Falling For My Ex's Dad by Oma Green

Chapter 166: Losing The Love Of My Life Clairessa's POV As soon as the door slammed shut, it felt like my entire world collapsed.

A sharp, jarring pain tore through my chest, and I clutched at my heart instinctively, as if holding it might stop it from breaking apart.

My legs buckled beneath me, and I crumpled to the floor, gasping for air as a sob ripped from somewhere deep inside me.

I tried to silence it-to swallow the sound-but it was no use. I didn't just cry.

I broke down.

Tears streamed down my face, falling freely onto the wooden floor beneath me.

Gabriel's last words echoed in my head again and again, each repetition cutting deeper into my already shattered heart.

"We're done. Nothing is ever going to happen between us again." But it wasn't just the words.

It was the look in his eyes.

A look that will hauntforever.

Disgust.

Disdain.

Like I was a mistake-a betrayal he regretted ever letting into his life.

And what hurt the most wasn't just losing him... it was knowing that someone who once lovedso deeply, so fiercely, could now look atlike I was the most vile thing he'd ever seen.

And the worst part? I had no one to blbut myself.

I did this.

My mind flashed back to that day when Adrian kept calling and I lied.

Gabriel had every reason to doubt me, but he chose to trustanyway. He askedbegged me-not to hurt him.

He opened up about his past, his trauma. He letin.

And I still lied.

One lie turned into two, then three, until I was drowning in them—and pulling him under with me.

He gavehis heart, his fears, his history. I knew how deep his scars ran, how much pain he carried... and I still chose to lie.

I destroyed what we had.

And it brokein ways I never imagined. I did the one thing I swore I wouldn't-I reopened wounds he trustedto protect. I was supposed to be different. Safe. Honest.

I wept so hard, it felt like my lungs might give out.

Because I hadn't just lost a man.

I'd lost the man.

I curled up on the floor, trembling as sobs shook me. It felt like something insidehad broken beyond repair.

My cries echoed through the room, filling the silence Gabriel left behind.

He is the love of my life. Every beat of my heart, every glimmer of light in my soul -it all belongs to him.

What we had may have started with revenge, but what cafter... that was real. So real it terrified me.

And when I caught him in bed with Nicole... deep down, I wanted to believe it. I needed to believe it. Because if he had betrayedfirst, maybe it would make my own guilt easier to bear.

But I was wrong.

Gabriel didn't cheat. And I knew him well enough to recognize the truth in his eyes.

No one had ever lovedthe way he did.

No one had ever looked atlike I was worth everything.

Not even Adrian.

Adrian could never compare.

Gabriel loved with a kind of fierce tenderness I didn't know existed.

He sawtruly saw me-in ways no man ever had. He cared for me, protected me, respected me. Gavethe things I didn't even know I needed until I had them.

He challenged me. Cherished me. Madefeel like I mattered.

The reasons I loved him could go on forever.

Il didn't know how long I stayed on the floor, shaking and whispering apologies into the empty air. My cheeks were soaked, my throat dry and aching, and every breath felt like it tore my chest open again.

Tseemed to slip away-minutes, maybe hours, I couldn't tell. All I knew was that I couldn't breathe without hearing Gabriel's voice echoing in my head.

"I want you out of my house-now. Not a second later, or I swear, Clairessa, I'll make you pay." His final words.

I wasn't scared for my safety-I knew Gabriel would never physically hurt me. But the fury in his voice... that terrified me.

I had never seen him like that-so broken, so consumed by pain and betrayal.

And I had pushed him there.

I did this.

I had no choice now.

I had to leave.

He toldto go, and I knew he meant it.

With trembling hands, I wiped my face and forced myself to stand. My legs were unsteady, my body sore, but I moved.

Thankfully Adrian had washed and dried my clothes. I spotted thfolded neatly at the edge of the bed. He must've left them there formaybe not realizing jus@how much I'd need them now.

I changed slowly, my fingers numb as I fumbled with the buttons of my jeans and slipped on my shoes.

Once dressed, I scanned the room, desperate to leave something behind-a small piece of myself Gabriel might hold onto.

I found an old notepad in the drawer and a pen that barely worked. Sitting at the edge of the bed, a thousand thoughts flooded my mind.

What do you say to the man you love? The man you broke? The man who may never look at you the sway again? My hand trembled as I scribbled: Gabriel, I'm sorry.

Not for loving you never for that—but for everything else.

You were the only real thing in my life.

I hope one day you'll understand.

-Clairessa I folded the note and left it in the center of the bed.

Then I walked out of the room.

The living room was quiet. Still. Adrian was gone. Gabriel, nowhere to be found- and I was sure he did that on purpose.

I stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind me. The estate was massive-expansive, cold, beautiful in that distant way on met empty, wealthy places can be.

started walking, the chilly night air biting at my skin.

I reached the end of the long driveway.

The estate seemed to stretch endlessly behind me, like it didn't want to letgo.

Suddenly, the sky began to darken-deep blues fading into angry shades of gray.

A low rumble echoed above, soft at first... then it grew, swelling unto m ve something more violent. I looked up. "Shit... not again," I muttered as thunder rolled heavier across the sky. What were the odds? "Lord, please... not now," I whispered, though deep down, I knew it was already too late.

The skies opened up in full, and the rain poured down like it had been waiting to drown me.

I glanced around, desperate for somewhere to hide, but there was nothing-just open road and scattered trees.

One large oak stood a few feet

away. Just as I was about to run toward it a blinding bolt of lightning I split the sky and struck nearby loud, fierce, and terrifying. 1 froze, heart pounding. And that's when I remembered the stories I'd heard-how trees were magnets in storms like this. I couldn't risk it.

I clutched my phone tighter in my pocket, feeling how cold and useless it had become.

So I kept walking.

Soaked to the bone.

Hurting.

Barely holding it together.

I let the tears fall, mixing with the rain. No one could tell the difference anyway. Everything felt ruined.

The rain only grew heavier as I pressed forward-I couldn't stop now.

My clothes clung tolike second skin, heavy and cold. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering as water streamed down my face and soaked into my spine.

My hwas gone.

No card.

No money.

A drenched, useless phone.

I let the tears fall, blending with the rain.

It felt like the universe was punishing me.

And maybe I deserved it.