ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY–SIX

GABRIELLE’S POV

I faced him slowly, my face still teary.

I had put the call on speaker mid–conversation with Jared, and I knew he must have heard that last line.

He stepped closer and his cologne filled my senses. The look on his face couldn’t be described as annoyed. Angry was also an understatement.

He had warned me never to speak about Jared or say his name again, but what I did was worse. I spoke to him.

I swallowed and took some steps back nervously until my waist hit the sink.

“I didn’t… Damon…” I breathed.

He tilted his head slightly, his voice so cold it made my skin crawl. “That was your ex, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, it was Ja- I mean, yes. That was him.”

He didn’t respond.

He stood there staring at me, his jaw tight and his fist clenched like he was holding himself back.

“I didn’t call him, he called me. And my sister was missing-,” I trailed off, realizing how pathetic and weak I sounded even to my own ears.

“Why does he still have access to you?” he asked, his face devoid of any emotion.

I swallowed. “He doesn’t. He’s calling me from jail with a different number. He said he had a lot of connections there.”

He exhaled, his fists not even loosening up the slightest. “So you spoke with him for that long for him to tell you that?”

“It was the first question I asked him. I just wanted to hear what he had to say,” I answered, my chest tight. “And my sister—“

“The same sister who hurt you?” He asked curtly.

Embarrassment came over me like rain.

I knew what he meant by that. The same sister who planned with Jared and played me for a year. The same sister who had always hated me but I never knew.

He picked up my broken phone and threw it in the trash. “I don’t like litter. I hate the talking and breathing ones even more.”

My breath turned shallow. “Please understand that I didn’t know it was him. It was a different number. He has been calling for days now so Emily must have been missing for a long time.”

He stared at me but he didn’t respond. The silence was killing me. I just wanted to know what he was thinking. Even the slightest frown would have been helpful but his face was just expressionless now.

I took a shaky step closer. “I didn’t tell him anything. It wasn’t even a nice conversation.”

He closed the distance between us and wiped my tears away with his thumb. “What did he say that made you cry?”

His touch felt warm and soft. I closed my eyes for a second, just to let the feeling seep into me.

“I saw you sitting on the floor, sobbing and distressed. The call wasn’t on speaker then. Tell me what he said, Gabrielle,” he asked again.

He said I ruined my life by being dumb and naive for thinking anyone could love me. Especially someone like him.

CHAPTER THIRTY–SIX

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But I didn’t say that.

I couldn’t even if I tried.

It was too vulnerable even for an open book like me. So I just stood there, staring up into his eyes and unable to form words.

He moved away, turning his back to me. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. I could always visit him and ask him myself while I cut off his fingers one by one.”

I touched his arm. “No, Damon. Please don’t. Please….”

He turned around sharply. “Why? Why are you so bent on protecting the people who hurt you so much? You have nightmares because of them. You can’t even recognize yourself anymore because of them. So fucking tell me why.”

“Because I love them,” I snapped, my tears falling freely again. “I couldn’t hate Emily even if I wanted to. She’s my twin and my best friend. And I had hoped maybe… just maybe…. Jared had loved me for one second during our time together. But he didn’t because no one could.”

My chest heaved up and down as I sobbed again.

The moment the words left my mouth, something in the room shifted. He went completely still, like my confession had turned him into stone.

“Look at me,” he said quietly.

I did.

His eyes weren’t cold anymore. They weren’t warm either. They were something dangerous–like he was holding back a storm just so he wouldn’t hurt me with it.

“You loved him,” he said, not asking, just stating a fact he clearly hated. “And you still wish he loved you back.”

I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

My throat was burning.

His hand suddenly gripped my chin, lifting my face to meet his gaze. “He didn’t,” Damon said. “He never loved you..He wanted what you had and he wanted to ruin you completely. People like him don’t know what love is.”

His voice dropped lower.

“They don’t deserve it.”

A whimper almost escaped me.

He leaned closer, his breath brushing my cheek.

“And your sister?” he continued. “She hurt you because she could. Because she envied you, hated you, and wanted your life. Wanted what was yours. I may not know much about emotions, but I know life. And in life, you don’t give people like them second chances.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, the truth cutting deeper than Jared’s words. Hearing them being said out loud made it feel too real.

His grip on my chin softened–barely–but he didn’t let go.

“You keep loving people who would throw you to wolves,” Damon said. “But you’re terrified of anyone who might fucking protect you.”

My eyes flew open.

Was he talking about himself?

CHAPTER THIRTY–SIX

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He stepped closer until my back pressed into the sink again. His presence towered over me, swallowing every inch of space.

“You cry over people who don’t deserve your tears,” he murmured. “Yet when someone stands in front of you—someone who would end lives for you–you protect those who hurt you.”

“Damon…” my voice cracked.

He brushed his thumb across my lip, slow and careful, almost like he hated himself for doing it.

“You’re too pure for your own good. I heard his threats, Gabrielle,” he said. “I heard all the insults, and every word meant to make you feel worthless.”

My heart hammered.

“And do you know what I felt?”

I shook my head.

His next words were whispered, but sharp enough to cut me open.

“Rage.”

My breath caught.

“Pure,” he said, stepping even closer, “unfiltered,” his hand rose to cup my cheek, “rage.”

I swallowed hard, heat flooding my chest.

“I wanted to break his voice,” Damon said. “Break his hand that held the phone. And cut off his tongue just for calling your

name.”

His forehead lowered to mine, barely touching.

“And I wanted to break you out of that lie you keep telling yourself–that you’re easy to leave. That you’re unlovable.”

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