Gabriel's Redemption

Chapter Thirty-eight

January 2010

Toronto, Ontario

Paulina Gruscheva entered the lobby of the Manulife Building, her high-heeled boots clicking against the marble floors, her cell phone pressed to her ear. She’d been resident in Toronto for some time, but Gabriel had refused to see her, speak with her, or entertain any communication with her at all.

She’d grown tired of waiting.

When she reached Gabriel’s voice mail, she hung up and dialed his landline. She prayed silently that Julianne wouldn’t answer. It was bad enough that he was sleeping with her. She didn’t have to have their affair thrown back in her face.

Again.

Undeterred by the fact that he wasn’t answering his phones, she approached Mark, the security guard, demanding that he contact Professor Emerson immediately. When he refused, she fluttered her eyelashes and tried to cajole him. He was immune to her tall, blond, blue-eyed charms.

She raised her voice, creating a scene.

Within minutes, Mark contacted the Professor and asked that he please meet his guest in the lobby.

Paulina smiled triumphantly.

But her smile disappeared when she saw him, his expression furious, his eyes snapping, as he walked toward her. He grabbed her elbow roughly and half-dragged her through the lobby and out to the semicircular driveway in front of the building.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he spat, releasing her.

Paulina retreated a step, surprised by his fury.

“Well?” he demanded.

“I wanted to talk to you. I’ve been here for weeks. You wouldn’t see me!”

“We are not having this conversation again. I said all I had to say to you back in Selinsgrove. You know where you stand.”

He turned to go back into the building, but she caught his arm.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Her voice faltered as she blinked back tears.

Gabriel’s expression softened. Marginally.

“Paulina, it’s over. It’s been over for a while. I’m not trying to do anything to you other than persuade you to move on with your life. And to let me move on with mine.”

She looked up at him as the tears began to fall.

“But I love you. We have a history!”

Gabriel closed his eyes for a moment, and a pained look spread across his face.

He opened his eyes.

“I’m in love with someone else. I’m sleeping, exclusively, with someone else.”

“Yes, you are. And she’s your student.”

“Careful,” he growled.

She tossed her hair behind her shoulders.

“It’s remarkable the kind of information you can gather in a city of this size. Antonio from Harbour Sixty was quite forthcoming.”

He stepped closer. “You didn’t.”

“I did. Funny how you took her to the restaurant you always take me to when I’m in town.”

“I haven’t taken you there in a very long time, Paulina. Even after we stopped—” He paused, struggling.

“After we stopped—fucking, Gabriel? Why can’t you say it? We’ve been fucking for years.”

“Keep your voice down!”

“I’m not your dirty little secret. We were friends. We had a relationship. You can’t just ignore me and treat me as if I were trash.”

“I’m sorry for how I treated you. But listen to yourself. Don’t you think you deserve to be the center of someone’s universe? Instead of chasing after someone who wants someone else?”

She tore her eyes from his. “You always wanted other women. Even when I was pregnant. Why should now be any different?”

He flinched. “Because you deserve to be with someone who wants you as much as you want him. It’s time to move on. It’s time to be happy.”

“You make me happy,” she whispered. “You’re all I want.”

“I’m in love with Julianne and I’m going to marry her.” He sounded determined.

“I don’t believe you. You’ll come back. You always come back.” She wiped a few tears away with the back of her hand.

“Not this time. In the past, I was weak and you held my guilt over me. But no more. We can’t see each other and we can’t speak. I’ve been patient with you and I’ve tried to help, but I’m done. As of today, your trust fund is frozen.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“I will. If you go back to Boston and begin seeing a therapist, I’ll see that you continue receiving support. But if you contact me again, or if you do anything to hurt Julianne, you’ll be cut off. Permanently.” He leaned forward menacingly. “And that includes doing anything to hurt her life as a student.”

“You’d do that? You’d just throw me away? I’ve sacrificed my life for you. I lost my academic career!”

Gabriel’s jaw clenched.

“I never wanted you to do that. I did everything I could to help you stay at Harvard. You dropped out.”

“Because of what happened to me. Because of what happened to us!”

His hands fisted at his sides.

“I don’t deny that I’ve behaved abominably and you have every reason to be angry. But my admission doesn’t change the fact that this has to end. Today.”

He leveled his gaze on her and for a moment, he wore a look of compassion.

“Good-bye, Paulina. Be well.”

He moved toward the sliding doors.

“You can’t. You won’t!”

His face wore a look of steely resolve.

“I already have.”

Gabriel walked into the Manulife Building without a backward glance, leaving Paulina outside, crying, and standing in the snow.