Chapter 17
995 Words
Elena left the apartment in the late afternoon after receiving a phone call whose voice could be faintly heard from the corridor. Once the door closed, I walked back to my room, closed it softly, then sat at the edge of the bed with a breath that for some reason felt heavy.
I sat in silence for a long time. Elena’s warning split my head into short, sharp sentences that felt carved into stone, pack your things. There was a part of me that wanted to be angry, but angry at whom? At the world that always finds a way to discipline those who fall in love? At myself for growing too comfortable under a roof that is not mine? At Gabriel for always making everything feel possible when it is not.
A soft knock sounded. Without waiting for an answer, the door opened and Gabriel walked in, closing it again with a calm motion.
“Are you alright?”
I looked toward the window without answering. The word “alright” felt far from where I was sitting now.
He walked closer, stopped at the side of the bed, then sat down. The distance between us was only a hand’s span.
“My mother’s words should not stay inside you like poison.”
“I am not a Luna. I have no right to live by your side like this. And…” I stopped because I wanted to cry but held it back.
“I have prepared a house for you near the campus.”
I turned to him quickly. “What?”
“A small house. Two floors, a narrow yard, five minutes walking distance to the west gate of your campus. The key is with me. Tomorrow morning we will move part of your things there.”
“That is a decision?”
“Yes, a decision.”
“You decided without asking me.”
“I decided because I do not want anyone else to decide your fate.”
“You sound like an Alpha,” I said with a bitter half-tone.
“I am an Alpha, and this is what I can do so you can still breathe in this city without anyone sneering at you.”
I lowered my head, staring at my own fingers. “So you agree with your mother. I should not live here.”
“I do not agree with her method, but for now this decision is better.”
I bit my lip. “It feels like being cast out.”
“That house is temporary. After that, you will live here again, with me.”
I looked at him. “Are you sure there will be an ‘after that’?”
“Yes.”
Outside, a bird passed, its shadow sweeping the window glass. Inside the room, the air thinned again. I felt something peaceful, a strange kind of peace, because it came side by side with pain.
“Describe the house to me,” I asked at last.
“The entry hallway is narrow, but the main room is big enough to hold two tall bookshelves, there is a wooden desk near a window facing a small street. In the morning, the light falls directly on the desk surface. You can write there. The kitchen is clean, electric stove, small refrigerator. The bedroom is on the second floor, its window faces a flamboyant tree that is learning to bloom.”
“Learning to bloom?”
“Yes,” he said, a faint smile appearing. “Like someone I love.”
I closed my eyes. The sentence did not become sweet just because it was spoken softly. It was still the same sentence that could keep the world from collapsing, at least inside my chest.
“You are giving me a house, Gabriel. But what about the dinner tonight?”
“You will still attend. My mother will host. I will sit at the main seat as Alpha. You will sit on the left side, two seats from Beta Valeria. Not too close, not too far. We speak only as needed, we smile as proper. If anyone asks, you answer only as needed. If they touch personal matters, I will be the one who cuts in.”
I swallowed. “The Silvermoon daughter?”
“She will attend and after the dinner, I will send two people to carry the boxes. Tonight you will still sleep here. Tomorrow morning, you will come with me to that house. I will install the curtains before you arrive.”
“Curtains?”
“Yes, I know you are afraid of windows without curtains,” he said.
I turned to the window again, watching the thin strip of light along the edge of the curtain. “I am scared, Gabriel.”
“Every right decision is usually frightening.”
I nodded slowly. “So this is part of a strategy?”
“This is part of loving you with a cold head.”
“If I live in that house, will you come?”
“Every afternoon if needed, on one condition: you keep attending your classes and you sleep enough.”
I gave a small smile. “You sound like a dorm schedule supervisor.”
“I am making sure you do not disappear into your own sadness.”
We sat like that for a few more seconds. Then Gabriel stood and straightened the wrinkled edge of the blanket.
“I am going downstairs. At six, come down. Wear navy blue, that is my favorite color.”
I stood as well. “Gabriel.”
He turned.
“Thank you.”
He stepped closer by half a step. “Remember one thing, you are not being cast out.”
I let out a short laugh, he moved closer again and the distance between us was only a few centimeters.
“You also have to start taking birth control pills.”
I was stunned by what he said.
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