Falling For My Ex's Dad (Clarissa and Gabriel) novel Chapter 178

Clairessa POV

The day had finally gone by faster than I expected.

Adrian had settled into his downstairs room—claiming it was more convenient, already filled with his things—while I was placed upstairs.

It felt like life was playing another sick, twisted game on me, because he’d placed me in the room closest to Gabriel’s.

He even joked about it—said maybe his dad would finally warm up to me, get to know me… even like me.

What he didn’t know was that I already knew Gabriel. Intimately.

He was my secret. My mistake. My obsession.

The man I had once given everything to—and the one I still wasn’t over.

And I knew this house—every hallway, every door, every room.

So when I left my room and wandered to Gabriel’s door, I told myself it was just to say thank you—for letting me stay until I figured things out, for not turning me away.

But a voice in my head warned me to go back. That nothing good would come from this.

Still, I didn’t stop.

His door was ajar. I didn’t knock—maybe out of habit, maybe out of instinct. I slipped through the narrow opening and—

Froze.

Gabriel stood in the middle of the room, his shirt already off one shoulder.

As if he sensed my presence, he turned, catching me in the doorway.

Bare-chested. Eyes locked on mine.

His body was cut and sculpted, his abs defined in clean ridges. The slope of his shoulders, the dip of his hips leading down to that deep, infuriatingly tempting V that disappeared beneath low-hanging slacks.

My eyes betrayed me, tracing every line of him like a path I’d memorized too well. Too long.

He didn’t move.

Neither did I.

I drank him in before I could stop myself, drawn in like a magnet to everything.

Every inch of him reminded me of what I’d lost.

What I wasn’t supposed to want anymore.

“Clairessa,” he said my name, low and rough.

But I was too drawn in to respond.

My eyes had fallen back down again—God, no.

His cock hung heavy between his thighs, and suddenly, the heat in my blood was unbearable.

And worse—I remembered.

I remembered how it felt to have him inside me, stretching and filling me so completely.

How I begged for more, gasped his name, held onto him like I’d drown without it.

My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard.

And I knew he noticed. He followed my gaze—downward—and I blinked, mortified to realize I’d been staring, and I couldn’t even look away fast enough.

Then he said, half-amused, half-knowing—

“Are you just going to keep gawking, or…?”

My cheeks burned. “Oh my God—I’m sorry,” I blurted, stumbling back a step.

“I didn’t mean to—I just— I didn’t know you were— I came to thank you, that’s it, I swear— I’ll just—”

I turned toward the door, fumbling, breath erratic, heart pounding like a drum. But then—

“Clairessa.” His voice was low, commanding. “Get back here.”

My entire body stilled. Shivers ran down my spine.

“One month is all you’re getting. Adrian might’ve told you you could stay as long as you need, but in truth, I gave him a limit. That’s already more generous than you deserve.”

There he was. The Gabriel I expected.

Cold. Controlled. Angry.

I straightened my spine. “That’s more time than I need. I plan to be out by the end of the week.”

He tilted his head, voice low. “Clairessa… we both know a week isn’t enough time to find an apartment in Miami. So take the full month. Use it to get your affairs in order. But there’s a condition.”

A condition. Of course there was.

I didn’t even have to ask what it was.

“If this is about me confessing the truth to Adrian…” I looked him in the eyes, my voice steady. “You should know that I tried. I swear, I tried to tell him about us.”

His eyes narrowed. He didn’t believe me.

“I swear I did,” I pushed on, my voice cracking a little. “I tried. I wanted to tell him everything, but he wouldn’t let me get a word in. He just kept saying whatever it was, he forgave me. I promise, Gabriel—I was going to tell him. I really was.”

He smirked—slow and mocking. “None of that matters now. There’s been a change of plans.”

My heart skipped again—this time in dread. “First a condition, now a change of plans? What are you talking about?”

“I’m not going to tell Adrian the truth. And neither are you.”

“What?”

He didn’t flinch. “I’ll let you stay here for one month. And in return, you’re going to help straighten him out. Get him focused. Help him grow up. Become the man he needs to be. Help him stay on track with the company.”

My stomach dropped. “Are you serious?” I gasped. “You can’t be—this is insane!”

“Watch your tone,” he warned. “You don’t speak to me like that.”

“I’m sorry,” I muttered quickly, but I couldn’t hold it in. “But just days ago you called me manipulative. You said you wanted me out of your house—out of your life. You told me to resign. And now you want me working closely with your son? The same man you think I’ve seduced and manipulated? You don’t see how crazy that sounds?”

He shrugged, completely unaffected. “Actually, it sounds like a win for both of us. You just said how much you needed this job. And I need Adrian back at the company. If you’re the leverage that keeps him focused, then so be it.”