Page 62 of He Doesn't Deserve You

“I’m going to take a bath,” Emily said, dragging herself up the stairs.

Gabriel entered the kitchen to find Hunter sitting at the table, savoring a late dinner. Hunter glanced up at his father and said, “Agnes made lasagna. There’s more in the fridge.” Blissfully unaware that Gabriel and Emily had been arrested and absent for a night.

Gabriel just shook his head. Too tired to argue with his son, he went to the fridge, got a beer, popped it open, and took a swig. His phone rang, prompting him to set his beer on the counter and retrieve the device from his pocket. He noticed the caller ID on his phone, quickly declined the call, and promptly blocked the number.

“I’m going to bed,” he informed Hunter before picking up his beer and heading upstairs.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he noticed Ava’s door was slightly ajar. He quietly approached and leaned against the doorway. Peering inside, he saw Emily beside Ava, gently stroking her hair and lovingly singing a lullaby to their sleeping daughter.

His eyes began to fill with tears as the weight of guilt settled over him, realizing just how much he stood to lose because of his reckless behavior.

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Emily kissed Ava on the head and whispered, “Goodnight, baby,” before climbing out of bed and leaving the room. She shuffled wearily into her bedroom, ignoring Gabriel, who lounged on the bed with his legs outstretched. Without a word, she went to the bathroom, sat on the side of the jacuzzi tub, and turned on the water, her thoughts briefly drifting to Roman, who was probably worried. She left the bathroom to find her phone so she could text him.

She retrieved her phone from her purse downstairs and texted Roman to tell him she was home and heading to bed. She promised to call him in the morning. Just as she started to head back upstairs, the doorbell rang.

Who would be calling this late?Her first thought was that it might be Roman. Slowly, she turned and descended the steps to answer the door.

Peering through the peephole, she was stunned to see the woman Roman had photographed kissing Gabriel standing on the other side of the door. She stood frozen for a moment.What do I do?she thought. After contemplating, she turned and ascended the stairs, thinking,This is Gabriel’s mess; let him deal with it.

She strolled into the bedroom, and Gabriel asked, “Did I hear the doorbell?”

“Yeah, your girlfriend is here,” Emily replied, walking past him, ignoring the look of shock on his face as he leaped from the bed and rushed out of the room. She went into the bathroom, closed and locked the door, and leaned against it momentarily. Noticing the tub was about to overflow, she quickly hurried over and turned off the water.

She sat on the edge of the bathtub and quickly texted Roman, “Oh my God, she’s here!”

Roman responded immediately, “Who?”

“The woman in the photograph. The one you thought was Maggie,” she replied.

“What does she want? Never mind, I’m coming over,” Roman texted back without hesitation.

Worried that Roman would only make matters worse, she quickly called him to dissuade him from coming. When he didn’t pick up, she left a message.

“Roman, please don’t come here. I don’t want you and Gabriel to have another confrontation; we’ll be fine. I’m sure Gabriel will send her away.”

Gabriel opened the front door, stepped onto the porch, and quickly closed the door behind him. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded through gritted teeth.

“You wouldn’t return my calls,” she replied.

He grabbed the woman firmly by the arms, spun her around, and shoved her off the porch. “You can’t be here. My children are home.”

“You’re hurting me!” she cried, struggling to break free from his grasp.

He loosened his grip, allowing her to pull away. “So what? I’ve wanted to meet them,” she said defiantly as she returned to the porch.

He grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her back, drawing her closeuntil his face was just an inch from hers. “What do you want, Lily? Why are you here?” he demanded, his voice low and intense.

A slow smile crept across her face.

“When I realized you were never going to leave your wife, I wanted money for me and our baby,” she said, placing a hand on her enormous baby bump.

“But when your wife accused Maggie of sleeping with you, it gave me an idea that would give me both—you and the money. I love you. I want us to be together,” she murmured before kissing him.

Gabriel recoiled, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “That’s never going to happen,” he said firmly.

Her anger began to surface. “Why not? Maggie is out of the picture. Emily is going to prison. Nothing is stopping us from being together now.”

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