those wifely duties I spoke about?”

I’m not your wife,” I said.

He stepped closer so on one else heard. “You can either do this wifely duty or the one in the bedroom. Your choice.”

My breath caught, and I stared at him, heat rushing to my face. “You’re a pervert.”

He tilted his head slightly. “I’m waiting, Gabrielle.”

let out a slow breath and placed my hand in his, keeping my chin up. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

We stopped at the reception area where a woman in a black suit greeted us with a polite smile. “Sir, ma’am. This way, please.”

The moment we stepped inside, heads turned to us. Conversations paused, and eyes flicked toward us, more assessing than

Curious.

Damon walked like none of it mattered, and I followed, forcing myself not to shrink under the attention.

The hall opened up to a wide ballroom filled with low chatter and soft music. Men in suits and women in gowns filled the room, and the air smelled of perfume and wine.

A few people came to greet Damon.

He nodded, his usual calm face in place, answering politely but briefly. When one of the men turned to me, Danion spoke

before I could.

“This is my wife, Gabrielle.”

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I forced a polite smile and shook the man’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”

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The man took my hand in his, staring at me longer than necessary. “The pleasure is mine, Mrs Gravari. You’re a work of art.”

Damon’s hand dropped from his pocket and landed on my waist. His grip was tight and almost possessive.

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