The Bennet Scandal

A Regret

Gabriel held a photo of Emma in his hands, kissing it softly. He missed her, but Natasha wasn't letting him see their daughter. The weight of his life unraveling hung over him like an anchor, dragging him into a deep, dark abyss. His eyes glazed over, failing to register the vast empire he had built brick by brick.

Instead, his mind wandered to memories that were too painful to bear. His daughter, whose face had once been a beacon of joy, now felt like a phantom. His marriage—the foundation of his personal life—had crumbled because of a single moment.

"A kiss... a leaked video... and everything is finished," he murmured, placing the photo over his face as if it could hide him from the haunting world that wouldn't let him live in peace.

Suddenly, a familiar face loomed behind his eyes, and he clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. Sophia Bennet. She was the source of all his suffering. Because of her, his life had fallen apart—his daughter gone, his reputation in tatters.

"And yet, after all the destruction she caused, I still feel this undeniable pull toward her?" A troubling thought emerged in his mind.

Lost in his dense thoughts, he was jolted back to reality by the sound of the door opening. He didn't need to look up; the faint scent of her perfume—subtle yet intoxicating—told him it was Sophia.

As she entered, her heels tapping against the polished floor, she strode toward him with that maddening self-assurance. Gabriel's eyes flicked up at her, and immediately, anger surged within him. Seeing her calm and unaffected ignited something primal inside him, and his voice—sharp and cold—cut through the air.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his gaze hard, filled with barely controlled resentment.

Sophia crossed her legs, unfazed by the venom in his tone. "I came to ask why you—" She began, but Gabriel's phone rang, pulling his attention away from her.

He picked up the call, and an innocent voice hummed through the speakers. "Dad..." It was Emma.

"Emma, love... how are you? Why haven't you called me in so long?" Gabriel asked, his heart lifting at the sound of her voice.

"Mom wasn't letting me... Dad, why won't she let me come to you?" she asked innocently. Gabriel shot a harsh glare at Sophia, the source of every problem in his life.

"Dad, Mom says a lot of bad things about you... but I know you're a good man, and I love you," Emma said slowly, her words piercing Gabriel's heart like a knife.

"I love you too, my life," he replied, overwhelmed with emotion.

The next moment, the phone was snatched from Emma's hands, and Natasha's voice echoed through the line. "I asked you to never talk to your shameless, characterless father." Gabriel heard the poisonous words, and then the line went dead. He stared at his phone in disbelief before tossing it aside.

His mind swirled with anger and helplessness, and he wanted to destroy everything around him.

"If you're done with your call, listen to me," Sophia said, her tone serious.

Gabriel turned to her, rage boiling inside him. "You've pushed me away from my daughter. You're a curse. I hate you."

Sophia met his glare with defiance. "Your daughter is away because you mishandled the situation. Don't blame me."

Gabriel clenched his fists, trying to rein in his anger. She'd joined his office a week ago, and now he found himself seeing her more often than he liked. But every time he looked at her, the regret of losing his family deepened.

"I came to ask you why you rejected my proposal to buy materials from Benjamin Traders for the upcoming building project."

Gabriel snapped back to reality, shaking off thoughts of Emma and his shattered life. "Because I know your brother, Reckon has shares in Benjamin Traders," he replied, his voice steady yet laced with bitterness. "And I refuse to make any deal that would benefit him—or anyone in your family."

Sophia leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing, frustration sparking behind her usually composed demeanor. "You're a madman," she snapped. "You can't keep dragging your rivalry with my father and brother into every decision. It clouds your judgment. You're letting your vendettas affect business."

Her words hit like a slap, and Gabriel felt his anger boil over. He shot up from his chair, striding toward her with deliberate menace. The distance between them disappeared as he loomed over her, bringing his face inches from hers.

"You shouldn't cross your limits with me, Sophia," he growled, eyes burning with barely contained fury. "You should be grateful I gave you a place in my house after your father threw you out like you were worthless. I could've left you to fend for yourself, but I didn't. I gave you a place here, in my home, and my business. Don't forget that."

Sophia's eyes widened for a moment, stung by his words, but then they hardened, filling with defiance. "My father threw me out because you exploited me," she spat, her words cutting through the room like shards of glass.

Gabriel's eyes narrowed further, his control slipping as the heat of their proximity clouded his judgment. "You and your father have been nothing but a headache in my life," he snarled, his breath hot against her skin as he leaned in even closer. "It's been my bad luck that you ever crossed paths with me."

Sophia tried to stand, to put distance between them, but Gabriel wasn't ready to let her go. His hand shot out, gripping her arm with just enough force to stop her in her tracks. She pulled back, resisting, her breath quickening with the tension between them. In the scuffle, Gabriel's foot slipped, throwing him off balance.

His body lurched forward, almost pinning her against the wall. They were so close that Sophia could feel the heat radiating off him. His breath was harsh, grazing her cheek, sending a strange shiver down her spine. She caught a fleeting scent of his cologne, something that only intensified the heady mix of anger and something else she couldn't quite name.

For a split second, their eyes locked—his, dark and stormy, and hers, wide with confusion. There was no softness in his grip, only the raw force of the moment holding them together. His jaw clenched, and he let out a sharp breath, the tension between them palpable, like a string pulled taut, ready to snap.

Sophia's heart pounded in her chest. She could feel her body reacting to the proximity, betraying her need for distance. His closeness was overwhelming, and yet she couldn't step away.

But Gabriel suddenly released her, backing off, his face contorted with anger and disbelief. He wiped a hand over his face as if trying to erase whatever had just passed between them.

Sophia stood frozen, her pulse racing, her hands trembling at her sides. The air between them crackled with unspoken words, their emotions tangled and unresolved. She averted her eyes, afraid he might see the flicker of something in them—something she wasn't ready to face.

"Why don't you get out of my life and never come back?" Gabriel's poisonous words broke the trance. Sophia regained her composure and shot back, "Gabriel Westbrook, I'm not going to leave you. I will keep haunting you because you ruined my life."

She paused for a moment, then her voice dropped into a whisper, barely audible as her final words escaped her lips. "And broke my heart."

Gabriel didn't hear her last words, but the way she looked at him, the softness in her voice, sent a ripple of confusion through him. He watched her turn on her heel, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she moved to leave the office.

The door closed behind her with a soft click, and Gabriel was left standing there, alone, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't shake the sensation of her skin against his, the electricity that had sparked between them.

He should have felt triumphant, victorious in his rage. But instead, there was something else—a sense of loss, of guilt. And beneath it all, that same maddening pull toward her. The pull he couldn't understand, couldn't explain, and couldn't deny.

Gabriel sank back into his chair, his head falling into his hands. The anger still simmered beneath the surface, but now it was mingled with something deeper, something far more dangerous.

"Sophia Bennet was right. She is haunting me... and it isn't just the destruction of my life, but it's my heart, my mind, and the growing realization that I can no longer separate my hatred from the attraction that is threatening to consume me," Gabriel thought silently, and it terrified him more than anything.