Page 45 of He Doesn't Deserve You

“I’m telling you now,” Emily replied as she busied herself around the kitchen, avoiding his gaze. She returned the covered dish to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. Walking over to the table, she placed it down with deliberate calmness.

“Emily?” he said.

“What?”

“Look at me,” Gabriel pleaded.

She finally looked at him, “What?”

“Are you sleeping with him?” he asked, his eyes filled with desperation.

She shook her head and muttered, “You have some nerve.”

Just then, the microwave dinged, indicating her food was ready. Ignoring him, she walked over to retrieve it and carried the dish back to the table. His eyes followed her every move. Placing the food in front of her, she took a seat.

Gabriel downed his whiskey in one gulp, then slammed his glass onto the table. “How many times do I have to tell you? Those weren’t my charges. I’m not having…”

Emily raised a hand to cut him off. “Stop! I’ve had enough of your lies,” she said firmly. She stabbed her fork into a piece of meat, bringing it to her mouth, and deliberately chewed it slowly as she glared at him.

“So, you think that gives you a free pass to cheat on me? Are you seriously going to throw away six years of marriage?”

“Don’t you dare try to blame this on me!” she shot back, her voice filled with anger. “You did this! You threw away our marriage andsquandered our entire life’s savings. All because you couldn’t keep it in your pants. I hope you’re happy now. I hope the two of you are very happy together.”

Gabriel stood up and approached Emily, guilt etched across his face. Wrapping his arms around her, he said, “It’s over. She meant nothing to me. It’s you I love.”

Emily rolled her eyes and pushed him away. “Oh, please. If that isn’t the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. It’s not just the affair, Gabriel. What about your sexual misconduct? You need help.”

“I know,” he dropped his head in shame. “I’ll get help,” he pleaded, reaching for her. “Just don’t leave me. I love you. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Emily shrugged off his hands. “Don’t touch me,” she snapped.

Enraged, Gabriel took a step back. “Don’t even think about divorcing me. If you do, I’ll fight you for full custody. I won it before, and I can do it again.”

Emily set her fork down on her half-eaten plate and glared at him. “I’m not Olivia. I’m a good mother, Gabriel. No court would ever take Ava away from me. But if you want to try, go right ahead. I dare you,” she said through gritted teeth.

She stood up, carried her plate to the counter, and then stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Gabriel fuming behind her. Once she reached her bedroom, she closed the door, leaned against it, and exhaled loudly. Her composure shattered. She broke down in tears; her whole body trembled.

After giving herself a moment to fall apart, Emily wiped the tears from her cheeks and pulled herself together. She changed into her pajamas and then searched for her phone. She needed to speak to Roman, to hear his voice. Remembering that her phone was still in her purse, she headed downstairs to retrieve it.

She froze in her tracks when she reached the bottom of the stairs.“What are you doing?” she yelled, spotting Hunter rummaging through her purse.

Caught off guard, Hunter dropped the ring of keys he was holding. “Nothing,” he said hastily, quickly picking them up and stuffing them back into her purse.

“Were you going to steal my car?” Emily asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

“No,” Hunter muttered, jogging up the stairs to avoid further confrontation.

Emily stormed into the kitchen; her patience was worn thin. Finding Gabriel, she declared, “You need to punish Hunter.”

“Give it a rest, Em.”

“Don’t you even want to know what he did?” Emily pressed.

Shaking his head, Gabriel replied, “Not really,” and took a swig of whiskey straight from the bottle.

“I just caught him trying to steal my car keys. He doesn’t even have a license, Gabriel. What if he had an accident?”

Appearing unfazed, Gabriel said, “I’ll talk to him tomorrow. I’m going to bed,” He stood up, swayed, and nearly fell.

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