Chapter 201
Chapter 201:
“Sorry, Gabriela,” Brenden muttered as he fled, guilt etched across his face.
Left standing by the desk, Gabriela rested her hands stiffly at her sides, waiting for Wesley to speak. When the silence stretched unbearably, she broke it in a low voice. “Mr. Moss, what would you like me to do p>
Wesley finally lifted his head from the book he’d been leafing through, his dark gaze locking with hers.
For a moment, his eyes glimmered with a depth that felt both unreadable and oddly tender.
Everything about him looked immaculate, and from where she stood, he seemed almost dangerously handsome.
Her chest fluttered, her cheeks flushed crimson, and her heart betrayed her with a sharp, unsteady skip.
Catching her flustered expression, Wesley’s mouth curved, and he let out a low chuckle as he extended the book toward her. “Read to me p>
Her fingers brushed the cover as she accepted it, a jolt of recognition ran through her.
𝗥𝖾а𝖽 f𝘳e𝗲 𝗇𝗼𝘷e𝗹s 𝗼ո
Wasn’t this the very same book that “NotASaunders” shared in his post? Did that mean both Wesley and Brenden shared the same strange fondness—being read to from this particular book?
While Gabriela tried to steady herself, Wesley never looked away. His gaze lingered on her face, examining every flicker of emotion.
Although Gabriela felt uneasy, she hid it behind a façade of composure.
The corners of his brows tightened.
She knew this book—he was certain of it. Then why was she feigning ignorance?
The book’s weight pressed into Gabriela’s palms, its presence oddly familiar.
Perhaps it was because she had once owned the same book.
When she flipped open the cover, her eyes landed on a name scribbled in the lower corner—Allan. She found herself wondering who he was.
She flipped to the next page, and an unexpected illustration met her gaze: a saint cloaked in light, arms outstretched as though blessing an endless—
Just as her fingers reached to turn another page, a faint trail of sandalwood, cool and sharp like winter air, signaled Wesley’s approach.
The atmosphere shifted instantly, her thoughts scattering like startled birds in flight.
“Start from here.” His hand closed gently over hers, guiding the book open to a marked passage.
Gabriela lowered her gaze to the lines he had indicated for her to read.
“Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss. But every once in a while, you find someone who’s iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare p>
Gabriela’s pulse surged, their close proximity sending an uncontrollable rush through her. She drew back a step, throat tight, then forced herself to steady her voice and begin reading aloud.
Wesley reclined in his black chair, listening in silence, his expression shadowed with thought. The dim corner seemed to swallow him, his presence merging almost seamlessly with the night.
Gabriela noticed the heaviness in his demeanor and realized he truly wasn’t in good spirits today. That brief sense of sympathy quickly vanished as her throat grew raw, each word scraping after two relentless days of reading and singing.
Two hours slipped by until her voice finally broke with quiet insistence. “Mr. Moss, it’s already very late. Maybe you should try to rest p>