Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel)

Chapter 139: The Night Before The Truth

Clairessa's POV Jess stared at me the way she always did when she was trying to get me to talk-brows slightly raised, arms crossed, waiting. I had been pacing in her living room since I got here, trying to calm the storm raging inside me. I stopped abruptly and turned to her. "Adrian has officially lost his damn mind." Her brows furrowed. "Claire... I don't understand. Why do you think Adrian is crazy?" I let out a frustrated sigh. "Because I just had lunch with him, and he-he tried to-" "Wait." She raised a hand, cutting me off. "You had lunch with Adrian? I thought you said that chapter of your life was done." "It was. It is," I insisted. "I only met with him because he vowed to show up at my office every day if I didn't." I shook my head. "And you know exactly what that meant." Her eyes widened. "Gabriel would find out you're having something to do with his son." "Jess..." I rubbed my temples. "You really don't need to spell it out." "Oh, I do." She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. "Because I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this. Did Adrian threaten you, or what the hell actually happened at lunch?" I threw my hands up. "Not me specifically... but he did threaten to 'deal with' the new man in my life." I let out a scoff. "What a pathetic, entitled loser." My voice rose as I paced, anger building with every step. "So you told him about Gabriel?" Jess asked, her confusion clear. "Not about Gabriel," I corrected quickly. "I just told him I was in love... but I withheld the name of the man." Jess blew out a slow breath. “Claire... this is a mess, and I warned you about all of this. I told you to get out before it got messy, but you didn't listen." I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Jess, come on. You're right, but this isn't the best time for 'I told you so." I collapsed onto the couch beside me, my head in my hands. "I'm losing my freaking mind over all of this." She rose to her feet and walked over to me. "You're right. I'll scold you after all of this is done." She squeezed my shoulder in comfort. "But for now, just breathe. We'll figure something out. We always do." "Like what?" I lifted my head to look at her. "I don't know yet," she admitted. "But something will come to me. It always does." Then her gaze hardened. "But Claire... I still think your best bet is coming clean to Gabriel. He deserves to know." I swallowed, a lump forming in my throat. "I know that more than anyone, but I'm scared, Jess." My voice dropped. "What if he never forgives me? What if I lose him?" Jess knelt in front of me, holding my hands. "Claire, you have to stick to the truth. Gabriel deserves that. And you'll never know if he'll forgive you unless you try." I nodded slowly, my heart pounding in my chest. Jess paused for a second before asking, "Are you in love with him?" I didn't even have to think. "Yes." She studied me, then asked, "Do you think he loves you back?" I smiled, despite the heaviness in my chest. "He does. He confessed it to me. And more than that... he shows me. Every single day." "Then you can't keep this from him. You don't want to betray him like his ex-wife did, right?" The mention of Angelique made my stomach sink. "No," I whispered. "I don't want to hurt him." Jess squeezed my hands. "Claire, every moment you withhold this information, you're hurting him. And yourself. Free your heart from the guilt and do what's right." She sat back. "If you two are meant to be, you'll find a way through this. But lying-hiding things-it'll only ruin what you have." I closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves. "You're right. I can't keep doing this. Otherwise... I'm no different from Angelique." "But the truth is, I'm also uneasy-Adrian is going to do something reckless before I even get the chance to tell Gabriel. I can feel it. The look in his eyes said it all. He's already setting his watchdogs on me, trying to uncover what I'm up to." He's done it before..." I swallowed hard, memories rushing back. "Back when I was in my last year of college, he thought I was cheating with this guy named Matt in my class. He had people watching and following me." "That's true." Jess pressed her lips into a thin line. “And knowing Adrian, he won't stop until he figures everything out." She stood abruptly, anxiety etched across her features. "We need to get ahead of this before Adrian connects the dots-or worse, before Gabriel hears it from the wrong person." "Exactly!" I ran a hand through my hair. "Right now, both of them are threatening to rip each other's heads off without even knowing they're father and son. And it's all my fault, Jess." My throat tightened with guilt. "I regret my actions... lying.... everything. This is spiraling, and I don't know how to fix this." Jess rubbed my arms reassuringly. "I'm part to blame too. I encouraged you to go after what you wanted." She smiled, soft but firm. "But you know what? I

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Chapter 139: The Night Before The Truthnoveldrama

don't regret that. Because look at you, Claire. You're glowing. Happier. You finally look like a woman who is properly loved." Tears burned my eyes. “I don't regret my relationship with Gabriel either. It's the best I've ever had." My voice wavered. "He's so different... layers of complicated sweetness. I don't want this to end, Jess. But it will. He's going to hate me. Kick me out of his life. Never want to see me again. Maybe even fire me." A sob slipped out before I could stop it. Jess hugged me tightly. "No, he won't. Gabriel strikes me as a man who wouldn't fire you just because you lied. He's not cruel like that. He'd be mad, yes, but he wouldn't throw you away. He knows how much you need this job... and deep down, he knows how much you mean to him." I buried my face in her shoulder, unable to hold back my tears. She stroked my back. "This is all Adrian's fault. But if he hadn't cheated, you never would've left him. Or believed me when I told you he was no good." I wiped my tears, exhaling. "I need to talk to Gabriel." Before I could second-guess myself, I pressed the call button. He picked up after two rings. "Claire?" His voice, deep and smooth, immediately sent a wave of warmth through me. I swallowed. "Hey." There was a pause. "What's wrong?" Damn it. He knew. He always knew. Even through the phone, he could sense the slight tremble in my voice. "I'm fine," I lied. "I just... we need to talk." Silence stretched between us before he finally spoke, his tone suspicious. "About what?" I chewed on my lip. "I'd rather talk in person." He drew in a slow breath. "I'm in a meeting all night.” I didn't know if it was disappointment or relief that settled in my chest, but I couldn't dwell on it. I simply nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Oh...." "But," he added, his voice softening, "I'll send Trey to pick you up for dinner. We'll talk when I get back." I closed my eyes, gripping the phone. "Okay." "I'll see you soon, baby.” His voice was lower now, soothing, possessive. One more night. That's all I had before I told him the truth.