Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel) novel Chapter 296

Adrian’s POV

I watched her, waiting for an answer, every second stretching thin. Instead of speaking, she reached for her drink. She lifted it, took a slow sip, then set it back down. A moment later, as if the first hadn’t been enough, she raised the glass again as if she needed strength from it, but this time the liquid caught in her throat and she coughed harder, covering her mouth with her hand.

“You all right?” I asked, half skeptical and annoyed.

“Yeah,” she breathed, her voice suddenly faint. “I just… suddenly feel off.”

My jaw clenched. Here we go, pretending now, anything to dodge the damn question.

“Maybe you need more sips of that juice, right, to help you make your choice.”

She shook her head, but then, almost to prove me wrong, she gave a weak smile and lifted the glass again.

As she sipped, the cough hit harder this time, and something about the sound scraped under my skin.

I frowned. “Did the juice make it worse?”

“I… I don’t know.” Her hand trembled as she set the glass down. “Maybe I just need… the restroom.”

“All right,” I muttered, watching her push back her chair, and for a second it looked like she had it under control. Then her knees buckled.

“Shit.” I shot up, catching her elbow before she hit the ground. Her skin felt clammy under my hand.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” I asked, scanning her face.

“Yes,” she whispered, her smile trembling at the edges. “I’ll just… go.”

“You want me to follow you?”

Her head shook quickly. “No. I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t buy it, not with the way her legs wobbled as she pulled free from my hand. But she went anyway, stumbling toward the back, one hand dragging along the wall for balance.

I sat back, drumming my fingers against the table, telling myself Clairessa was stalling, that this was a dramatic little escape act so she didn’t have to answer me. Classic Clairessa. But the picture of her shaky legs wouldn’t leave my head.

It had been over twenty minutes. Too damn long. My patience was gone, and the longer I sat there, the more the thought gnawed at me that something was wrong.

I rose from my seat, eyes sweeping the restaurant until they landed on Maribel, who was just finishing up at another table, and I strode over.

“Hey, Maribel.”

She turned, plastering on that polite little smile. “Yes?”

“Would you mind telling me where the ladies’ restroom is?”

Her brows pinched for a second before she smoothed them away. “Oh, sure. But… why?”

“My friend’s been in there for some time. She hasn’t come back out. She wasn’t feeling great before she left.”

Maribel tilted her head, her voice light but edged with something that didn’t sit right with me. “I’m sure she’s fine. You don’t need to worry. Girls take their time sometimes, you know, touch-ups, or maybe it’s that time of the month.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “No. Don’t brush me off. Clairessa wasn’t fine before she left. She looked pale, red even. And that was right after she drank that ‘special juice’ you swore was house-made.”

My voice hardened. “She’s been gone over fifteen minutes. So unless you want me tearing this place apart myself, take me there.”

“Don’t you dare.” My finger jabbed toward her. “Don’t you dare try to say she ran off because of me.”

I stormed out into the restaurant, my chest heaving. My eyes tore across every table, every corner. “Clairessa!” I shouted, my voice loud enough to turn heads. Guests stared, whispers rising.

A man in a pressed shirt, probably the manager, hurried toward me. “Sir, please, what’s going on?”

The man’s hands lifted in a pacifying gesture. “Sir, please, let’s not jump to conclusions. Maybe she left without you realizing.”

“Sir, lower your voice, please….”

“I’m not lowering a damn thing,” I snapped. “You think I’m going to stand here while you cover your asses? Not happening. I’m calling the police.”

Maribel’s voice cut in behind me, sharper now. “Wait, maybe you don’t have to involve…”

I turned, pointing at her. “Shut the hell up. You knew something was wrong the second I asked. You tried to stall me. I should’ve trusted my gut the moment you opened your mouth.”

The manager held up his hands. “Sir, let’s not jump to…”

My throat burned with the words I bit out. “I’m not wasting time with you. If the police don’t come in the next ten minutes, I’ll drag this whole damn place down myself.”

I yanked out my phone, my hand trembling now with rage and dread. I should have dialed the police, but instead my thumb hit another number.

My dad.