Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel)

Gabriel's POV

She was still standing there-fuming, heartbroken, stubborn as ever-and I couldn't even look at her without feeling like I was splitting in two.

This wasn't how I wanted things to go. I didn't wake up thinking I'd be the man pushing her into some twisted compromise. I never planned to dangle her dream in front of her like bait just to get her to do my bidding.

When she made it clear she didn't want this-when I saw how much she hated the deal, hated what I was asking-it made everything inside me burn.

But I had to. Because love didn't always look like roses and promises-it looked like sacrifice. Like doing the unthinkable to protect what little we had left.

She had no idea what it was costing me to sit there and play the villain.

God, I wished she understood. None of this was easy for me. Not one damn second of it.

My voice dropped. "How do I tell him that the woman he loves is also the woman I'm in love with? That I've already had her?"

The disbelief on her face was raw. "So what-you're choosing him over me? Just like that?"

"You think this doesn't hurt me?" My voice came out hoarse. "You think your heart's the only one breaking?"

She flinched, but her tone hardened. "It is, Gabriel. Because you're making the choice so damn easily. You're choosing him over us-over everything we were."

She didn't get it. This wasn't a decision. It was a slow, merciless undoing.

"It's not even about choosing," I muttered, almost to myself. "It's a mess neither of us knows how to fix."

She leaned across my desk, her face inches from mine, her breath warm against my skin.

I dragged in a tight, torturous breath. She was too close. Close enough to see the faint dark circles under her eyes-proof she hadn't been sleeping well.

Her hair was pulled back in a bun, sleek and intentional, drawing attention to the soft features of her face.

Her lips looked wet, like she'd just applied gloss. Parted slightly. Tempting.

God.

She was still the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

My body reacted before I could stop it—she always knew how to pull that out of me. It was like she didn't even have to try.

The way she moved, the way she looked at me... she awakened something I never could quite control.

"This is what you want?" she whispered, low and taunting. "For me to run back to Adrian? Seduce him... the way I seduced you?"

Her mouth brushed the edge of my jaw. My body tightened.

"Date him. Be his girlfriend. Fuck him."

My eyes shot to hers as heat surged through me jealousy, frustration, and an ache to be buried so deep inside her she'd never forget the way I made her feel... to fill every inch of her until no other man even came close.

She was trying to provoke me, and it was working. The image of her in Adrian's arms—his lips on her skin, his hands where only mine belonged—it made me want to destroy something.

She pulled back, smirking, victorious in her torment. "That's what you want, right? Keep him in line. No matter the cost. That's what matters most to you, isn't it?"

I couldn't speak. My breathing turned ragged, chest rising and falling as I fought to stay still. I didn't just want to kiss her until she was breathless-I wanted to bend her over this desk and remind her exactly who she belonged to. No one could touch her like I did. Not even my own son.

Her fingers hovered over the contract. "You fund my app. And in return, I get your son in line. No matter what it costs me."

I forced myself to nod, even as my heart screamed no. Every twisted word she'd just spoken replayed in my mind, tormenting me. I wanted to tear the contract in half, call the whole thing off-but then there was Adrian.

I couldn't fight him over Clairessa. If it were any other man, it would've been a bloodbath. But not my own son.

And if I told him the truth, he'd never forgive me. I'd lose him. And I couldn't destroy what little we had left.

She gave me a tight, bitter smile. "Fine. I'll do it. You want business, no emotions? Then that's what you'll get. Cold. Professional." She reached for a pen and flipped through the pages. "Just tell me where to sign."

My hand shot out instin

resting over hers. For a second, we both froze-noveldrama

eyes locked, just our breathing filling the office.

"You haven't even read it yet." I closed the folder gently, pulling it away from her.

"You have to show it to your lawyer first, then you can sign."

A flash of disappointment crossed her face. "I'll have her look it over. I'll get back to you."

She turned to leave but paused at the door, glancing over her shoulder with a slight tilt of her head.

Her voice carried a daring undertone. "And Gabriel? Don't forget-you asked for this."

My heart clenched.

"Clairessa," I called out, voice low, raw. "The moment you dated my son... we never stood a chance. We never..."

I didn't finish. Because we both already knew how that sentence ended.

We never had a chance. And now... we never would.

The door slammed shut and a wave of emotions crashed over me-rage, heartbreak, shame-flooding my chest until I could barely breathe.

"Fuck..." I grunted, shoving the chair

so hard it slammed against the wall.

I stalked toward the window, as ors.

though it held some damn answers.

But it didn't. Nothing did.

What the hell had I just done?

I clenched my fists, pressing them to the cold glass, staring out at the city below

like I could somehow will her back.

I had just offered Clairessa-my Clairessa-to my son like she was a bargaining chip. A fucking tool in a business deal.

And for what? To keep Adrian playing a role he didn't even want? In a company I wasn't even sure he'd succeed in?

And I did all of this... why?

To protect him from the truth? To preserve my role as his father? Or was I just too much of a coward to fight for the woman I loved?

My chest heaved as I dragged a hand down my face, the weight of everything

pressing so hard against my ribs it felt like I couldn't breathe.

Her voice still echoed in my head. Her face when she asked if she didn't matter. The brokenness in her eyes when she begged me to fight for us-but I was too consumed by my own selfishness to even think of

her. sŵnovel

Then came the memory—her leaning in, taunting me with what she could do with Adrian, how easily she could fake it.

It felt like a knife twisting deep in my gut.

Could I take it? Adrian's lips on hers? His hands on her body? Making her moan the way I used to?

No. I couldn't survive that.

I pressed my forehead to the glass, trying to cool the fire burning inside me.

My mind played it back-the way she fought for us. The way she wanted me to

fight.

But I didn't.

And now the anger I felt earlier had drained, leaving only regret.

Because now, I had no doubt-

Clairessa loved me.

And God help me, I had never been more certain of how deeply I loved her.

She wasn't just a flame I couldn't extinguish-she was the fire that made everything else burn with meaning.

And I gave her away.

Let her slip through my fingers like she didn't matter, like my heart wasn't breaking

with every step she took.

The worst part?

She called my bluff. Stepped into the game I designed. And now she was going to play it.

Be "all business."

The days ahead weren't just going to hurt they were going to torture me.

And I deserved it.

I fucking asked for it.

I wanted to chase after her. To

scream that she was right-that what we had deserved a chance. That'd fight my own son forcher, damn the consequences.

But I didn't move.

Adrian still trusted me.

Clairessa didn't.

I shut my eyes and let the silence swallow me whole.

And for the first time in years, I didn't know who the hell I was anymore.