Semua Bab Falling For My Father's Best Friend: Bab 1 - Bab 3

I can’t wait for this fucking day to be over.The thought sat behind Noel’s ribs as he walked back to his seat with a forced smile in place. The dean had shook his hand like they were old friends while handing him the certificate. Cameras kept flashing while applause rolled through the auditorium. But Noel didn’t feel happy. He had no idea why.Law school graduation was supposed to feel like freedom. He wasn’t so sure of that anymore. The law degree was supposedly ‘In the bag’ and yet, all he felt was the familiar knot that always lived in his stomach. He just wanted to go home.Noel found Benjamin easily in the crowd. His dad’s face was lit up with that proud, exhausted smile that always made Noel’s chest ache. The same smile that said I gave up my youth for you and I’d do it again. At least, that was how Noel interpreted it. It didn’t help that it was mostly true.After the caps had been tossed and the crowd started thinning, Benjamin pulled him into a hug that smelled like the sam

Gabriel had spent years perfecting control.He had built it brick by careful brick the day Noel turned eighteen and suddenly wasn’t a kid anymore. He had reinforced it every time Benjamin mentioned his son in passing. He had armored it with professionalism, distance, and the constant reminder that Noel was his best friend’s boy. Off limits. Untouchable. Absurd to even think about.And in one single day that armor was cracking.He stood at his office window and watched Noel walk past without so much as a glance in his direction.No eye contact. No nod. No sarcastic little remark about the carbonara from last night. He simply refused to acknowledge Gabriel’s presence and it was chipping away at his self control.He’s ignoring me.The thought looped like a bad circuit. Gabriel didn’t know what he’d done. Yesterday he had been exactly what Noel seemed to want—professional and distant. He’d used Laurent instead of Angel. And had given him real work instead of special treatment because he’d