Later that evening, after dinner, Gabriel and Carlos sat together in the gazebo, the quiet garden around them lit by the soft glow of lanterns. A cool breeze carried the faint scent of night-blooming jasmine.
"I think I’ll go back with my grandmother for these two months," Carlos began.
"That might be for the best," Gabriel replied with a nod. "She’s been neglecting her own treatnt because of us."
Carlos gave a faint smile, almost wistful. "Or maybe it was fate that brought her here. Illness or not, she still found the strength to co, and perhaps, she was ant to et all of you."
Gabriel’s lips curved faintly. "You might be right about that."
But Carlos’s gaze lingered on him, studying his expression. "Why do you look so weighed down? You’ve seed... off since yesterday." His tone turned more probing. "Don’t tell you argued with your mother."
Gabriel’s eyes darkened. "I asked her why she did it," he said. "Why did she make choices that shattered everything between us. And now she hides away in her chambers, crying alone in the palace. What good did it do her?"
A frustrated sigh escaped his mouth, "Since I was a boy, I begged her to see for who I truly am, to trust , not so stranger’s word. But now she claims she did it all for my sake. I... can’t bring myself to believe that."
"Well, your mother’s way to handle it was different. Don’t you think she underwent the sa pain by pushing you away? You were deprived of love but a mother also clenched her heart every ti she did it. Witches like Ophelia can destroy anyone. And because she was after you, it wasn’t ignorable, she manipulated your mother," Carlos explained.
Gabriel nodded his head slowly. "I can’t forgive her. It can’t happen," he said. "She refused to accept , but she tried to harm Alie. She was pregnant. What excuse does she have to make it for? That she wanted to see what that pendant power was!?"
Carlos suddenly realized that he had never tried to find out about that pendant.
"Your mother didn’t tell you ever about the person from whom she received it, right?" Carlos asked to confirm.
"Yes, she never told ," Gabriel replied.
"In our next eting, I will ask her," Carlos stated. "I hope she tells the truth."
Gabriel knitted his brows together, but said nothing.
~~~~
Casaio leaned back in the armchair, setting his phone down on the coffee table with a soft tap.
"Idris is doing well in school," Zilia said gently. "You don’t have to keep asking the authorities about him. You might end up disturbing them."
"It’s necessary," Casaio replied, his tone firm but not unkind. "That boy has been shut away in a house, far from any real family. He needs soone looking out for him, to make sure nothing goes wrong."
Zilia’s gaze softened. "You’re... very thoughtful of him," she murmured, lowering her eyes.
"You’ve never told much about your own past," Casaio said after a mont. "Just a few scattered details here and there."
"There’s nothing worth hearing about ," Zilia said in a low voice.
"Who said I only want to hear the good?" Casaio countered, his gaze steady on hers. Their eyes held for a long, unbroken mont. "I’ve been thinking about what Dominick suggested... marrying you on the sa day as them."
Zilia tilted her head slightly. "So? Do you actually want to marry ?" Her eyes searched his face for any flicker of uncertainty because whatever love they’d once shared had long since dimd.
"I’m leaving the decision to you," Casaio replied. "I’ve asked you to marry more tis than I can count over the past ten years. You were never ready. I can’t keep proposing, Zilia. I’m tired of it."
"Hmm." Zilia clasped her hands in her lap, her fingers tightening as she fought to keep her sadness hidden, but his words had already reached the depths of her heart.
"Zilia, are you happy seeing like this? I know I’ve changed a lot with you. Am I hurting you?" Casaio asked.
"Yes, you do hurt ," Zilia admitted, her voice tight with suppressed pain. "You brought back into your life when I was trying to run away. You told you couldn’t live without ... yet you treat so coldly now. I don’t know what else to do to bring back the man you once were. This is why I wanted to leave your life forever. Are you happy with ? Say it."
Casaio leaned forward slightly, his gaze unwavering. "What about you? Could you have lived without ? And don’t lie even a single word."
"No," Zilia breathed. "I wouldn’t have. I loved you, Casaio... I still do." She paused, her voice faltering before she forced herself to continue. "But I couldn’t marry you, not when every choice I made was dictated by Luke. My identity... it was gone long ago. If I had beco your wife then, I would’ve been giving you happiness through nothing but a false facade. I’m sorry for everything I did to you."
Zilia lowered her head, unable to hold herself together any longer. Her shoulders trembled as tears stread freely down her cheeks. The sound of her pain filled the room.
Casaio was on his feet in an instant, moving to her side. He knelt before her, gently taking both her hands in his. "Don’t cry," he whispered. "Zilia... please, don’t cry."
Sliding onto the seat beside her, he cupped her tear-stained cheeks, his thumbs brushing away the tears that kept spilling faster than he could wipe.
"I ruined us," she choked out, her voice breaking between sobs. "I... I don’t think I can ever nd what’s between us. I don’t even know where to start. It hurts, Casaio—" she drew in a shaky breath "—it hurts so much seeing you changed. And it hurts even more when you look at like I’m a stranger."
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