Chapter 246: Echoes Of Despair
Gavriel felt his control beginning to snap just from staring at her lips. But when his gaze drifted back to her eyes, he noticed how heavy they were with exhaustion.
Forcing himself to rein in his desires, he caught her wrist before her hand could touch his arousal.
Her eyes snapped to him instantly in question.
Leaning in, he cupped her jaw, dragging his thumb across her lower lip. "You really like getting yourself into trouble, don’t you?" he asked in a low, rough voice.
When she blinked slowly at him, a faint smile touched the corner of Gavriel’s lips.
"Yes, I know you do. Just like right now. But let me tell you something for certainty." He brushed his lips slowly against hers and whispered, "I will claim this pretty little mouth of yours too. Just... not today."
Aliana’s heart skipped a beat, and heat bloomed across her skin as she stared at her gorgeous husband in stunned silence.
Her expression caused Gavriel’s smile to widen. With a smooth motion, his hands reached behind her and unclasped her bra before tossing it aside.
Aliana gasped before she could react... instead of removing her underwear normally, he tore it to shreds.
The sound of ripping lace finally broke her silence. "Gavriel! You cannot be ripping my clothes to shreds every single time!"
Looking completely unbothered, he simply scooped her off the counter and began carrying her towards the bathtub.
"I’ll buy you more."
The corner of Aliana’s eye twitched as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. "That is not the point. At this rate, I will need to own a full store of them just to keep up with you."
"I’ll gift you one," he stated with a perfectly straight face, stepping down into the bath.
Aliana could only shake her head in disbelief. "You are incorrigible."
Yet, the moment he settled them both into the deep tub, the hot, aromatic water rose up to envelop her body, and every argument she had left simply dissolved.
A long sigh left her lips as she surrendered to the warmth, leaning her back against the solid plane of Gavriel’s chest.
She felt his arm wrap around her, pulling her closer before his hands moved to her stiff shoulders. His fingers pressed into the tense muscles with just the right amount of pressure, and Aliana found herself melting into him.
She didn’t even realise when she drifted off to sleep.
A blur of fragmented images clawed through her mind, heavy with overwhelming emotions.
A woman was wailing so painfully that the sound felt agonising, as if her chest were being cracked open from the inside out in that dark space, stripped of all hope.
"Please... just do it! I beg you! Please!"
The broken, ragged plea of the woman echoed through the voids as she cried in absolute despair.
Then came an animalistic cry, a sound so primal, terrifying, and inhuman that it vibrated deep within her marrow, carrying a weight of pure grief.
Two massive crimson eyes with their slit black pupils stared out from the abyss, and it roared.
A final, heartbreaking sob of profound loss tore from the woman’s lips and....
Aliana’s eyes snapped open.
A choked, strangled gasp tore from her throat as she fought for oxygen, feeling as though she were drowning in dry air.
Her eyes burned, glowing bright unnatural red in the dimness.
She threw herself upright in the bed, and her palm came to rest against her chest to contain the violent hammering of her heart. Her pulse thudded like a trapped bird, and her lungs strained for breath as if she had just escaped a relentless chase.
’Where...’
The first thought came through her mind before her frantic gaze swept across the room, only for relief to slowly settle over her as she recognised their bedroom in Valentine Residence.
Her eyes instinctively shifted to the empty space beside her.
Gavriel wasn’t there.
She then looked towards the window, where the morning sun filtered through the narrow gaps between the heavy curtains, painting faint strips of golden light across the room.
Yet the woman’s cries refused to leave her.
They echoed over and over inside her mind, making a sharp pain bloom in her chest, as though an invisible hand had reached into her heart and was mercilessly twisting it.
Just then, a rustle of fabric drew her attention toward the door at the side.
Gavriel stepped into view, looking pristine in his tailored beige trousers and a crisp white shirt.
His long fingers had been in the middle of adjusting his sleeve when his voice drifted out. "You’re up."
But the moment his eyes landed on her, his hand froze, and a deep frown immediately settled on his face.
Aliana sat shivering, her skin slicked with a cold sweat that made her nightdress cling to her frame. Her eyes shone red with residual terror, and tears streamed down her pale cheeks, spilling over without her consent or awareness.
Gavriel immediately made his way to the bed and sat down facing her. "What’s wrong?"
His hands reached out to cup her face, his gaze scanning her up and down before moving across the room to see if some external threat had distressed her so deeply.
Without saying a word, Aliana threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around him as she squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to snap out of the lingering horror.
It would be a lie to say that Gavriel wasn’t surprised. He was completely baffled to find her in such a state.
He had woken up early to finish some work in his office before getting ready for the day, since they needed to travel.
He hadn’t woken Aliana before because he had seen how badly her body needed the rest after she had fallen asleep on him in the tub. But he had never expected to find her like this when he stepped out of the walk-in closet to wake her.
She looked utterly shaken.
More than that, the heavy emotion radiating from her didn’t sit right with him. Grief was a strong emotion, and knowing it was coming from his wife made it all the more unsettling.
Wrapping his arms around her, he asked softly, "Ana? What happened?"
She only tightened her grip and buried her face against his chest.
Taking a deep breath, she drew in his familiar scent as though trying to soothe her frayed nerves.
They remained like that for several long moments before she finally pulled back.
"I’m sorry..." she murmured. "I don’t know what came over me. It was just a strange... nightmare."
Suddenly, she became embarrassed and looked down to wipe the wetness from her cheeks, which she wasn’t even aware of until now. "Well, I should freshen up."
Still avoiding his gaze, she tried to climb out of bed, but Gavriel caught her wrist and pulled her back toward him.
Aliana met his eyes, and he noticed that they had returned to their light grey hue.
Reaching up, he cupped her face.
"Do you want to talk about what you saw?" he asked quietly, his eyes studying her intently.