AFTER GABRIEL TOOK HIS BATH, he threw on faded grey sweatpants and a white sweatshirt. He thought about getting new clothes, something that would make him more breathtaking in Sydney's eyes. He grumbled. Pretending to be a Lumberjack had nothing to do with his bad choice of dressing, naturally, he was bad at picking clothes. He took a large beach hat and sauntered outside to see Sydney standing by his bike, wearing his plaid shirt and worn-out pants with shades. He held a smile and put the hat on her head. " I don't think you can wear a helmet with this on."He reckoned the clothes looked better on her than they ever did on him. She wanted to hide her face so no one would recognize her. Gabriel had the bright idea to offer her shades and a large beach hat.Sydney adjusted the hat and said, " Why do you even have something like this?" He had gotten it on a trip to Santa Monica Beach for some lady he met at sea that wouldn't leave him alone. He'd love to take Sydney there one da
AVERY SAT IN a booth in Berky's diner, reading a fashion magazine. She sighed with a smile when she heard a comment from someone in the diner. " Isn't that Mr. Reed's new wife?" Not yet sweetheart, soon. Avery remarked silently. She felt thrilled. Before she'd left the smart house for Berky's, she'd noticed in the mirror how much her skin was glowing. Surely, the rich life looked good on her. But, she didn't want to get too comfortable and forget her motive behind destroying her supposed bestie's home. Auxanger had called her earlier, telling her to meet him at the diner and order however amount of food she likes, bills on him. Knowing her father and the amount of money that could fit in his pocket, Avery kept a few bucks just in case. The doorbell rang as Auxanger walked in; Avery shot out a hand, waving for him to come over. Auxanger walked to the booth and slid into the chair in front of his daughter. He looked at the empty table and then at his smiling daughter. " No f
BEFORE THE SUN BEGUN TO set, Gabriel had taught Ethan the ropes of fishing. Ethan was a quick learner and he learned how to cast the fishing line in no time.Emily joined in and asked Gabriel to teach her.Gabriel replied in a tender tone, " Your brother would teach you, I'm a bit sore in the knee."Ethan, who had cast the fishing line into the lake, half-looked at his sister and said teasingly. " Make sure you don't a-t-e the earthworm."Emily chuckled fakely, " It's e-a-t Ethan and that's disgusting. "Gabriel laughed at their childishness and left them to themselves. He walked to Sydney and sat next to her. She was almost falling asleep when he came.He looked at her sleepy figure and said softly, " Do you want to go back and hit the sack? "Sydney shook her head dismissively, " No, I'm okay here. Er, thank you for today. "" You can thank me by cooking dinner. " He smiled.Sydney chuckled tiredly and nodded, " Sure, I don't do anything anyway. "Being a couch potato was tiring fo
AUTHOR'S POVIT TOOK GIL ALL his pride to drive to Sofia's house. He tried to calm his racing heart after knocking on her door. "Since when do you get nervous because of a woman Gil? Get yourself together."Gil's heartbeat was all over the place when Sofia opened the door. He had made sure to come an hour after her closing time so he'd meet her home.Sofia looked shell-shocked seeing Gil. She didn't think he'd try talking to her again after ignoring his calls. She was happy to see him, however she didn't want to read much into it.He basically called her a whore in his conversation with Gabriel.Maybe he showed up because he wanted a taste of her again. She'd show him.Gil resisted the urge to stare her up to down. With a grin plastered on his face, he said charmingly, " Hi."Sofia crossed her arm around her chest trying to look intimidating. " What's it?"" Aren't you going to invite me in first?" " No, I don't trust you'd keep your hands to yourself." And she couldn't trust hers
GAVIN'S ROOM WAS A mess as he searched every nook and cranny for his travel documents Archer had claimed to have mailed to him.Travelling had never been a big deal to him but he really needed to get out of the country before he went nuts. In more direct words, he needed to get away from Avery." Are you sure you mailed the freaking documents to my home?" Gabriel asked Archer exasparatedly over the phone." Yes, boss. You could as Alexa, it confirmed the mail was received."Gavin straightened. It then beckoned on him that he shared a house with a mad woman. He ended the call and walked to Avery's room. Without knocking, he checked in his thumbprint and entered the room just to see Avery sitting on the bed with a cigar in her mouth and his travel documents in ashes on the floor.Gavin blinked, making sure what he was seeing wasn't real.Avery noticed him by the door and smiled disdainfully, " Join me for a smoke, you look like you need it."Control. Control.Gavin held his waist with
AUTHOR'S POVSATURDAY CAME BY quickly to Sydney's dismay. Somehow, she'd hoped Gavin got into a car accident or something that would make him not show up, but she quickly shook off the thought.It was very inconsiderate of her to put her fears over Emily's happiness. Right now, all that was important was her children's happiness.Sydney lied to Gabriel she was going to get her and the kid's annual medical checkup so he wouldn't have to follow her.There would be havoc between him and Gavin if he'd show up." You are shaking." Sydney squeezed Emily's shoulder affectionately as she squatted in to look at her.Emily replied raspyly, " I'm a bit nervous mommy."It was the last round of the National Spelling contest and Emily managed to get to the top 50 participants. Plus, the boy on the chair next to Emily's looked very intimidating.He wore braces and glasses, so he must be intelligent! Emily reckoned." Calm down, keep your eyes on me the whole time, and believe in yourself."Sydney
GAVIN CAUGHT THE LOOK of bewilderment immediately the word left his mouth. It was the same look he had when he'd read the words of the paper Avery had given him.He knew Avery made his sleep with her despite her alignment to punish him for what he'd done to her as a teenager.His father had warned him Karma was a terrible b**tch but he'd been too in love with Sydney to give a damn.Look who's regretting it now!Sydney opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She looked ahead and leaned into the chair, her eyes slightly widened.When her ability to speak finally came through, she uttered savagely, " I hope you had a share of her virus."Was he just finding out about it? Wait, was that the reason he used protection the last time he slept with her?Various questions plagued Sydney's mind. Although she wanted Gavin to pay for what he did, she didn't want him to get infected." I'm not sure, I went for a test yesterday. The result isn't out yet." Running a test was just to be a hu
THE SOUND OF THE gunshot kept on ringing in Sydney's head as she stared at Gavin who was being treated in the hospital ward.After the capturer had made the stupid decision of pulling the trigger, hell broke loose. People began pouring out of the hall, running for their lives. Luckily, the intimidating-looking kid's father was a cop, and he had brought his colleagues along with him to the contest.The capturer barely got anywhere before he was pinned down by the cops. Seeing Gavin and Sydney's condition, someone had the bright idea to call an ambulance. Fortunately, whoever hired the man to kidnap Sydney must have been low on cash because the man seemed like it was his first criminal work.He had a bad aim, so the bullet penetrated Gavin's arm instead of his chest.It had been an hour since she and Gavin were brought to the hospital; she had already been treated.Sydney didn't want to imagine what would have happened to her if Gavin hadn't gotten in the way. She remembered when the
GABRIEL SPENT THE NEXT two hours staring at the sky. He was freezing. It was the first time he'd felt so cold. His mind kept on reeling on every unpleasant thing he'd done. Things he had been told. Things he'd seen. Things that could have happened differently if he'd controlled his emotions; if he'd listened to the warnings.Ethan reminded him greatly about his childhood. What his mother's infidelity had caused him. There was no one to help him and pull him out of his misery. There was no one willing to sit and understand what was wrong with him and he was unwilling to believe anything was wrong with him.Gabriel walked into the house. He passed by Sydney's room and saw she was asleep. He went to Ethan's room and pushed the door open quietly. Ethan was moving on the bed. His eyes were tightly shut. A wince was planted across his face as he kept on turning. He seemed to be having a nightmare." Don't shoot him, don't shoot him please." Ethan cried.Gabriel went to him quickly, he sat
" 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 t
GAVIN'S LEGS WERE MADE of ten pounds of steel. He was motionless. Deaf. All he could hear was the faint echo of Ethan's name on Alejandro's scarred lips.Sydney's eyes were like the moon as she ran behind Gavin, nearly knocking him off. " Ethan, are you okay? Jesus Christ what if it touched you." Sydney's arms were around Ethan's body, shaking. He was still screaming. He couldn't stop screaming.The bullet managed to pass through the space between the outline of his cheek and shoulder, making its way into the glass wall.By the time Gavin regained his ability to move, Christopher had poured out of the house, his eyes wide in matching shock. Mathilda was hiding behind a wall in case there'd be another gunshot.Christopher looked between the wall and Gavin. " Holy shit, how did this happen?"" Someone please call the police and an ambulance. He isn't moving." Sydney screamed.Gavin was stumbling as he walked to Ethan. He pulled Sydney gently away from him and grabbed Ethan's raised sho
THE SCENT OF ROAST CHICKEN consumed the whole of Gavin's smart house. Gavin had hired a few excellent chefs to cook up something for the feast since he knew barely anything about cooking and Avery refused to get out of her room.She'd been behaving uncanny for some weeks, his conscience pricked him to ask her what was wrong. When he did, it didn't end well. Gavin nearly had a knife in his heart. She kept on screaming it was his fault she was in this position and chased him around the house with a knife.He promised himself to stay at least ten feet away from her.He'd expected her to be locked up in her room during the feast but she was the first at the table.Sydney came in five minutes to the stipulated time. She mustered all the strength in her not to lose her composure. The house looked exactly how she'd left it but it felt a whole lot different. It was like a shallow pit sucking her into memories. Memories she so desperately wants to forget.Sydney looked at the couch. She reme
SYDNEY WATCHED THE waves form and crash. Her heart was colder than the snow falling, tighter than the pressure from the oxygenless point of the sea. Her heart wanted to split and burst.She had just wanted to look at the sea with a smile on her face and no care in the world before Gavin called.She wondered why she answered his call so quickly. There was something wrong somewhere, she felt it. It was like he was going to be wiped out of existence if she didn't take his call.She had a dream the previous night. Gavin was sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mists. A phone was held to his ear. He was shaking. Saying something about Ethan. Then the phone dropped and so did his body. The mist turned red.Sydney was breathing a little too hard when she asked him how their kids were. He noticed it." You are breathing uneasily, what's wrong?" He sounded so genuine it made her stomach churn.She wanted to tell him. " Nothing." But she couldn't.Gavin sighed, " Th
" Why don't you sing a Christmas song for us, ehn friend?"Gabriel clutched the knife he used to cut into his turkey a little bit tighter. Gil had been getting on his nerves since he served Dinner and sat a couple distance away from him. " Oh, I forgot, you mix auto with tenor and soprano with bass." Gil chuckled on the glass of water placed in his mouth. " We don't want your bad voice ruining Christmas Eve."Sofia intervened quickly. She grabbed Gil's face in her palm and made him look at her " Why are you being such an a**hole? Stop it. "Gil didn't look at her. His eyes were fixated on Gabriel's angry ones. They looked like they were ready to jump on each other. No one spoke again. There was a foul aura around the dinette. It was like everyone had beef with each other except Gil and Sofia. Sydney made sure to avoid eye contact with Gabriel who wouldn't stop passing glances at her.She felt like a pile of rubbish after what she'd done. She didn't want her and Gabriel's friendshi
" It's sweet of Gabriel to cook up the meals. " Sofia remarked as she lay on a chaise lounge watching Gabriel cook. She moaned at the aroma of the turkey. It was freezing on the yacht, but Sofia and Sydney couldn't care less. They didn't want to miss the serene views of birds flying across the waters, waves crashing, and whatnot. Sydney hadn't felt any sense of relaxation since Gabriel professed his affection for her. She wanted to believe it was some sort of joke or dream. He must have been feeling lonely and needed a shoulder to lean on, and Sydney was there for him. Maybe that's why he confused their friendship for love. The heart is a tool the devil uses to ruin people's life. Ruin friendships. Ruin good relationships. She reckoned. The only source of relaxation she found was when she stepped into Blake's yacht. It was a good thing she'd accepted his offer. Ethan and Emily would love it here. She would have loved to bring them, but Gavin called and said he wanted them
AUTHOR'S POV " Your check is on the dining room table, pick it up when you are done. And don't you dare go into my wife's room; I don't want you looking through her closet." Sherwin Peters said disdainfully to Gil before picking up a coat and leaving. Gil sent two middle fingers to his back and growled, " Open your eyes, a**hole; your wife is cheating on you with a seventy-two-year-old horse rider." Gil sighed when he realized he was talking to himself. He raked his fingers through his hair and looked at the broken fence through the kitchen window. " I need to get myself a real job. Joseph would also have if he existed in the 21st century." He laughed at himself. He was a worthless piece of shit. He thought. He couldn't even hold one woman he'd like— lust for. " Don't think of her, Gil, she must be having an orgasm for that b**tard she was holding hands with. What man even paints his fingernails? He must have a really small— shut up Gil, that's enough." He groaned an
WHEN SYDNEY'S RETURNED, the house was silent. Gabriel's bike wasn't parked outside, so she wasn't sure he had returned yet. She hoped he was fine. Sydney was tired. Exhausted. Despite how much she didn't want Gavin to know where she lived, he still found out. There was no cab in sight, Sydney's legs were boneless from the roller coaster ride and Gavin offered her a ride she couldn't resist. Gavin was impressed with Gabriel's home. It fitted a psychotic hoi pol-loi like him. Despite being tired, Sydney read Ethan and Emily to sleep. When they fell asleep, she kissed their forehead and released a shudder. Hugging herself, she walked out of the room. It was like the temperature dropped every second. Sydney heard sounds coming from the television. With the hopes of seeing Gabriel in the living room, she went there but saw no one. The living room smelt like a turkey sandwich and tea. " Strange." She mouthed and turned off the television. Maybe he'd watched a movie and gone to bed.