” Charlotte, you should have spent Christmas with your boyfriend; he must be feeling down without you with him.”
Gabriel returned to the dining room just in time to hear his father change the topic from politics.
Alfred had visited Gabriel as soon as his spies delivered news that Sydney and her kid had left Gabriel’s place. He insisted Gabriel followed him home for Christmas. Gabriel was adamant at first but when he remembered his father was a lonely man with no one except him and Charlotte, he had to agree.
Charlotte blushed and slipped out her hand under Alfred’s to brush a strand of hair off her face.
” It’s my obligation to spend the holidays with my husband.”
Alfred smirked and took a bite out of his chicken breast. ” Did that apply to all your ex-husbands also?”
Gabriel slid into the chair next to his father. Gabriel wasn’t a bit surprised by his father’s indifference towards Charlotte’s infidelity. They were more of friends than husband and wife.
Alfred lost his attraction to women ever since the day he set his eyes on his first wife.
A sharp pain engulfed Gabriel’s heart remembering how genuinely happy and charismatic his father used to be. He loved her more than he loved himself and that made him blind to so many things. Even knowing she was cheating, Alfred kept on forgiving her till she eventually died. He’d been a broken man ever since.
Gabriel stifled a chuckle. The Patels were for sure unfortunate with women.
” Honey, don’t you think is time to explore the world of romance once again?” Charlotte said to Gabriel. ” You can’t waste your thirty’s chasing one woman.”
Gabriel played with his food. He suddenly lost his appetite.
He had tried his best not to think of Sydney throughout the feast, but he couldn’t. For the first time in never, his conscience pricked, he thought about everything his father and Gil had told him. He didn’t know when he appeared in the washroom until he took out his phone and sent a message to Avery to back down from the kidnap.
” No woman draws my attention asides her and if you are telling me to play with women’s hearts, that’s out of my capability. ” Gabriel replied as a matter-of-factly.
” So you haven’t seen another red-haired woman?” Charlotte teased.
Gabriel’s shoulder tensed. This was not a subject he enjoyed talking about.
Alfred intervened. ” Let him be; one day, he’d find interest in another woman.”
Gabriel held a scoff. He raised his head to his father, and a wry smile tugged the corner of his lips as he did. He wanted to change the subject but Charlotte was quick to speak.
” Maybe we can finally have grandchildren.” Charlotte chirped with an innocent laugh.
She had intentions of getting on Gabriel’s nerves, but she did anyway. She was a bit annoying sometimes. Correction, a lot. People detested her for her honesty. She always spoke whatever came to her mind without a second thought. It was what made Alfred want to marry her.
” Nah, I was expecting him to break the good news of me going to be a granddad till I’m on my deathbed.” Alfred sipped out of his wine.
Gabriel stopped listening when they started talking about how it would be to have grandchildren.
A few minutes passed by, and his phone buzzed.
As he reached to take it out, his father, who had noticed his dressing sense had become a lot better, said, ” I must say Sydney Reed has good fashion sense.”
Gabriel paused and stared down at his clothes. ” I didn’t tell you she picked them for me.”
” It shouldn’t be new to you that I sent people to monitor your every move.”
Gabriel’s fist clenched. Jaws tightened. He looked at everywhere but his father. He wondered if Alfred knew what he did to Avery. If he did, he would have paid him a visit that exact day.
” I told you to stop spying on me,” Gabriel uttered through gritted teeth.
Alfred sighed and sat straight. ” It’s for your good.”
Gabriel threw him a glare. ” My good? I’m thirty-five, I don’t need you monitoring me like I’m a child.” Gabriel hissed.
” I’ve told you before, if you don’t visit a therapist, I won’t stop. Especially now you’ve started liking another woman. I don’t want you making stupid decisions.”
Gabriel’s lips were sealed shut. His hand gripped the handle of his chair as if meaning to stand.
Alfred’s indifferent face turned into a slight grimace. ” I know what you did to Gavin Reed’s mistress-”
Gabriel cut him off. ” She deserves every bit of torture I inflicted on her. I haven’t done enough yet; women like her don’t deserve to rot in hell.”
” Gabriel-”
Gabriel was up and wheezing. What he didn’t enjoy was being talked to like a child. He didn’t want to hear his father taking Avery’s side. Gabriel felt no remorse for what he did to her; in fact, he wasn’t satisfied.
” I’ve lost my appetite, I need to return home.” He went to Charlotte and kissed her forehead.
She held his arm and drew him to look at her. ” Christmas isn’t over yet, please, stay a little longer.”
Alfred answered on Gabriel’s behalf. His face was carved into a look of disappointment. ” No, let him go if he wants to.”
Elizabeth hesitated but let him go. Gabriel walked to his father and kissed his cheek. Before he pulled away, Alfred muttered, ” How long are you planning to keep your identity a secret? She’d find out eventually.”
Gabriel stood and rubbed his temples. Sydney would use it as an excuse to leave him, Gabriel thought. She must already be thinking of how to cut ties with him ever since he professed his love to her.
Gabriel sighed and threw the thought in the trashcan.
” Soon.” He replied.
” Just don’t make sure she finds out from someone else.”
Gabriel inhaled the cold air as he stepped out of his father’s house. He stood by the porch for a while to catch his breath and senses. He stared at the neighboring building. He watched the man hold his wife affectionately. As they watched their kids make a snowman.
Gabriel’s fists clenched to the sides. His heart expanded and constricted.
God, it must feel so good being a father and having a wife again. He thought grimly. His eyes were a representation of the shallowness he felt inside.
Despite how much he wanted to be loved by Sydney, he couldn’t help but feel it was impossible. Threatening her wouldn’t make her fall in love with him neither would killing the man she’s in love with. He felt scared he was starting to give up. Starting to heal. He didn’t want to believe he was.
A man walked past with a phone in his ear making Gabriel remember someone sent him a message.
As he walked to his bike, he took out his phone from his pants. His brows furrowed at the sender. He’d sent Jacob to keep an eye on Avery in case she tried anything stupid.
Impatience crept into his soul. He quickly clicked on the message.
– She disobeyed your orders and went along with the attack. I couldn’t see the men’s faces clearly, but they looked familiar. I think she tricked you and hired someone to kill Gavin Reed’s son instead. But, he’s unharmed, the bullet-”
Gabriel swiped away the message in a flash. His body was shaking in anger, and his vision was blinded with different shades of red. He swore countless as he called Avery.
” Answer the f**king call, shit!” He barked.
His mind was a maze of conflicting emotions. He wanted to run to the hospital and check on Ethan, and at the same time, he wanted to drag Avery to the torture house, tie her to the ceiling, and feed her to the rats.
” What the hell did I tell you to do?!” Gabriel snarled as soon as Avery picked up the call.
” I had no hand in it.”Her voice was void of emotion.
” And you expect me to believe you, don’t you? Shit! If I get my hands on you, I’ll rip you apart.”
Silence. 1 second. Two. Three. Four-
” Open your goddamn mouth and speak!”
Avery shouted quickly in a shaky voice. ” I did nothing! I told them to back off and they did.” Gabriel could hear her shaking. ” Whoever did it must be hired by someone else. If only they’d hire a good shooter, that b**tard would have been killed.”
Gabriel wished he could shoot her through the phone. She was a heartless woman. He didn’t understand why she hated Sydney and her children so much.
” You’ll regret what you just said by the time I’m finished with you-”
” I don’t fear you!”
” Then why are you shaking? Tell me, what exactly did the drug make you see?” Gabriel laughed. ” Where you burning on hell like you are supposed to?”
” I’ll make you regret what you’ve done to me.”
” Tell me what I haven’t heard before. Run, Avery, start running; I’ll give you a headstart because when I find you, you won’t be able to breathe through your nose or speak through your mouth.” He ended the call and released a loud frustrated sound.
He called Jacob, spoke to him, and after a few minutes, he cut the call, jumped on the bike, and headed for his house.
When Gabriel reached his house, he saw Gavin’s Rolls-Royce parked in front of his house.
Gabriel rode to the patio, parked the bike, and walked to the front of the house just in time to see Gavin and Sydney stepping out of the car. His eyes searched for Ethan as Gavin opened the backseat and picked up Ethan, then handed him to Sydney.
Gabriel felt an inch of relief. Ethan was okay. No bruises or bandages.
” Thank you,” Sydney said nervously to Gavin. ” You should head back home, I’ll pick Emily up tomorrow.”
Gavin nodded and watched her go in. He’d seen Gabriel looking at them. He looked at him as he watched the front door close.
” Can I have a word with you?” It took all of Gavin’s pride to ask.
Gabriel spared him no glance. With his face twisted in a frown, he turned to leave, but Gavin spoke quickly, stopping him.
” I have no intention of fighting with you; it’s a matter of my son; just hear me out.” Gavin ran a hand through his hair. ” Please.”
Gabriel turned slowly to look at him. He made no effort to move, so Gavin had to take a few steps closer to him.
Gavin ran a hand through his hair again as if contemplating if to speak. His eyes roamed around Gabriel’s face, and he couldn’t help but despise it a thousand more, knowing he kissed Sydney. But, that wasn’t son he needed to be thinking off so he brushed it away abruptly.
” I know you have feelings for my Sydney.” He ran a hand through his face. He wanted to wash the effects of the words in his mouth away.
” If you called me to convince me to stop loving her, I suggest you don’t waste your time.”
Unpleasant words were about to come out of Gavin’s mouth but he quickly swallowed it away.
” That’s no why.” He paused and slid his shaky fingers into his pocket. ” It will do well to her sanity if you don’t discuss what I will tell you to her, you must know she’s going through a lot.” And it’s all my fault. He completed silently.
” I need you to do me a favor; I wouldn’t be asking you if I didn’t have any other options left.”
” Is anything wrong with Ethan?” Gabriel stared at him succinctly. His heartbeat paced by the minute. He recalled Ethan’s blemish-free skin. He was fine… physically fine.
Gabriel panicked. He remembered Jacob telling him Ethan had a slight paralysis.
” Talk to me, Gavin!” Gabriel snapped hysterically.
” The Doctor… The Doctor said he’s suffering from depression and anxiety issues.” Gavin paused when Gabriel’s eyes widened. ” I’m the reason he’s in this condition. I feel hopeless, and I don’t think I can help him heal. I don’t have enough time.”
” What do you mean by you don’t have enough time and you can’t help him? You are his father, he needs you. ”
Gavin turned away and ran a hand through his hair again. His bones ached him. His heart was failing. Every breath he breathed made his heartburn.
” I need your help, please. He’s talked about you a few times when we were together. He said you taught him how to fish and chop logs. He said you treated him and Sydney well. He said even though you aren’t his father, he liked you a lot for making… For making Sydney happy. ” Gavin breathed.
Gabriel’s shoulder fell. Every part of his body fell. Guilt washed over him. It beckoned to him that he had a hand in Ethan’s mental state. He was part of the reason Gavin and Sydney divorced. He had proof against Avery and could have easily saved their marriage. He could have saved Ethan from the depression. Once again, he’d let his feelings ruin someone’s life. Gabriel felt like beating himself up.
” Thank you for being there for her and my kids when I wasn’t.” Gavin looked at the soil and released a sharp breath. “God, I hate myself for what I’ve done. I never made her as happy as you did. Despite knowing she was happy with you, I tried to hurt her because of I was jealous.”
” I’ve made a huge mistake, I know I can’t get out of it even after I’m dead.” He faced Gabriel. ” Don’t give up on them, please continue taking care of them. I need you to convince Sydney to take him to a therapist without revealing the truth. I’ll pay for all the expenses and if you need anything, I’ll be there to assist.”
Gavin waited for Gabriel to speak but when Gabriel didn’t say a word, Gavin asked, ” So, what do you say?”