Ex-Husband’s Regret by Evelyn M.M

By the twe were leaving, I had my emotions under control.

I didn't want to admit it, but my attraction to Gabriel was still there. It's been years. Almost a decade and yet, it took so little for him to getexcited.

I hated that. Hated it because while I was married to Liam, it took a bit of coaxing to getaroused enough for the act. Don't getwrong, Liam wasn't a bad sexual partner. He didn't suck at sex, but my arousal didn't ceasily when he wanted us to get intimate.

It didn't take much from Gabriel. One intense look, and those rough hands on my skin, and I was dripping wet for him. Ready for him to take me. What does that say about me? That my ex-husband didn't get this side of me, while the man that shattered me, did? After a quick cold shower, to wash away my arousal and shame, I got dressed and headed for breakfast. The entire twe were having out meals, I avoided Gabriel's knowing gaze.

"Are you ready for this?" I ask Lilly as she takes her backpack.

Surprisingly, Gabriel had announced that he'd also be there for Lilly's first day of school. I didn't argue with him. There was no point in doing it.

"Yes," she answers cheerily. "Noah toldthat their school is awesome. I can't wait to see that for myself." Her nervousness was definitely gone. Not that I was complaining or anything. This was so much better than her being anxious. "That's great, darling" I tell her before taking her hand. "Now, let's get moving before you're late on your first day." The ride down the elevator is silent. I was stiff standing next to Gabriel while Lilly stood in front of us. His presence was overwhelming, to say the least. I wanted to get as far away from him as possible, but there wasn't anywhere to go.

Lilly literally bounces out of the elevator when we get to the first floor. She's the strangest child I've ever met. I mean who gets excited on their first day of school? Most children are terrified of being the new student.

"Hurry up!" she demands, as she basically rushes out.

She's ahead of us, Gabriel's steps are eating up the space between them quickly, so I am left running after them to catch up. "Oh my gosh!" Lilly stops abruptly.

I look up to find a sleek limousine parked in Gabriel's reserved spot.

She turns to her father with excitement. "You're takingto school in a limousine?" "It's your first day at a new school. You deserve to arrive in style," Gabriel grins at her.

Arrive in style? One of his Bentley's would have done the job, but a limousine? Yep. Definitely going to have a problem with him spoiling her.

"Thank you so much," She screams before launching herself at Gabriel, who easily picks her up. "I've never driven in a limo before." As much as I hated him spoiling our daughter, I couldn't take this from her. She was happy. What kind of mother would I be if I denied her this? "Cthen, Lilly" I tell her. "If we don't hurry up, we are going to be seriously late." We get in the car and I'm relieved when Lilly sit between her father and me. I just don't know I could handle his Heat seeping through to me. Not when I still had the e memories of early this morning playing in my head. We don't really talk much. Lilly is a chatter box and fills up the silence that would have descended had it just been us. Within minutes, we are pulling into the Academy's compound. Seeing the building up head starts givinganxiety. All of a sudden, I am now the one who's nervous. Nervous for my baby girl.

When the driver parks, Gabriel gets out and helps us out of the car.

"Come," he takes Lilly's hand and motions forto follow them.

It doesn't take long for Lilly to be admitted and settled.

"You don't have to worry; we will give Lilly a guide. Someone who will show her around." I was hoping that Noah will be her guide, but apparently, they give guides according to gender. So, Lilly's guide will be another girl. "Have a great first day, darling," I whisper as I kiss her forehead.

"I will mom." After saying goodbye to her father, she leaves the office and we follow suit. We were already late for work, but it didn't matter. Lilly was our priority.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" I ask Gabriel once we were seated in the car.

It was like the first day of kindergarten all over again. I wasz nervous, jittery and anxious. I know she's a big girl now, and she can take care of herself, but I just can't help being a mom and worrying. Gabriel surpriseswhen he takes my hand in his. His thumb caresses my palm softly, eliciting a shocked gasp from me.

"Don't worry," he says, his intense eyes staring at me. "She'll be okay, and if she's not, Noah will be there with her." I don't know why I don't stop him as he continues to touchsoftly. should have. It wasn't a good idea to have him touchlike that even if it's innocent, but I just couldn't bring myself to care. Fuck! I was a confusing messed up bitch. I don't want him to touch me, but then I want him to. In my defense, I need the comfort. "We need to talk about what happened this morning" he interrupts the silence by saying.

Hell no. I wasn't ready for that.