ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 5

GABRIELLE’S POV

Susan had taken the girls to the park for a picnic while I caught up with work online.

Damon wasn’t home either.

He had to attend a meeting with his business partners, but should be on his way home anytime soon.

Rhys stepped out some minutes after he did.

And that gave Fiorella and me enough free time to catch up.

A few hours later, we were driving back from a full day of spa and shopping, the backseat filled with bags and garment covers from different stores.

I leaned back into my seat, both hands on the steering wheel.

“I had no idea this was an option,” Fiorella said with a relaxed sigh from the passenger seat.

I slightly turned to her. “Why?”

She did not look at me.

Her gaze stayed fixed ahead on the road as she spoke. “Life lately has been… unexpected.”

“For good reasons, I suppose,” I said. “I’m still mad at you for not telling me about the wedding.”

Something flickered across her face, but it disappeared just as quickly. “I’m sorry. I guess we were too impatient to wait. I got trapped in the moment.”

I raised a brow. “Trapped?”

She gave a small shake of her head. “More like caught up.”

“I see,” I replied, studying her briefly before turning my attention back to the road. “How did that even happen? You couldn’t stand Rhys not too long ago.”

Fiorella paused, then lifted the half-empty bottle of water from the holder and finished it in one go.

“Love just swept me off my feet,” she said, already reaching into one of the bags to grab another bottle. “Literally. It carried me on its shoulders and straight into his house. I didn’t even get a say in it.”

I glanced at her for a second, unsure whether she was serious.

Then she laughed.

I let out a small laugh too. “That’s one way to put it. It felt the same way with Damon.”

The memories came rushing back immediately.

I fell for him before I even understood what was happening, even when everyone—including my own common sense—told me to stay away.

Fiorella’s expression softened as she reached across the console to hold my hand briefly. “And you both look good together. You really changed his life.”

My smile slowly faded.

“I did more than change his life,” I said quietly. “I changed him.”

I paused, my fingers tightening slightly around the wheel.

“And now…”

I exhaled slowly. “Now I’m not sure if that was a good thing. I mean, it is. But I don’t know if it’s a good thing for what we have to protect.”

Fiorella did not respond immediately.

When I glanced at her again, she was already watching me carefully. “You miss who he used to be.”

It was not a question.

I looked back at the road, my voice calm. “He’s too consumed by survivor’s guilt to do what needs to be done. I miss the side of him that would do whatever it took to make sure we were safe.”

The words surprised even me.

Because I was safe and everything seemed calm.

But somewhere in that calm, Damon had changed into someone who would do nothing while Aiden was sniffing around our not-so-clean past.

Fiorella leaned her head back against the seat, but I noticed the way her grip tightened slightly around her bottle.

“Careful what you wish for,” she murmured.

I turned to her. “What does that mean?”

She hesitated for a second, then she smiled again.

“Some people don’t sit in the middle,” she said lightly. “They’re either who they used to be… or they’re not. There’s no in-between.”

I understood her perfectly.

I let out a rush of breath and focused back on the road ahead.

“I do not want him to go back to that life,” I said. “I know what it did to him, and I know what it cost him. But I also cannot stand here and pretend that doing nothing is the better option.”

Fiorella did not interrupt me.

Her fingers tapped lightly against her leg, a quiet, distracted motion that did not match the calm expression on her face.

“And what are you going to do?” she asked.

I tightened my grip slightly on the steering wheel. “Whatever it takes to get him to stay in the middle."

“And you are the brand owner complaining about making sales,” she said, a hint of amusement in her voice.

We reached the car, and placed the bags in the backseat before closing the door.

I settled into the driver’s seat and reached for the ignition, but something in the side mirror caught my attention.

Or rather, someone.

Aiden.

He sat in a car behind mine, his gaze fixed on my car.

My heart dropped, but my expression did not change.

I wasn’t surprised he was following me. He was probably waiting to see if I’d lead him to Phoebe’s grave.

That would be a waste of his time.

I didn’t know where she was buried any more than he did—or if she was even buried at all.

Fiorella’s voice floated into my ears.

“…to get something I forgot,” she was saying.

I turned to her, my heart pounding, but my expression stayed neutral. “What did you say?”

“I forgot something,” she said, already stepping out of the car. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Then she walked back into the building.

I turned back to the mirror and saw Aiden was still there but now, he was on the phone, worry etched on his face.

That was new.

Slowly, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove off, still talking on the phone.

I stared at his car, my instincts screaming at me to follow him and find out what had him so worried.

Maybe he also had something to hide, because that look was not nothing.

It was risky, but I didn’t have any more time to decide as his car had almost disappeared from my sight.

“Fuck this!”

This was my chance to get ahead of him.

Before I could stop myself, I pulled out of the driving lot and drove after him.