Ex-Husband's Regret

Fuck! Why me? Why now? Why today, of all days? Fate has already established that she hates me, but this is too much even for that bitch. Why the hell did she loathe me so much?

To be honest, I'm afraid of looking up. Afraid of looking at both Gabriel and Lilly. I try my best to calm down my erratic, beating heart, but it's no use. I felt like I was going to have a damn heart attack. I could literally feel the sweat running down my back.

My anger at Gabriel was already gone, and in its place was pure, undiluted fear. When I woke up, I never imagined that this would happen. That Gabriel would suddenly come to my house out of the blue. That he and Lilly would meet.

At first, I was careful because I knew Lilly was asleep due to her cold, but after what Gabriel revealed, I completely forgot and blew up. That was my fucking fault. I didn't have anyone to blame for this cluster fuck.

"Mom?" her sweet voice calls me, and I look up, unable to deny my daughter.

Looking at her, I'm unable to form a sentence.

When I don't answer, she turns to Gabriel and asks, "Who are you, and why are you fighting with my mom?"

Their eyes clash and I see my Lilly take a step back as if something has just rammed into her. That pulls me out of a trance.

"Lilly, go to your room," I say unsteadily, and she turns when she hears my voice.

I can see the questions running through her mind. She was a sharp girl, and I know there is no escaping the curiosity that she's sure to hit me with.

"But mom..."

"Now Lilly!" I all but shout. I've never shouted at her before, but I was frustrated. "Go to your room and don't come out until I tell you to."

She wants to argue, I can tell, but she also knows not to argue with me. Giving Gabriel one last look, she turns and goes to her room, closing her door quietly.

I know she'll definitely be eavesdropping, so I grab Gabriel and drag him outside. We lived on the last floor, and we had a rooftop area, so that's where I take him. I needed to get him to leave as soon as possible, so I could deal with my daughter.

When we get there, I start pacing. Panic had taken over. I could literally feel my lungs constricting. I tried breathing in and then out, but it didn't work. I was on edge.

I stop and stare at Gabriel, but he looks unbothered. Maybe he didn't notice anything, right? If he had, he would be giving me shit right now. He would be spitting fire, ready to destroy. Yeah, that's it; he didn't notice anything. With that, I manage to calm myself down.

"So, about my proposal..." he begins, calmly.Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

My jaw drops. I should be happy that he didn't notice anything, but then the fact that the only thing that's on his mind is the damn proposal really surprises me. I mean, how could he not notice? Gosh, I was giving myself whiplash.

"I still stand by my answer, Gabriel," I tell him after I've gotten myself under control.

"Seriously? Even after I've given you a chance to own the company, a chance to get out of your poverty-stricken life and once again become wealthy, a chance to come back into the society you were born into you still won't accept my proposal?" He looks puzzled. As if he really couldn't understand how I could turn him down.

The answer was simple: I wanted nothing to do with him. Nothing to do with the life I left behind, especially knowing that those same people turned their backs on us once our company went bankrupt. "Yes." My answer is short and curt.

I just want to go back to my daughter and forget that Gabriel ever sought me out with his ridiculous proposal.

"Why the hell not?" He was beginning to get angry.

"The better question is, why would you be desperate to marry me again? You hate me, Gabriel, so what is so important that would make you seek me out years after our divorce?" I was really curious. Something drove him to want this, and I want to know what it is, so I continue to question him. "What brought you running to my doorstep, Gabriel? If I remember correctly, you couldn't stand me. You couldn't wait to divorce me. So why the hell would you want to marry me again?"

He tries to hide it, but I see it in his eyes and in the way his jaw clenches. I was right, there is a reason why he wants me to agree to his proposal, and it's something big. Something he can't escape. "That's not your fucking concern. What I want is for you to agree," he evades the question completely.

Fine by me. If he doesn't want me to know, then that's okay. It's not like it would change my mind. I had already made my decision, and there's no way I'm going to change it. "Then I think we are done talking. You can show yourself out of the building." I finish, and was about to walk away when his next words stops me cold in my tracks.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" His deep voice sends shivers down my back, but not in a good way.

Fuck! I didn't want to turn around, but I do. "Notice what?"

"That Lilly is my daughter... Those grey eyes are a dead giveaway, Harper," A muscle ticks in his jaw, and the dangerous atmosphere that usually surrounds him intensifies.

I swallow hard. "That's not a giveaway, Gabriel. Millions of people have grey eyes."

"Not those grey eyes. That is a family trait only the Woods possess. My great-grandfather had them, as did my granddad, and so do my father, Rowan, and my nephew. So try again, Harper."

I was naïve to think he wouldn't notice. What did I tell you about Gabriel? He's a shark. Always waiting for the perfect time to strike and this was it.

My fear intensifies. I could feel it in every pore of my body, clogging my pores and suffocating me in the process.

I push it back and puff out my chest, trying to look fearless and brave. "So what? It doesn't change a damn thing."

He laughs. A cold and distant laugh that is terrifying.

"It sure does," he begins. "I can prove she's my daughter, so here's what's going to happen. You are going to agree to the marriage proposal or else..."

He doesn't finish the sentence, but obviously a threat has been made.

I prove that, despite my knowledge of who Gabriel is, I'm still naive, and stupid when it comes to him because I ask, "Or else what?"

He smirks at me. "Or else I will take her away from you, and we both know how easy that will be."

Yeah, that bitch, Fate, definitely despises me.