The Object of His Obsession (The Alexanders Book 4) (17 page)

“I’m tired of my life...I
have no meaning. No purpose.”

“You do know we love you.
Your mother, your brothers...”

“Yeah. I know,” he drawled
out.

“Then why would you take
your own life if you know that?”

“Because none of you have
to walk in my shoes. You don’t know what I have to go
through...what struggles I face.”

“Does any of this have to
do with Gabrielle?”

Dilvan grimaced, flared
his nostrils and rubbed his hands across his head. “Please don’t
talk about her.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to
talk about her, okay. I’m trying to forget her and I can’t do that
if, every time I turn around, somebody’s bringing up her name. It’s
not like I can ever be with her. She’s married and has a
restraining order against me. I’m crazy, remember?”

“You did drug her son.
Didn’t you?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“And what else did you do
to her?”

“I don’t want to talk about
her.”

Colin sighed. “Well, have
you thought about what you want to do when you leave
here?”

“Yeah. I think about it
every day. It’s the only thing that keeps me going in this
place.”

“And what’s
that?”

“I’m leaving Southern
Shores and I’m not looking back.”

Colin didn’t like the
sound of that. Dilvan had tried to kill himself one time before.
Who’s to say he wouldn’t try it again. “Where will you
go?”

“I figure I’ll stay at my
vacation home in Belize until I figure that out.”

For some reason, that plan
didn’t bother Colin as much. That’s what Dilvan needed – time to
himself to relax, sit down and analyze his life and his choices.
And Colin would be worried, of course, but it’s not like he
couldn’t hire someone to keep a watchful eye on him. “That would
give you time to relax, for sure,” he told Dilvan.

“Wow. You agree with
me.”

“Of course. I told you, I
always have your back. I love you, son.”

“Love you too,
Dad.”

“Now listen...get some
rest. You need to catch up on some sleep, Dilvan.”

“I’ll try.”

“Is there anything you need
before I go?”

“No, but could you tell
Heshan and Prasad not to be strangers.”

Colin smiled. “They’re
coming to visit you next Tuesday.”

“Okay.” Dilvan stood up and
walked down the hallway, back to his room.

Colin watched, feeling
melancholy but yet happy to see that Dilvan was getting the help he
needed.

Chapter 33

Standing in the shower the
next morning, Gabrielle loved the way she felt. The water was crisp
and rejuvenating, meandering down her chocolate skin. She had
energy after getting a full night of sleep. She forgot how good it
felt to sleep through the night. Having a newborn was more
stressful than she realized it would be. But today, she was happy,
alert and eager to start the day.

She shut off the water and
took a towel from the rack, drying the beads of water that covered
her body. Stepping out of the bathroom door, she headed to the
bedroom where she’d laid out her outfit for the day – a pair of
blue jean shorts and a hot pink tank top. She would wear a black,
two-piece swimsuit underneath.

“Beautiful.”

Her head swung around
quickly at the sound of Tyson’s voice and she instantly pulled the
towel around her exposed body, covering herself.

“How...what are you doing
here?” she asked, shocked and confused.

Tyson smirked. He was
sitting on the edge of the couch, staring her up and down. “An even
better question is, why are you covering your body like I haven’t
seen you naked before?”

Gabrielle felt a tingle in
her middle and her stomach fluttered as if his words had physically
touched her. And he was looking handsome with a fresh haircut, a
nice, casual outfit and he wore that enticing cologne that was sure
to get any woman’s attention.

“What are you doing here,
Tyson?” she repeated.

“I wanted to be with you,
so I tracked your credit card transactions and it led me right
here.”

Gabrielle released a
frustrated sigh and continued on to the bedroom where she closed
the door and locked it behind her.

She sat on the bed and
took a moment to get her heart rate back under control. How could
she be so upset with her husband but yet, so glad to see him?
Perhaps another reason why she found herself here, seeking
clarity...

“Okay, I have to be
strong,” she mumbled. It would take strength to resist him. A whole
lot of strength.

After she dressed, she
came out of the room to find Tyson still on the couch, sitting in
the same spot, his fingers interlocked with the same look of
determination on his face. He stood up tall when he saw her purse
swinging from her shoulder, and when he did, Gabrielle felt her
breath quicken. The way he stood in his jeans should be outlawed.
And he wore one of those clingy tank tops that showed off his
biceps.

“Huh?” he asked, staring at
her.

Gabrielle blinked quickly
out of her trance and said, “Did you say something, because if you
did, I didn’t hear you.”

“I asked you where you were
going?”

“I’m going to get some
breakfast,” she said, walking pass him.

“You lead. I’ll
follow.”

Why did he have to sound
so freakin’ good, too?
Gabrielle waited
until he was outside with her then she locked up the
cabin.

Tyson slid his hands in
his pockets and said, “I know you probably don’t want to ride with
me, but—”

“It’s in walking distance,”
she told him. “I’d much rather do that.” And she did, walking fast,
making it obvious that she didn’t want him walking next to
her.

“Why are you walking so
fast, Gabrielle?”

“Because I’m hungry,” she
responded,

Tyson smirked. He was
hungry too.

* * *

At the restaurant, she
ordered a waffle with a side of fruit and orange juice.

He went with bacon and
eggs with a glass of water.

Things between them were
tense and awkward as she did everything to avoid him talking to him
or making eye contact with him. She stared out of the windows but
could feel the heat of his eyes on her. His intense stares wreaked
havoc on her senses.

“Gabrielle?”

She met his gaze.
“Yes?”

“Why do you look like
you’re annoyed?”

“Because I am annoyed. I
came here to be alone.”

“No, you came here to
figure out whether or not you want to be with me...you thought you
were going to use this time to decide if you wanted our marriage to
be over.”

Gabrielle peered out of
the windows again, just staring at a parking lot of
cars.

Tyson continued, “I came
here to let you know that you can get that thought out of your head
because you and I, we have no ending.”

She looked at him again,
into the seriousness of his eyes. She knew he meant every word he
said.

“Tyson, you can’t
single-handedly tell me what we’re going to do with this
marriage.”

“Oh, but you can? You’re
the one who moved out to live a hotel, but you’re accusing
me
of trying to control
the marriage?”

She frowned and took a sip
of juice.

When the food came, she
began on the fruit first, then glanced up at him. His eyes were
zeroed in on her. Locked and loaded. It was one of those
looks.

“So when did you decide
that you didn’t love me anymore?” he asked.

Gabrielle swallowed hard
and said in a monotone, “Tyson, please just eat your
food.”

“Answer my
question.”

She dropped her fork in
her plate. “Tyson...”

“Answer my question,
Gabrielle,” he said again.

“Okay,” she said, choosing
to play his game. “I decided I didn’t love you when you didn’t show
up for our son’s birth. There. Happy? I’ve answered your
question.”

“Wow,” Tyson said, feeling
his heart break. He closed his eyes tight and looked out of the
window. How would he ever win her back if she didn’t love him? “So
are you saying that you don’t love me anymore, Gabrielle?” he asked
throaty, his eyes brimming with tears. “Is that what you’re saying
to me?”

“You feel that?” Gabrielle
asked, her vision blurred by tears. “Does it feel like your heart
is shattering...like the pain in your chest is so heavy that you’d
rather die than feel it? Because that’s how I felt when you called
me a liar to my face. When you ignored my cries to you. I pleaded
with you to listen to me, to believe me and, as my husband, I
thought I would get that from you, Tyson, but you walked away from
me like I was a stranger. Like I was nothing to you.”

Gabrielle discreetly
dabbed her eyes with a napkin and glanced around to make sure she
wasn’t causing a scene. Then she went on to say, “Now I’ll give you
the honest answer to your question. I never decided that I didn’t
love you. Tyson, I love you so much that it consumes me. I live
you. Breathe you. I don’t even feel like I deserve you. From day
one I’ve felt that way because you’re just too good to be true. You
were always so good to me. My question to you is, why do you think
I would mess that up? What would make you think that I would cheat
on you? That I would give my body to another man when I only want
you.” She sniffled and dabbed her eyes. “I only want
you.”

She stood up from the
table, and with tears in her eyes, she walked out of the
restaurant, heading across the sand and back to her
cabin.

Chapter 34

After eating lunch alone,
Gabrielle headed to the beach, set up in the same spot she was in
yesterday and took off her top and shorts, wearing nothing but a
bikini. She rubbed sun block all over her body, then took a dip in
the ocean. How refreshing. The water felt like it was cleansing
her, washing away the old stains of her worries and replacing them
with an optimistic attitude, showing her that she had a lot to be
grateful for. She had a beautiful, healthy baby boy. She had family
and friends who loved her. She had a husband who was absolutely
crazy about her.

Speaking of
husband...

She hadn’t seen Tyson
since breakfast, although she knew he was somewhere around. She
could feel his presence lingering. And when she got out of the
water, towel dried and laid back on the beach chair, she swore he
was somewhere close to her. His aura was that strongly entrenched
in her psyche.

* * *

At midnight, she laid in
bed wondering where he might be. She was sure he’d gotten a hotel
or something. Or had he gone back home to Roanoke Island? The
thought had crossed her mind since she didn’t see his
jeep.

“Ugh, where are you?” she
said out loud. She couldn’t go to sleep until she knew where he was
and that he was safe. She even tried to call him a few times only
for her calls to go to voicemail.

She stood up, opened the
windows so she could hear the waves, thinking the tranquil sound of
the ocean would help her sleep. She grabbed a bottle of water from
the refrigerator, walked over to the glass doors and peering
outside, she saw Tyson sitting on the deck. He was on the top step,
leaned up against the railings.

Gabrielle slid the door
open and said, “Tyson?”

He looked at her.
“Yes?”

“How long have you been out
here?”

He shrugged. “Since about
nine or ten.”

“Why didn’t you get a
hotel?”

“Because I wanted to be
close to my wife.”

His words touched her
heart, and made a tingle run down her spine. She stepped closer to
him and said, “Well, why didn’t you just break in like you did this
morning?”

He smirked. “I wanted you
to want me here. I don’t want to feel unwanted.”

Gabrielle took him by the
hand and said, “Come on. You can sleep on the sofa bed for the
night while we work things out, okay?”

“Does that mean you
want
to work things out?”
he asked with hope in his eyes.

“Of course I do, Tyson. I
meant what I said. I love you. We just need time to sit down and
really talk and it’s too late to do that tonight.”

He nodded, not necessarily
in agreement because he wanted to talk to her tonight. However, he
understood that it was late. That she needed sleep. That she
wouldn’t invite him in the bed with her so quickly after being back
on unsteady speaking terms.

“Goodnight,” she told him,
walking towards the bedroom.

“Gabrielle,” he said and he
couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she walked. She had on the top
to one of her favorite pajama sets. It was long enough to fall
right below her backside and he knew she had nothing on underneath.
She never wore anything underneath. Just her bare body.