All Chapters of Seducing my daughter's dad: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

POV ClariceI waited for him to walk into the house before I finally followed him. Incredibly, my heart wasn’t racing out of control, and not even fear paid me a visit in that moment. I looked at the open door, filled my lungs with air, and walked in.Gabriel sat in the dining room, in the head seat, surrounded by staff. Traces of the previous night’s party still lingered everywhere. Floral arrangements packed away in boxes scattered across the room. The altar was being taken apart piece by piece. I swept my eyes across the house; everything reminded me of that disastrous night.I looked down at the crumpled newspaper in my hands, which I’d grabbed off the floor the moment Gabriel walked away. Frank had this terrible habit of reading his news through print papers; he always said it kept him off the digital grid, left no trace. I thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but I was ready to use his own trick to get a conversation started with Gabriel.“Did you hear what I said, Scarlet?”

POV GabrielHenry brushed past me into my bedroom as if nearly ten years hadn’t slipped by since we last saw each other. He shut the door himself and gripped my shoulder, steering me out toward the balcony. I moved on autopilot, going wherever he led, without reacting or putting up a fight.I still couldn’t believe he was standing there.So this was what my father would look like ten years older?I couldn’t tear my eyes off him, no matter how hard I tried.“Don’t look at me like you’ve just seen a ghost,” he said, leaning over to rest his arms on the metal railing as he stared out at the garden. “I know it’s been a long time, and I shouldn’t have stayed away so long.”I agreed with him in silence. I got a text from him on my birthday every single year. The message was always identical, as if Uncle Henry had nothing else left to say to me. That was the sole thread keeping us connected—the only words we exchanged in ten whole years.I never had the nerve to tell him how much I missed hi

POV ClariceIt was a nightmare.I thought about slithering straight toward the exit like a snake, but it was too late. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely keep them steady on the floor. When Frank stood up and opened his big mouth, I knew it was all over.“Can I help you?” What an idiot question for such an experienced detective.“I want to talk to this woman…” Her voice wavered—and I knew that mournful tone anywhere. “Please, get out from under the table. I need to make sure that…”Ava was so sharp, and that was what I admired most about her. Nobody could pull the wool over her eyes, and nobody could intimidate her, because she was always one step ahead. At all times. I knew that even if I hid in a storm drain, she would track me down just to prove to herself she wasn’t losing her mind.“You must have my friend confused with someone else,” Frank cut in once he realized what was going on. “She’s new in town, so”Frank didn’t know Ava like I did; his excuses were useless again

POV GabrielHenry settled into one of the mansion’s guest rooms. An hour had passed since his arrival, but I couldn’t stop turning his words over in my mind. When I actually stopped to think about it, his arrival brought real relief to my soul. It had been a long time since I’d had someone by my side I could genuinely trust.Out in the garden, watching Charlotte play near the pool, I tried to forget everything, to relax, to soak up the time I had with my daughter. The sun faded slowly, closing out another day that passed so fast I barely noticed it slipping away. It felt good, escaping the chaos of the world outside: no biased headlines, no Helena, no Emily, no problems.Life would be perfect if it were just me and Charlotte. I could grab her and run somewhere far away from all this, and I’d thought about it a million times over, just sitting there.“I’m so glad I finally got to meet Charlotte.” Henry’s voice pulled me out of the perfect world that only existed inside my head. “I used

POV Clarice“You’re coming with me to the company today.” My fingers went numb as I clenched my fist, my breath weakening like I was about to pass out. “I have an important meeting, and I want to bring Charlotte...”Gabriel stopped talking, his eyes locked on the document in his hand. I’d arrived five minutes earlier, and that was the first thing he said to me.“What difference would Charlotte make to your business meeting?” His eyes snapped to me as fast as lightning. “I mean, do we really need to go?”“This isn’t a request, Scarlet, it’s an order.” He looked back down, his voice hard as stone.Something felt off with him. Not that I knew him well enough to read his mood swings, but he wasn’t holding my gaze for long. He pretended to be reading the document, but his mind seemed miles away. He was using that posture just to mask how worried he actually was.But worried about what?Something big loomed on the horizon, and I could feel myself stuck right in the middle of it.Going to Ga