Chapter 15 - The Unspoken Words|
My heart stopped beating for a full second. The quiet kitchen seemed to shrink until there was only Gabriel and me under the soft sunlight filtering through the window.
“What do you mean?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Gabriel took a step closer, his hand moving from my cheek down to cover mine resting on the marble counter. His touch was warm, firm, and completely grounding.
“For four years, I built walls around myself,” Gabriel admitted, his deep voice carrying a raw vulnerability he had never shown to anyone. “I believed that if I let anyone close, if I let myself feel anything again, I would put them in danger. I brought Isabella into my life because she was convenient, safe, and cold. I thought coldness was protection.”
He looked down at his sleeping daughter, then back into my eyes.
“Then you walked into my house,” Gabriel continued softly. “You taught my daughter to speak her heart again. You stood up to my fiancée when everyone else was afraid. And today, you bled for my family.”
He leaned down until his face was inches from mine, his breath warm against my lips.
“I don't want a companion for Sophie, Hannah,” Gabriel whispered. “I want you. In my house, in my life, and in my heart.”
Tears welled in my eyes—not of fear or pain, but of a deep, sudden, overwhelming joy that swept away every doubt I had ever carried.
“Gabriel...” I breathed out.
Before I could answer, Sophie stirred in my lap. She rubbed her eyes, looked up at her father, then at me, taking in our joined hands on the counter.
A tiny, brilliant smile spread across her face.
She raised her small hands and signed four simple words that made my heart melt completely:
Home now with Hannah.
May you like
Gabriel let out a soft, deep laugh—a sound so full of genuine happiness that it transformed his rugged face completely.
“Yes, sweetheart,” Gabriel signed back to his daughter, his eyes never leaving mine. “Home now.”
