SCHOOL RESUMED PRETTY early, so, Sydney was left alone at Sofia’s place with herself and thoughts.
She decided to vacuum the house and do the laundry and other household chores to kill time. She had thrown out the laptop alongside all the things Gabriel had gotten for her.
She refused to hold on to anything he gave her. It all poured down on her like lava when her mind was off Avery’s death.
The jet. His next to perfect personality. The yacht. The necklace. Clothes. Chains. The faint screams she’d heard in his penthouse, she thought it was her mind playing tricks on her.
The truth was there all along, looking her in the face. No wonder he was friends with many rich people. Everything was all a facade.
He must have pretended to be poor to cover up his crimes!
Sydney fell to the couch and shoved a hand through her hair.
” The drawings oh my God! ” It occurred to her he’d draw the people he’d tortured. He’d drawn the things he found appealing.
Sydney shut her eyes and leaned into the chair.
She thought, ‘ He was so kind, he loved my children like they were his. He smiles every time like he’s pure. God, Gabriel how could you do this?”
Disturbing her thoughts, the doorbell rang. Sydney’s eyes widened on impulse. She had an intuition it was Gabriel.
What if he came to take her and lock her up?
Her heart raced as she got up and grabbed a mop. She carefully walked to the door. Slowly, turned the doorknob. Even more slowly, opened the door.
When she saw Gavin, she sighed, pushed open the door, and walked back inside.
Gavin walked in and closed the door with his leg. ” That’s your mechanism for defense?”
Sydney dropped the mop and turned to look at him.
He wasn’t smiling, neither was he frowning, he looked worn out. She wanted to run a hand through his hair again to make him calm.
” It’s better safe than sorry.”
He handed her a plastic bag as she walked to him. ” Last time, you used a more lethal weapon to defend yourself from me.”
A small smile appeared on Sydney’s face when she recalled beating him up in the hospital. The smile disappeared as it came.
She looked at the hamburgers and milkshake in the bag. ” The kids would love this.”
” It’s not for them, it’s for you.”
She looked at him and her throat suddenly felt dry when he looked away immediately.
” Thank you.” She mumbled.
” Mhm.”
She went to the kitchen and dropped the bag on the counter before returning to the living room to see him sitting on the couch, staring at his watch, feet tapping the ground.
He’d been a lot quiet since Christmas. Sydney wondered if he was still worried about the gunshot incident.
” You didn’t go to work today?” Sydney leaned on the wall next to the door.
” Uh… I’m free for an hour, I just needed to see you.” He needed her forgiveness. He was losing his mind every second; nothing had been right since he’d cheated on her.
Karma was slapping him in the face every minute.
Sydney opened her mouth to speak but closed it quickly. She watched him for up to five minutes, running a hand through his hair, rubbing his brows, biting his lips, and exhaling.
He finally looked up at her and said, “Has Gabriel tried calling or approaching you since what happened?”
Sydney nodded, ” No, I haven’t seen or heard from him since.”
She was a bit worried about him. Gil had called to ask if she knew where he was. Even Alfred’s spies had no idea where he was.
” I had no idea he was a psychopath,” Gavin rubbed his brows.
He mentally slapped himself for trusting Gabriel in Sydney’s hand. After everything Sydney told him about Gabriel and what he’d done, Gavin wondered why Gabriel didn’t do anything to harm him or obtain Sydney to himself.
” He’s not a psychopath.” Sydney defended. ” He’s just suffering from a… mental issue.”
” Same thing.”
Sydney glared at him, and he quickly apologized, ” Sorry, sorry.”
She eyed the black shirt and red pants with multi-colored socks he was wearing. She didn’t know what was more pitiable, the agony on his face or his clothes.
” How many minutes did you spend picking clothes to wear?”
He shook his head and her eyes widened.
” Hours?” She gaped at him.
He stifled a chuckle.
He lazily stood to his feet and let out a groan. It’d been ages since he last worked out.
” Seconds. ” He said softly and walked towards her. ” They were the first clothes staring at me when I opened the closet, so I decided to go with it.” He said in a low seductive voice that made her melt to the toes.
Her legs were magnets to the floor.
She stared at him deliriously as he approached her. She screamed silently to herself to move but she couldn’t. She couldn’t summon the courage to.
It’d been months since anyone made love to her, she had no clue how she managed to deny him and herself for almost eight months of her pregnancy.
At that moment, she realized what she’d done to him. Was she not a reason he’d cheated on her?
She swallowed.
The instant her eyes fell to his lips, her body began to shrivel with hotness. She was afraid of the way her body was reacting towards him. She missed the feel of his body against hers. It was always out of the world when he was in her, eating her up and tasting her.
Sydney shuddered at her thoughts.
He stopped a few feet away from her. He watched as her eyes dilated, her face reddened, and her eyes momentarily dropped to his lips.
He was a furnace, heating them both.
” Sydney…” He breathed and took a step close to her.
” Stay back. ” Her tone meant otherwise and he heard otherwise.
He took another step closer. He could hear her heartbeat. He could feel her breath on his neck. He’d felt what he’d let slip out of his fingers.
” You are the best woman for me Sydney.” He whispered and cupped her cheek. ” I miss you. I miss everything about you.”
He took her hand and drew her close to him so there was no space between their bodies.
She released a light gasp and placed her hand on his chest to push him away, but instead, she found herself unbuttoning his shirt.
” Why are you doing this to me?” The question was directed to herself and him.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her cheek.
” I have forgotten how to breathe Sydney. I can’t breathe. I stopped breathing when I realized what I’ve done to you and our kids.” He smoothened her hair as she traced her circles on his chest.
She stared at her fingers bleakly imagining every fabric of time they were together, when they used to be happy.
” I’m a wretched man, I’ve lost everything. I’m nothing. I’ve been nothing since I broke your trust.” He pushed himself a few centimeters away to look her in the eye.
For a moment he was spellbound. Dumbstruck, speechless. His lips curved into a hopeful smile when he saw a flicker of love in her eyes.
He took her hand from his chest and kissed it. ” My little princess.”
His lips met hers for a fraction of a second, and her legs were already lickerish. She craved more; she wanted to draw him close and do so much more, but she was too afraid.
He rested his forehead on hers and breathed. ” I love you, I love you so much.”
His words were enough to breathe life back into her. She pushed him away swiftly. She was walking away. Losing her mind all over again. Kicking herself in the butt. Slapping herself for allowing herself to be consumed by him.
He was always good with words. He knew the perfect things to say to make any woman swoon. Things he never meant.
Sydney wanted to say, ‘ If you loved me, you wouldn’t have cheated on me. You wouldn’t have insulted me and hurt me because of another woman!’
Sydney went to the kitchen, took an empty cup, filled it with water, and then drank it up in one gulp.
She looked at Gavin still standing where she’d left him. She had no clue why she was washing her hands but she just kept on washing and scrubbing and washing and scrubbing.
” What did the medical report say?” She said loud enough for him to hear.
Gavin walked to the kitchen door and leaned on the doorframe.
” Positive.”
Sydney was washing her heart.
” Yet you tried seducing me.” She stopped washing and turned to look at him with a scowl implanted on her face. ” You wanted me to have a share of your virus, too, didn’t you.”
She didn’t wait for him to talk. She grabbed the dishcloth and threw it on him, striking him in the face.
” You came here to hurt me all over again-”
” I didn’t-”
” Yes, you did!” She burst. ” Do you think after Avery’s death, you can come and pick up from the pieces you’ve dumped? You think I’m just a material you can obtain anytime you’d like! ”
” Sweetheart-”
” My name is Sydney, call me that. I am not your princess or sweetheart, why the hell do you keep calling me that?! ” She panted.
” Syd-”
” Get out, get lost, and don’t come back. ” Sydney screamed.
He stared at her as she panted, turned to the tap, and began to wash her face.
” I’ll pick the kids up from school.”
” I’ll pick them myself.” Sydney retorted sharply.
” Don’t bother. I won’t change my mind.” He was gone from the kitchen before she could utter another word.
She turned around and looked at him as he stumbled his way towards the front door. Despite how much she wanted to be with him again, the memories of the past kept on stopping her.
In less than a minute, when Gavin left the house, Gabriel came walking in.