Chapter 200
Chapter 200
Gabriel looked exhausted, like he hadn't slept well.
"Ember?" Azure looked at me, pale as a ghost, looking even more pitiful than before.
I wasn't in the mood to pity her. "Didn't you say you had something to explain? So talk."
Her weakness only made me look like the villain here.
"Ember, I'm sorry. I think I need to explain the misunderstandings between us."
"Misunderstandings? Like deliberately seducing my husband? Or pushing me off the bed? Or pretending to be my friend while telling me Gabriel was harassing you? Which one's the misunderstanding?"
I rattled off the whole list. Azure's tears started streaming down. "Ember, I'm sorry. I admit I liked Mr. Sinclair, but I'd rather something happen to me than to you and Mr. Sinclair's baby."
"So you called me here just to mess with me?" I frowned at Gabriel.
"Ember, let's talk outside." Gabriel reached for my wrist.
His grip was strong. I couldn't break free, so I had to let him pull me away.
"The heart beating in her chest belonged to my ex-girlfriend." Gabriel said slowly.
I froze in place.
So this was why he wanted me to wait six more months.
I suddenly felt drained of all energy.
He was pouring all his love into his dead ex-girlfriend, even extending that love to cover all of Azure's flaws.
And what about me?
"Gabriel, you've given your whole heart to your ex-girlfriend. So why are you still holding onto me? Don't you think that's unfair?"
"I'll make it up to you."
"How?"
I shoved a flash drive into Gabriel's hand. "We have nothing more to say. I'm leaving."
I turned and walked away.
On that drive was a recording of my argument with Azure in the hospital room that day.
I wanted Gabriel to see exactly what kind of person the woman he was protecting really was.
I texted both Ceria and Nason, then went straight home.
"Why didn't you show him this evidence earlier?" Ceria asked me.
I shook my head with a smile. "It doesn't matter anymore."
---
Nason told me Gabriel had confronted Azure.
"And then?" I asked casually.
Nason sent me a video. In it, Azure looked pale as she clutched Gabriel's sleeve. "Mr. Sinclair, I'm sorry. I just love you too much. From the moment I first saw you, this heart told me I should love you."
Azure was a smart woman who knew how to manipulate emotions.
After hearing Azure's last sentence, Gabriel's anger instantly vanished.
He slowly reached out, touching that pale, delicate face. Or maybe, through Azure's face, he was seeing his former lover.
[Ember, I'm sorry.] I got an apology text from Gabriel.
[If an apology could bring my baby back, I'd consider forgiving you.] I replied, then blocked his number and WhatsApp.
Just then, someone knocked on my door. It was Nason.
"Ember." His voice sounded urgent.
When he saw me standing there safe and sound, he couldn't help but pull me into a tight hug.
"Ember, you scared me to death."
Nason was squeezing me so tight I could barely breathe.
"What, worried I'd do something stupid?" I looked at Nason with amusement, seeing my former self in him.
That kind of reckless devotion to someone.
"Nason, I agree."
I slowly took Nason's hand.
He froze, like he didn't understand what I meant.
"What?"
"Don't you want to?"
I wasn't entirely sure if I'd actually fallen in love with Nason, or if I just didn't want to disappoint this man who was so much like me.
"So, Ember, you mean..."
"So you'll probably lose Gabriel as a friend. Are you willing to do that for me..."
Before I could finish, he interrupted. "I'm willing."
Then Nason swept me up in his arms.
"I've always known that you suddenly took that job abroad because of me," I said slowly.
But to avoid making things awkward for me, Nason had never said a word.
---
That evening, Nason and I invited Ceria to dinner.
"Did that bastard Gabriel pull some shit again?"
Ceria assumed she and Nason were there to cheer me up.
I put Nason's hand on the table. "Ceria, I've decided to be with Nason."
The air went quiet for a moment.
Ceria's mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.
"You two are joking, right? It's not even April Fools' Day."
Ceria blinked at me.
"I'm serious," I said slowly.
Finally, Ceria's eyes lit up. "Spill. When did this happen? You two are sneaky as hell."
"Just now. So I told you first thing," I told Ceria.
When I got home, Ceria called me. "Why?"
"Don't you think Nason right now is a lot like I used to be?"
"I knew that guy wanted to get with you."
Ceria on the other end sounded even more excited than me, which made sense.
After all, she'd been hoping I'd find an amazing boyfriend to piss off Gabriel. Now I had.
"So aren't you gonna post on Facebook?" Ceria urged me.
"I blocked Gabriel and Azure on WhatsApp. So even if I post, they won't see it," I said slowly.
"Then I'll post it!"
Ceria was efficient. The Facebook post went up quickly.
"Congrats to my best friend for finding true love," she wrote, tagging me and posting a photo of the three of us.
Soon, an unknown number called me.
"Ember, you're with Nason now?"
Gabriel's voice came through, tinged with barely concealed anger.
"Is there a problem?"
"Ember, I told you, we..."
Gabriel's voice rose several notches. "So what? We're already divorced. I have the right to stop waiting for you."
Silence on the other end.
"Gabriel, the moment you chose to forgive Azure for killing our baby, I gave up on you. I feel sorry for my child for having such a heartless father."
He tried to explain, but I was done listening.
"Nason and I are getting married next month. I'm not sending you an invitation. You'll probably be overseas with Azure for her heart transplant anyway. I hope she dies on the operating table, and I hope you spend the rest of your life living in the shadow of a murderer."
I hung up.
Gabriel, from now on, there's no place for you in my world.