"Is it your first time?"
This was the first sentence Gabriel Lewis said to me.
I didn't respond, and we had sex all night.
The next morning, a ray of sunlight shone on his face, highlighting his chiseled features. Under the bright sunlight, those tiny pores could be seen and his skin looked amber, a sign of health and vibrancy.
I had to say, my daughter had good taste, but it was limited to appearance.
I took a few staged photos, tore off the film that was stuck on his phone last night to get the password, and posted a photo of me in black stockings on his Instagram.
Of course, it didn't show my face.
I left a $100 bill on the bedside table as a reward for his hard work. When I returned to the company, I got some strange looks and heard them whisper.
"Did you hear? Mr. Perry invited her to dinner last night, and she refused."
"Why didn't he invite me? Grace is old. What's so good about her?"
"Yeah, look at how provocatively she's dressed. She must be slutty deep down!"
The corners of my mouth twitched slightly. It seemed that Nathan Perry wouldn't let me off.
I found out that he helped my daughter transfer my assets back then. Now he wanted something else. If he couldn't get it, he'd ruin my reputation.
Did he think I was the Grace Wilson from two months ago?
"Do this report. I'll need it for a meeting in an hour. Today, a senior leader will be parachuted in and he pays great attention to details."
Nathan threw a document at me and left without looking back.
In the past, I could have thrown it in his face and angrily accused him of using me as cannon fodder.
But now, I stayed calm.
This company had a document that I needed.
I scanned the annual financial report quickly and made some obvious corrections. My pen paused at a certain sentence, and I smirked.
"Mr. Perry, it's done."
I knocked on the door and got permission to enter. The smile on my face disappeared in an instant when I saw the man in front of me.
It was Gabriel, the man I had a passionate night with last night.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and make a coffee for Mr. Lewis."
I nodded and fled out of the room.
What would Gabriel say to Nathan?
I carefully held the coffee and waited at the door, feeling at a loss.
Suddenly, Nathan's voice came from inside. "Mr. Lewis, this document was done by Grace. It must be her doing! She might be a spy sent by another company! Please fire her immediately!"
I couldn't hold it steady, and the cup shattered into pieces with a loud crash, spilling coffee all over the floor.
Gabriel opened the door.
With his hands crossed over his chest, he leaned against the door frame, staring at me with great interest.
In the moment when Nathan approached, the smile on his lips disappeared instantly.
"Grace, what have you done? Be honest with us Otherwise, you will be sent to jail right now!"
"If you want to talk about the impact of accounting policy and estimation disclosure on the cash flow statement, I'm sorry. It's not something that a newcomer like me can access. I took photos of the document, so you can compare them to see if anything is altered."
"You!" If it weren't for Gabriel here, I would probably be torn apart.
Nathan left with gritted teeth, and I squatted down to tidy up the mess before turning around.
"Ms. Wilson, a moment, please."
Gabriel played with my portfolio in his hand. "Grace Wilson, forty years old, widowed, has a daughter."
I widened my eyes in astonishment.
He bent down and leaned closer to me until his lips were only a few inches from mine. "I hope you can keep what happened yesterday between you and me."
He passed by with a smile, and my body tensed up.
It was clear that he was threatening me.
If I didn't do as he said, he would expose me.
But he was overthinking.
It was just an impulsive act out of anger last night. Gabriel was eight years younger than me, and he was my daughter Molly Wilson's boyfriend.
I had many ways to take everything back, and I disdained this kind of way.
But fate played tricks on me.
The company's medical examination results showed that I was pregnant.
I was absent-minded at work and dropped the pregnancy test report on the ground.
Gabriel picked it up and squinted his eyes.
2Since that day, Gabriel seemed to have changed.
Just like Nathan, he started to make things difficult for me at work.
Perhaps this was his true nature. He was merciless at heart.
Today, my daughter came. Hiding in the corner, I saw her intimately holding Gabriel's arm and heard her say, "Darling, when are we getting married? What do you like? I'll give it to you."
Gabriel smiled and affectionately touched her head. "Will be soon."
Gabriel was a tough nut. A lot of women had fallen for his tricks.
After some hesitation, I decided to meet my daughter at a café.
I put aside my past grievances and analyzed the situation. She acted as if she heard the funniest joke in the world. "You're just jealous that I've found the right man."
I became anxious, holding her hand. "Why don't you listen to me? I'm your mom. How could I deceive you?"
She pushed me away and pointed at me with sharp nails, saying, "Stop it! You've lied to me a hundred times over the years. Every time I got a boyfriend, you secretly broke us up! And you kept me away from my male friends and classmates! No wonder Dad dumped you!"
With a crisp sound, I slapped her across the face.
I immediately regretted it. I kept apologizing while my daughter covered her face, her eyes red with tears. She bit her lip tightly, to keep tears from her eyes. "Grace Wilson, I disown you!"
She left without looking back, and I stood there stunned before chasing after her. Suddenly, a pair of large hands covered mine and pried my fingers one by one. Gabriel's lips moved as he said in an icy tone, "Please stop bothering Molly, or there will be consequences."
My wrist hurt, and I watched helplessly as they walked further away lovingly. Many memories came rushing upon me as tears blurred my eyes.
After venting my anger for a whole day and night, I decided to find leverage against Gabriel.
Everyone left work, but I was still sitting at my desk searching for clues.
I didn't even notice when Gabriel came behind me.
"What are you doing?"
His voice came out cold and mechanical, and I was so scared that I quickly turned off the screen and got up as if nothing had happened. However, my legs went numb from sitting for too long, and I stumbled and fell. Gabriel caught me in time.
Through the thin fabric, I could feel his strong muscles and the heat.
He kept getting closer, and I froze. At the critical moment, I turned my head and said, "Mr. Lewis, please get ahold of yourself."
The chemistry between us was quickly gone. He dusted himself off, and in an instant, he turned back into that horrible scoundrel.
"Do you want to go out for a walk?"
I opened my mouth but then bit back the words of refusal.
I changed my mind.
If I could make Gabriel fall in love with me, he would naturally break up with my daughter.
The night market was bustling and provided a bumper variety of goods.
A charm necklace caught my eye.
There was a time when I also got one, but I lost it later.
The pattern and texture were almost the same, except that there were no familiar scratches on it.
A friend of mine gave one to me before he went abroad.
Seeing that I liked the charm necklace, Gabriel took a few glances, bought it for me, and wanted to put it on me. He whispered in my ear, "Grace, has anyone ever told you that you have a sweet voice?"
My heart beat faster as I looked into his deep eyes for a long time and felt the heat rise in me.
That night, Gabriel and I had sex again and got huge pleasure from it.
Since then, whenever I had free time in the company, he called me to his office and we had sex.
He bought me a house and asked me not to work but to take care of myself and the baby.
At that time, I naively thought that I had already made Gabriel fall for me.
I did as he said while collecting evidence. The day before I could show it to my daughter, Gabriel drugged me.
I woke up in a basement so dark that I couldn't even see my hands.
My hands and feet were tied with thick chains, and Gabriel was burning charcoal.
"Gabriel, what are you doing?"
3He didn't answer and his face was devoid of feelings in the flickering firelight.
"You are Molly's mother, right?"
His voice was faint, and I couldn't tell how he was feeling.
My heart lurched, and I dared not say a word with my dry lips pressed together. After a while, he continued to ask, "Why did you approach me?"
After hesitating for a moment, I gathered my courage and said slowly, "For revenge, and you are not right for her."
Gabriel sneered, squatted down in front of me, and scanned my face. His broad hand brushed away a few strands of my hair from my forehead. I could see myself reflected in his obsidian eyes.
He lifted my chin with one hand and leaned closer, but suddenly he grabbed my neck. My pupils dilated!
"I hate women who deceive me," he spoke coldly. I felt his cold breath on my face, and my whole body tensed.
With a tight grip on my throat, I couldn't catch my breath. Then I realized how wrong it was to get close to Gabriel!
At this point, I didn't lie anymore. Tears welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. "I don't want my daughter to suffer any harm, so I lie. I don't care if I'll become a criminal."
My tears dripped onto his hand, and Gabriel paused for a moment. But the next moment, there was a sinister look in his eyes.
His grip on my throat tightened and I was almost about to faint.
In the last second, he let go of me, and I collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.
Gabriel went back to fiddle with the brazier, his eyes dim. "Grace, what kind of person do you think am I?"
I tensed up all over and dared not say anything else, afraid of irritating him even more.
But it seemed like he had already read my mind.
"You have investigated me, so you should know something about me," he said slowly.
Thinking about what he had just said, I dismissed the idea of lying to him and swallowed hard. "Yes, you are the man living off my daughter. You must have taken a lot of money from her over the years."
"Is that all?"
I nodded with evasive eyes.
"Very well, just like Molly said, you make arbitrary judgments and do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. No wonder she hates you so much."
He shook his head, a mocking smile lifting the corners of his mouth. The flames in the brazier grew higher with his repeated movements.
Gabriel took a burning charcoal and walked slowly to me. He gently stroked my cheek and traced my lips with his finger. His tone was icy. "A selfish and deceitful woman like you doesn't need to look good. It's just a pity that you've got a good voice."
I trembled all over. "What are you going to do?"
He snorted and his eyes instantly became fierce. He grabbed my chin, forced my mouth open, and put the burning charcoal in my mouth!
My mouth started to bleed!
It hurt like hell!
The burning pain from my mouth spread down to my esophagus. Gabriel punched me again and again, causing my stomach to churn.
I curled up in pain and screamed, tortured to the point of biting my tongue off.
He slapped me hard, forcing me to remain conscious and look into his eyes. "You can't fool anyone anymore."
"Why are you treating me like this?" I gave a dry little cough, and blood spurted. My voice came out broken and hoarse. Tears kept rolling down, and everything in front of me was blurry.
Gabriel didn't respond and imprisoned me for six months.
I tried to escape countless times, but he caught me every time. I became a nervous wreck, covered in bruises.
Today, he opened the door and released me from the chains.
I thought I could finally leave there after enduring so much, but he had someone give me a sedative and put me on a cold operating table.
I vaguely heard him say, "Do a C-section now."
What? I was only seven months pregnant!
"I don't want his life. I just want his blood."