LOGINGABRIELLE’S POV I wiped my face even though the tears were already dry. “You shouldn’t look at me like that. I’m a mess.” “You’re not,” he said quietly. I lowered my gaze. The exhaustion from crying made my voice small. “I didn’t think you would come home this early.” “I told you I’d be back,” he replied as he sat beside me on the floor. The warmth of his words hurt in a way I couldn’t explain. My throat tightened again as he took my hand and lifted it into his lap. His thumb brushed over my knuckles lightly. “Did you eat?” he asked. “No.” He exhaled. “You need to eat.” “I wasn’t hungry.” “You still need to eat.” He stood up and offered his hand. I sighed. “Damon, I’m tired.” “I didn’t ask if you were tired,” he said. “I asked you to get up.” I frowned a little, but I took his hand anyway. He pulled me to my feet without giving me a chance to hesitate. “You’re going to eat,” he said. “Even if it’s just a few bites.” “I don’t want—” “You w
DAMON’S POV I stood by the window watching the sun set. I was done with all my meetings except the most important one. The door opened and I didn’t need to turn around to know it was Beatrice. “Oh, my sweet boy,” Beatrice cooed, the way she always did when she wanted something. “One of your errand boys told me you wanted to see me. I came as fast as I could.” I slowly turned around. She stepped closer. “You have never sent for me before now. What’s wrong?” “Take a seat,” I said coldly. She hesitated, staring at me with a confused expression before sitting. “Can you please stop with the suspense? What happened?” “You tell me,” I responded. “Tell me what happened to Gabrielle in the powder room.” Her face paled. “Oh, that? Nothing happened. We just talked and that was it. What are you talking about?” I turned to face the window again because the sight of her pretending to be innocent was getting on my nerves. “Whatever she said happened is a lie,” she continu
GABRIELLE’S POV I couldn’t tell if Emily was feigning innocence or if she was really fucked up in the head. My chest squeezed again. “Why? Have you forgotten you planned to kill me and take my inheritance with your loser boyfriend? And have you forgotten how you almost shot me at the penthouse?” She took a step forward. “I’m so sorry, Gabby. You made me miserable growing up. Everyone loved you more, including Father. You were the perfect child and I was a mess. So I decided to be different and hate you because no one else would.” My jaw dropped at her words. She continued. “In a way, Father and the rest of them are to blame for everything. If they had loved me more I wouldn’t have been jealous of you my entire life.” I wanted to pull my hair out of frustration. “Other people are to blame for your actions?” I scoffed. “Enough with the victim mentality, Emily. You’re pure evil. I did nothing but be a good child while you snuck out and stole and brought home bad grades
GABRIELLE’S POV I took the seat at the table and dropped my bag in front of me. Emily’s eyes followed it. “Wow, look at that Birkin. It’s not even been released yet. I see you’re spending Mr Gravari’s money very well. You wouldn’t even take a penny from Jared. I’m impressed.” My face heated up. Yes, I had refused Jared's money because I had my own. And I had Father’s. I didn’t want to appear too selfish so I always declined. Thinking back, I wish I had. I wished I had spent every last penny of his before he could attempt to steal my inheritance. But things were different now. “I love material things,” I said, keeping my tone calm and neutral. “I always have.” Her smile widened and she winked at me. “Apparently.” “And I won’t stop Damon from giving me what he wants to give.” I lifted my chin slightly. “It’s my right. And I’m his wife.” Emily let out a soft, mocking laugh. “Wife?” she repeated, as though the word was funny. “Don’t be too delusional now, Gab
GABRIELLE’S POV I stared at him, unable to speak. His hand was still on my face and his thumb brushed my cheek like he was trying to keep me calm even though he was the one shaking inside. “What do you mean?” I whispered. He looked away for a moment, like the floor was easier to face than me. His jaw tightened and his chest lifted in a slow breath before he looked at me again. “I caused the event that led to it. That is all you need to know right now.” “That’s not enough,” I said. “You can’t drop something like that and expect me to accept it.” “It is all I can give you right now, Gabrielle,” he said. “The rest is buried too deep and I don’t want you near any of it.” My stomach tightened. “So you admit it. You admit you were involved.” He shook his head. “I admit that I was young and stupid and surrounded by people who wanted to use me. I admit that I made decisions that put my family in danger. And I admit that the weight of that follows me everywhere I go.” His
GABRIELLE’S POV The car sank into silence after his words. I could still feel them in the air, heavy and terrifying. “Damon…” I whispered. “Tell me you didn’t kill anyone.” He didn’t even look at me. He sighed, lifted his hand, and pressed the partition button so the driver couldn’t hear us. The quiet thickened. “Forget about all that now,” he said. I stared at him. “I can’t forget about that. I need to know.” His jaw shifted slightly. “You need to calm down.” “That’s not an answer.” “It wasn’t a question I care to answer right now.” His tone was flat and cold. The Damon from earlier—the one whose voice cracked when he couldn’t find me—was gone. This version of him felt like a wall I couldn’t see through. He was back to the version I had when we first met. My chest tightened. “You just told me it depends on my definition. Damon, you can’t expect me to drop it.” “I expect you to stop pushing.” His voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to. “You sc







