Page 16 of Redemption
He lifted his glass, taking slow, deliberate gulps, avoiding my eyes.
"What happened to sipping?" I teased, trying to bring him back to the moment.
He offered a weak smile but didn’t answer, just stared out the window like he was seeing something far away. I moved closer, my fingers trembling slightly as I put my hand on his scruffy, hard jaw. His skin felt cold, tense beneath my palm, but I gently guided his face toward mine. His deep blue eyes met mine, but they were somewhere else. Somewhere darker.
"Gabriel, you can trust me. I promise. Whatever it is, I won’t judge you."
“Your judgment is not on my mind.” he said.
“Ok, so tell me what is?”
He studied me, his eyes flickering with something unreadable, then shifted back to the window. The weight of his silence pressed down on me, making it harder to breathe.
"My brothers and I…" He stopped, his jaw tightening as his eyes glazed over. He took a deep breath and finished his drink in one long swallow. "My brother and I are independently wealthy, but we’re tied to the family business. We operate under my father’s… rule basically."
"Rule?" I whispered, leaning in closer, sensing that word carried more meaning than he was letting on.
"When my father was twenty or so, his parents were killed. He took control of their business. He was young, confident, ruthless. He built our name out of nothing. But now…" Gabriel’s voice faltered, and he paused to pour more whiskey, spilling a little as his hand drifted. "Now he’s old. Sick. He thinks he’s still that man he used to be, but he’s lost his edge. Our enemies, I mean, business competitors know it. They’re circling us like vultures, waiting for him to fall."
He took another drink, deeper this time, as if it would fortify him against what he was about to say next.
"Someone put the idea in his head to turn our enemies into allies through marriage."
I blinked, sitting back in surprise. "You were going to be in an arranged marriage? What is this, the 1800’s?”
Gabriel’s jaw clenched as he shook his head, his frustration growing beneath the surface. "By joining rival families, we’d be bound by blood. He thought it would secure our future, but it would’ve destroyed us. He didn’t just want me to marry—he wanted all of us. Me, my brothers, my sisters. Every one of us to a different family." He ran a hand through his hair, his voice shaking with suppressed anger. "He couldn’t see how it would tear us apart. I tried to tell him, but he’s not the man he used to be. Stress sends him into a rage now. He can’t listen, can’t think straight."
I could feel his pain, the burden he was carrying, and my heart ached for him. But there was more. I could hear it in his voice.
"What did you do?" I asked softly.
He stared at the floor for a long time, his fingers tightening around the glass until his knuckles went white.
"We decided to take matters into our own hands," he said finally, his voice barely a whisper. "My brothers and I… we weren’t going to let him marry us off like cattle. We made plans to… remove the threats, not join them."
"Remove them?" I echoed, my throat tightening. "What does that mean?”
Gabriel’s face was cold now, his expression hardened, like he was shutting himself off. I moved closer, my hand gently cupping his jaw again, trying to pull him back to me. His muscles tensed under my touch.
"Gabriel, please… what happened?" My voice was barely audible, fear creeping into the edges of my words.
He turned his face away from my hand, his body stiffening.
"Get up," he whispered.
"Talk to me. You don’t have to keep it in."
He pushed me off his lap, his hand firm but not rough, then reached for the whiskey bottle. I stayed where I was, watching him, my heart pounding. I didn’t know what was coming next, but something told me to stay.
"Gabriel, talk to me, what did you do?—"
Suddenly, he spun toward me, and before I could react, the bottle flew from his hand, shattering against the wall above my head. Whiskey and glass rained down on me. My breath caught in my throat as I stood frozen in shock, my eyes wide.
"Fuck!" he yelled, storming away from me, his hands shaking.
"Gabriel?" My voice quivered, barely a whisper as I stood in the middle of the room, drenched in whiskey. He was halfway down the hall when I finally moved, running after him, nearly tripping over the desks contents littering the floor. I reached him, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders, holding on tight, even though I could feel his rage pulsing through him.
He stopped, looking down at me, his hard expression softening as he registered the tears streaming down my face.
