The Billionaire's Substitute

Heartache

Rachel felt like she was sitting across the principle, waiting to get preached at. She clutched a cup of tea with both hands while she nervously locked eyes with Gabriel. Gabriel's eyes were intense, making her feel like getting struck by lightning then and there. His face showed nothing at all, that was even scarier than if he looked angry or maybe disappointed. At least then she knew how to deal with this situation.
Now she was lost and waited until Gabriel would break the silence. He was taking his damn time, she knew in the back of her mind that he did it on purpose. Either he was trying to break her or trying to get back at her for behaving immature last night. It could be a bit of both. Not being able to contain herself anymore she spoke up first. She noticed the little twitch of his lips so she knew Gabriel indeed tried to break her.

"Ethan and I are no longer together, raising this child would prove to be difficult."

"Raising a child no matter the situation is always going to be difficult."

She raised her eyes to the sky, praying for more patience.

"If I tell Ethan about this child he'll come up with plans for the future which will involve marriage. We'll both be stuck in a marriage neither one of us actually wanted because of the right reasons." She gestured to Gabriel, "You know, stability, loyalty, and trust. We don't have any of that. And you know damn well, Gabriel Starr, that a child needs those things to grow up in a positive environment."

"Ethan truly cares about you." Gabriel told her firmly, "He goes about it the wrong way, I can agree with that. Your child, however, has the right to get to know their father."

Sighing she tightened her hold on her cup, the warmth wasn't making her feel comfy and cozy like it normally did. She sipped her tea, hoping it would make her feel better. She pulled her legs under her, thinking of reasons as to why she shouldn't tell Ethan about this accident. Not a single reason came to mind.

"You're right." Rachel told Gabriel, "I'm going to tell Ethan about this, but I'll do it when I'm ready. Please don't let anything slip, I need Ethan to hear this from me."

"Good, then I'm heading to the office." Gabriel got to his feet and turned around, facing the hallway which led to the bedrooms, "Valerie, the car is waiting!"

"Coming!"

Rachel looked away, trying not to let such a childish joke slip. It was too easy and quite frankly Gabriel didn't seem to be in the mood to joke around. He looked tense like he'd skin someone alive if they even dared to breathe in a way he didn't like. She knew it was probably the incident with Andrew which still had him fuming. It also made her wonder if that's why Ethan and Gabriel decided to have a drinking night. Just to unload. If they did do that to unload it didn't quite do the trick for Gabriel. She watched as the man turned to face her again, his eyes searching hers. It was like he saw right through her. She gulped and lowered her gaze, not being able to look at the man who could read her mind. There were some dark stuff she kept locked away in there which she didn't want people to know about. Her thoughts weren't always pleasant due to the man who broke her heart without knowing what he did wrong.

"Trust me, it will work out." Gabriel told her, "Ethan is a good guy."

"I know he is." She muttered, "He's just too hurt by Tiffany to move on with me."

"Tiffany." Gabriel sighed, "When comes the time we leave her in the past?"

She met his gaze, amused by that question which was quite obvious to her. She figured a smart guy like Gabriel also figured it out.

"When Ethan lets go of her." Rachel pointed out, innocently sipping her tea.

She finished her drink and got to her feet, "I actually have to get ready as well."