Understand love

Chapter 9

The next day, Gabriel and Nathalie moved around the mansion, avoiding each other. Occasionally, their eyes would meet, but they quickly looked away, leaving a faint blush on their faces each time. Adrien watched the adults from a distance, concerned about their behavior. He had hoped that the confession of love would bring them closer to reconciliation, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect. He wanted to intervene, to nudge the adults back in the right direction, but Amelie stopped him, insisting that the next steps must be taken by the adults themselves. Resigned, Adrien could only watch.

Gabriel scribbled on his monitor, lost in his thoughts. Since the conference, he and Nathalie hadn't exchanged a single word, both feeling embarrassed by their confession. It was as if all their courage had been left on the stage, rendering them incapable of having a normal conversation. He peeked over his monitor, noticing the empty seat at the desk. Though Nathalie's absence could easily be explained, old memories swirled in his mind—memories of their constant arguments after his mistake. When Nathalie was angry at him, she would avoid the workspace and stay in her room. Though his pride kept him from admitting it, he always felt a pang in his heart, knowing that Nathalie preferred to stay away from him, even though she was feeling well.

Determined to break the cycle, he decided to face his fears and confront his feelings. With newfound resolve, he switched off the monitor and went looking for Nathalie. First, he went to her room, expecting to find her working at her old desk. To his surprise, the room was empty. Next, he headed to the kitchen, recalling that Nathalie always had coffee to get through the rest of the day. As he suspected, he found Nathalie deep in thought, staring into her coffee. Knowing that calling out to her would be futile, he approached carefully and placed a hand on her shoulder. Unfortunately, the gesture startled Nathalie, causing the coffee to spill all over the kitchen counter.

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G: I'm sorry, Nathalie, I didn't mean to scare you

N: No, it's my fault. I was too lost in my own thoughts. Could you hand me a paper towel? We need to clean this up.

G: Let me do it.

N: I guess any protest would be pointless.

G: You know me well.

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Gabriel smiled softly and grabbed a large piece of paper towel to clean the mess. Nathalie silently watched the movements of his hands. Noticing a missed spot, she reached for the towel and unintentionally touched his hand. At the moment of contact, they both felt a strange spark. Startled, they looked into each other's eyes but quickly glanced away, embarrassed. Gabriel, wanting to bring things back to normal, summoned the courage to entwine their hands again, this time keeping his gaze fixed on her face. After a moment, Nathalie looked back at him, her cheeks flushed, her lips slightly parted as if trying to say something, but no words came out.

G: Nathalie, we can't keep living like this. Avoiding eye contact, feeling shy when we do something that used to be normal for us. Even though we both know what we feel, we're still stuck when it comes to dealing with it.
N: I know, you're right. I've been thinking about that too. We need to finish what we started.
G: "I'm glad you agree with me, my dear." Gabriel smiled tenderly. "Where would you like us to finish our conversation?"
N: I think my room would be a good place. We'll be sure no one interrupts us.
G: Then, ladies first.

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Nathalie rolled her eyes and walked toward her room. As she reached the door, she paused, feeling nervous. She turned to Gabriel, who stood behind her, smiling gently. Seeing her hesitation, he took her hand, intertwining their fingers. He didn't say a word, but Nathalie could see the encouragement in his eyes. Like Gabriel, she was tired and wanted all the unspoken things to finally come out, to take the first step toward the future. With renewed strength, she entered the room with Gabriel, still holding his hand. They both sat down on the bed, staring at their reflection, waiting for one of them to speak.