Chapter 163: Can never let her go
"What put you in such a foul mood this morning?" Casaio asked with a light chuckle, attempting to ease the tension.
"You did," Gabriel replied sharply. "First, you released a criminal from prison just because he fed you some pathetic sob story. And second, you failed to get Zilia to talk. Instead, you had someone tend to her wounds. Are you working for justice, or running a clinic?"
Casaio fell silent under the weight of his brother’s harsh words. He was already shouldering more than he let on, but explaining that to his younger brother felt like a lost cause. Gabriel had never been the empathetic type, never willing to see things beyond his own rigid view of right and wrong.
Gabriel didn’t touch his espresso. He sat stiffly with arms crossed, waiting in brooding silence until Amelie returned.
"I told you to serve espresso to Brother Casaio," she scolded, casting Gabriel a pointed look as she walked in. She checked the temperature of the untouched cup and sighed in relief, it hadn’t gone cold. She poured the warm espresso into Casaio’s cup first, putting a spoonful of cream on it and handing it to him.
"Thank you," Casaio murmured, offering her a grateful smile.
At Amelie’s insistence, Karmen and Denzel also took their seats, curious to try the espresso she had personally prepared.
As Amelie stirred two spoons of cream into Gabriel’s cup, she glanced up at him and asked, "Why were you lashing out at your older brother like that? And what exactly was this ’sob story’ you mentioned?"
The other three men watched with quiet curiosity, waiting to see how Gabriel would respond.