Chapter 83
The house did not have enough space for the number of clothes and gifts that Gabriel’s parents and grandparents brought for the twins‘. Leila cried, and Alister held both of them with trembling hands. He had lost so much weight and I avoided talking to him much because it reminded me of the way my Grandpa first shrunk. They were happy great–grandparents though. Ralph spent every moment deciphering what the perfect name would be for the twins to call them since Grandpa seemed too boring. Elise stuck with me though, making me promise I wouldn’t leave them again, and then told me that if I didn’t plan on shifting to the city, the entire family would buy houses in the neighbourhood and end up shifting here for the little ones.
I had laughed it off, but I wasn’t entirely sure that she was joking.
Two weeks after that, I woke up to Gabriel in the garden again. He spent an awful amount of time there every morning and told me he was working, so I never disturbed him.
Today, however, curiosity got the best of me and I went to the garden, even if to just watch him work.
He wasn’t working.
He was… gardening.
I clear my throat to get his attention. “What in the world are you doing?”
“Gardening,” he replies with a grin like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Do you care to join?”
– “No!” I responded and he sprayed a little bit of water on my face in reply, then laughing. I flinched behind, and then glared at
him
“Gabriel… what?”
“A little birdie told me that this garden used to be filled with flowers before Jim got cancer.” He gets up from his place, walking towards me.
Warmth spreads over me as I smile. “Alice told you
you?”
“Mh–hm.” He nods standing in front of me with his hands crossed in front of his chest, his gaze laser focused at me.
It was unbelievable how handsome he could look in his cotton pants that were folded so they don’t get soiled and the knitted vest he was wearing. I suddenly felt conscious of my baggy sweats and the messy bun situation I had going, but he still looked at me like I was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.
“I didn’t have time to take care of my the garden after I had to take up two jobs, so you know, everything died.” I blushed.
He laughs, his laughter making my heart beat rapidly. “I am re–planting them for you.”
“I didn’t grow flowers in my garden. I grew capsicums and tomatoes and even limes. There were a few flowers too, but mostly vegetables.”
“Now that I didn’t know.” He looks disappointed. “And I’m out here working on the soil quality, putting in fertilisers and stuff.”
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Chapter 83
I smile. “Why were you doing it yourself?” I asked, “The Gabriel I knew would’ve hired someone to come and do it.”
“Maybe I am not the Gabriel you knew anymore,” He teased.
“Is it?”
*Mh–hm,” he chirped, ‘Like, for example, six weeks with you, and I haven’t even tried to k*ss you once.”
“That’s quite a change, yes, I mumble even though I can’t really hear my own voice over the distance between us.
If I don’t step back, he would k*ss me.
I
If I don’t step back, he would k*ss me.
He doesn’t k*ss me.
He steps back
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“I dreamt of this since I was little, you know,” I say in hopes he wouldn’t notice the red hue that creeps on my cheeks. “A small house. Four rooms. Five max. A wrap around porch. A garden where I grow flowers and vegetables, overlooking the kids‘ play area. Maybe having a roof seating we could all see stars from wouldn’t be bad either.”
One corner of his lips turns upwards. “And what about a husband who comes home to you every day?”
“And that,” I beamed. “Work reminds me, what about your work? You’ve been here for six weeks. How much longer are you going to be here and not go to the office? It needs you.”
“Not more than I need my kids. I’m going to be here when they crawl, or when they speak their first words. I’m going to be here, every step of the way, for as long as you’re here.”
“What if I stay here for the rest of my life?”
“Then I’m here for the rest of my life.”
“And what happens when either of us want to move on?”
“Huh?” Gabriel’s gaze snaps to me. “Move on?”
“I mean, now the twins are small but once they grow a little and we can move out and about..” I ignore the pain that rises in me by the thought of me with someone else. “We’ll eventually move on.”
“I am not moving on.” I hated the way his jaw tightened. “And I am certainly not letting you.”
“You kind of don’t get a say in that. We are divorced,” I remind him.
“Bold of you to assume I didn’t rip those papers in a hundred pieces when I found them.” He stares at me with a firm and hard gaze. “And even if we were divorced, bold of you to assume I would let you move on to another man.”
He takes a step towards me. I step back.
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“You think I would watch as another man takes you out on a first date?” Another step closer. I step back.
“You think I will watch another man k*ss you?” Another step closer. Another step back.
“You think I will watch another man marry you?” Another step closer. Another step back makes my back hit the wall.
I gasp.
“You think you will ever carry another man’s children?” He takes another step further.
I shake my head.
“The ring you will wear will always be mine. The bed you will sleep on will always be mine. The name you will carry will always be mine.” He growls, “Mine.”
I gulp, my breath uneven and hot. “Do you want another man to touch what’s mine, Freckles?” He asked, his hands on either side of me, entrapping me between him and the wall.
I shake my head in a small no.
“Centuries ago, sailors used to see a certain star in the sky to find their way home when they were at sea. It always pointed
towards the North Pole,” He remembers softly
“The Polaris,” I remember, eyebrows furrowed.
“You’re my Polaris, Sophia.” He murmurs, “You’re that star in my dark sky that I will always use to find my way home. You’re my compass between right and wrong. You will always point towards home, because you are my home. Wherever you
want.”
Gabriel.” I gasp, a slight warning in my tone.
My heart was beating rapidly in my chest.
I know, I know. You’re not ready for it yet. You want time. I fucked up, and you’re not ready yet to fall into it with me ompletely yet.” He breathed, resting his forehead on mine. “But whenever you are, I’l
