55 | The Secret

**Third Person POV**

As a man of the cloth, one must accrue various virtues, and Gabriel has acquired many of them over the years. However, patience was not one of them. Every second of every day ate at him as he watched Sienna struggle within something he was completely unaware of. He tried his best to extract the information, but she was adamant. And she remained tight-lipped.
Sienna, by no means, could risk the knowledge of the pictures getting to Gabriel. She had known him long enough to know how he would react to threats. And she was afraid that it would not bode well for him.
Since morning, he had seen Sienna thrice, and she wore a worried look on her face every time. Gabriel had noticed it, and whenever he tried to clarify, she would conveniently avoid the topic. But he was determined that he would find out the reason.
“You’re slacking,” he commented a little too unhappily and without looking up from the book in his hand.
It was one of those special classes he held for Harper, and his mood has soured further looking at the answer sheets.
Harper briefly looked up and then hung her head low, letting out a sigh. “I know. I am sorry.”
Somehow, she knew that she was going to flung the exam as she had barely slept the previous night. Harper had been helping Sienna in tracing out the source of the pictures and whatever information she could gather. It took them almost several nights, and yet they could not find anything about the sender.
Gabriel looked up and straight at Harper with a stern look. “It has never happened before, Harper. Perhaps, I should remind you that a man is known by the company he keeps.”
Harper simply chose to play safe. “I…don’t understand.”
“You perfectly do.” He shut the book in his hand with a snap and leveled her with a look he mostly reserved for problematic students. “I have heard that you do not take your food in the dining hall anymore. May I know why?”
Her eyes lifted briefly. “I eat with Sienna. In the adjoining room.”
“Why?”
Harper shrugged her shoulder in a noncommittal way. “There’s no particular reason.”
“Is there something I should know, Harper?” The tone in his voice was enough to make her shiver.
“I…I don’t understand, Father…”
“Cut the crap.” He banged his fist hard enough to make her flinch, and it was probably the only time when Harper had seen him angry, really angry - at her. “You are anything but pretentious, Harper. I know that Sienna is up to something, and I need to know what it is before she lands herself in bigger trouble than she can handle on her own.”
Maybe his anger was slightly misdirected. Nevertheless, Harper could barely meet his eyes. “You should…ask her.”
“You are her friend, right?” he countered slyly, playing on her guilt. “Remember how she had saved you from the punishment?”
“Yes,” Harper answered demurely.
“Then I should remind you that you owe her. Tell me what’s going on with Sienna because I need to know.”
A thousand thoughts raced through her head. Harper was torn between her promise and her duty. The truth was that the pictures were too volatile. On the one hand, Gabriel could blast, but on the other hand, Sienna could be saved. Whoever was blackmailing her would just cease.
Harper slowly raised her eyes and met his, still chewing on to her bottom lip. “She is just…worried.”
“About?”
She mustered all her courage to say the words. “You…and her.”
“What do you mean?” Gabriel asked cautiously.
There was a significant pause as Harper continued to stare at him and whispered, “I know.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened only a bit before he hauled in a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. The hardness on his features faded, only to be replaced by a slight apprehension.
He trusted Harper; there was no doubt about it. But at the same time, his image as a man of uptightness was tarnished. To be a Catholic priest and in love with a woman was a sin, but to be in love with a woman who was his student was absolutely unfathomable.
Gabriel’s mouth was fixed in a tight line as he let out a deep sigh. “Harper, it’s complicated.”
“Look, I am not judging you.” Harper’s tone was sympathetic. “I will never do that - to you or Sienna. She is like a family to me and, honestly, the only friend I have got.”
Gabriel gave a stiff nod, softening his features. “All the more reasons, I need your help,” he persuaded. “I can sense that there’s something wrong with her, but she won’t tell me. And I think you know it, Harper.”
Harper did not say anything. Her eyes flickered while her mind conflicted.
So Gabriel tried again. “If she had trusted you with this truth - about us - I know that Sienna confided more with you. Please, Harper. Let me help her.”
Harper was in two minds. She valued loyalty, but then she needed to do the right thing. She knew that Gabriel was a double-edged sword. And that it would be really risky. The question was, was it worth it?
Harper shifted on her seat and apprehensively met his eyes. “I…don’t know about the details, but she is more worried about you than herself,” she ventured carefully. “She is worried…how you will react.”
Gabriel steeled his voice a little. “Harper, I don’t have time to play games.”
She let a dejected sigh before muttering, “Here’s what happened.”
It took her about thirty minutes or so to narrate the entire incident, from the day Sienna received the envelope containing scandalous pictures of her and Gabriel, the way she panicked and then left no stone unturned to find out about the identity of the sender. However, she had failed miserably in her attempts. And the threat was still hanging over her head.
“How could she hold back this information from me?” Gabriel gritted more to himself as he fumed from within. It was difficult to say if he was hurt or angry or maybe both.
“Maybe because she knew how you would react…” Harper chose her words carefully, but still, Gabriel shot her a scathing look. “Father, please. It’s not her fault,” she begged.
It took Gabriel quite some time to get a grip on himself before sucking in a breath and nodding his head. He was not entirely at ease, but at least he was not blasting. For now, it was a relief for Harper.
“Sienna’s going to be mad when she finds out,” Harper muttered anxiously.
“Don’t worry. I will take care of it,” Gabriel said. It was not much of assurance because both of them were fuel and fire. And Harper was just caught in the crossfire.
The next hour went by as both of them tried their very best to steer the concentration back to the books. While Harper pretended to study hard, Gabriel failed miserably to focus on the lesson. So when the clock struck six, they were pretty relieved to abandon the classroom.
Harper packed up her things and prepared to leave before turning back to him. “Sienna is safe, right?” she asked him.
“She will be,” Gabriel answered determinedly.

***

It was pitch dark when Sienna was walking towards the ground, but before she could lift her eyes, two strong pairs of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her against the walls. It happened so fast that she could barely gather her defense, and in a flash of a second, her hands were pinned against the bricks while a towering, sweat-clad body caged her.
Her heartbeats drummed so loudly they rang against her ears.
“Jesus effing Christ!” She gasped, still panting. “What the hell are you doing in the dark?”
The menacing pair of eyes were scanning her face—studying.
“Gabriel, what is wrong with you?” She hissed, trying to free her hands. But he had pinned them so tightly that she could barely move.
It took a moment for Sienna to steady her breath and look into his eyes. She had seen so many shades of Gabriel and so many versions of his anger that instantly, she knew there was something wrong.
The eerie calmness on his face and stormy eyes translated very easily into her mind. Gabriel was pissed. In fact, he was furious.
“You are scaring me now,” she said hesitantly.
Gabriel said nothing. While his stormy eyes were still fixated on her, he loosened his hold and took a small step back just to allow her some space.
“I didn’t know you go for a run around this time,” Sienna said conversationally when all he did was stare intensely at her.
“Damn it! Will you say anything or just going to stare at me?” she asked, slowly losing her patience.
In a blink of an eye, Gabriel crashed his lips against hers. It was neither sweet nor gentle but rawness oozing out of him. There was something primal about the kiss that demanded the atom of her soul surrendering before him.
Sienna was stunned.
She was entirely consumed, and by the time his lips left hers, she knew with conviction that he had left an imprint of his brutal kiss. Unconsciously, she lifted her fingers and touched her lips.
“What was that about?” she whispered, still lingering in shock.
“This is to remind you that you are mine, Sienna. You. Are. Fucking. Mine,” he hissed.

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***Thank you for reading the chapter.
First of all - a big apology for being AWOL. There were so many overriding personal challenges that I just could not come back to writing. However, I don’t have any intention to abandon the story nor do I want to leave you all hanging.
I will try and update with a schedule, and The Sinner will be done by February itself.
Stay tuned for some more interesting twists and turns.***