After Divorce, Billionaire Ex Found Me Pregnant
Chapter 56 His Desperate Ploy.

Chapter 56: Chapter 56 His Desperate Ploy.

Those words felt like a sweet, yet poisonous drink being served to her, because no matter how dreamy they sounded, in the end, she was going to end up getting hurt.

Hurt by getting her hopes up.

Hurt by believing his words.

Hurt by allowing feelings she had buried resurface.

But what if those words weren’t fake?

That one fleeting question caused a bug in her system to spike, freezing her in her thoughts.

Gabriel who had been holding her in his arms, felt her back go stuff against his chest. Maneuvering so he was now standing in front of her, the Noirette gazed down at her stiff expression, certainly thrown off guard by his question.

But he wasn’t joking.

He meant every last one of the word he spoke.

"What’s your answer, Leonica," He pressed in a whisper like tone, hot breath fanning her face when he leaned in close. "Would you?"

Hearing his voice so close had done a good job enough to snap her out of whatever bug malfunction was going on in her mind, but the same couldn’t be said for her brain, which seemed to completely shut down at his closeness.

The scent of his cologne- a mix of cedar and tiny bit of fresh fruit-, was a smell she was too familiar with and it had her heart palpitate in the worst ways.

And then, there was the intensity of his gaze.

Gabriel had always had a pair of intimidating grey eyes and when combined with the intensity of his gaze, it was more than enough to send anyone’s heart into overdrive.

Leonica was no exception.

Even at that, the Noirette was staring at her in anticipation of her answer, his face still too close for her comfort.

When he noticed she hadn’t refused his presence, no matter how close he got, Gabriel couldn’t stop himself and at the last moment, he lowered his head, albeit slow, and captured her lips in a searing kiss.

Her reaction was immediate.

Leonica’s eyes had grown to the size of saucers, and she didn’t move, didn’t blink. Her whole body was frozen, except for her rapidly beating heart which seemed to increase as Gabriel poured more emotions into the kiss.

“Say yes, Leonica.” He muttered into the kiss. “You, me and Ashley, we can still make this work. A family, we can make one.”

Family.

The word rang a bell of remembrance in her head and had her finally moving, however, not to reciprocate the kiss, rather, she moved away, breaking the contact.

Her face was flushed red, and her breaths had become rapid and uneven, but she forced her brain to think, wiping her lips with the back of her palm. An action that caused Gabriel to frown.

“You...” She panted and looked up at him. “Don’t you dare...try to fool me, because that’s not going to work.” She spat, beginning to feel hot from anger.

He really almost had her there, for a second. However, she was smarter than his ploy.

“Is that really the best you can do? Play with my feeling Because you’re so desperate to get custody of Ashely?” She shook her head. “Sorry to tell you, I would never take a bite out of your bait. Any smart person would know that you can’t end you engagement with Angelina because she’s carrying your child. Don’t take me for a fool, Gabriel.”

To think he had played on her feelings, once more, all just to get what he wanted.

The thought made her scoff.

Meanwhile, Gabriel stared at her in utter confusion.

Angelina? Carrying his child?

What the hell did she mean?

“Wait, what are you...?”

“Leonica! There you are, thank goodness.” Anastasia rushed into the restaurant, interrupting Gabriel before he could question Leonica’s bizarre words.

Walking up to the Noirette, she cast a knowing and nasty look at Gabriel briefly. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” She extended her hands.

“Why?” Leonica took her hands, blinking in confusion.

“Ashley woke up.”

At those words, her eyes widened and the next moment, she was dashing towards the elevator with Anastasia following right behind. Gabriel was no slower, and soon, they were all pushing their way into Ashely’s room.

The said boy who had been having a brief and little chat with his uncle Christian, turned towards the door at the sound of many footsteps and people practically barging in.

The first person he saw was his mother, followed by aunt Ana, but it wasn’t long before a familiar figure joined them, Gabriel.

Seeing the last face was more than enough to bring a lazy smile to his face.

“Mommy. Gabriel.” He beamed weakly up at them both, making grabby hand motions towards them.

Gabriel wasted no time in appearing at his son’s side, soothing his ruffled hair back.

“Hey buddy. How are you feeling?” He gently asked, frowning at the sight of the white bandage on Ashely’s head.

“Woozy.” The child muttered but offered him a smile. “But I’ll feel better once I get...my ice cream.”

Gabriel chuckled, a sad one any adult could tell. “Of course. I’ll get you your Ice cream.”

“Promise?” The younger male held up his pinky finger.

Gabriel noticed the trembles in his body before quickly hooking his own pinky with the child’s. “I promise. So take your time getting better, okay?”

Ashley weakly nodded, with yet another smile that made Gabriel chuckled.

The scene nonetheless, was a heart warming one. Father and son reunited, everyone watching was filled with a warm feeling in their chest.

Everyone but one person..

Leonica. She wasn’t far behind, but she kept her distance just before reaching the bed, staying back and watching as Gabriel interacted with her...their son.

The sight brought a bitter taste to her tongue and a sting to her heart.

It was like a sudden whip delivered by the hands of guilt, making an ounce of remorse surface in her chest.

Remorse and guilt for keeping such a- as hard as it was for her to admit- beautiful pair of father and son away from each other.

The guilt however, was fickle and began to fade when he reminded herself that her actions were for the better, after all Gabriel was about to start a new family and it would hurt Ashley less to not know Gabriel was his father.

Call her bad, a witch of whatever anyone may, but all she did, she did it to protect her son and today, would be the last day she’d ever doubt that.

*~*

“...with the evil witch locked in the treasure chest, Hansel and Gretel had enough time to gather all the beautiful jewelries and gold coins, enough to make sure that they could eat all the pork meat they wanted, and skipped off to their house.” Leonica finished the story, raising her gaze from the storybook in her hand to find Ashley staring at her with narrowed gaze. “What?”

“I...I don’t think that’s the story.” Ashley yawned, feeling sleep after having talked to Anastasia, Christian, Gabriel and his mother, from the moment he had woken up. “Hansel and Gretel, they...they burned the witch, did they not?”

“What?” Leonica was genuinely confused.

That was freaking different from the story she had been told while growing up.

Quickly, she flipped the book close and gaze at the cover, closing her eyes and cursing inwardly upon seeing that it was a Disney fairytale version of the story.

Put in a better way; a remake.

Gabriel who had been seating in one of the chair, quietly watching, found her expression funny.

Watching her try her best to explain to Ashley that she had picked out the wrong one, while Ashley, despite his tired state, playfully drilled her out for reading him the wrong story, brought a smile to his lips.

That smile however, flattered the moment he realized that this side of Leonica was only reserved for her son...their son.

Towards him, she was much colder and merely smiled. Her guard was always up and the one time he’d think he was finally going somewhere, she’d kick him back and draw another line, rambling on about words that he didn’t even understand.

Like today for instance. During their conversation, she had hinted on something that disturbed him as much as it confused him.

Angelina’s pregnancy, as she put it.

But the thing was... Angelina wasn’t pregnant.

To his knowledge, at least.

Suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu, Gabriel’s brows creased. What if this was a repeat for five years ago?

He needed to know.

Standing up, his movement was caught by Ashley. “Gabriel, are you leaving?” He asked in a voice tinged with sadness.

The question was enough to soften the Noirette’s heart and he shook his head, walking over to plant a kiss on his head.

“Of course not. I just need to make an important call.”

Ashley’s shoulders dropped in relief and he gave him a small nod, turning back to his mother who had resumed the conversation, only this time, she was trying her best to convince Ashley that it was indeed the right story, a Disney version.

Gabriel took one last glance at them, not missing the way Leonica stole a gaze at him, before he walked at of the room.

With the door behind him shut and the hallway empty, Gabriel reached into his pocket for his phone, quickly dialing a number and placing it at his ear.

He tapped his foot, waiting for the line to be picked up. It wasn’t long before the line did.

“Yes, Sir?” Bills voice sounded from the other end of the line.

“Bill, I need you to do something, immediately.”

“Of course sir, what might that be.”

Gabriel hesitated, knowing fully well that if he does what he was about to, he had officially broken the truth between he and Angelina because of a simple misunderstanding.

But fuck it! He needed to know.

“Run a check on Angelina’s medical records.”