Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel) novel Chapter 165

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.

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.”

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