AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But if I discover he doesn’t love me, I’ll leave.
For us, for me.
My heart won’t settle for less.
Chapter Eleven
Gabriel
I stare at Ameline, stunned and speechless. Her version of our story makes me look like some fucking asshole who truly didn’t give two fucks about his grieving wife or his dead child. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
During those days, I was literally in the fertility clinic, discussing with the medical personnel the future of our babies. I had promised myself that Ame would never endure the pain of losing a child ever again.
In my mind, I was honoring our daughter while ensuring Ameline would be spared that agony. My singular goal was protecting her.
Part of why I became an oncologist is because of them. I try my best to prevent what happened to Ameline, her mother, or our baby girl. No matter how much my family begs me to quit this soul-crushing profession, I can’t let it go. So what if what I’m doing is also paying some penance?
The guilt of not realizing she was pregnant during the TMZ treatment or . . . There are multiple reasons including not being able to convince Ameline that she’s the love of my life.
I’m haunted by maybes and what-ifs from the worst period of our lives.
Lyric shoots me a judging, disappointed glare but there’s pity in her eyes too. Her emotionally-shattered brother fucked his entire life while trying to fix it.
Though, now it makes sense as to why Ameline left me. I withdrew from her, and she believed my well-intentioned, nosy mother.
Ame believed that I never loved her.
But I did, I was just blinded by grief and even guilt. I avoided my emotions by working hard to solve our future, and yet, I truly fucked it up.
But the truth? I’ve loved her fiercely from the start, and that’s never stopped, not even for a second. Sure, Leslie was my first love, but Ameline? She’s the love of my life. That’s why I could never make myself sign those divorce papers every time she sent them.
Saying any of it now would be meaningless, though. She needs me to prove it through actions.
I love her, deeply, wholeheartedly, and I’m not ready to give up on us, not without giving it everything I’ve got. Yeah, I’ve been keeping my distance, respecting that imaginary restraining order she put in place, but now that she’s back in my life . . . Well, they say all’s fair in love and war, right?
Suddenly, Ameline’s phone rings, pulling me from my thoughts. She fumbles for it, answering with a quick, “Hello?” but her expression shifts to worry almost instantly. When she hangs up, that look of concern doesn’t leave her face.
“Everything okay?” I ask with concern.
“Nope. I received a call from Isadora’s neighbor. According to her, she’s been trying to reach me for hours. Izzy went to the hospital, and she needs someone to pick up her children before they call the police and child protective services.”
“Do you have her address?” I question urgently.
Ameline glances down at her phone, biting her lip in that way she does when she’s nervous. “Yeah, I just got a text with the address.”
“Okay, then let’s go get them,” I say firmly, already formulating a plan in my head to track down Izzy. I know people who can handle that while we focus on the kids.
But Ameline’s still chewing on her lip, her brows knitted in worry. She’s clearly wrestling with something more, and I can almost see the gears turning in her head.
“What else is going on?”
“I just . . . What do I do with Izzy’s kids? Do I call Richard? Not like he’d answer,” she says, her voice tinged with a mix of frustration and panic. “But maybe he’d be better equipped to handle this.”
I reach out, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Ame, just take a deep breath, okay?”
I wait as she inhales shakily, trying to collect herself.
“Breathing doesn’t change anything,” she argues. “Why are they even calling me? Izzy made it clear I’m nobody to her.”
