Chapter 4

GABRIELLE’S POV

I climbed out of his bed and tried to put on my wedding dress but it was reeking of alcohol so much I almost threw up.

I slid open the glass door to his closet and stepped inside. The space stretched wider than my own closet back home. Rows of neatly arranged shirts, all white or black, lined one side.

Suits hung in perfect order, tags still attached on a few. The faint scent of a masculine and expensive cologne lingered in the air.

I pulled one of his white shirts from the rack and buttoned it halfway. It hung loose around me but it was better than smelling like spilled whiskey and heartbreak.

When I stepped back into the room, my eyes fell on the nightstand.

A diamond watch, a wallet, and a gun rested carelessly on the nightstand. I stopped for a second, my heart beating fast.

Whoever Damon Gravari was, he wasn’t just rich. He was the kind of rich that didn’t care about consequences.

I needed to leave. And fast.

I took the pills and chugged down the entire glass of water.

He was on the phone in the huge kitchen with one hand in his pocket and the other flipping a pancake.

He was speaking low in a language I didn’t understand. When he saw me, he ended the call.

“What language was that?” I asked.

“Italian,” he said, turning to me as I paused by the doorway.

His eyes moved from my head to my toes, stopping briefly at my exposed thighs. The fire in his eyes had me fisting the edge of his shirt.

I finally took a good look at him in the daylight. His dark hair was in a tousle and his eyes, God his eyes, they were beautiful.

I stepped into the kitchen to see he already had a plate prepared for me. My stomach growled so loudly I got embarrassed.

Maybe I’d just leave after breakfast.

I turned on my phone and watched with dread as the messages and missed calls came in.

My father.

My wedding planner.

Jared.

Even Emily.

My chest tightened at the sight of her name flashing on the screen. I still couldn’t believe my own sister could do this to me over an inheritance I’d happily give her if she asked.

I’d have gladly given my life if she asked.

Before I could open a single one, Damon spoke. “You might want to sit before you read those.”

I looked up. “Why?”

He flipped another pancake, unbothered. “You were the runaway bride of the year last night. Cameras outside the hotel caught everything.”

My fingers froze over the screen. “What?”

He nodded toward the TV mounted on the kitchen wall. “It’s been on the news since dawn.”

I turned toward it and there I was. I was in my wedding dress, my mascara streaked on my face and bolting out of the hotel like a madwoman. Reporters were already calling it a wedding scandal.

I was even reported missing.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, covering my mouth. “This can’t be happening.”

Damon slid a plate in front of me. “Eat. You’ll need the strength.”

I glared at him. “You think this is funny?”

He poured coffee into my mug. “I don’t find anything funny, Mrs. Gravari.”

“Stop calling me that.”

He sipped his coffee, his gaze steady on mine. “You signed the papers last night, Gabrielle. I can call you whatever I want.”

I pushed the plate away. “I’m going to fix this. I’m getting it annulled, and I’m leaving.”

“Go ahead,” he said easily. “But I wouldn’t walk out there just yet.”

My pulse kicked. “Why?”

He nodded toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. Down below, flashes went off. Reporters. Dozens of them. Some even trying to get past the building’s entrance.

“Someone leaked your location,” he said. “It was me.”

“How could you?” I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose.

He pushed the plate towards me. “So I can make them pay like I promised.”

“I’m sorry but I have to ask,” I started. “Are you being charged for each word you say?”

His lips curved, slow and infuriating. “No. But maybe I should start charging you for every question you ask.”

I folded my arms. “You don’t even answer half of them. Tell me why you leaked my location.”

He sighed. “No.”

My anger shot through the roof. “What?”

He didn’t even blink. “If you want to leave here, you have to eat.”

I gripped the edge of the marble counter. “You’re insane. I just need a divorce attorney—”

“That won’t be necessary,” he said. “We can’t get divorced until after a year.”

“What?!”

He shrugged and picked up his fork to eat. “I’m not saying anything else until you finish your meal.”

I wanted to ask more questions but I knew he wasn’t bluffing so I ate. The pancakes were fluffy and the bacon was the crispiest I’ve ever had.

I almost let out a moan at the taste but it caught in my throat when I looked up and Damon wasn’t in his chair.

“Turn around,” I heard behind me.

I jumped, caught off guard. “How did—“

He took my left hand and put the rock for a ring back on my finger. “There you go. It’s exactly where it should be now.”

His eyes found mine and I couldn’t help but stare into them. There were so beautiful, much more beautiful than any I’d ever seen. His lashes were so long and thick it made me jealous.

His cheek bones looked like they were sculpted by the gods themselves. Hell, he looked like a god in human form.

My eyes went down to his chest and abs. Before I could I stop myself, I placed my hand on his chest and felt his heart beat almost frantically.

He moved back like I burned him. “What was that?”

I blinked. “What was what?”

A look of confusion passed his face but it was brief. His cold look was back like it never left.

“Get out.”

I raised a brow. “Excuse me?”

“I said get out,” his voice was ice cold.

“But the reporters—“

“Go through the back. My driver will take you anywhere you want to go. Just get out,” he said, taking another step back.

I had no idea why his words stung but they did. He made me feel wanted and even married me without knowing me. Now he wanted me gone?

I should have known he was playing me.

“Fine,” I said and walked out without looking back.