43

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
GABRIELLE
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He didn't move and my heart kept thumping harder and harder until I thought I would pass out on the tiled floor.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Gabrielle.
I should have just stayed in my room, but I decided to go sound hunting so late in the night.
I wondered if it was mere curiosity that had led me to this place or that it was perhaps I had already guessed that it was him who would be playing and had dared take the risk to see him.
Whatever the reason was, it was turning out to be one of the most foolish things I've ever done.
He still didn't move and I suddenly wondered if he could really see me from his spot.
Maybe I still had a chance to leave.
Just as I started to inch my head away, the shadow suddenly moved.
"Gabrielle?"
I panicked at the sound of my name, and even more when he reached to where I was in a blur.
I held still, unknowing of what to expect.
What if he decided to resume from our last encounter? I couldn't see his face clearly to know what was going on in his mind.
The lights were suddenly switched on, brightening up the room, giving me a clear view of his face.
It felt like a long time since I had seen him.
His grey eyes were so vibrant and intense, his hard jaw set in a tough line. I grew uncomfortable under his prolonged stare and felt like a thief who had been caught while trying to steal something.
"What are you doing here, Brie?"
He didn't sound enraged.
It wasn't the tone I had expected.
I thought he would be yelling. Or maybe we haven't gotten to that part yet?
There was something different about him, I couldn't place it exactly, it felt as though he had a layer of ice around him that would crack if anyone got too close.
"I heard the piano playing, I just followed it."
I spoke and heard as he inhaled sharply. I suddenly wondered if I had said something that would make him upset.
"So you didn't come here to look for me?"

Startled by his question, I didn't know how to respond. I didn't know if this was one of his tricky questions that would land me into some sick punishment of some sort. Why would he even think that I would look for him?
I averted my eyes from his searching ones.
"I didn't know it was you, I didn't mean to disturb you, I will leave now," I spoke hurriedly and managed to turn around when a hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder, forcefully swerving me around to him.
We stood too close, I was fully aware of the heat radiating from his body, the sudden darkness of his eyes, and the frantic pound of my own heartbeat.
"Why do you always want to leave!" He growled lowly in my ears.

"We still have some unfinished business, you didn't forget about that so soon, did you wife?" He whispered and my eyes snapped to meet his piercing ones.
The air was thick with tension, all the oxygen seemed to have disappeared because I couldn't breathe.
I shouldn't feel this frightened, was I wrong in trying to escape? I thought I was saving Derek.
Now, I had nothing to lose. Absolutely nothing. Even if I died, my only regret would be not seeing my mother for the last time.

"What do you plan to do? You are going to hit me? You will punish me? Or maybe you're going to force yourself on me! You've already done all of that! What else are you going to do!"

Maybe I shouldn't have challenged him like that, but I was simply exhausted, I was tired of being so scared and frightened all of the time. I already knew that I couldn't hide away in that room forever, I would still have to face him sooner or later.

"Impatient, are we?" He smiled as though he found my words amusing, I flinched backward when a finger started to caress my jaw, slowly moving upward to toy with my bottom lip.
"Do you know where we are right now?"
His grip on me loosened and for the first time, I took a glance at the room behind him. It just a piano room? There didn't seem to be anything distinct about it.

"It belonged to my mother, this was her favorite part of the house, she used to love to play the piano as well." He continued.
I suddenly remembered Loretta's words, about his mother trying to kill him and then committing suicide at the end.
I didn't know where this conversation was headed but there was a mysterious glint in his eyes that sent my blood running cold.
Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"I used to think she was my most important person, but she hated me, she wanted to kill me." He looked haunted, he seemed to be trapped in his own memory. Even though I was caught up in such a dangerous situation as now, I felt my eyes tearing up. I shouldn't feel sympathy when he meant nothing to me, especially when he was going to be the cause of my pain.

His eyes were focused on me again, it was filled with a hate so deep that threatened to consume my every being.
"She died. " He paused.
"Right here, in this room, with the noose tied her neck, she was gone just like that."
Even though I wasn't there, I could imagine the horror and what he must have gone through.
I was conflicted between sympathy and fear of what was going to happen to me. I still couldn't tell why he was telling me all this.
I wanted to exit the room, but he was in my path.
"I thought I would be sad after she died, I thought I would miss her, but all I felt afterward was relief." He chuckled humorlessly, advancing a step towards me. The crazed glint in his eyes spread a strong wave of dread traveling through me.
"Lucian..." I staggered backward.

"Don't you think you are both quite similar?" He reached for me in one quick strike, slamming my back roughly against the wall. Hot tears burned in my eyes.
"You don't love me! You hate me! You've tried to kill me! You're my wife yet you keep another in your heart! You tried to leave! Why should I keep wanting you to remain by my side!" He roared as his fingers encircled my neck.
"Maybe I wouldn't be sad if you're gone, after all, maybe I don't need you as much as I think! Because you clearly don't need me!" His grip tightened even further, I clawed at his hand desperately but he was relentless.
My lungs were on fire, this was it, I was finally going to die.
I thought I had already come to terms with that, but now I suddenly realized that I didn't want to die. I so desperately wanted to live.
I didn't know if he was a mind reader or if it was merely luck, but his grip eased the tiniest bit. My throat didn't feel so crushed, and I could breathe a little.
"Give me a good reason why I should fucking let you live!"

It was the only lie I could think of, one that might still get me killed, but in my current state, I didn't see another way out. So there, I said it.
"I'm pregnant! "


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