ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED TO THE BILLIONAIRE SINGLE DAD (Gabrielle and Damon) novel Chapter 54

GABRIELLE’S POV

The man’s words hung in the air and my pulse hammered in my ears.

Damon didn’t move.

His stare was locked on the gun and then on the man holding me like I was something he owned.

The man chuckled. “So she is the reason.”

“Let her go,” Damon said.

“You want to leave Bellini high and dry?” the man asked. “For the safety of the people around you, he made me come here to tell you something. He won’t let you go and he asked me to find out what happens when she cries hard enough.”

He tugged harder on my hair and I bit my lips to stop a scream from escaping. My scalp felt so sore. I had to touch it to make sure I wasn’t bleeding.

I wasn’t.

Still, my stomach twisted.

“Damon,” I whispered. “Please.”

That was all it took.

Damon’s head snapped toward me and something broke in his expression. His shoulders tensed and his fists curled so hard ! could see the strain in them.

“Touch her again,” he said, “and you will not walk out of here.”

The man smirked. “Threats?”

“Promises.”

The wind was cold and the silence between them thickened. I could feel how close this was to going wrong. There was only one gun and the stranger was holding it.

Damon took a step forward.

The man raised the gun higher. “One more step and I-”

A shout echoed from the party entrance.

“Damon! Where are you?”

It was Cat’s loud and clueless voice.

The man jerked his head at the noise and his grip on me loosened for less than a second

It was enough.

I yanked myself free and stumbled to the grays Danion moved at the same time, stepping between us and blocking me from the man entirely.

I stood behind him, my fists curling into his suit and my heart pounding so hard I could hear it.

The stranger cursed under his breath and pointed the gun at Damon again. “You always ruin everything”

Damon’s voice was cold. “Walk away while you still can. And never come back

FIFTY FOUR

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“You know I can’t leave without drawing blood. And I want hers.”

“Then try,” Damon said quietly. “And see how it ends.”

The man hesitated.

His jaw tightened and his eyes flicked to the garden, then to the house, then back to Damon.

For a second, I thought he would shoot.

Instead, he backed away slowly, his eyes never leaving Damon’s face. “Bellini will be glad to hear this.”

He disappeared into the shadows before anyone else saw him.

My knees almost gave out. The cold hit me hard and my breath came too fast.

Damon turned to me at once. “Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, but my voice didn’t come. My wrist throbbed and my cheek still stung from Beatrice’s slap, but none of that mattered right now.

He reached for me, stopped, then finally placed his hand on my arm like he was afraid I might disappear.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his gaze soft on me. “I’m so sorry.”

My eyes watered until they blurred. “Was he going to hurt me?”

He didn’t respond. His thumb wiped my tears away slowly, then he leaned closer and kissed my eyes. I closed them, feeling his lips on my eyelids.

When he pulled back, I opened them and the look on his face made my heart tighten.

“I don’t like seeing you cry, Gabrielle,” he finally said. “And no, he only came to make a threat.”

Relief fluttered in my chest.

“What happened? Why were you out here? Were you leaving?”

I opened my mouth but the only thing that came out was a shaky breath. I didn’t want to tell him about how his aunt slapped me in the powder room.

I sighed, shaking my head. “Nothing happened. I just needed air.”

He pulled me to him without another word. “God, I thought you left me. I had no idea you were in danger. I tailed you, I’m sorry.”

His arms tightened around me and I felt safe in them despite the tension in his body. He was calm but there was fear in the way he held me,

Real fear.

Thad never seen him like this before.

“You didn’t fail me,” I said quietly. “I just stepped outside.”

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“You did not tell me,” he murmured against my hair. “I walked through every hallway looking for you. I kept thinking you were gone.”

Gone.

The word hit me harder than the cold.

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I pulled back slightly and looked up at him. His eyes were dark and unsettled, like he was still trying to understand why he could

not find me.

“I would never leave like that,” I said softly. “Why would you think that?”

His jaw tightened. “I know my grand–aunt told you something she shouldn’t have.”

I hesitated, but I knew there was no point in lying. “She did. She said you killed your mother and your sister but it’s fine. I didn’t believe her.”

He studied my face. I could tell what he was thinking, but he didn’t push further. Instead, he brushed a thumb across my cheek again, right over the spot where Beatrice had slapped me.

I froze without meaning to.

His hand stilled. “What is this?”

My breath caught. “It’s nothing.”

He tilted my face gently to the side. His fingers traced the edge of the redness and his eyes turned cold.

“Who touched you?”

“It’s nothing,” I repeated, my voice small. “I don’t want to talk about it here.”

He stepped closer. “Someone touched you and left a mark on your face. Tell me who.”

“It’s fine,” I whispered. “Please. Not now.”

The muscle in his jaw flexed.

For a moment he looked like he wanted to go back inside and tear the entire hall apart until he found the person. Then he exhaled slowly and put both hands on my arms.

“Gabrielle. Look at me.”

I did.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, without thinking.

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