Gabriel climbed the stairs up to the guest rooms. When he reached the top, he turned right, entering a corridor covered by a blood?red carpet that completely muffled the sound of footsteps. On the walls, rows of realistic paintings were displayed, so detailed and perfectionist that they looked more like windows to other realities than simple works of art. No other artist would be able to match that almost obsessive precision.

  When he reached the end of the corridor, he opened the door on the left and stepped inside. Lara lost her breath when she saw the room. It was enormous, with a high ceiling and wide walls covered in elegant wallpaper, decorated with all kinds of luxurious pieces. Every object, from the largest piece of furniture to the smallest figurine, seemed carefully chosen, complex and clearly expensive, as if nothing there had been placed by accident.

  He walked over to the bed and gently laid Lara down on the soft mattress, as if she were made of glass. Then he went over to the wardrobes, opened one of the doors and rummaged inside, looking for something. When he came back to her, he was holding a shirt in his hand.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t have much clothing… I hope you don’t mind wearing one of my shirts,” his voice came out slightly shy, betraying a nervousness that his gaze also revealed.

  Lara realised he was embarrassed by the situation, which surprised her.

  “It’s fine, I can make do with whatever there is, I’m already used to that,” she said, and at the end she gave him a soft, almost bashful smile.

  “Right. In that case, I’ll leave you at ease to get ready. When you’re done, just call me and I’ll come back,” after saying that, he left the room and closed the door carefully.

  Lara stood still for a few seconds, taking it all in. She was still trying to process everything that had happened that day: the mysterious man who, in a matter of hours, had revealed himself to be kind, gentle and attentive and now she found herself in a place she had never imagined she would set foot in, let alone stay in. She had never thought she would one day be in a space so luxurious, so far from her reality.

  Lost in thought, she walked over to the window that took up almost the entire side of the room. It was so big that it made the rest of the room seem small in comparison. The view was stunning; from there she could see the whole village, the small houses, the outline of the streets, the trees surrounding the buildings and, further away, the dark line of the forest.

  “Gabriel was right, the view from here is incredible… I could stay here for hours just admiring it.”

  She stayed by the window for quite some time, carried away by her thoughts, until the cold started to seep into her skin, making her shiver. She decided to take a hot shower to relax her body and ease the pain in her ankle. When she returned to the room, wrapped in his shirt, she began limping towards the door. Each step sent a sharp stab through her injured ankle, forcing her to lean against the walls.

  As soon as she reached the door, she opened it and called for Gabriel. Barely had his name left her lips when he was already by her side, appearing in the corridor with an almost unreal speed, as if the distance between them had been erased in the blink of an eye. Lara was stunned by his agility.

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  “How did he get here so fast?!” she thought.

  A shiver ran down her spine, not only from surprise but from strangeness. That didn’t feel normal. What had just happened only fed the doubts piling up in her mind.

  “Shall we go inside?” he asked, keeping his gaze fixed on hers.

  It was then that Lara realised she had been standing still, staring at him like a statue, unable to react. Her face grew hot with embarrassment. She stepped back slightly, making way for him to pass.

  Gabriel noticed her shyness and let out a small chuckle, brief and light.

  “Come on, lean on my shoulder, I’ll help you get to the bed.”

  Lara obeyed without protest. She had never met anyone so attentive and helpful, especially towards someone who, in practice, was almost a stranger. As she leaned on him, she felt a warmth spreading through her chest, as if she were being wrapped in an invisible blanket of affection. That kind of kindness was unfamiliar to her. No one, in her entire life, had ever been like that with her.

  Gabriel helped her reach the bed, supporting her weight with care. When she sat down, he kept guiding her with an almost reverent gentleness, helping her lie down slowly. He adjusted the pillows behind her head, making sure she was comfortable, and smoothed the sheets around her, as if he were tending to something precious.

  Lara felt embarrassed by all that attention and realised she needed to say something, anything, to break the tension that had built up in the air.

  “Thank you… no one has ever been like this with me… you didn’t have to… after all, we don’t even know each other.”

  He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. In his eyes shone a mix of shock and sadness, as if her words were too heavy to accept. He couldn’t understand how anyone, in their right mind, could dare to be indifferent to someone like Lara, let alone hurt her.

  He sat on the edge of the bed beside her and turned his gaze to her face. A warm smile formed on his lips, gentle but firm.

  “Honestly, I don’t understand how anyone could be capable of hurting you… or being indifferent to you.”

  His words struck Lara right in the heart, like an arrow shot straight at the target. She felt a deep pang in her chest, not of pain, but of something more complex: surprise, disbelief and a strange sense of comfort. She had never imagined that Gabriel could care about her that way, or that he would have such a beautiful image of her.

  And suddenly, guilt tightened around her throat. She remembered why all of this had started: she had invaded his house, convinced she was going to uncover a dark mystery, guided only by rumours and other people’s stories. In truth, she had entered the home of an innocent man, dragged by her own curiosity and by the words of others.

  “I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come into your house and invaded it like that… it was really reckless. I truly hope you can forgive me. And about what you said… I’m glad you have a good perception of me, but… I also have flaws.”

  Gabriel raised his eyebrows slightly, intrigued by the way she described herself. The truth was that very few people had the courage to admit their own flaws so directly, without masks, without excuses, without that egocentric filter most people used to protect themselves.

  She was, without a doubt, someone rare, and that rarity stirred a strong curiosity in him, a sincere desire to get to know her better.

  “I forgive you,” he said in a calm tone. “I understand what led you to do it, you don’t need to carry that weight on your conscience any longer.”

  The knot tightening in Lara’s chest loosened. There was honesty in his voice, a serenity that made those words sound like absolution.

  They both continued talking, letting the weight of the past slowly slip into the back of their minds. They spoke of the banalities of life, of small everyday stories, of stray thoughts and beliefs each of them usually kept to themselves but, in that moment, chose to share. The conversation flowed with surprising ease, as if they had known each other for much longer. Without a doubt, there was a strong capacity for communication between them, a silent understanding that made the silence comfortable and the words effortless.