The velvet trap

laying her conversation with Victor over and over again in her mind. The spark between them had been undeniable, but it was

façade of duty and obligation felt distant, like a lifetime ago. The business meetings, the court hearings, the demands of her estate-these t

such certainty, such conviction, that it felt like an invitation. An invitation not jus

fore her own-first Julian's, then the business, then the

reflection. She was questioning it, looking beyond the surface, beyond the polished appearance she had worked so ha

g walks in the gardens of her estate, the sunlight filtering through the trees, casting dappled shadows on the grou

guest-someone who had arrived without much fanfare. Maria, her assistant, had mentioned something about a new archi

y as she approached him, her heels clicking softly on the stone path. When he turned to face her, Elena was taken aback by the intensity of his gaze. He was tall, with a strong

her, his voice low and steady.

feel drawn to this man, yet there was an undeniable magnetism in the way h

offering a smile that was both welcoming

own. "I am. Name's Gabriel Stone. It's an honor to meet y

't just a pleasantry-it felt sincere. And yet, she couldn't sha

d business. But even as the words left her mouth, she realized that she didn't want to talk about b

tone fountain beside them. "It's... impressive. Your estate. There's

gy? You're the first person wh

ul tone. "There's a history here, a power that flows beneath t

carried with it a certain weight-after all, it was the heart of her family's legacy-but Gabriel's perspecti

rds, Gabriel," Elena sa

g the truth," he repli

unspoken-between them. It wasn't overt, but

of the conversation. "Well, I trust you'll have everything you need for th

ering on her a moment longer than nec

t was the intense chemistry she had felt or the weight of the conversation itself. But there was

l. She wasn't ready to dive into another relationship, not after what Julian had put her through, but the p

just as an act, but as something deeper, something that could connect her to another person. It was

en next, but for the first time

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of P

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