Chapter 161: Traces & Truths

Chapter 161: Traces & Truths
Luna's POV

I set my fork down carefully, my heart doing a little flip. This guy could get my pulse racing with just a few words. But I wasn't ready to dive into that conversation yet.

"You're full of it, Ashford," I muttered, shoving another bite of pasta into my mouth to hide how flustered I was.

Gabriel sat across from me, his face turning dead serious. "I'm not messing around, Luna."

We fell into this heavy silence, the air between us thick with all the unspoken stuff hanging there. Then a question that'd been gnawing at me for years just spilled out.

"Gabriel," I said, looking up at him with doubt clouding my eyes, "these past three years... did you ever hate me?"

He set down his wine glass, his expression unusually grave as he mulled it over. For a second, it felt like time had stopped.

Finally, he shook his head. "No. I never really hated you, Luna. It was more like... frustration. Confusion."

His words hit me like a gut punch, making my eyes sting with tears I refused to let fall. For three years, I'd pictured him resenting me, despising me for vanishing without a word. Knowing he didn't? It was like a massive weight lifting off my chest.

"Actually," I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper, "I tried to find you a ton of times."

Gabriel's eyebrows shot up, silently urging me to keep going.

I took a deep breath and let it all pour out: "I camped out at Ashford Capital's headquarters in London's financial district for three straight days, just hoping to catch a glimpse of you. Whenever I heard you might be at some charity gala, I'd pull every string to snag an invite. Hell, I even flew to Paris for Fashion Week because someone tipped me off you could be there."

I let out a bitter laugh. "I figured you might've known, but nope—it was just me being a pathetic optimist."

Recalling those dead-end chases, I added, "Any solid lead on where you'd be, I'd drop everything and go. But every time you actually showed, I couldn't get past the door."

Gabriel straightened up, shock rippling across his face. "You tried that hard to find me, and I had no clue?"

Seeing him get all worked up, I rushed to explain: "It makes sense you wouldn't know, right? We'd been apart for so long..."

"No, it doesn't add up," Gabriel's voice dropped low and intense, his brow furrowing. "I kept tabs on you the whole time we were split, but I missed all this? Someone must've blocked the info on purpose—kept you from reaching me."

His theory sent a chill down my spine. Someone had deliberately sabotaged us? My mind jumped straight to Julian—Gabriel's brother.

Gabriel's face darkened into something downright scary. He came around the table and pulled me into a surprisingly gentle hug, even as a storm raged in his eyes.

"Luna, stay put. Wait for me," he said, his voice eerily calm.

I grabbed his arm. "Gabriel, what are you gonna do?"

His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fist, eyes blazing with fury. "Kill him."

"Don't do anything stupid," I pleaded, lacing my fingers with his to ground him. "Tomorrow's your grandfather's birthday. Isn't he announcing the next heir right after?"

If Gabriel stormed off and beat the crap out of Julian now, it'd screw up the succession big time, no matter how much that jerk deserved it.

But Gabriel's anger didn't budge. "Luna, I don't give a damn about any of that."

"I know, I know," I soothed, running my hand along his arm. "I'm pissed off too. But now that we know what went down, I don't want those three years to be for nothing. Julian will pay for this, but not today."

I cupped his face, forcing him to meet my eyes. "Gabriel, I want you to win. Barbara wants you to win."

I wrapped my arms around his waist, feeling the tension in his muscles. "Just hang in there a little longer, okay? One more day."

Gabriel went still for a beat, then slowly relaxed. He leaned down and rubbed my back. "Fine."

With him calming down, I switched gears: "I'm heading to see my mom. Wanna come?"

The shadows in his eyes faded as he took my hand. "Absolutely."

Noticing his mood lift, I teased with fake concern: "We haven't even made this official yet. Is dragging you to meet my parents jumping the gun?"

Gabriel's jaw tightened. "It's perfect timing."

He narrowed his eyes at me, intense as ever. "Luna, you know damn well why we haven't locked it down, don't you?"

I did—it was because I hadn't fully accepted his confession, leaving him hanging. Knowing Gabriel's possessive streak, he'd have shouted our relationship from the rooftops by now otherwise.

I shot him a sheepish grin. "Don't be so impatient. If you're that desperate, we could make it official today."

"Hell no!" Gabriel shut that down fast. "I've waited this long because of your little games. A few more days won't kill me."

I pouted playfully. "Fine, suit yourself."

Gabriel leaned in close, his voice dropping to a husky whisper in my ear. "Baby, on my birthday, you're gonna make it worth the wait, right?"

His breath tickled my skin, sending shivers racing through me. I knew what he meant—by then, my period would be over, and he was clearly plotting to channel all that pent-up frustration into one epic night. But damn, his words stirred something deep inside, making my body react in ways I wasn't prepared for. Suddenly, I felt it—a heavy, unexpected gush, like a total flood hitting out of nowhere. My period was going full avalanche mode.

"Fuck..." I froze for a second, then bolted for the bathroom to handle the mess.

Gabriel's low chuckle followed me, then a soft knock. "Everything okay in there?"

Through the door, I snapped back in frustration and discomfort: "It's a disaster! This is all your fault for getting me worked up!"