ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 41

CHAPTER FORTY–ONE

GABRIELLE’S POV

No.

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No.

“Heaven?” I asked, a frown tightening my entire face. “Did you kill my sister, Damon?”

He didn’t respond.

He poured maple syrup over the pancakes and acted like I hadn’t spoken. Like I hadn’t just asked him the one question that could break me in half.

The heat in my chest climbed until I felt it in my throat.

“Damon?” My voice shook harder this time.

He finally looked up with that cold and unreadable stillness that made my stomach twist.

He set the fork down.

“Why would you think I killed her?” he asked softly.

“Because you’re avoiding the question,” I said. “And you told me I wouldn’t have a sister again. And you shot her.” My hands balled so tight my nails dug in. “So tell me the truth. Where is she?”

He studied me for a moment, then breathed out.

“I said heaven,” he murmured. “Because that’s what she got compared to what she deserved.”

I blinked. “What?”

“She’s not dead because that would hurt you,” he said, his expression cold. “And I don’t want to hurt you.”

I released my breath, relief flooding through me.

“So where is she?” I asked.

He pushed the tray closer to me. “Eat up and we’ll talk.”

“Damon-”

“Eat up, Gabrielle.”

I hesitated but I knew he wasn’t bluffing. He won’t tell me anything until I eat.

Screw him.

I picked up the fork and ate, shoving a bite into my mouth even though everything tasted like fear and anger. He watched me the entire time.

Every second of his silence crawled under my skin.

I swallowed and dropped the fork. “I ate. Now tell me.”

He leaned back slightly, his arms crossed on his chest. “Good. Now you can hear this without passing out.”

My heartbeat thudded against my ribs.

“I made the decision I knew you couldn’t,” he started. “She will go to a mental institution after she recovers for a few months. That will give you enough time to come to terins with the fact that she’s gone.”

CHAPTER FORTY–ONE

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I stood abruptly, almost throwing over the food. “No, Damon. You won’t put her there. She’s not crazy.”

“Which makes her behavior even worse.”

He stood up and looked down at me like he was deciding how much truth I could survive.

“Your sister woke up.” His voice cooled even more. “And the first word out of her mouth was your name.”

I waited, my pulse loud in my ears.

“Then she told the police you shot her.”

My world froze.

I felt the breath leave my lungs. “What?”

“She told the police you tried to kill her and I came in just in time to stop you,” he said.

“That is not true,” I whispered, shaking my head hard. “That is not true. Damon, she’s lying. The police will come for me.”

“I know. But you won’t get arrested because I closed the case,” he said, stepping closer. “Your sister doesn’t just hate you, she wants to live your life. She wants to be you. That has to be a mental illness and I’ll give her all the help she needs to recover.”

“But how could you close the case?”

“I’m Damon Gravari. I can whatever the fuck I want,” he said, his hands cupping my cheeks. “And what I want is to keep you

safe.”

My knees almost buckled beneath me but I forced myself to stand. His hands were warm on my cheeks but everything inside me felt ice cold.

“I don’t want protection like this,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Not if it costs her her life.”

His jaw clenched, that dangerous calm slipping for a second. “Gabrielle, she tried to take your life.”

“She was angry. She was hurt. She-”

“She aimed a gun at you,” he cut in. “If I had walked in one second later you would have died on that floor.”

“I don’t believe she meant it.”

“And that,” he said quietly, “is why you can’t make decisions about her.”

My breath shook. “You think locking her up is helping her?”

“I’m keeping you alive,” he said. “That is my priority.”

I stepped back, but he followed, his presence swallowing the space between us like he refused to let me drift away even an inch.

“Look at me,” he said.

I didn’t.

I couldn’t.

My vision was already blurring and I didn’t want him to think I was weak

He tipped my chin up gently, making me meet his eyes.

“She framed you, Gabrielle. She told the police you shot her. If I didn’t intervene you’d be in handcuffs right now wondering which prison cell you’d rot in.”

Tears spilled before I could stop them. “She’s my sister. My only sibling

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CHAPTER FORTY–ONE

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“And you’re mine.”

My breath snagged.

He brushed his thumb across my lower lip like I was something fragile he was barely holding together.

“I’m not asking you to stop loving her,” he murmured. “I’m asking you to stop letting her destroy you.”

I swallowed hard. “Where is she now?”

“Getting treated in a secure suite.”

“Damon-”

“She won’t come near you again until I’m sure she can’t hurt you.” His eyes darkened, a quiet threat simmering. “Even then she still won’t come near you. It’s the price you have to pay to keep her alive. Your choice.”

I didn’t know whether to scream or collapse.

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