AUTHOR’S POV
Sydney looked at Gabriel.
She said wearily. ” Twenty million is a lot of money, Gabriel, especially for you; where would you have gotten the money from if I had asked you? You are barely making ends meet and I wouldn’t want to put any trouble on you. ”
Gabriel had nearly blown his cover. At that moment, he wished to tell her who he was maybe she’d consider him and stop rejecting everything she gave him.
Gabriel released a small breath and said meekly. ” I would have gone out and begged. Blake wouldn’t mind helping you, and Alfred wouldn’t either. You have a lot of people who care about you and would have helped you if you had just asked.”
Sydney couldn’t stop the tears from coming. There were many options, yet, she could only think of Gavin at that moment. Gavin’s dad would have helped her.
God, how could I be so stupid? Sydney cried. She let what Gavin had said affect her so badly that she gave up on her mother and waited to hear she was dead.
Gabriel felt like he was tangled in a spider’s web watching her cry. He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her in comfort.
” I didn’t mean to make you cry, I’m sorry.” He said soothingly.
Sydney clung to him, tightly and without care this time. She couldn’t care; she wasn’t married anymore, and there was nothing she had to worry about.
” You said I shouldn’t hold my pain in, let me cry. ”
Gabriel was aware of how less self-conscious she was when holding him.
He asked, ” Did anything happen between you and Gavin?”
” We… we divorced.” She cried.
Gabriel buried his face in her hair and patted her back. He held his smile.
She was single, without a husband, without barriers. She could be taken. He laughed inwardly. He’d take his time this time around. She was too precious to risk. Too broken to be fast with.
” Cry as much as you want to, Sydney; I promise the future will be better.”
Gil came up to the patio a while later and saw them. Gabriel looked at him, and Gil gave him an ‘ I want to talk to you urgently, please don’t kill me’ eye.
Gabriel pulled away gently when Sydney had stopped crying. After hearing that she had divorced Gavin, she looked ten times more beautiful in Gabriel’s eyes.
” You should hit the sack, it’s late,” Gabriel said softly.
Sydney nodded and said, ” It’s pretty late; I don’t think it’d be safe to drive for more than an hour.”
” I’ll crash in a cheap motel.”
” Saying cheap was unnecessary.” She smiled.
Gabriel shrugged and touched her shoulder. ” I’ll, er, see you when you return from Arizona.”
Sydney said goodnight to him and Gil who walked towards them before going inside.
Gil said cheekily, ” You are a big a**hole for being happy about someone’s divorce.”
” Correction, not her divorce, her freedom. It’s high time she left that son of a b**ch.” Gabriel asserted.
” Don’t insult his mother, Gabriel; call him a conceited motherf**ker.” Gil corrected jokingly.
Gabriel laughed fakely and inquired. “What did you do that I’ll have to kill you for?”
Gil’s face turned rigid, and he swallowed. ” Uh-”
” I know you turned my house into a brothel.”
” It’s not that Gabriel. I uh, please understand. Sofia, er, said she wanted a ride in your yacht this Christmas.”
” And how did she find out I have one?”
” I told her I owned a yacht which I obviously don’t. She got excited and she looked like she wanted to be in one. So, I couldn’t stop myself from telling her.”
Gabriel stared at him trying to make out if he was joking. ” You are pulling my legs right?”
” Come on do I look like I’m joking?”
” You don’t look like you are not joking either.” Gabriel deadpanned. ” Whatever, use the yacht, and don’t dare leave your used c**dom where I can see it.”
Gil still looked worried. ” Um… I also said you are Sydney would come with.”
Gabriel glared at him and he quickly chirped in. ” Look, on the bright side, you two can have a good time together. You could tell her how you feel about her; Christmas is a month or two away; you have enough time to make her fall for you and think of a less violent way to express your feelings for her.”
Gabriel looked away. ” Why am I even listening to this, you have lost your mind.”
Gil grabbed his shoulder, ” You know how beautiful Sydney is, I’m sure you aren’t the only guy who waited for her to divorce Gavin. Claim her before some other guy does.”
” You are the last person I should be listening to for love advice. Besides, what’s going on between you and Sofia? I’m certain it’s passed one night since we went to that karaoke place.” Gabriel smirked.
Gil frowned. ” Nothing, she, um, is just irresistible.”
” In bed or as a person?”
” Both.”
Gabriel smiled. A part of him was happy Gil was slowly coming to his senses.
He said coolly. ” So you have feelings for her?”
Gil looked at him like the question would threaten his life. ” I don’t do feelings, Gabriel, you know that. I enjoy her company, and she tastes so damn good. She isn’t different from the other girls I’ve slept with, I’d probably get over her in a month.”
Gil knew those words were untrue. He was afraid to tell Gabriel what he was feeling and mostly afraid of getting hurt again to the point he didn’t know he was hurting someone else.
Sofia who’d been standing by the back door since she heard Gabriel mention her name, ran inside before Gabriel and Gil could see her.
Gabriel looked at Gil unbelievably. ” I know you are afraid but don’t hurt her. I hope you’ll put your past aside and accept how you feel. There are still good women in this world.”
Gabriel left Gil to think.