Chapter 293: Impromptu Gathering
Soft murmurs drifted around Aliana, yet nothing registered as more than an incoherent jumble of words. She was currently at the Vanderbilt Estate, surrounded by an intimate circle of family and friends, a glass of whiskey held loosely in her hands. People spoke to her or laughed at jokes made among themselves, but it all fell on deaf ears.
Her mind remained fixed on the previous night, when she had woken from a light sleep to the feeling of a gentle kiss pressed to her hair and heard him whisper...
"I promise to tell you everything."
’What did he mean by that? What did he want to tell me?’ She had asked herself over and over, wanting to open her eyes and ask him directly.
Yet in that moment, she had remained utterly still until she felt him untangle himself from her and his weight leave the mattress.
She waited to hear what he was planning to do, but as the seconds passed, there was only silence.
When she finally mustered the courage to turn around, Gavriel was nowhere in sight.
She was confused.
How could he leave without making a sound? Had he stepped outside the room? Where could he possibly go at this hour?
Slowly, she stepped out of bed and grabbed a robe to cover herself, checking the bathroom first just to be safe. Finding it empty, she left the room and padded down the stairs, walking through the dark, lonely corridors without finding a single sign of her husband.
Her heart raced at the thought of where he could have gone in the middle of the night. For a brief moment, her mind drifted to the time he had sought out Diana at night, but she immediately shut down the thought of him seeking another woman. Deep in her heart, she felt it was something else entirely.
After searching the entire house, she stopped in front of the one door she had never crossed. It was the room Winston had described as Gavriel’s second private study, though she had never actually seen him enter it.
Pressing her lips together, she hesitated before finally knocking.
"Gav? Are you in there?" she called out.
When no response came from inside, she tried to open it, but it remained locked. Her eyes caught a rose motif carved directly above the keyhole. Her fingers traced the pattern, sending an odd rush through her before she left.
After that, she had waited in the dark living room for a while before finally returning to their bedroom. She had not slept a wink, but around five in the morning, she felt the mattress dip behind her.
She wanted to confront him, but the text from the mysterious book, combined with Gavriel’s previous strange actions and sudden disappearance, had left her feeling wary and afraid.
Afraid of the truth.
So she remained still in his embrace, waiting until her body finally gave in to sleep once more.
When morning arrived, she left for the office, needing space to clear her head and convincing herself she was simply overthinking. But when evening came, rather than returning home, she sent Gavriel a text letting him know she was going to visit her parents instead.
She did not ask him to come along, and he did not insist.
Now, as she sat among her family, she remained trapped in her own mind, far more present in her thoughts than in the room.
"Ali? Aliana?" A gentle hand touched her shoulder as her mother called her name once more.
Aliana’s focus snapped back to reality, and she turned to find Portia watching her with concerned eyes.
"Honey, where are you? I’ve been calling you," Portia said softly.
Aliana blinked, suddenly aware that the rest of the room was staring at her. Disliking the sudden scrutiny, she cleared her throat. "Oh... my apologies. It seems I’ve been rude, letting my mind wander back to work."
She offered a faint smile, which seemed to put the group at ease.
"It’s completely fine, Aliana. We know how much responsibility rests on your shoulders," Nina, Jade’s mother, reassured her.
"If anything, we’re the ones to blame for letting our children take on so much," Alec chimed in, turning toward Alester. "Alester, you need to give your daughter a break."
"It’s really no trouble, Uncle Alec. Dad knows I can handle it. It was my fault for bringing work thoughts here," Aliana interjected before her father could respond, earning a look of quiet pride from both of her parents.
"I trust my daughter implicitly," Alester said with a warm smile, drawing a soft chuckle from others seated in the living room.
Portia then broached the topic carefully. "So... Ali... will Gavriel be joining us tonight?"
"Unfortunately, no. He has work to attend to, but he sends his regards," Aliana replied smoothly.
A pang of guilt tugged at her for intentionally excluding Gavriel, but she needed this space. She wanted to sort through her thoughts before going home to have an honest conversation with him about everything that had been troubling her. She knew bottling it up was a mistake, and she resolved to address it the moment she returned.
However, what she failed to notice was the collective sense of relief that settled over the room at her answer.
Only Jade, sitting quietly beside her, caught the subtle shift in everyone’s composure.
"That’s perfectly fine. We know how busy he is," Portia replied with a gracious smile. "Perhaps he can join us next time?"
To which Aliana merely hummed absentmindedly, making Jade cast a sideways glance at her friend. She had noticed how unusually quiet and distant Aliana had been, and once again wondered if the conversation she had overheard was indeed about something being wrong between Aliana and Gavriel.
Meanwhile, the elders exchanged a look before Alester placed his glass down and cleared his throat subtly, drawing Aliana and Jade’s attention towards him.
"So... we know calling this gathering was a bit impromptu," Alester began, "but as your family and friends, we want you both to know how much we love you and care about your well-being."
Jade and Aliana listened in silence as he continued. "What happened on that island was truly horrible and tragic. As your loved ones, we would never want either of you to suffer through such a traumatic experience. Had we known you might be exposed to something like that, we would have had this conversation much sooner."
At the mention of the island, both Jade and Aliana stiffened in their seats, a reaction that did not go unnoticed by the elders.
Alester offered them a reassuring smile. "It’s alright, there’s no need to tense up. I want you both to remember that you’re in a safe place. We are family, and we would never wish any harm upon you."
Jade and Aliana exchanged a quick look before Aliana placed her drink on the table.
"We know that, Dad. But that isn’t really what you want to talk about, is it? I know there’s more to what you’re trying to say." True to her nature, she asked directly.
Knowing his daughter was far too sharp for his roundabout approach to work, Alester gave a resigned nod. "Very well."
Beside Aliana, Portia stiffened.