Gabriel's Obsession

A Fragile Forgiveness

For a moment, silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.

Then, he smiled.

It was slow, deliberate, laced with a twisted amusement that made my skin crawl. He was enjoying this—relishing the confusion, the chaos, the storm he had unleashed.

His grin only poured fuel on the fire burning inside me.

I wouldn't let him break me.

Not now. Not ever.

Gabriel's smirk was razor-sharp, his eyes glinting with amusement as he took a slow step closer. "Angel, do you truly believe your father is the paragon of virtue you imagine him to be?" His voice dripped with mockery, each word a calculated strike. "Perhaps it's time you look deeper into your family's affairs—uncover the secrets hidden beneath that pristine image."

His taunt landed like a blow, deliberate and precise.

Fury ignited in my chest, scorching away the remnants of my earlier fear. How dare he? How dare he suggest something so vile—that my own father, the man who had always protected and loved me, could be involved in this nightmare?

And yet...

A sliver of doubt slithered in, unbidden.

Could there be truth to his words? Had my father hidden something from me—something that had led to my captivity?

I clenched my fists, willing the uncertainty away. No. This was exactly what he wanted—to plant seeds of doubt, to make me question everything, to chip away at the foundations of my beliefs until I had nothing left but him.

I met his gaze head-on, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "You're a master manipulator, aren't you?" The accusation burned on my tongue. "You want to twist my reality, to make me doubt the people I love. But I see through you. I won't let you poison my mind with your lies."

His grin widened, satisfaction flickering across his features like a predator toying with its prey.

"Deny it all you want, angel," he murmured, his voice silk over steel. "But the truth has a way of surfacing. And when the cracks in your perfect little world finally shatter..." He leaned in slightly, his next words a whisper laced with cruel amusement. "I'll be right here to watch it all crumble."

My heart pounded, caught in the brutal crossfire between fury and the gnawing need for answers. But one thing was clear—I would not let him control the narrative.

I would find the truth myself.

Gabriel's smirk widened, a predator reveling in the moment before striking. "Angel," he drawled, his voice thick with amusement, "your father and I struck a deal. A rather lucrative one, I might add. For a mere fifteen million dollars, he handed you over to me."

The words crashed over me like a tidal wave, knocking the breath from my lungs.

"You're lying." My voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper. But even as I said it, something inside me wavered.

Unfazed, he continued, "Financial troubles at home, or perhaps there was a secret your mother shielded from her beloved daughter?" His tone was casual, almost indifferent, as though he were discussing a business transaction—because to him, that's all it was.

I shook my head, my hands trembling. "No."

"Your father was desperate to keep you from seeing him as the villain," he mused, watching me, enjoying my unraveling. "So, I made things easier for him. I abducted you, took the burden off his hands. And it was easier than you might think." His smirk deepened. "Though, I suspect I may have disrupted his little charade." He sighed as if mildly inconvenienced. "But it hardly matters now. You're under my possession, and my concerns are rather limited."