Sorry My Step-Uncle, I'm Not Your Backup Plan novel Chapter 10

Gabriella's POV

I chose Italy to escape my past, but it became so much more than just an escape. Between the ancient stone walls of the university and its sprawling gardens, I found something I thought I'd lost forever - peace.

The law program kept me busy enough that I could almost forget. Almost. But at night, in the quiet of my small apartment, memories of that night with Kayden would creep back in, reminding me why I'd fled across an ocean.

Then I met Drake Ashcroft.

He was guest lecturing on international banking regulations when our paths first crossed. I still remember that day - the way he commanded the lecture hall, his confidence not arrogant but earned. When I challenged his point about cross-border regulations, citing a recent Singapore case, he didn't dismiss me. Instead, his eyes lit up with genuine interest.

"That was impressive," he said afterward, falling into step beside me. "Coffee? I'd love to hear more about your analysis."

I should have said no. I wasn't ready for anything beyond my studies. But something in his easy smile made me pause, made me think maybe one coffee couldn't hurt.

One coffee turned into dinner. One dinner became many. Drake was nothing like Kayden - where Kayden had been cold and calculating, Drake was warm and genuinely interested in my thoughts. He never pushed, never demanded, just offered his presence with a patience I didn't know men could possess.

"You're different," he told me one evening over wine at a small trattoria overlooking the Mediterranean. "Most people wear their ambitions like badges. You wear yours like armor."

I should have been offended. Instead, I found myself laughing - really laughing - for the first time in months. With Drake, healing didn't feel like work. It happened naturally, like the way spring melts winter's frost.

When he suggested I join him in New York, I surprised myself by considering it. "Your talent deserves a bigger stage," he said, his voice carrying that quiet confidence I'd come to associate with him.

I couldn't have known then that fate had a cruel sense of irony. That sometimes the very things that heal us can also break us. That happiness, like spring frost, can be terribly fragile.

But in those moments, watching the city lights sparkle beyond my office window, I believed in second chances. And maybe that's what healing really is - not forgetting the past, but finding the courage to trust in the future again.

Looking back now, I wonder if I should have seen the signs. If I should have recognized the shadow that sometimes crossed his face when he looked at me, or questioned why his friends exchanged those odd glances at parties.

But I was too busy being happy, too caught up in the possibility of a love that didn't hurt. I had no way of knowing that once again, I was about to become someone's second choice.

The difference was, this time I wasn't the same naive girl who'd offered herself as a remedy to a man who didn't truly want her. This time, when the truth revealed itself, I would choose myself.