After My Death, My Husband Who Threw Me Into the Hunting Grounds Went Insane novel Chapter 104

AUDREY

The soft acoustic playlist continued to play on as I rested my head on Gabriel's chest, curled into one piece in his arms as he tenderly stroked my hair. We were like that for a couple of minutes in tranquil silence. 

"Darling, would you like me to show you around?" he whispered.

For a non-British lad, the endearment came from his mouth flawlessly. Darling, oh how lovely to hear. I loved what he had been calling me, in addition to Angel.

I sprang up and looked into his face. I bit my lower lips, smiling. "Show me the paintings."

He cocked his head to the side and smirked. He reached out his hand to my face and caressed my cheek. "I'm glad you're trying to look at a bigger picture. Are you finally having an interest?"

"I'm more interested in what fascinates you. I'm very curious," I teased.

He chuckled deliciously. He stepped out of the couch and offered his hand to me, so I held on to his palm.

We took the staircase upstairs and walked past his spacious bedroom, and then there this another passage towards an ebony wood door. 

Gabriel's house never ceased to amaze me. The room he brought me turned into another world. Different kinds of art pieces and canvasses hanging on the wall, and some inclined on the floor, mostly the bigger ones. But besides that, the room seemed to be like his library with hundreds of books behind a mahogany desk.

But there was one thing that was too loud not to notice. It was a magnificent sculptured ship and a dragon head tinted with gold and rosewood. The art was carved on half the wall when I spun back. 

"Gabriel, it's beautiful!" I mouthed in awe.

"The Voyage of Dawn Treader, it is called," Gabriel informed, appearing behind me and slipping his arms around my waist. 

"King Caspian X's ship," I said breathlessly.

He chuckled between my hair and ear. "You know stuff."

"Of course. The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favorite books." I turned around so I could see his gorgeous face. "It's very beautiful, Gabriel. Thank you for showing it to me. Who made it?"

"A brilliant carve artist, Maurizio Ricci. I met him in Rome two years ago and saw some of his artworks, and he sold me the Treader," he explained. "Come, I'll show you another one that's one of my favorites." 

The painting displayed in the living room was already glorious, but obviously, Gabriel kept the finest ones in one place in this room. He took my hand and drew me to the wall at the left and presented me with the enormous painting of an angel.

And it wasn't any regular painting of an angel with wings. Its body was male with the face of a female, and it was nude but with no genitals. But that wasn't what made the artwork brilliant. The angel's wings had two shades of black and white and spread up above.

 "Redenzione dell'angelo caduto. The Fallen Angel's Redemption. Bello, no?" he murmured.

"Si, signore, Bellissimo. Chi ha creato questo?" I said, unable to take my eyes off the painting. 

"A painter and friend I talked about earlier. Tu parla Italiano, si?"

I shifted my gaze to his gorgeous face. "My mother was Italian. She taught me. You? You speak it very well, Mr. Stark like it's your mother tongue."

His eyebrows knitted together, but his eyes gleamed in apparent delight. "Bene. I lived in Italy for three years, Audrey." He brought my hands to his lips and kissed me tenderly. "This painting has a certain meaning to me. It represents my life. I had fallen before with broken wings and shattered dreams. The white that turned black."

I stared into his cerulean eyes. "But you found redemption?"

"Not entirely. Hence, the different shades of its wings. I'm still stuck between the truth and the lie."

I watched his expression intently as I could see that Gabriel Stark was just as broken as me. In a way, I wouldn't understand. What were you hiding beneath that beautiful face?

"But there's only one thing left to complete my collection. Your portrait would look absolutely divine on my wall. Next to the Fallen Angel should be an actual ‘angel.' Pure and kind," he went on, setting his chin to my forehead. "My redemption."

His words were like a sweet, romantic song in my ears. How could he do this? Making me melt with his voice alone. His creativity was limitless.

 Audrey, pull yourself together! You're supposed to talk to this man! I screamed inside.

I grabbed onto his arm and slightly moved away, and he abandoned my neck.

"Audrey?" he panted.

I was going to lose myself already as I was on the verge of jumping on him to let him take everything. Just with a simple kiss and a few caresses, he drove me crazy.

"Gabriel, we need to talk. More talk. We're not done talking." Damn, I did repeat the word thrice.

He laughed softly. "As you wish, my angel." He pressed another brief deep kiss on my mouth. "What else do you wish to know? I told you I'd be delighted to answer any of your questions."

I held on to his arm. "You told me much, and I realize I haven't done the same. I've never told anyone except for Chelsea before. I had lived a roller-coaster life, Gabriel—with endless suffering and sacrifices. That is why I'm afraid. I think you need to know what to expect from my decision."

"What is this about?"

"Something about me… It's too soon to say, but I don't want to deceive you, so before it's too late, I will tell you. I'm not as innocent as you think I am."

His expression darkened. "Okay. I'm listening."

"And you might think differently about me—"

"Cut the suspense, Audrey," he hissed tightly. "Nothing can change my views about you. You just have to trust me."

I moved away from him to sit since my knees were already liquefying that I might collapse at any moment. I sat on the sofa by the library, and Gabriel went after me. 

"Well… It all started with a boy…"