ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 2

GABRIELLE’S POV

I thought my ears had failed me.

“What do you mean, Damon?” I asked.

He sighed and walked towards the window to look out of it. “I didn’t murder Phoebe but if this is a way to atone for my actions, then let him snoop around.”

I blinked in surprise, and pushed the door shut behind us as I stared at his broad back.

“That’s not atonement,” I said softly. “That’s you handing yourself over for something you didn’t do. You don’t deserve—”

He didn’t turn around. “I’ll take the fall. You don’t get to decide what I deserve, Gabrielle.”

“I don’t need to decide. I know what’s fair.”

He let out a quiet breath. “Fair stopped applying a long time ago. If life were fair, I wouldn’t have even been born.”

I closed my eyes for a second and exhaled.

I had always wanted him to heal, but now, I was beginning to think he might have healed a little more than necessary.

But I understood him.

It was fifteen years of guilt finally let loose and weighing down on his conscience.

I walked closer to him and placed my hand on his back.

I could feel his tense muscles under my palm.

“You don’t have to keep yearning for some divine punishment, Damon,” I said. “We won, okay? You have to find a way to live with your past so it doesn’t consume you.”

He didn’t respond.

He didn’t even turn to look at me.

My chest tightened. “You’re going to therapy and you’re working on yourself. You’ve changed and that’s what matters.”

“But it doesn’t erase anything,” he replied, still not looking at me. “It doesn’t bring back the innocent people who died. It doesn’t undo what I’ve done.”

“It also doesn’t make you responsible for everything that goes wrong around you,” I retorted. “You’re not some universal punishment system.”

Damon finally turned to face me.

His expression was calm, but I could see the weight behind it. “If this man is digging, then let him dig. If he finds something, then maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

I stared at him for a second.

Then I shook my head. “No. That’s not how anything is supposed to be. We have two lovely children. I won’t let you gamble with that because you feel guilty.”

His jaw tightened. “I am not gambling with anything. No harm will come to you and the girls.”

“You are right,” I returned. “You’re not gambling with it, you’re throwing it away. You’re choosing to do nothing when someone is clearly targeting us.”

Damon stepped away from me and sat on the couch beside the bed. “He is not targeting us, Gabrielle. He is looking for his missing friend.”

“And that friend was looking into you before she suddenly disappeared,” I replied. “Do you think he believes that’s a coincidence?”

Silence stretched between us for a moment.

I stepped closer. “He came to our home, Damon. That is not harmless searching. He knows something happened to Phoebe.”

His eyes flickered briefly before settling back on me. “Then we stay careful. We keep living our normal life. He’ll get bored and leave us alone.”

“That’s not enough,” I said. “You know it’s not enough. They’re hungry journalists looking for the next big news. He won’t give up.”

He looked away from me. “I am not going back to who I used to be. I don’t want to be that person anymore, okay?”

“I’m not asking you to,” I said quickly. “I’m asking you to protect what we have.”

Damon didn’t respond, but I could see his jaw was clenched tight.

I studied him for a moment, then spoke more softly. “If something happens to the girls or me because you chose to stand still, will that make you feel better?”

His head snapped toward me. “Don’t say that.”

“Answer me,” I pressed.

“It won’t happen,” he said firmly.

“You don’t know that.”

“I won’t let it happen.”

“Then act like it,” I said.

He held my gaze, something shifting in his expression. “I don’t want any more blood on my hands. I am not killing a man based on suspicion.”

"What if he goes to the police?” I asked. “I didn’t say you had to kill him. I said handle it. Or you can have someone else handle it."

“You know what that will lead to, Gabrielle,” he said. “You know it ends with me getting my hands bloodied.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Yeah? Maybe I do.”

Guilt nudged at my chest but it was too late.

I couldn’t take back the words.

He straightened up like my words didn’t hurt him, but I knew it did. “That does not give you permission to take matters into your own hands.”

“I don’t need your permission,” I replied.

His voice dropped. “Do not test me on this.”

I let out a breath and ran a hand through my hair. “Doing nothing will make things worse. If Aiden is anything like Phoebe, he won’t give up.”

Damon exhaled slowly as if he was already tired of the argument.

I knew him well enough to tell he was about to avoid the conversation.

He stood up. “I don’t want a fight with you. I’m going for a walk. I need space right now.”

I didn’t bother responding.

I needed space too.

Why couldn’t he just let go of the past already?

Or was I the problem for not understanding the weight of everything he carried?

He walked towards the door. “If Aiden finds out Phoebe was murdered, I’ll take the fall for you. If he finds out about the massacre, then I will atone for it too. Please drop this, Gabrielle.”

I wished I could.

It was already causing a rift between us, but I still couldn’t drop it and pretend everything was fine.

I couldn’t let anything get in the way of our future—and I was furious that he couldn't see that.

Maybe getting his emotions back and going to therapy wasn’t for the better after all.

I needed the Damon that was cold and ruthless—even if it was only for the moment.

I needed my devil back.

My back was turned to him. “I’m sorry. I won’t.”

Another silence followed.

Without a response, he walked out and I heard the door shut behind him.