Gabriel’s POV

I was holding her in my arms tightly. Her sobs were a stab to my heart.

“Is that why you were so afraid?” I asked her quietly. “You thought I would hate you?”

She nodded and looked up at me.

“I was sure you would hate me once you realized that the woman who raised me took your family away,” she said with a trembling voice.

“She did,” I nodded and wiped her tears away. “But you had no fault in that. And you are nothing like her.”

Her lips quivered and she placed her head back on my chest. I hugged her tightly and kissed the top...