Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel)

Chapter 165: Tell Me How To Fix This



Clairessa's POV

My voice cut through the room, stopping Gabriel in his tracks.

"No... I didn't," I choked out, my chest tightening, hands trembling at my sides.

"This was a stupid plan. One I never should've gone through with—”

He turned around slowly to face me-but I kept going.

“But don't stand there acting like you're innocent. You cheated on me, remember?"

His eyes darkened, pain flashing before it drowned in fury.

"Don't you fucking-" He stepped forward, his voice tight with rage.

"Liar," I spat, stepping into the fire between us. "I walked in on you and Nicole. Naked. In your bed. Don't stand there pretending you ever gave a damn about me... about us."

"I was drunk, Clairessa!" he exploded. "I didn't even know how I got home! Nicole told me I kept calling your name all night-like a pathetic mess. Over and over again. She didn't touch me. Nothing happened."

I shook my head, unable to erase the image burned into my memory. "You expect me to believe that? That you just conveniently ended up naked in bed with her by accident?"

"I don't give a damn what you believe," he growled. "I know the truth."

"Oh, so now you're the victim?" I scoffed. "And yet somehow, you're the one who ghosted me. Stood me up. You couldn't even face me afterward."

For a moment, something shifted in his face. The fire dimmed, and what broke through wrecked me—soul-deep pain.

"You know what's funny?" he said, voice barely above a whisper, raw and frayed. "Nicole came to my office the day I got back from that business trip-with a photo. A photo of you kissing a man. Who I've now come to find out is my son. Adrian."

My breath caught. My mouth opened, but no words came out. It had to be that day in my office-when Adrian showed up uninvited, kissed me without warning.

Nicole had been there. She must've snapped the photo without us noticing. God only knows what she told Gabriel.

It all made sense now. Why he ghosted me. Why he never showed up to dinner. Why he shut me out.

"I thought it had to be a lie," he continued, chest rising and falling hard, like every word was being torn from him. “I told myself there was no way you'd betray me like that. Even after I saw the photo, Clairessa, I still went to that restaurant. I wanted to hear your side. I wanted to believe in you."

He paused, voice shaking. "But I couldn't do it. I panicked. I went to Club Cave instead. In a bid to drown it all out, I drank until I couldn't think straight. And that's when Nicole showed up... and somehow ended up in my bed. I was tipsy. I barely remember it."

Everything around me slowed. I saw it now-his truth. His pain. His brokenness. And the guilt hit me like a wave, stealing the air from my lungs.

He wasn't lying.noveldrama

He never was.

And all this time... I hated him for something he didn't do when I was the one who started this war.

"Gabriel..." My voice quivered. "I swear, Adrian showed up at my office that day. He begged me to take him back-I told him no. Then out of nowhere, he kissed me, and I pushed him off. I didn't kiss him back. I didn't want that. You have to believe "

"It's not about what you told him," he cut in coldly. "It's about the lies and secrets."

His expression turned thoughtful, his voice hard. "I'm assuming the gifts in your office that day weren't for Jess's birthday. They were from Adrian... weren't they?"

I swallowed hard. "Yes. They were from him."

He shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping. "You see it now, don't you? One lie after another."

"I know," I whispered. "I lied. I was selfish. But the truth is that I did it because I didn't want to lose you, and I didn't know how to fix what I broke. I was scared- terrified, really."

"Don't you get it, Clairessa? You don't fucking lie to people you care about. Relationships can't be built on lies."

"I know that," I pleaded, my voice cracking. "I know that now. But please... tell me

how to fix this. I want to fix this. Just tell me what to do. Anything-I'll do it."

He looked at me like I was a

stranger. "Tell me this one thing," he

said, voice quiet and brutal. "Were you ever going to tell me the truth-if Nicole hadn't shown me those pictures? If I hadn't walked into the house I haven't stepped foot in for

over ten years... and found you wearing my son's shirt?"

My eyes dropped. I couldn't look at him. "That night-the dinner-I was going to tell you everything.....”

His laugh was hollow. "After letting me fall for you. After making promises you had no intention of keeping."

"I didn't want to see this look in your eyes," I whispered, finally meeting his gaze. "The way you're looking at me now... like I disgust you."

"Oh, you could stomach worse when it suited you," he spat. "You knew this was doomed. You should've walked away."

"Maybe I should've," I admitted, my heart in pieces. The first night we met-that pull we felt-it wasn't fake. That wasn't manipulation. That was fate. And maybe fate brought us together for a reason."

He gave a dark laugh. "You sound insane."

"Maybe I am," I said, chest heaving. "But I'm insanely in love with you. Enough to

risk everything—my pride, my peace, even my heart-just to be close to you."

His gaze locked with mine, intense and full of betrayal.

"I regret the lies," I added, stepping

closer, my voice breaking. "But not a single moment we shared. Not one touch

not one kiss, not one second

of feeling like I belonged

somewhere... with you."

He didn't speak.

Instead, he stepped forward-slowly-closing the space between us.

The heat of his body burned against mine. His breath mingled with mine, shallow

and heated. I could see it-the war inside him.

Then his voice, low and grating: "Was the revenge everything you hoped it would be?"

I blinked back tears. "Revenge was a mistake I'll regret for the rest of my life. It didn't bring me peace. It just left me empty."

His gaze burned into me, scanning my face like he was searching for any crack in my truth.

And then-in one swift, soul-crushing moment-he yanked me against his chest.

I gasped, fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt. His body was fire. His presence, overwhelming. His eyes—God, those eyes-looked at me like I was both the poison and the cure.

He leaned in, lips hovering just above mine. I could feel his breath.

My heart pounded against his, desperate and aching. For a second, I thought he'd

kiss me.

I wanted him to.

I tilted my head closer until there was no space left between us and my lips

brushed against his.

I didn't care how pathetic I looked—I needed him.

But instead... he leaned into my ear and whispered, cold as ice-

"We're done."

His voice was cruelly calm.

"Nothing is ever going to happen between us again. I want you out of my house-

now. Not a second later, or I swear, Clairessa, I'll make you pay."

And then he stepped back.

Just like that... he was gone.


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