too good to be true - continued from here
His frustration is palpable. Gabriel paces away from Bella, exhaling a harsh breath. The last few weeks have been wonderful, but the constant vigilance over his being is beginning to drive him crazy. He’s never been with someone that’s so insistent on his protection, but he’s never been with someone that has such a dangerous line of work, either.
He needs balance, though. He needs room to breathe and stretch his wings.
“I’m not a child, Bella,” he says, turning to face her. Gabriel shakes his head. “I get it, don’t tell me that I don’t. I do! I’m not stupid, I know that what you do is dangerous! But that doesn’t mean I need you to - to hover every minute and to have me followed and - monitored! I can handle myself.”
bella is stunned into silence as soon as the words leave gabriel’s lips. this is the first time that he has raised his voice when speaking to her and it shakes the heiress to core. to her, his frustration comes as a shock because everything that she has been doing for him seems entirely normal for her. isn’t this what you do for people important to you?
“i’m not doing all of this because i think you’re incapable,” she starts off, wanting to clear out her intentions first and foremost. “i was just doing what i think would be best for you.” confusion clouds bella thoughts because she doesn’t understand where his frustration is coming from.
bella wants so badly to reach out to him, to have him hold her like how he always does but gabriel already seems so far away. “i didn’t know i was making things difficult for you.” she says, deflated.