Gabriel lodged himself very close to her, just like children do when they meet strangers. This action made Shelby very puzzled. Ian was their father, and Gabriel's reaction to him did not make much sense at all.
She patted Gabriel and pulled him away at arm's length so that she could see his face.
"You don't recognize him, Gabriel?"
He shook his head. He hid back into Shelby's embrace again and peeked up at Ian once again. This got Shelby thinking.
'Ah, it makes sense. If Aliya passed two years ago and Ian has been in his room for a similar length of time, that meant, the last time Gabriel saw Ian was a couple of years back when he was just two years.
To add to it, Gabriel grew up with Aliya and not Ian initially. Looking at the attention span of toddlers, it was not hard to believe that Gabriel did not recognize Ian if they had only met briefly back then.
