That night, as the mansion grew quiet, Gabriel could bear the lie no longer. He removed the leg braces that had confined him and stood upright before the mirror. His reflection looked back with shame and clarity. The test had revealed everything he feared — and something he had not expected.
When morning came, Seraphine swept into the room dressed for another luncheon. She barely greeted him before reaching for her phone.
“Seraphine,” Gabriel said softly.
She turned, distracted. “Yes?”
He rose to his feet.
Her eyes widened, her voice breaking into disbelief. “You can walk?”
“I could always walk,” he said. “I only wanted to see if love could.”
Her shock turned to rage. “You deceived me!”
He met her fury with calm. “Perhaps. But deception only uncovers what honesty would have hidden forever.”
Without another word, she left the estate, her heels echoing across the marble floors.
When the door closed, Gabriel turned to find Elara standing nearby, her hands clasped before her.
“You knew,” he said quietly.
“I suspected,” she answered. “Your hands were too steady for a man who could not stand. But I said nothing because I understood. Loneliness makes people do strange things.”