Some names were dangerous.
Y/N didn't know why that thought followed her as she watched
Gabriel "Her father"
sit across the table, calmly stirring his tea like nothing in the world could disturb him.
He looked ordinary. Kind. A man who had stepped into her life after everything went wrong.
A man who had saved her.
"Did you sleep better last night?" Gabriel asked gently.
Y/N nodded. "A little."
Rowan sat beside her, scrolling through his phone, silent. Too silent.
The room felt… off.
Gabriel's eyes flickered toward Rowan for half a second—quick enough to be missed, careful enough to look accidental.
Rowan didn't look back.
Y/N noticed anyway.
"You know," she said suddenly, "it's strange."
Both men looked at her.
"What is?" Gabriel asked.
"You and Rowan," she said. "You live under the same roof. But it's like you've never met before me."
Rowan smiled faintly. "Some people don't need introductions."
Gabriel's spoon paused.
"I barely know him," Gabriel said smoothly. "He's just… someone you chose."
Someone you chose.
Not family.
Not history.
Not blood.
Y/N tilted her head. "But you raised me. And Rowan's been around for years. How can you barely know each other?"
Gabriel met her eyes, calm and steady. "Because knowing someone is a choice. And I never made it."
Rowan let out a quiet laugh. "That's true," he said lightly. "You never did."
The tension was subtle—but sharp, like glass under skin.
Y/N tried to laugh it off. "You're both so weird."
Gabriel stood, collecting the cups.
"Some things are better left unexplored."
She watched him move toward the sink.
"Dad…" she called.
"Yes?"
"You never told me your full name."
His back stiffened—just a fraction.
"I don't use titles," he said without turning around. "Names don't define people."
Rowan looked up then, eyes dark with amusement.
"Funny," Rowan murmured. "Some names define everything."
Gabriel turned sharply. "Enough."
The word landed heavy.
Y/N frowned. "Why does that upset you?
"
Gabriel exhaled slowly, schooling his expression back into something gentle.
"I've lived long enough to know," he said softly, "that names bring ghosts. And you've had enough ghosts for one lifetime."
He walked past Rowan without a glance.
Rowan's jaw tightened.
Y/N didn't see the way his fingers curled into his palm.
Later that night, Y/N stood in the hallway, half-asleep, when she heard voices.
Low. Controlled.
She froze.
"I told you not to get close to her," Gabriel said.
Rowan's voice came back calm. Almost amused.
"You don't get to tell me what to do."
"I erased her .....," Gabriel
snapped. "I gave her a new life."
"And I'm finishing what you started," Rowan replied.
"Relax."
There was a pause.
Then Gabriel spoke again—quieter now.
"She must never know who I am. Or who you are."
Rowan chuckled softly.
"You're very afraid of a name."
Footsteps.
Y/N stumbled back into her room before the door opened.
Her heart pounded.
Erase memory who's ?
Moments later, Rowan entered, smiling like nothing had happened.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, brushing her hair back.
She swallowed. "I thought I heard voices."
Rowan leaned down, kissing her forehead. "Dreams," he said gently.
"Your mind plays tricks on you."
She wanted to believe him.
Downstairs, Gabriel stood alone in the dark, gripping the edge of the table.
He whispered to himself, voice shaking with something that sounded like fear.
"That name dies with me."
Because if Y/N ever learned the truth
—
That I Gabriel .... was not her father.
That he caused the ...!
That Rowan Cade was his.....
Then the prison he built inside her mind
would finally collapsed.....