Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel) novel Chapter 314

Clairessa’s POV

The diamond glittered so brightly it almost mocked me for staring at it for the millionth time. I couldn’t help it. The stone was flawless, clear-cut, catching the soft light of the morning and throwing it back in brilliant flashes. It had to be worth a fortune… maybe a million, maybe two. Something outrageous, the kind of thing only Gabriel Storm would think was normal.

But today, I wasn’t just staring at my engagement ring. My gaze lingered on the slender band of diamond beside it, the symbol of my marriage.

I traced it with my thumb… my wedding band. My proof that I was officially Gabriel’s wife.

Even now, weeks later, the word still felt like a dream I hadn’t woken up from. I wanted to pinch myself just to be sure it was real. I’d lost count of how many times I turned my hand back and forth, admiring the way the two rings looked together… as if they’d been waiting all along to sit there on my finger.

Twenty-nine days, seventeen hours, and God knows how many minutes. That was how long I’d been his wife. And every second of it had been the best decision of my life.

Our wedding hadn’t been the grand Storm affair the world would’ve expected. Gabriel hadn’t wanted to wait. He’d said he wanted the baby to meet us not just as Mom and Dad, but as husband and wife… a proper family. So, we kept it simple. Just our families and Gabriel’s close friends and business partners. No media, no endless guest lists. It was perfect. Intimate. Ours.

And now… here I was, nine months pregnant, lying beside him in our bed, staring at the proof of my new life on my hand. My dream. My forever.

That’s when I felt it. A sharp tug low in my belly. My breath caught, and I froze, waiting to see if it would pass. Except it didn’t. A second one came, stronger, deeper.

Contractions.

My heart stuttered. No… not yet. I wasn’t ready. Or maybe I was. God, was this it?

I pressed a hand to my belly, biting down on a nervous laugh. Maybe it was another false alarm. I’d had so many Braxton Hicks and played too many pranks that Gabriel had started rolling his eyes every time I gasped. I tried to shift quietly, not wanting to wake him.

Another contraction hit. Harder.

I groaned before I could stop myself.

Beside me, Gabriel stirred, his voice thick with sleep, rough and annoyed. “Clairessa… if you’re waking me up to tell me the baby’s coming for the hundredth damn time…” He buried his face deeper in the pillow, voice muffled, “…I swear, woman, I will lose my mind.”

I smacked his arm, breathless. “I promise, this time I’m serious.”

He grumbled, rolling onto his back, eyes still closed. “You said that last time. And the time before.”

“I’m not joking…” I hissed, shaking him rigorously.

He frowned, eyes cracking open as he slowly sat up. “You better not be…”

Another intense pain slammed into me, pulling a scream from my throat. My hand clutched my stomach. “Oh my God! It hurts, Gabriel, I think it’s for real this time!”

That got his attention. The lazy disbelief vanished. Panic replaced it instantly as he rose from the bed.

His face paled as he grabbed my arm. “Tell me where it hurts. What can I do?” His hands were everywhere, frantic, as though touching my shoulders or my stomach would somehow make it better.

“I don’t know!” I gasped. “We need to get to the hospital… now!”

He ripped the blanket back and froze. His eyes landed on the soaked sheets at the same time mine did. His mouth opened and shut once before he muttered, voice ragged, “Oh my God… you’re serious. The baby’s really coming.”

Tears stung my eyes as I glared at him through the pain. “I told you this time was serious!”

“It’s really happening…” he breathed, caught between shock and excitement, his arms sliding around me as he helped me off the bed. “That’s it, we’re going. Right now.”

Just as he got me standing, the door banged open.

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