The moment Gabriel’s words fell silent, the entire sitting room seemed to breathe again.
“Because I care about her.”
The confession had slipped out before he could stop it, and now the air around them carried the weight of those words heavily. Isabella stood frozen where she was, staring at him as though she had just heard something impossible. Even Martha, who had spent years inside that mansion watching Gabriel push people away with coldness and pride, looked stunned.
Gabriel himself appeared irritated with what he had just admitted. His jaw tightened immediately, and he dragged a hand through his hair roughly, avoiding Isabella’s gaze as though looking at her would force him to explain himself further.
Andreas, however, was enjoying every second of it.
The man slowly looked from Ga
