Weeks turned to months, and Seraphine’s mask slipped completely. Behind closed doors, her contempt spilled out. “You used to be impressive,” she said one evening, her tone dripping with disdain. “Now you are just a broken shadow surrounded by servants.”
The words carved deep into Gabriel’s chest, but the final blow came during a glittering rooftop party. Surrounded by Parisian elites, Seraphine laughed with her friends and gestured toward him. “There sits my prince without a throne,” she said mockingly. The guests offered awkward smiles, unwilling to challenge her cruelty.
Gabriel’s face burned, yet behind his chair stood Elara, calm and resolute. She did not flinch or turn away. Her silent strength steadied him more than any defense could have.
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.”
Gabriel lowered his gaze. “And what do you think of me now?”
“I think,” she said gently, “that you have finally stopped pretending — and that is the beginning of honesty.”