ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 42

GABRIELLE’S POV

He walked toward me slowly.

“You really don’t know how to mind your business, do you?” he said, plucking the photo from my fingers before I could even hide it.

My breath hitched. “Why do you have that? Damon, why-”

He held up a hand, silencing me instantly. “You shouldn’t ask questions about things that don’t concern you.”

“It’s a picture of me-”

“And that,” he said, sliding the photo back into the envelope, “is why you should be more careful about the doors you open. You never know what you’ll find.”

My stomach tightened. “So you’re not going to explain?”

“I’m not obligated to,” he murmured, stepping close enough that his chest brushed mine. “And you’re not ready for the answer.”

I swallowed. “Damon-”

“You were snooping again,” he said flatly. “I warned you about that. How do you punish you for disobeying?”

Punish me?

My chest tightened.

“Why do you have a picture of me from years ago?” I demanded. “How did you know my name that night?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only answer you’re getting.”

My pulse stumbled. “So you’re… what, a stalker?”

His eyes lifted to mine slow, chilling, and offended in a way that made my blood go cold.

“For fuck’s sake, stay out of my business, Gabrielle,” he said quietly. “It won’t hurt a bit to mind your damn business.”

I placed my hand on his chest and watched his expression fall for a second before turning cold again.

“It’s not a coincidence that I make you feel emotions, right?” I asked, my eyes searching his. “I’m not scared of you, Damon. You can tell me. Are you a stalker?”

His fingers wrapped around my wrist and I thought he was going to give in but he only dropped it by my side.

“I don’t want to answer that,” he said coldly. “At least not yet.”

“Then answer the question I asked you weeks ago. Why did you have that whip in your box? Why was there a picture of your bloodied scars? Who did that to you?” I asked, swallowing hard as anger and something darker passed his face. “Why do you keep whipping yourself?”

His jaw tightened when I mentioned the whip. His eyes didn’t move, and his body didn’t shift, but something in the air had changed.

It was suffocating.

CHAPTER FORTY–TWO

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“You’re doing too much,” he said quietly.

“I’m asking you about the things that worry me,” I whispered. “I’m asking because you keep shutting me out and I don’t understand why.”

“You don’t need to understand.”

“I do,” I said, stepping closer. “You keep these things hidden like I’m not living under the same roof. You know about my trauma and everything else. Why won’t you trust me?”

His throat worked once.

“This isn’t about trust. Even if it was you’re in no position to tell me to trust you when you keep snooping around. You’re crossing lines.”

“Because you won’t give me answers.” My voice rose before I could stop it. “You’re telling me to stay out of your business but your business keeps me awake at night because I’m worried.”

My heart thudded and I hated that he could read it on my face. He leaned in, not touching me, but close enough that his breath warmed the side of my neck.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ll hate me. Because my past is too dark for you,” he snapped. “Because you’ll find out I’m the monster people say

I am.”

A moment of silence passed between us.

I broke it. “I can’t hate you. You’ve been saving me since we met. You’re no monster and you don’t scare me. You won’t hurt me,

Damon.”

“How can you be so sure after everything you’ve been through?”

I swallowed the pain that came up with his words. “Emily hates me and I know because I’ve seen it in her eyes. I don’t see it in yours. That’s why I’m so sure. Let me in, Damon.”

He took a step back. “You can’t handle it. Hell, you can’t handle me.”

“Try me.”

His eyes held mine. “Come. There’s something you should see.”

He walked out of the closet and I followed him. He stood in front of a wall in his bedroom, staring at it.

“Are you just going to keep staring at the wall?” I asked.

He didn’t respond.

Exhaling, he placed his hand on the wall, and after a few seconds, it opened. The wall slid silently, revealing a hidden room bathed in dim, amber light.

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

It was a secret room.

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