AUTHOR’S POV
CALEB SLAPPED A STACK of cash on the woman dancing half-naked in front of him.
She smirked, shoved the money into her bra and ran her fingers down his chest seductively then brought her lips close to his. When he reached to kiss her, she moved away.
” I’m not cheap, old man; if you can’t give me enough money, keep you gnawed d**k in your pants.” She said savagely, and then cart walked out of the room.
Caleb groaned in frustration at her insult.
A whole Caleb Morgan was being mocked. Oh, no, no, this was only ephemeral. He’d have enough cash to f**k that whore for years when he was done with Gavin.
He was happy a big torn was taken from his flesh. If he’d gone to Ashley’s funeral, he didn’t think he would be able to stop himself from destroying her grave. Well at least, he gave her a goodbye kiss before she died.
Now that she was gone, his next move was to rip Gavin off all his wealth before he could proceed to destroy his daughter and her lover’s life.
Chuckling, he pulled out his phone from his pants pocket and called an old friend.
______________
Emily’s mouth hung open when she saw Gabriel’s quaint house.
She tugged on her mommy’s shirt stunned, ” Is this our new home?”
Sydney gave a tight-lipped smile. ” No, but we’d stay here for a while.”
Sydney saw Gabriel standing by the door and smiling at her. She forced a smile as she walked to him.
” No ten thousand luggages?” Gabriel asked teasingly.
He could not hide his excitement.
” I’ll get new stuff tomorrow, I hope there’s a mall nearby.”
” Yes, it’s ten minutes drive away. I can take you on my bike tomorrow.”
Emily gasped, looking up at Gabriel like he was a giant, ” You have a bike? Can I ride on it please?”
Sydney gaped at her, ” You just met him and you haven’t even said hi.”
Emily looked at Gabriel and grinned then said in her girly voice, ” Hi, I’m Emily. Please, can I ride on your bike?”
Gabriel wanted to say yes but the frown on Sydney’s face warned him to say otherwise. ” If your mommy says yes then I’d allow you.”
Emily looked at Sydney with puppy eyes. Sydney gave her a dismal look in no mood for her tantrums.
” I said no and that’s final.” Sydney hissed.
Emily folded her arm around her chest and scowled. ” You are always unfair,” Emily whined.
Sydney sighed, a bit embarrassed by Emily’s behavior. She then realized Ethan was beside her and he hadn’t acknowledged Gabriel yet.
“Ethan, this is Gabriel. You’ve met him before, haven’t you?” Sydney said.
Ethan ignored her question and said, ” I’m tired, I want to sleep.”
Sydney opened her mouth to chide his curt behavior but Gabriel spoke before she could.
” There’s an empty room by the hallway to the left.”
Ethan mumbled a thank you and stormed inside.
Emily looked at Gabriel and asked, ” Do you have books?”
Gabriel smiled down at her, ” Yeah, sure, sweety, I do.”
She smiled happily and bounced inside. Gabriel looked at Sydney who looked tensed.
” You are a bit hard on them, take it easy.” He said softly.
” I’m sorry about their behavior, they forget their manners sometimes.”
Sydney was worried about Ethan’s attitude problems. She hoped Gabriel wouldn’t get mad and throw them away.
Gabriel noticed her apprehension and placed a hand on her back comfortingly.
” It’s fine, Sydney; they are just children. They get giddy over a lot of things. ” Gabriel voiced calmly but Sydney couldn’t tense down.
Nothing felt right; she had lost a lot of things over a short period, and she couldn’t think straight anymore. She felt bad for putting it on her kids.
She didn’t know how it was to raise children on her own. She already felt like she was failing at it. She knew her and Gavin’s divorce left scars in their heart and she understood it would be hard making them heal from it, especially Ethan.
Gabriel looked at Sydney as they walked towards a room. Slight pain bubbled in his heart knowing what she was thinking about.
He pushed the room door open and turned to her. ” You can stay here, I’ll take out my stuff tomorrow.”
” Where are you going to sleep?”
” There’s another room but it’s in the penthouse. I figured you’d be better off in a room closer to your kids.” He lied knowing if he told her he would sleep on the couch, she’d try to stop him.
Sydney smiled gratefully; her eyes lingered on his brown ones before she looked away. ” Um… Thank you again, I really appreciate it. Good night… Lumberjack.”
Gabriel replied lowly, ” Goodnight Miss Morgan.”
Sydney took a shower before reading Ethan and Emily to sleep. She heard sounds coming from the living room and went to see Gabriel sitting on the couch in the dark living room, watching television.
She crossed her arms around her chest and stared at him. Part of her felt like taking revenge on Gavin and giving in to her womanly needs. She felt like her body was going to burst if she didn’t sleep with a man.
She bit her lips.
Gabriel’s ability to control himself sexually made him more alluring in her eyes. He must be feeling it, too; why doesn’t he want to make a move?
Sydney quickly shook her head, dispelling her naughty thoughts. She shouldn’t be thinking of a friend this way.
She swallowed a hard lump and walked to Gabriel then sat some inches away from him.
Gabriel looked at her; a charming smile played on his lips that made her even hotter. ” It’s past midnight, I thought you’d be asleep.”
She looked at the Television and her face fell. ” I should say the same thing to you.”
” Late night is best for movie time.”
” Tell me about it.” She looked at him. “How many times have you watched this series?”
” It’s my first time. ”
” I see. I’ve watched Fast and Furious since I was a teenager. It was the first movie I and Gavin watched together as a couple.”
” Oh, um… I could change it if you want.”
She quickly waved him off. ” Oh, no. I’m not going to ruin your late-night movie time; plus, it would be nice watching it again.”
Gabriel groaned internally. He was about to change it before Sydney came in. The movie didn’t pique his interest. He wasn’t the type of guy interested in fast-moving cars or action movies.
But, Sydney was enough to keep him from falling asleep. He saw the excitement mixed with wistfulness in her eyes as she watched the movie.
He wanted to drool looking at her. She was so beautiful and breathtaking that he constantly wondered why Gavin would risk such a woman. Mistakes had been made, he was in her home now, and he would make the most of it.
Sydney caught him looking at her but he didn’t look away.
She blushed slightly and said, ” You don’t have to force yourself to stay awake because of me.”
” How do you know that?” He furrowed his brows.
” You remind me a lot about someone.” She mimicked him in a neutral tone and he chuckled lowly.
” Okay, understandable.” He got up. ” Don’t stay up too late.”
She nodded and watched him leave.
She soaked into the couch and looked at the television emotionlessly. She let the memories of Gavin drown her to a point where she couldn’t feel the stinging pain in her heart again.
She knew she wasn’t ever going to go back. The past was in the past, nothing could ever be the same again.