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

GABRIELLE’S POV

I held Damon’s hand as he led me into the building.

With each step I took, the balls inside me rolled as I shifted my weight from one leg to the other.

My grip tightened around Damon’s hand.

He glanced down at me, a knowing smirk on his face. “Are you good?”

I cleared my throat awkwardly. “Of course.”

He nodded and turned to the staff by the entrance.

They took our phones and locked them in a sealed bag. We could still use the devices, but we wouldn’t be able to use the cameras.

“Their parties seem strict,” I said as we stepped away from them.

Damon handed my phone back to me. “There’s a reason their empire has lasted for generations. Secrecy.”

I nodded slowly.

The guards opened the huge double doors.

Music boomed across the hall, loud enough to drown out most conversations but not enough to hide them completely.

Most of them weren’t in English.

Men in dark suits stood in groups, talking in low voices while keeping their eyes on everything around them.

Some held drinks, others had cigarettes between their fingers, and a few leaned against the walls like they were keeping an eye out for something.

Women moved through the crowd in fitted dresses and low necklines, stopping to speak, laugh, and touch.

It was elegant, yet it had this edge to it.

Damon led me down the short flight of stairs.

The balls kept shifting inside me.

I bit my lower lip to hold back the sound that threatened to spill out of me, my body humming with arousal.

“Gravari!”

I heard someone call behind us.

I turned to see a familiar man standing there, his face wreathed in a wide grin.

Damon stretched out his free hand. “What brings you to Italy, Antonio?”

Antonio clasped his hand firmly, his grin not fading. “Eden’s business,” he replied. “And a little pleasure. It has been a while, Gravari.”

Damon gave a brief nod. “It has.”

Antonio’s gaze shifted to me, slowly. “If it isn’t Gabrielle Vanderbilt.”

Damon’s hand tightened slightly around mine. “You already know my wife.”

I offered a polite smile. “Nice to meet you.”

Antonio dipped his head once, his eyes still on me. “The pleasure is mine.”

The music continued to pound around us as more people moved past, brushing shoulders and stepping around the small space we occupied.

“After your performance in my club, I understood why Gravari never brought you around,” he said.

I was hoping he’d pretend that day didn’t happen.

Damon’s jaw tightened slightly. “Watch your words, Antonio.”

Antonio raised his hands in mock surrender, though the amusement did not leave his face. “Relax. It was memorable. That’s all.”

My fingers curled tighter around Damon’s hand, but I kept my expression steady. “I’m glad I could entertain your guests.”

His eyes lingered on me for a moment longer before he gave a small nod. “You did more than that.”

Damon stepped slightly in front of me, just enough to block his line of sight. “Enjoy your night, Antonio.”

There was a brief pause before Antonio let out a quiet laugh.

“Of course,” he said warmly. “We will speak again.”

He stepped back, allowing a couple to pass between us, and then disappeared into the crowd.

I exhaled slowly once he was gone.

Something about his stare unsettled me.

Damon led us to a private, smaller hall where Rhys sat on a throne-like seat, engrossed in a conversation with some men while Fiorella sat next to him.

Her eyes met mine, and she smiled at me.

I responded with a wink.

A notification sounded from my phone.

I checked it and saw it was a response from Aiden:

“You should come to my location, not the other way around."

The audacity he had to think he could order me around!

Hot rage surged through me.

I held my chin up as Damon turned to me, introducing me to them.

We exchanged pleasantries.

Soon, the group began to disperse, giving me enough privacy to talk to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, a concerned look on his face. “We can go to the bathroom to take out the balls if you want to.”

I instinctively clenched my walls.

“Okay. But we have to talk, Damon,” I said.

His hand moved to my waist as he led us out of the hall. “About what?”

I parted my lips to speak, but someone walked up to us, interrupting me as they exchanged greetings with Damon.

I waited until they were gone before trying again. “I wanted to talk about Aiden.”

Damon pushed the bathroom door open and checked if there was anyone inside before pulling me in.

He locked the door behind him and turned to me, a deep frown on his face. “If he has any sense he wouldn’t bother us again.”

I swallowed. “He obviously doesn’t. He came to see me at the office yesterday.”

Damon froze midway towards me.

I exhaled deeply and continued. “He has files of evidence against you. And he has a recording of me admitting to knowing who you really are.”

His hand balled into a fist beside him. “So he didn’t heed my warning?”

“Of course, he didn’t,” I said, stepping closer to him. “I told you people like him don’t listen to warnings. Phoebe didn’t.”

For a moment, he stared at me.

Then he closed the distance between us. “I should have listened to you.”

I shook my head. “That’s not all. He said he sent backups to his friends and if he doesn’t check in every five hours, they’ll release everything.”

“I’ll deal with that,” he murmured. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But he said he’s willing to drop everything on a condition,” I added.

Damon’s expression did not change. “What condition?”

I hesitated intentionally.

His frown deepened. “What condition, Gabrielle?”

“That I sleep with him,” I answered.