All Chapters of The silence between us : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The Madrid estate felt different after the confrontation like its very walls had absorbed Patricia’s venom and were now whispering it back into Lucy’s ears. The moment the heavy oak doors shut behind them, sealing out the night and the world beyond, silence descended. Not a peaceful silence, but the kind that pressed on the chest, suffocating, demanding something neither she nor Gabriel seemed willing to give.Lucy trailed behind him as they walked through the foyer, their footsteps echoing in mismatched rhythms. Gabriel didn’t glance back. He shrugged out of his jacket, tossed it across the arm of a chair, and strode toward his private study without a word.She watched him disappear into the shadowed corridor, the slam of his study door ringing like a verdict.Lucy gripped the railing of the staircase and closed her eyes. Patricia’s words replayed in cruel loops: You’ll never be more than a pawn… He’ll never truly trust you… You were only ever second choice.Her stepmother’s voice ha

Morning light spilled over the estate, softening the edges of its grand architecture, but to Lucy it felt cold. She sat on the stone bench in the garden where she had wept the night before, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes fixed on the marble fountain that caught the first rays of sun. Birds trilled above, their songs achingly cheerful compared to the heaviness pressing against her chest.Sleep had barely touched her. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Gabriel’s face in the dimly lit study, saw the torment he’d tried to bury beneath his control, heard the way his voice cracked when he swore he couldn’t hate her. Those words clung to her like a fragile thread of hope, yet his final command Leave this room burned just as deeply.The contradiction tore at her. He wanted to protect her. Yet he pushed her away, blind to the fact that his silence only endangered her more.Lucy’s fingers brushed over the folds of her dress as if to anchor herself. I won’t sit idle any longer, she t

The library doors had barely settled back into their heavy hinges when Gabriel barked orders in rapid Spanish. His voice echoed against the marble corridors, clipped and low but sharp enough to send three of his men scattering to secure every point of entry. The estate, already a fortress, suddenly felt like a trap. Lucy stood near the tall shelves, arms wrapped around herself, pulse still uneven from the faceless shadow that had watched them from the garden.She had never seen Gabriel like this cold, controlled, calculating. It was the kind of authority that could command empires, the same kind that had once terrified her. Now it frightened her for a different reason: it reminded her just how powerful he was, and how powerless she felt.“Elena will take you upstairs,” Gabriel said without turning toward her, his hand pressed to the earpiece he wore. “Stay there until I call for you.”“I’m not a child,” Lucy answered, her voice quieter than she intended but firm. “I’m not going upstai

The church bell in the distance tolled midnight, each heavy chime rolling across the land like the drumbeat of war. In the rose garden, silence fell sharp and unnatural, as though even the wind held its breath.The hooded figure stood before them, perfectly still, their shadow bleeding into the fountain’s cracked stone base.Lucy’s pulse thudded in her ears. She wanted to scream, to tear the hood away and unmask them, but her body refused to move. Instead, she gripped Gabriel’s arm tighter, grounding herself in his presence.The twelfth chime rang.And then, faintly, the metallic groan of the estate’s gates echoed in the distance.Lucy gasped. "No…"Gabriel’s eyes hardened, his voice a low snarl. "You’ve betrayed yourself already. Only someone inside could force that lock."The hooded figure chuckled, the sound dripping with mockery. "Finally, he understands."Gabriel took a measured step forward, his shoulders broad, his shadow long in the moonlight. "You’ll tell me who opened those

The heavy oak doors groaned as they were pushed shut, the iron bar sliding into place with a final, resonant thud. For a long moment, the grand entrance hall was filled with the sound of breathing labored, ragged, uneven. Soldiers leaned against the walls, their armor scratched and smeared with dirt and blood. Servants hurried to fetch water and bandages, their hands trembling as they moved between the wounded. The acrid tang of smoke from the gate fire still clung to everyone’s clothes.Lucy stood near the stairwell, her hands gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles were white. Her heart hadn’t slowed since the clash outside. The battle still echoed inside her screams, the crack of gunfire, the violent crash of steel. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, forcing herself to stay grounded in the here and now.Gabriel was at the center of the hall, giving instructions with clipped precision. His coat was torn at the sleeve, his face streaked with grime, but his presence was steady