Chapter 348

Chapter 348:

His hand lifted on its own. He wiped the tears from her face with his thumb.

Her skin felt warm. The tears felt cold. The contrast sent a pulse through him he didn’t understand.

The feeling intensified, tight and unfamiliar, low in his chest.

He leaned in, studying her face as if searching for an answer. What kind of pull did she have? What kind of woman could turn a man like Wesley into a fool?

Gabriela’s eyes snapped open.

She stared at him without recognizing the room around her. Then, all at once, she grabbed his sleeve with a desperate grip. “Where’s Allan? Tell me where he is p>

Stewart went still.

Something in her voice wasn’t right. She wasn’t speaking like the woman he’d just watched collapse. She was speaking like a woman ripped out of another year.

“You know the answer,” he said quietly. “The car accident took him p>

Her fingers tightened around his sleeve, wrinkling the expensive fabric in her fist. Seconds passed. Her gaze was unfocused. Then, in a flat, distant voice, she said, “Right. Allan’s gone. And I… I wiped him from my memory completely p>

𝗦𝗁𝖺r𝘦 𝗒𝗈𝗎r 𝖿𝗮𝗏𝗼𝘳i𝗍е𝘴 𝖿𝗋оm

The words fractured on her tongue.

Her free hand flew to her chest, curling over her heart as if holding something in place that wanted to tear open. Then her eyes fluttered, and she slumped, slipping under again.

Understanding hit Stewart like a blow.

He had thought Gabriela had simply moved on with someone more powerful. That she had traded sentiment for survival. But that wasn’t true at all.

She hadn’t left Allan behind.

Her mind had erased him.

After calling the doctor back in, Stewart explained everything he had just witnessed.

The doctor listened, then nodded with clinical calm. “Selective amnesia. When grief reaches a level the mind can’t tolerate, it sometimes discards the memory as a way to protect itself. Forgetting, in this case, is a defense p>

Stewart stared at him.

Could grief do that?

Could a person care so much that their mind chose to rewrite itself just so they could keep breathing?

It rattled him.

The episode passed quickly. Within minutes, Gabriela’s lashes flickered and she woke again.

This time, she was composed. Too composed.

Her face had settled into something calm and controlled, almost polite. But that brittle calm felt worse than any screaming.

Stewart leaned in, and for once there was nothing mocking in his voice. “How are you holding up p>

“Fine, really.” She even smiled. “I was young then. Couldn’t handle reality. Sorry for the drama, Mr. Williams p>

Stewart felt something sharp twist in his chest. He remembered every cutting thing he’d said to her. Every assumption. Every accusation.

“Stop it,” he said quietly. “Don’t laugh it off. I know you’re hurting. If you need anything — anything at all — tell me p>

Gabriela held his gaze. This time, she didn’t deflect.

“Actually,” she said softly. “There is something p>

He straightened. “Name it p>

“I need to see Myah. Do you know where she’s living now p>

“I’ll find her,” he said at once.

Locating Myah proved surprisingly simple. Stewart had the information within hours.