After graduation, I left home. Years passed, and Mom and I barely spoke.
Then came the call that shattered me: Mom had suffered a stroke and was dying.
At her bedside, I found no Gabriel. My mother could barely whisper, but her final plea pierced my heart.
“Please… don’t abandon Gabriel. Promise me.”
I was hurt and furious. Even as she lay dying, she was worried about him.
But I promised.
She passed away that very day.
After the funeral, I returned to our old house with dinner, hoping Gabriel was still nearby. Instead, a gleaming black SUV waited outside.
A well-dressed man stepped toward me, his eyes glistening.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” he whispered.
I froze.
“Gabriel?”
He nodded, his smile trembling.
“I brought you dinner,” I said, struggling to understand. “Where have you been? What happened?”
His expression grew solemn.
“Your mother kept a secret from you,” he said. “Before she died, she begged me never to reveal it.”
