Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Chapter 63: Gabin’s Report
Kate paced on her heels with a hat over her head and a jacket that partly hid her face. She caught up with Carlos, and he held her hand. The couple was making the long walk to the private room within Paris’ police station.
Detective Bernard welcomed them. “Good afternoon, Mister Ronaldo. Miss Wright. Gabin has been waiting for your arrival.” He opened the door and walked in, finding Gabin sitting in a chair, his hair disheveled, and his eyes had dark circles around. Clearly, he was stressed out about that video.
Carlos locked eyes with Gabin. His jaws clenched while firmly holding Kate’s hand. Softly, he called,” Gabin.”
“Carlos, listen to me-”
“I’d like you to meet Kate, my girlfriend,” Carlos introduced.
Learning about Kate, Gabin leaned back. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and he heaved dramatically. “I’m in so much mess now.”
Kate, on the other hand, stilled. Her eyes had never left Gabin’s since they entered the room. She was stunned by his resemblance to Carlos. They had the same hair, beard, and build, and if not for his jaws, anyone could easily mistake him for Carlos.
Seeing Gabin relieved Kate. Still, she had many questions in her head. She was happy Carlos brought her there to see Gabin face to face. Parting her mouth, she found the words to say, “Finally, we meet, Gabin.”
Gabin averted her gaze. He raked his fingers through his hair and said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“So it was you,” Carlos concluded while pulling up a chair for Kate. After he settled next to her, he asked,” Why? What on earth got into your head -”
“It’s not what you think!” Gabin countered. Tears welled in his eyes, and his hands balled into fists. “I don’t know how I got so attracted to that girl in the first place. One thing led to another, and then I found myself drowning in that pleasure that I could not get out of it!”
A loud bang echoed throughout the room as Gabin hit the table’s surface with his forearm.
Detective Bernard joined them, negotiating, “Gabin, relax. Tell Mister Ronaldo exactly what you told me.”
Silence stretched between them for a good two minutes before Gabin spoke. “I was getting off from work when this girl approached me at the parking lot, saying she needed help -”
“Hailey?” Carlos asked.
“No, it was a redhead – Kendra. Kendra was her name. I later found out she was Alex’s ex-girlfriend,” Gabin revealed, shocking Carlos altogether.
“So, anyway. Kendra approached me, saying she needed help – that she had lost her way in Paris. I tried to have another police officer send her back, but she insisted that I help her only because I resembled you. She said she felt comfortable with me because she knew you.”
“I did not believe her right away, but she just would not budge, and she cried in front of me, saying luck was not on her side. She went on about how Alex broke up with her, and she came to Paris to find romance because of that. Long story short, I agreed to take her to her hotel. When we arrived at the hotel lobby, she suddenly felt drowsy and suggested I take her to her room. Again, she kept saying how she trusted only me.” Raising both his hands, he said, “I swear, I was just going to send her and leave.”
“When I brought her to her hotel room, Hailey was there to receive her. We carried Kendra all the way to
separate
pent
the living room of the hotel suit, and it was then when Hailey chatted with me and.” He gulped before revealing, “She offered me a drink.”
“I think that’s when everything went downhill,” Gabin said. “Look, I admit, they were beautiful. If I were unmarried, I would have jumped into it – why not? But I have a wife and a kid. I wasn’t planning on getting involved with them – no way!”
“However, Hailey and Kendra forced me to stay, just chatting with me. They insisted that I must know you and Alex, but I swear, I did not tell them. Then Kendra was back to crying, saying she was so hurt by Alex and that she felt ugly as shit.”
“The longer I stayed there, the harder it became difficult for me to leave. The more I talked to both of them, the more attractive I felt towards them, especially Kendra, since she was the one touching me and begging for my attention.”
“Then, she was really seductive, even when she seemed frail. Hailey kept bringing in more drinks as we talked, and I took a second one.” A hiss left Gabin’s lips when he admitted, “The next thing I knew, Kendra and I were making out. My body was heating up, and I could not seem to hold back my attraction to her. I literally forgot how I was married.”
“We ended up having sex in the living room and then.” Gabin looked down, shaking his head, saying, “And then Hailey sat on my lap, naked.”
“I had sex with Hailey, and then we kept drinking those beers, and the more we were into it, the more I felt I was losing myself. I could pretty much recall what happened during the first few hours, but the rest seemed like a blur to me now.”
Dead air fell upon them for seconds. Gabin found himself teary-eyed, saying, “I woke up two days after, fully conscious of my surroundings, with Hailey and Kendra still lying beside me.”
“I was drugged, but I honestly doubted it because I was partly aware at first.”
“The drug found in his system is called LoveBe. It’s supposed to magnify emotions, attraction, and sexual urges. In smaller doses, the sexual urges are not that powerful, but the more you ingest the same, the more your urges intensify. That’s probably when you lost awareness,” Detective Bernard suggested. “It really just depends on the amount of substance you took.” Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.
“So, your first reaction was a typical manifestation of the drugs. It was already playing with your emotions and your head when you took that first beer.”
“I see.” Gabin howled in tears, saying, “I didn’t tell my wife. How could I? The worst part was how | remembered parts of it, and I liked it! I hate myself for having enjoyed it!”
Kate flinched when Gabin suddenly punched the table with his first, saying, “I can’t forgive myself -”
“Gabin, listen to me. It wasn’t your fault,” detective Bernard said, “If anything, you were violated -”
“How does a trained police officer get violated -”
“Women,” Bernard suggested. “In your case, clearly, they acted weak in your presence. You did not see it coming because it’s not likely that a woman would abuse a man in that way and a police officer at that.”
“You said you were drugged. Did you confirm it?” Carlos asked, his mind reflecting back about Hailey’s attempt to drug him too.
“I collected the beer bottles and went to a hospital immediately after leaving the hotel. I confirmed it but never told my wife, not the chief. I was ashamed and angry at myself.”
“Listen to me, Gabin,” Carlos said. “Hailey must have learned about you somehow. She tried to drug me on two occasions. It can’t be a coincidence that she and Kendra came after you… I know this must be hard for you, but right now, it’s important that you pursue a legal case against them and report what they
had done to you.” “I can’t do that!” Gabin shot back. “I can’t tell my wife! What about my life?”
“What about my life, Gabin?!” Carlos raised, his voice strengthening.
“What about our life?” Kate said, looking at Gabin with hurt evidently showing in her eyes. “Am I just supposed to live with the fact the world thinks Carlos slept with Hailey?”
Gabin felt utterly guilty, but at the same time, his ego was getting in the way, not to mention the possibility of losing his family.
“We can talk to your family, Gabin. We’ll help explain to Natalie,” detective Bernard suggested, referring to Gabin’s wife. “It wasn’t your fault, Gabin. You lost reason.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I can hurt her. Plus, that would also put me in danger – my family too, and unlike Carlos, I can’t afford to put my family under twenty-four-hour security. Filing a case would announce my identity, considering how Hailey went public with the video.”
“I can order police surveillance for your family,” detective Bernard suggested.
“I can pay for your family’s private security.” Carlos offered. “I just… I just want my name to be cleared, Gabin.” Carlos turned to Kate. He held her hand and said, “For Kate.”
Yet again, the silence stretched between them. When Gabin raised his chin, he asked, “Please… give me time… to think about it. In any case, I already surrendered the drug test to detectiv
“We’ve already collected the hotel information, including some video surveillance from the property,” Officer Bernard reported. He turned to Gabin and said, “Now it’s just up to Gabin.”
Kate and Carlos looked at each other. After some time, Carlos nodded and suggested, “I know you’ll do the right thing, Gabin. And I’m sure your wife will eventually accept what happened.”
***
Meanwhile, near Clochemerle island, a man was seething, walking up to the remainder of his men. He snapped his head towards his underling and asked, “Is everything in order?”
“Yes, sir. Our flight will leave in four hours. In a few days, we will have Carlos’ Ronaldo’s girlfriend in our hands.”