Chapter 32
Gabriel
4.M.
I sit in the back of the car as Mark drives me home from work.
You could cut the air with a knife; my heart is heavy and we are both silent.
How do you tell someone you are about to marry that you have two illegitimate children?
Ariana is going to be heartbroken.
I’m heartbroken…but not for the same reason.
I’ve missed out on so much of my children’s lives, time I can never get back.
And Violet…
I get a vision of her at her workplace, her auburn hair, and a face that I knew so well. The deep
sense of familiarity I got from her, the one person on earth I trusted with my life.
So evil… And yet, still an ethereal creature.
My mind is buzzing with a million scenarios, none of them good.
The car pulls to a stop out the front of my building and we both sit still in the car.
“Good luck,” Mark says softly, he knows I’m walking into the gallows to hurt the person who loves
me the most.
“If I could change it…” I whisper.
“I know.”
I drag myself out of the car and take the elevator to my floor, the double doors open and the scent of
something delicious instantly fills my senses.
My heart sinks and I close my eyes.
How is this happening?
I walk into the apartment and put my briefcase in my office and then I find Ariana in the kitchen. I
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lean on the doorjamb and watch her for a moment.
She’s doing what she loves, the best damn cook in New York city if you ask me.
Wearing an apron, she’s putting something in the oven while things are cooking on the hotplates, a million things on the go.
“Hello.”
She looks up and sees me and smiles. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“But I did.” I smile as she kisses me. I see her glass of red wine.
“Drinking on a school night?”
“I’m celebrating.” She pours me a glass.
“What are we celebrating?”
She passes me my glass of wine and holds hers up to mine. “Thirty–five days until we get married.”
I force a smile and clink my glass with hers. “Something smells delicious. What is my chef serving
tonight?”
“We have a kingfish ceviche followed by a ragu with creamy polenta and tiramisu for dessert.”
“How do you have the energy to cook a three–course meal for me every night?”
“Looking after you is my favorite thing to do.”
My heart sinks. “We need to talk.”
She smiles and goes up onto her toes to kiss me. “I know, but first the suits.” She takes me by the
hand and leads me to a stool by the kitchen counter where I sit down. “Now, I know that you wanted
the black…”
I stare at her as I pretend to listen, but my mind returns to Vee in the bank. Cut the bullshit, Violet. Do you have something to tell me?
The tears welled in her eyes, and by the look on her face, I instantly knew it was true.
The way it put a hole in my heart.
How could she have done this? How could she have hidden my own children from me for six years?
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My mind returns to us in the shower that night, naked and kissing in each other’s arms.
The level of intimacy that ran between us was like nothing I’ve experienced before or since,
I grieved for her for years, and to think that… I get a lump in my throat. She had my babies the entire
time.
“Gabriel?”
I glance up with no idea what Ariana has been saying. “I’m sorry?”
“Are you not listening to me at all?”
“Forgive me, I’m… Busy day.”
“What did you have to tell me?” she asks.
She looks up at me with her big brown trusting eyes.
Tell her.
“I…”
Do it.
“I have to go away for work tomorrow.”
“Oh,” she replies. “How long will you be gone?”
“A few days.”
“Okay.” She smiles. “Do you want me to come?”
“No.” I sip my wine. “I’ll be working the whole time,” I lie.
“So anyway, back to the suits.” She changes the subject and once again my mind goes back to the unfolding catastrophe.
My life is a mess.
Violet
The sound of their cries echoes through the silence, wings flap against the water as they take off.
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A bird in flight is a beautiful thing.
I sit on the back porch and stare out over the lake. My life is a mess…and at a time when I should be frantic, I feel eerily calm.
The truth is out and damn it, it feels cathartic.
He knows.
I’m not carrying the secret alone anymore.
I always knew that one day the truth would come to light, and as every year ticked over, I got a little
more terrified.
Not only of Gabriel….but of the children hating me for not telling them the truth about the donor
sperm and IVF.
I’m glad it’s out.
The children are still young, and I haven’t had to have the conversation with them about who their father is yet, hopefully they’re young enough that they can forgive me.
“Mom,” Dom calls from inside. “A car just pulled up.” I close my eyes as I prepare for battle. “He’s
here.”
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Chapter 33
