Chapter Ninety Four

Chapter Ninety Four
Arian
“This is so surreal,” I muttered, my head resting on Gabriel’s chest after our intense lovemaking. It had been better than the previous times—far better.

Maybe it was because we’d both gone two months without touching each other, starved and aching for the other’s presence. Or maybe, I thought, I’m finally losing the ability to say no to this man.

“It is, isn’t it?” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Being here with you, like this again. I feel like I am dreaming.”

“Then we are both having the same dream,” I chuckled softly.

“I love you, Arian,” he murmured, bending his head to plant a kiss on my hair. “It feels really good to let it out now.”

“Will you be okay with me saying I like you?” I asked in a tentative voice. “I can’t go any further than that.”

“I am more than okay with it.” He squeezed my shoulder gently. “Half bread is better than nothing.”

His words sank into me, warm and steady. Half bread, I thought, that’s exactly what we were—half of something we can’t even name.

“Do you think… Kary would hate me if I told her I don’t think I can be her mother? I mean, legally?” I looked up at him, searching his face. “What do you think?”

“I think she’d love you either way, Arian,” he replied, pecking my lips softly. “Just as long as you don’t leave us.”

“I won’t,” I said automatically, though inside, a pang of guilt twisted through me. Wouldn’t I? Could I even promise him that when I’m living a lie?

“I’ll hold you to it,” he said firmly.

We fell silent, both of us adrift in our own thoughts, until something flickered in my memory. I rolled onto my stomach, propping my elbows on the bed. He turned onto his side to face me fully.

“What was it?” he asked.

“Did you ever ask Mrs. Collins about your Kareena?” I tried my best to feign curiosity. My voice cracked slightly, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“What did she tell you?”

“Nothing.” His voice sounded disgruntled. “I asked her about Kareena every two years and one time, I almost threatened to stop funding the orphanage if she didn’t tell me where Kareena was taken… but my common sense kicked in and I didn’t.”

“What would you have done if she’d told you?” I asked quietly.

“I’d have traveled across the world in search of Kareena,” he said with a conviction that made my heart tighten. “I wouldn’t have cared if she’d been adopted by the best parents in the world.”

“How old were you when you first asked Mrs. Collins about Kareena’s whereabouts?”

“We traveled to Italy after my mom was kidnapped by a bad man, and Dad rescued her but she lost my baby sister, Emeliana Caitlyn. We returned to this country when I was sixteen. I decided to ask about Kareena when I turned seventeen.”

“What made you stop?”

“Lucille’s pregnancy.” He sighed. “I got engaged to her, married, and then she gave birth to my daughter. I decided that if Kareena and I were meant to be… we’d meet again.”

And we have, I thought bitterly. Kareena Macavinta has finally reconciled with her very first love, Gabriel Cruz—the boy who showed her kindness and was once her truest friend.

I wish I could tell him I was his Kareena. I wanted to tell him so badly that it ached, but Rafael’s shadow hung over me like a storm cloud I couldn’t outrun.

“It has been how many years?” I asked softly.

“Twenty. This December would make it twenty-one,” he answered.

“That is a long time to wait for someone,” I mused aloud.

“It is,” he agreed. “But… I’ve decided not to wait for her any longer.”

“Why?”

“I have you now.” He caressed my face. “My love from another star.”

“I think you’ve been watching too many K-dramas,” I teased him lightly.

“Maybe.” He laughed. “I found love with you and I am never letting you go.”

“What if… what if Kareena decides to show up? Would you leave me?”

“No.” He shook his head. “You are stuck with me forever.”

My eyes roamed over his handsome face and I was left wondering if fate was dangling happiness in front of my eyes only to snatch it away without warning. He’s too good to be true, I told myself, but I don’t care right now. I bent my head to kiss him.

“I should consider myself the luckiest bitch in the world,” I murmured.

“And I'm the luckiest bastard in the world,” he said with a grin.

I squealed in surprise when he wrapped his arms around me and flipped me over onto my back, hovering above me with a wicked smile.

“Are you well rested?” he asked.

“Why?” I arched a brow.

“I want you again.” He rubbed his nose against mine.

“You insatiable man,” I said, swatting his shoulder playfully.

“You know you want me.” His hand trailed down my body to land between my legs, cupping my mound and drawing a sigh of pleasure from me. To prove his point, one of his fingers slid into me, pumping slowly, then another joined and his pace quickened.

“No?” he breathed into my ear.

“Yes. God, yes,” I moaned.

I guess I was as insatiable as he was, I thought, and you would never see me saying no to him. Not ever again.
\~~~~~~
The Next Day
“Why are we here?” I asked Gabriel as he unfastened his seatbelt and I did the same. “Whose house is this?”

“Lucille’s. I brought you here as a shield,” he replied calmly.

“A shield? I don’t understand.”

“I lived with Lucille for almost eight years and she is the biggest manipulative bitch to have ever lived. I didn’t want to come here alone, listen to her give me a sob story about how she still loves me and would do better if I give her another chance,” he said. “She’d know we are over for good if she sees you with me.”

“So my presence will likely stall whatever protest she might make?”

“Yep. It worked yesterday.” He grinned at me as he opened the door and stepped out of the car.

“I’d like to think she’d been in shock yesterday,” I said as I did the same, shutting the door behind me and following him to the front door. “She couldn’t regroup and fight you on it.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He wrapped one arm around my shoulder, grounding me. “Let’s just get it over with. I’m taking you out on a date.”

“Our last date didn’t go so well,” I reminded him as he pressed the doorbell.

“The people involved have been caught, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he assured me.

“Okay.” I nodded, though inside I still felt a tight coil of nerves in my stomach. Lucille. The woman who’d once been his wife. The woman whose shadow I still felt pressing against us even now.