Semua Bab Falling For My Ex's Dad: Bab 291 - Bab 300

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

Gabriel’s POVDetective Alvarez arched an eyebrow. “Marco?”Adrian’s face went blank. “Dad, who’s Marco?”My gaze met his, a cold knot twisting inside me at the thought of Clairessa in Marco’s hands. Saying the name aloud felt like calling up a bad memory. “A former business partner. Things went bad after he tried to take advantage of Clairessa. I beat him down for it. After that he started threatening us. He’s not the type to bluff.”Alvarez inclined his head. “Mr. Storm, if you don’t mind, can we step aside?”“Of course.” I laid a hand on Adrian’s shoulder, grounding him for a second. “I’ll be right back.” Then I followed Alvarez into a secluded corner. Adrian started to come too, but Alvarez raised a palm, “We won’t be long.”Once we were alone, Alvarez lowered his voice. “Tell me about this Marco.”I gave him everything. How I’d once considered Marco as an investor for her app, how behind my back he followed her into a restroom and tried to force himself on her, how I stopped him,

Clairessa’s POVFear unlike anything I had ever known gripped me, squeezing the air from my lungs. For a moment the thought was simple and brutal, this was my fault. I should never have shrugged off Marco’s threats.I should have listened to Gabriel’s warnings about my safety and stayed with the security, not snuck off with Adrian. Stubbornness had a price, and I was paying for it now.I never, not in a hundred nightmares, imagined Nicole and Marco working together. Paying off a waitress, cloning a phone, setting a trap, the ugly pieces fit together now. No wonder the waitress had been so eager. No wonder the juice tasted wrong, a slow drift of dizziness that pulled me under before I could think. She drugged me, and then everything went black.Adrian must be frantic. Would he have swallowed his pride and called Gabriel? Have they called the police? Is Gabriel tearing the city apart trying to find me? I clung to that image like a lifeline, picturing him furious and desperate, doing wha

Gabriel’s POV The two gunshots tore through the air almost as one. One slammed into Marco’s skull and his body dropped to the floor, lifeless. My enemy was gone, but I couldn’t spare a glance at him, not when a bullet tore through Clairessa’s shoulder. My world stopped. All I saw was her collapsing, her hair falling across her face as she crumpled. “No!” The word ripped from my chest as my legs moved before I thought. I dove forward, catching her before she hit the floor. Her weight sagged into me, too limp, too still. Blood poured from her shoulder where the bullet had torn through. My hands pressed against it, useless against the flood. Her hair clung to her damp face, and I pushed it back, desperate to see her eyes. Her eyes were shutting as I pressed her closer to my body. “Clairessa, stay with me,” I begged, voice shaking. “You’re going to be fine. Do you hear me? You’re fine.” Her lashes fluttered, her lips trembling as though she was fighting to obey, but the darkness

Gabriel’s POVClairessa’s eyes brightened even more. “Two bouquets of roses?” she teased. “I must really be a princess. Or maybe... a queen.”I crossed the room, set the flowers down on the bedside table, and bent over her. My lips brushed her forehead, my hand stroking her hair back. “Of course you are,” I whispered against her skin. “You’re the queen of my world. You hold my entire heart.”Color flushed her cheeks as she leaned into me, warmth against my chest. “You hold mine as well,” she answered, so low I almost missed it. It landed, and it was everything.I turned, urging softly, “Come closer, son.”Adrian gave a shy smile. “I just wanted to give you two lovebirds a moment.” Still, he stepped forward and placed his roses into her waiting hands. She brought them to her face, breathing in their scent.“It’s good to see you, Adrian,” she said warmly. “And I absolutely love the flowers. Thank you.”“At least I got your favorite this time,” Adrian joked lightly. “Thanks to your boyfr