The Ultimate Chance-Chapter 146

She stomped to the door with Damon hot on her trail.

"Go home." She growled at him. "I don’t want to talk to you."

He debated letting her process Shirley’s words on her own and talk to him later but then he remembered what would happen if he let her go now. He would be giving her time to get over him. To consider whether or not it was worth it being with a man with a ton of baggage from his past and decide she was better off on her own.

But again, she was furious. There wasn’t a word he could say that she would believe now that the one thing she clung onto the most had turned out to be a lie.

He blew out a breath and wrapped his arms around her. "Avery, I understand how you feel. I’ll let you get some rest but I also want you to know that there is much more to what Shirley said than you can imagine. Call me when you feel better and let’s talk, okay?"

"I don’t want to talk to you. Which part of this don’t you understand?" She growled.

The door opened and Gabriel glared at them. "Do you have to be so loud? My nephew just fell asleep." He berated them. They had called him over to sit Angel while they went to the banquet.

"Sorry. Damon was just leaving." She glared at him so he wouldn’t try to worm his way in.

He let her go and was about to leave when he met Gabriel’s inquisitive stare. "Do I need to get a gun?"

"Scotch."

Gabriel frowned. "Misunderstanding?"

"I have no idea what the hell I got myself into." He tugged at his hair. He had been doing that a lot since last night and he had a feeling that was not going to change any time soon. "Where do I start?"

"From the beginning." Gabriel got out of the way to invite him in. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Are you sure she won’t kill us? She doesn’t want me here." He was doubtful.

Gabriel shrugged. "If she does kill you, I will have a video to show when I warn my nephew against messing with women." He smirked. "Don’t worry. She will not come out of her room in fear that I will ask her what’s going on. I don’t think she needs her cellar for the next several months so we can put it to good use.

...

"It was Avery’s birthday and I was drunk." He started. "I remember nothing apart from stumbling to my bedroom. When I woke up, Shirley was in my bed, in tears."

Gabriel knocked back a shot. "I have a feeling I know where this is heading."

"It’s already headed there. She showed up today claiming she had my baby." He revealed, feeling awful to be dumping this on his future brother-in-law. However, the only other option would be to knock down Avery’s door and make her hear him out. He would rather do this instead.

"Did you buy her silence that night?" Gabriel asked,

"The hell not. We talked about it. I lay all my cards on the table and reminded her to take the pill. That evening, she told me she did, and we put the topic to rest."

"Hm, I don’t know about that. Do you trust that she did?" Gabriel asked.

"Of course she didn’t, if she has a daughter from that night." He considered his options and decided he could be honest with Gabriel, so he spoke up. "I bet my entire bank account that nothing happened between us that night. She made it up and it happens to be convenient now."

"What about the child?" Gabriel asked.

"I’m not even sure the child exists." He confessed. "If it does exist, I’m ninety percent sure it’s not mine. The ten percent being the tiny chance that something did happen that night and a child happened." He gulped down his drink, then remembered the kind of person Shirley was. "There is no way this is true. She would have tried to drag me down the altar three years ago."

"If you are not certain what really happened, how are you going to convince Avery?" Gabriel mocked.

While he was trying to make fun of him, Damon squinted his eyes and cursed.

"Have a DNA test done." Gabriel advised, then added, "Make sure the test comes out a 0% match."

"What the hell are you saying?" Damon frowned.

"I’m sure anyone’s silence has a price. No matter how much it is, I’m sure it is much cheaper than losing the love of your life and two children." He insisted.

Damon looked at his future brother-in-law like he was insane. "You would have me lie to your sister just so she can believe me?"

Gabriel shrugged in response. "If this is your child, her heart would be shattered. And then what? She would have to raise your child without you and Angel would be the most hurt from it all. If I were you, I would live with the guilt of knowing I paid off a scheming woman to raise my son on her own than have my woman hate me and lose children I care about in the process."

While it was twisted, Damon had to agree with his reasoning. Though he shook his head. "I would rather have Avery hate me than continue to live a lie. The worst thing about lies is they have their way of sneaking up on you when your life is at its best." He threw back another drink. If Avery took him back now because she thought she misunderstood him, only to find out years later that he had been keeping such a secret, the truth would shatter her heart worse than ever.

Gabriel studied him carefully. "Are you sure? I know people who can make sure everything is erased."

"So do I. Thanks for trying to help but I won’t take it."

Gabriel finally nodded, then flashed a grin. "Good. Because I would never let a treacherous man get close to my sister."

When he held his phone up and showed the screen where the call was still on, Damon exploded. "You fucking asshole!"

"You’re welcome." Gabriel finally ended the call. Avery had called several minutes ago and his phone had been on silent, so he had discreetly answered and was glad when Avery heard Damon’s voice and stopped herself from saying a word.

"Seriously, I thought you were on my side." He lamented.

"I’m on my sister’s side. And I know you would blank out faced with her enraged face. But you should thank me. When you go to her room now, she will give you a chance to talk before she bursts your balls."

Damon shook his head. Of course, the asshole had never been on his side. Family came first for him, then friends. He was glad he had never thought of deceiving Avery or he would have signed his death sentence by agreeing to Gabriel’s suggestion.

.....

When the call ended, Avery debated talking to Damon and was yet to decide what to do when a knock sounded on her door.

"Avery, can we talk?" Damon pleaded from outside.

"Will you go away if I say I can’t talk now?" She sighed. Without waiting for him to answer her, she shuffled out of bed and opened the door. He looked disheveled even though it had been barely an hour since their argument.

She flopped onto her bed and went straight to the point. "I heard everything."

"You still don’t trust me." He observed.

"It’s not about the child, Damon. I don’t really care if you had one when we were together. It was about the lie. You didn’t tell me there is a chance that you slept with her when you were drunk." She paced. "It is a tiny chance, like you told Gabriel, but it’s a chance nonetheless. And it’s the difference between you having a child and not having one."

He took her hands. "And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t come clean when I should have."

She was silent for a while, and he wanted to plead for her to say something but was afraid she would tell him to fuck off. So he took her hand and gently led her to his lap. "I should take a DNA test first."

"Does it change anything?" She asked.

"Of course it does. A negative test will prove Shirley was deliberately scheming and trying to tie me up in whatever this is."

She tapped her jaw with her pointer finger as she considered the likeliness of his words. What exactly would Shirley gain from claiming to have a child with him?

"You do realize that it would not hold water, right? If she knows this is not your child but claimed so anyway, and she knew you would take a DNA test, how would she proceed with her plan? She had to make sure you actually are the father, don’t you think?"

"Baby, DNA tests can be faked." He reminded her.

Her lip twitched. "You also realize that. If she can fake a DNA test to claim you are the father of her child, you can fake one too, to claim you are not. And apparently, you know enough people to make that happen and buy their silence."

He cursed at Gabriel inwardly. The man had indeed helped him get Avery to talk to him, but he had also planted a seed of doubt in her heart. How would he be able to talk himself out of this one?