Chapter 0464 "Just like I'm clearly falling for you Gabriel's words keep playing like a loop in my head over and over again for the rest of the day. We had back-to- back meetings with different investors, yet I couldn’t focus on anything except those seven words.
As you have probably guessed, I am an overthinker. I overanalyze and overthink everything until it drives me to the edge of insanity. That’s what I've been doing the whole fucking day.
What did those words mean? Is it actually possible that he’s falling for me? What if it’s a trick? What if he’s playing me? Should I trust what he’s saying? And if it’s true, and he means those words, what am I going to do? What should I do? I want so badly to ask him, but I don’t want to seem eager or desperate.
I was right after all, agreeing to be i"
| | Gabriel's wife once again, was messing meup.
| « k oN : : z You okay?” he questions, his worried glance flittering through my face.
“Yes” I whisper, trying to push those thoughts away.
It did no good to keep thinking about them. I would just end up with a migraine, something I didn’t need.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“We can stay in if you prefer. We don’t have to go down.” I muster a small smile and compose myself. “No, it’s okay.” It was now evening and Gabriel was taking me out to dinner. Technically, we were going downstairs for dinner, but that didn’t matter.
Taking my hand, we leave our room and get into the elevator.
Unlike our first date, I didn’t go all out dressing up today. I was in a simple black dress, heels and subtle makeup. 7
Fra spent the whole day overthinking so much that when evening came, 1 didn’t have the energy to spend hours getting ready.
At this point, I just want my mind to stop. To stop spinning. To stop thinking. To stop running. I just want it to simply stop and let me relax. I didn’t have the answers and that was okay. All I need is to take one day at a time without obsessing over everything Gabriel did or said.
When we get to the restaurant, the place is already buzzing with life. Soft music played above the chatter of the other diners. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, as we passed rows of tables.
“This looks nice,” I say, once we were seated in a private corner booth.
Gabriel raises a brow, but doesn’t say anything. Just stares at me in that intense way he does. I shift uncomfortably under his gaze, trying to avoid his heated glance. a
~ I’m saved when a waiter approaches our table.
He bows slightly before saying, “Sir, madam, some wine?” “Yes please,” I answer, and he pours some into my glass.
The first taste hits my tongue, and it’s like tasting heaven. It tasted better than the cheap wines I was used to.
Then again, what did I expect? A hotel like this one wouldn't go for cheap wine. They probably only serve wines costing thousands of dollars.
This is exactly what I need to relax. To unwind and think about nothing for the next couple of hours.
“Tell me about your former husband.” Gabriel’s request catches me by surprise. Of all the topics I thought we would discuss during dinner, Liam wasn’t one of them, Swallowing the wine that goes smoothly down my throat, I turn, fully w
| attention.
“What do you want to know?” “Did you love him?” his jaw is clenched, and it seems like the words were forcefully pulled out of his mouth.
I don’t answer immediately. Instead, I lift my glass and take another sip.
Tilting my head, I stare into his eyes.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIs that jealousy I was seeing? Could Gabriel be jealous at the idea that I’d been in love with Liam? Smiling, I finally answer. “No. I loved him, but I wasn’t in love with him.” He leans forward, confusion replacing the jealousy that had been there seconds ago. | “I don’t get it” he says. “Why marry him then? Did he know you didn’t love him?” “Yeah. My heart was already claimed and so was his. We married because I "
| was pregnant and alone with no idea | how I was going to survive with a baby on the way. I had nothing, and he’d been the first friend I made when I moved. We enjoyed each other’s company and were comfortable around each other. He’s the one that came up with the idea of getting married.” Liam loved his ex and he never saw himself falling in love again. He was lonely, but he didn’t want the hustle of dating. He also didn’t want anyone replacing the girl he had loved and lost.
We started out as friends with benefits.
Well, sort of. Like I said, he was lonely and he was a man. He needed sex. Only he didn’t want to bang just anyone.
My pregnancy hormones were driving me crazy and even though I craved sex, we never crossed that line while I was pregnant with Lilly. It felt wrong having sex with Liam while carrying Gabriel’s child. We did other things though, and after my six-week checkup post giving birth, we had sex for the first time. That’s when he |
Thinking back at that, I can’t help but laugh.
“What's so funny?” Gabriel asks, just as he moves from his side of the table to mine. We are now seated side by side.
My eyebrows rise in question at his unexpected action. He doesn’t say anything, so I shrug and answer his question.
“I just realized that my marriage with Liam was also a marriage of convenience. We married because we wanted the convenience of companionship, friendship and sex without having to risk the heartbreak that comes with being in love.” “I don’t like the mention of you, another man and sex in the same sentence.” Gabriel growls, his voice turning angry.
Sneering, I take another sip. “Please, you have probably slept with more w
than half the women back at home, but ~ you don’t see me getting angry about it, do you?” “Did you ever fall in love with him in the course of your marriage?” he all but demands, while ignoring my jab.
“No. Like I said, I loved Liam and I will always love him, but I wasn’t in love with him.” IT answer. “Now, what’s with questions? Why are you so interested in whether I was in love with Liam?” “Because, I need to know if someone else managed to claim your heart. I need to know whether I have a chance at claiming your love once again.” His hand grab the back of my neck and he leans forward. Maybe it’s the wine, and maybe it isn’t. However, this time when he kisses me, I don’t fight, because I am tired of holding back.