AUTHOR’S POV
Gabriel walked to Sydney’s room with his heart lurching. Every single sound, faint or loud, echoed through the walls of his head.
He could hear the pulsating beeping of a life monitor. The sound rummaged his mind. He felt like getting out of this place.
Hospitals never did him any good. This one especially. He’d lost two people dearest to him here. Both deaths were his fault.
He could just hear the raging thunderclaps. The turbulent storm. The sounds of nurses running through the floors of the hospital while wheeling a stretcher. The woman on the stretcher. The blood. The suffering on her struggling face.
Gabriel sucked a loud breath and held the wall for support. Not now, not now, Gabriel, get a hold of yourself.
At that moment, he regretted not regarding his father’s advice on getting medical help.
A nurse saw him and quickly ran to him while holding a medical kit.
” Sir, are you all right?”
No, he wasn’t. He had never been.
Gabriel shut his eyes, quelling his turmoil. He released a breath and opened his eyes, putting on the facade he knows how to pull best.
With a charming smile, he shrugged. ” No worries, I’m good. I haven’t hit the sack for some days that’s why I felt queasy.”
The nurse looked skeptical. ” You should sleep regularly, sir; health is wealth.”
” Thanks for your concern.”
As Gabriel turned to leave, from the corner of his eyes, he saw Gavin in a ward holding hands with Avery. Gabriel’s eyes went dark with fury as he fixed his gaze on Avery.
She was lucky she was with Gavin. She’d probably tricked her way into getting to the hospital. Gabriel thought.
He’d warned her not to hurt Sydney and she disobeyed him. He wouldn’t let her go scot-free.
Gabriel walked to Sydney’s ward, his demeanor soft and caring. He made sure Sofia saw him before he entered the ward.
Sydney’s eyes met his instantly.
” I need to pee, Sydney; I’ll be back.” Sofia lied and walked to Gabriel.
She looked at him pointedly, confused as to why Gil wasn’t with him. Disappointment struck her as she left.
” It was barely five hours since you left, and this happened,” Gabriel said as he walked to stay by the window.
” I guess I’m full of bad luck,” Sydney said grimly, looking at him.
Legs crossed as he leaned by the window, Gabriel waited for some seconds before he spoke. ” No, you are not; you are cursed with an unfortunate spouse.”
” I tripped and fell, my hus- Gavin had nothing to do with it.”
” I saw the news.”
” It didn’t mean anything.”
” You were chasing after your son. Why? I’m sure it had something to do with your husband.”
Sydney looked away. He was getting on her nerves. How was it possible he could easily guess everything that happened to her?
” Are you stalking me, Gabriel?”
Gabriel smiled. ” No, I’m not; I told you, you remind me of my mother.”
” I’m starting to think you are just using her as an excuse.”
Gabriel pushed himself off the window and sat on the hospital chair.
” She was in love, just like you. Deeply. Too deeply. Not with my father, the reason she married my father was because she was forced to. ” He touched her hair like it was a rare gift.
” She had red hair like you. She looked so happy, or at least she pretended to. The man she loved ruined her. He tore her to shreds, picked up the shreds, and tore them up. Yet, she didn’t stop looking so happy, she didn’t stop loving him. She didn’t stop hurting me and my dad.”
” Then, I lost it; I shouted at her; I told her I hated her. I told her all sorts of cruel things I didn’t mean. She kept on smiling. The only time she stopped smiling was when she died…”
Gabriel didn’t mean to say anything about his mother to her, especially when it risked his secret getting exposed but he couldn’t control his emotions.
She kept on standing up for a man that was a room away taking care of another woman while she was here in pain because of him.
Sydney was speechless. She felt guilty for making him say those things. She could see he didn’t mean to say them, and once again, she’d proven to be a bad listener. It hadn’t dawned on her that Gabriel’s mother was dead.
Gabriel was calm now. ” I don’t like seeing you this way Sydney.”
” I’m sorry. Gabriel. It didn’t occur to me your mother was… dead.” Although you’ve told me before I didn’t listen.
Gabriel let it slide and decided to change the topic when the silence became deafening.
” I ran into your son, he was as ferocious as you.” Gabriel half-laughed.
Sydney’s eyes met his; her heartbeat quickened. ” I’m sorry if he said anything rude.”
” He didn’t, I didn’t find him rude. He speaks his mind, I adore that. From what he said, I know he’s overly protective of you.”
Sydney smiled wistfully, remembering when he’d called himself her guardian angel.
” What did he say to you?” Sydney inquired.
Gabriel pretended to think. ” When I said I was concerned about you, he said no I wasn’t. You like her. You covet her.” Gabriel mimicked.
Sydney laughed.
Gabriel paused to hear her laugh. It made him grin.
” He’s very handsome, he must have loads of girls bowing at his feet,” Gabriel said with mixed emotions.
He’d never experienced what it was like to be a dad. To have a child. To be called a father.
Sydney spoke, chuckling, ” He’s just ten, Gabriel. Besides, most girls are scared of him.
” Unsurprisingly,” Gabriel remarked succinctly.
Sydney found her head and cheeks throbbing as she laughed loudly while talking with Gabriel. She almost forgot she was in the hospital.
Unbeknownst to her, Gavin stood outside the ward door, watching them with unswerving envy.
While Gavin watched his wife slowly slip out of his hands, jealously struck Sofia’s heart seeing Gil flirt with some nurses.
He’d been ignoring her calls and texts since the first time she called him, making her feel stupid for chasing after a man. But, she couldn’t control her liking for him.
Not after he’d made love to her four times in one night and yet she wanted more. Not just more out of the world s! x, she wanted him to herself.
Gil caught sight of her from the corner of his eyes and his grin slowly slid off from his face.
She flushed and nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She’d expected him to ignore her presence, but instead, he said something to the nurses that made them groan and then walked to her.
” Nice to see you once again,” Gil said with his grin back in check.
He could see her as much as he wanted if he didn’t stop being such a stuck-up snob.
” Um… aren’t you going to see Syd- Mrs. Reed?”
She didn’t forget too quickly he was Alfred’s son.
Gil smiled at her ignoring her question.
Sofia couldn’t stop herself from smiling when he wouldn’t stop staring at her.
” What is it?” She swallowed nervously.
” I’ll see her when I please. I heard she is fine, it wasn’t a major injury. ”
Sofia nodded and they fell silent.
Sofia spoke after a while. ” You ignored my calls and texts?”
Gil gave a cursory reply. ” I told you what a one-night stand means to me.”
His intense gaze bore into her soul.
” I don’t want it to just be a one-night stand.”
” I don’t do relationships.”
Sofia looked hurt. ” If you say it’s just a one-night stand, why are you here talking to me.”
Gil wavered a response. “I’ve been having insomnia thinking about you. I’m willing to reconsider… just this once.”
Sofia’s eyes sparkled like she was a child given candy. But, she wasn’t so quick to believe him.
” I’m sure you were thinking about the s! x.”
Gil grinned and licked his lips making her flush scarlet. She’d been thinking about it too. Who wouldn’t if they slept with him?
” Yes, yes, and yes, but not only that. ” He looked serious now. ” I don’t think of any woman after I sleep with them. Not that they weren’t good in bed, but because they didn’t give me a reason to think of them. You give me many reasons to think of you.”
” I haven’t told any woman this and after now, I know I’ll drink myself to hell knowing I couldn’t keep my emotions in check. But you are worth the hangover.”
Sofia laughed. She wondered how many women he had told that but that didn’t bother her.
” How about dinner tonight at my place tonight?”
” No, at a restaurant. In public.” She corrected.
She knew they wouldn’t be able to last two minutes into the dinner before they ended up in bed. She wanted to know more about him, what he liked. What he loved.
Hopefully, he would understand.
And he did. ” Okay, wherever you wish. I’ll pick you up at your place tonight.”
She asked if he needed her house address but he shrugged her off.
” How do you know where I live.”
Gil shone his white teeth. ” That’s a question for another day Honey.”