One

                                    

                                          
Her eyes brim with tears as she waits for him to say something. Anything, but he doesn't.
Gabriel merely stares at her with his body in a sudden freeze. And for a split second, he's almost sure she can hear the rapid beating of his wrinkled heart.
"Gabriel", Nathalie calls out. "Say something."
She needs answers, and she needs them now. Nathalie Sancoeur is tired of being his secret.
But all he does is avert his gaze away from her disappointed and tearful eyes.
"Am I not good enough for you?" Nathalie eventually whispers, cutting the silence he has created. There's obvious fear in her voice as her trembling hands wipe at her tears.
"If you don't want to be with me, tell me now. I need to know." Her pleading words cause him to realize a painful lump has begun to form in his throat, and now he's blinking away his own tears.
"You need to give me time Nathalie", he finally mumbles, not daring to look up at her.
Nathalie lets out a giggle of pure shock and disbelief. She cannot fathom that those are the only words he has to say to her.
"I've given you nothing but time."
She eventually moves away from her spot in the middle of the bedroom to then slowly approach him. Gabriel immediately tenses as she walks towards him, and when Nathalie attempts to take a hold of his hand, Gabriel pulls away.
That simple action crushes her beating heart and Nathalie is now convinced that starting a romance with Gabriel Agreste was a terrible mistake. His silence hurts more than any of the words he could possibly speak.
It makes her realize that he isn't ready after all. Because even if he gave up on attempting to revive his wife a long time ago, he is still the same person he was back then. And the truth is, that person never went away. He is still the same man who has such difficulty adapting to change.
Now Nathalie feels that all the words he's ever told her and all the promises he's ever made were unreal. A fantasy is what she's been living in, and the awakening from it is cruel and so very painful.
"At least give me a reason why you can't tell him?" She whispers. "Why is it so hard for you to tell Adrien about us?"
"Where is this sudden urge to reveal our relationship to him coming from?" He suddenly snaps, making her flinch.
But she soon replies with the same intensity. "You don't get it, Gabriel." Nathalie yells as she brings her hands up in frustration.
"I'm tired of hiding!" She exclaims in anger. "I'm tired of being your secret. I'm tired of you treating me like your mistress and not the woman you say you love!"
"And I do love you, Nathalie. But it's not that simple, can't you understand that? My love for you should be enough." He desperately says.
All Nathalie can do is shake her head, with tears leaving her eyes. Those tears cause an immediate sense of guilt to fill his chest.
He's wrong and he knows it. Still, he can't tell his son. Not yet. He isn't too sure why, but all he knows is that he is hurting her. Gabriel is hurting her immensely.
"Don't you love me, Nathalie?" There's pain in his voice, but he needs to ask her.
"Of course I do, more than anything. But you need to understand how I feel", she takes a deep breath. "The way you're making me feel." And she looks up at him one more time, hoping for him to say something, but he doesn't.
Nathalie decides to leave, she sees no point to this conversation. Gabriel simply will not be changing his mind.
"I think I should go, your son will be home soon and he will surely be confused if he sees me in your bedroom." Nathalie says in a sarcastic tone.