My Husband Secretly Played Daddy to His Mistress's Kid?Time to Destroy Them For My Daughter! - Chapter 95: Chapter 95

Marina's fingers tightened around her coffee mug for a beat, then went loose.
She thought she'd be terrified, maybe pissed as hell, but all she felt was this strange sense of calm.
Guess all that soul-crushing pain really was in the past now.
"Mr. Alden." She gave him this polite little nod, her tone as cold as talking to some rando on the street.
That formal address hit Gideon like a gut punch. He stumbled forward. "I know I fucked everything up... please, just let me explain."
"Stop calling me like that..."
These past six months, Gideon had been basically a ghost.
Days were spent obsessively hunting for any sign of Marina, following every bullshit lead.
Nights he could only drink himself into oblivion. Booze was the only way he could pass out, the only way he could see her in his dreams.
Dream-Marina would smile at him, would whisper "I forgive you."
But every brutal hangover brought him back to the same shitty reality.
Empty bedroom, calls that went straight to nothing.
"I dumped the kid in orphanage." His voice was all shaky. "Gina's getting destroyed in prison... everything you suffered, I made sure she got it ten times worse."
Marina just watched him, totally flat expression.
"I know I'm a piece of shit," Gideon reached out desperately, "just give me one more shot, please?"
"Gideon." Marina put down her cup, voice barely above a whisper. "I don't hate you anymore."
Those words cut through him like a rusty blade, slow and agonizing.
"No... fuck no!" He shook his head frantically. "You should hate me... you need to hate me!Please don't do this... don't act like I'm some stranger,please!"
"Hating you is too exhausting." She stared off at the snow-capped mountains. "I've moved on. You should too."
Gideon suddenly grabbed her wrist. "It's because of him, isn't it?"
Marina followed his stare and looked back.
Thorne was standing right behind her, his hand resting on her shoulder in this totally possessive way.
"Hey,man!" Thorne's voice could freeze hell over, "get your hands off my girlfriend."
Gideon's face went twisted with rage.
"Girlfriend?" He locked eyes with Thorne. "How long have you even known her? Marina, what the hell does this guy know about you? Does he know you always put exactly two sugars in your coffee? That thunderstorms scare the shit out of you? That you..."
"I know all of it." Thorne cut him off.
Then like he suddenly remembered something, he pulled out this necklace from his jacket.
It was the birthday present Marina had given "missing Thorne" all those years back. "You should remember this, right?"
Gideon went pale.
Of course he knew that damn necklace. Marina used to wear it constantly, then one day it was gone. She'd said she gave it to someone special.
"You..." His voice was barely working. "You're that street punk from way back?"
Thorne's eyes went arctic.
From that point on, Gideon stalked them like some deranged shadow.
Random street corners, he'd pop up with bouquets of roses;
Mountain sunrise spots, he'd show up with boxes of Marina's old favorite chocolates;
Every morning at their hotels, fancy breakfast trays would appear outside their door.
Thorne handled it with zero subtlety.
Roses went straight in the dumpster, chocolates got handed to homeless guys, breakfast got sent back to the lobby untouched.
Gideon ambushed them at the hotel elevator, shoving a diamond ring in Marina's face. "This is the special style you picked years ago... I've been keeping it for you."
Thorne slapped his hand away and the ring pinged across the marble floor.
That's when shit hit the fan.
Gideon grabbed Thorne by his shirt. "What the fuck gives you the right to mess with us!"
Thorne threw a clean right hook that sent Gideon crashing into the wall.
"I'm the man who gave her a home when she had nowhere to go," Thorne said, every word like a bullet. "I'm the one who saved her when you had her tortured on that nail board..."
"And you!" he yanked Gideon up by his collar, "you're just the asshole who almost killed her."
Marina didn't try to break it up.
She just stood there watching this whole clusterfuck until Thorne let go, then said quietly"Gideon, cut this pathetic shit out."
Gideon had blood trickling from his mouth, but his eyes were scary determined. "I'm never giving up... Marina, not in this fucking lifetime."
"Whatever." She walked into the elevator, Thorne right behind her.
The second those doors slid shut, Marina exhaled hard and slumped against Thorne's shoulder.
"You okay?" He wrapped his arms around her.
"Yeah." She closed her eyes. "Where are we going next?"
Thorne kissed the top of her head. "Our home."