His Princesa - 18+ | Old Version

C H A P T E R • 16

VANESSA
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The morning was awkward. Gabriel's shirtless back was facing me as he cooked my second omelet, humming to himself while moving around the kitchen with grace. My eyes concentrated on the one large dragon tattoo on his side, biting my lip.

I was supposed to be mad at him, not admiring how glorious his back muscles looked in the early sun, contrasted with shadows. I could be angry and still eye-fuck him. There were no rules about that.

"I was only seventeen when I signed the contract," Gabriel explained to me, turning his body so he could give me my brand new omelette. "At the time, my father was still in power and I did everything he asked me to do, which included contract signings.

"The day I signed that contract was the day my mother was killed." He looked away from me and I couldn't stop the frown from growing on my lips. "I signed it in hopes that I could prevent something like this from ever happening to my family. I thought that taking over half of the company would be beneficial protection-wise — I was never allowed to read the contract because my father was there to read it. No one told me that your father put his own daughter in the contract which is probably why they never told me that half of the contract.

"I forgot that I even signed the stupid contract all those years ago," he continued to explain. "I've been focused on so much more and... fuck, if I could undo that day I would, I swear. I know how important that entire business is to you and how you prepared your whole life to run this business. I respect you on a level you don't even understand and I feel like I stripped something from you because of this entire thing.

"I don't own you, okay? Or your business, whether it's on paper or not. In my eyes, you're still you and your company is still yours — all yours. No contract or marriage or any shit like that can change what I think. All I thought about was protecting my family but, well... I shouldn't steal someone else's life for it."

I was silent, my eyes wide as he stared at the fork in my hand, chewing his lip nervously.

"You can still hate me," he rushed as I slowly stood up, "b-but I was only thinking of—"

He was interrupted with a grunt when I grabbed his face, pulling his face to mine and pressing our lips together. He hesitated, his lips moving before he pulled me to his sitting position, letting me stand between his legs as he moved one of his hands to my hair. My lips parted from his and he let out the smallest of gasps.

"I'm sorry," he whispered once we made eye contact, his eyes full of regret. "When I saw your face yesterday — the tears in your eyes and the complete hatred towards me on your face... I was devastated. I-I didn't think that... I didn't know—"

I covered his mouth with my hand. Once I knew he wasn't going to anything, I pulled it away. "I know. I'm upset. Very upset."

He opened his mouth to say something but I stopped him.

"I understand your position, alright? I wouldn't hesitate to do anything in my power to protect my family, and you didn't know that my... that my father would have done something like put me on a contract.

"The trust is still going to take a bit," I continued, watching him nod, "after all of this and finding this out... it's just very overwhelming. But I forgive you because you didn't know; my father and your father didn't tell you the facts that you deserved to know before signing that contract and it isn't your fault. You had orders to sign by your father and your boss and you couldn't disobey him."