Chapter 14

In the car, Christina kept staring at Owen, curiosity written all over her face.

Owen tilted his head slightly. "Ms. White, are you curious?"

"Yes." She nodded without hesitation.

"Actually, I should thank you."

"Thank me?" Christina froze, unable to think of any connection between them.

Owen's thoughts drifted back.

"Three years ago, or rather two years and nine months ago, the Fletcher family was on the verge of bankruptcy. We tried every possible solution, but we still hit a dead end. I went out to clear my head, and that's when I met Gabriel."

Christina's fingers clenched.

That was not long after she and Austin had started dating.

"He was covered in blood and badly injured."

"What?" Christina's pupils contracted sharply, and she was so shocked she could barely speak. "He always has bodyguards with him. How could he get hurt?"

"He came to Harborview City alone." Owen said, pausing as his gaze settled on her face. "He was there to see someone in secret."

Seeing that she was still confused, Owen explained slowly.

"When you ran away from the wedding, Gabriel's parents didn't believe your father's explanation. They thought he had forced you to leave, so they kept him under house arrest for half a year. During those six months, he never left Aurora City except for that one time when he heard you were dating someone."

"How is that possible?"

Christina's throat tightened.

Back then, she knew that with the combined power of the Stone family and the White family, finding her would be easy. So after leaving, she deliberately sent a message telling them not to look for her, or else she would rather die than accept an arranged marriage.

"It's not your fault." Owen quickly reassured her, worried she would blame herself. "Gabriel's parents understood him. They were afraid he'd do something reckless to find you and force you into doing something foolish. They really cared about you."

Christina fell silent.

Gabriel's parents had indeed treated her like their own daughter. Since childhood, she'd been like the shared daughter of both the Stone and White families, while Gabriel had been like their shared son.

That was exactly why, when she learned she was supposed to marry him, she had resisted so strongly and couldn't accept it.

"What happened to him later? Why was he so badly hurt?"

"I saved him. After that, he helped the Fletcher family get through the crisis. Since then, the Fletcher family has been far beyond what the Lewis family could ever match. We've just kept a low profile and moved our base to Aurora City, which is why the Lewis family still dares to act so arrogantly in Harborview City."

Owen said softly, "As for why he was injured, his location was exposed, and without bodyguards, he barely escaped with his life. So I really do need to thank you. If not for you, Gabriel wouldn't have come to Harborview City alone, I wouldn't have had the chance to save him, and I wouldn't have had the opportunity to connect the Fletcher family with the Stone family."

Christina remained silent for a long time.

Gabriel had never told her any of this.

"And over these three years, he's come to Harborview City countless times. Each time, he just watched you from afar and never disturbed you."

This sentence finally shattered all her defenses.

Tears rolled down without warning, blurring her vision.

She had been the one letting Gabriel down all along.

When the two families arranged the engagement back then, she had assumed Gabriel felt the same way she did and that they only saw each other as close family.

But now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

"Owen, I want to give him something. What do you think would be good?"

"He'll like anything you give him."

"You call him Mr. Stone in public, but just now you called him Gabriel directly. You must be close, so you must know what he really likes."

Owen thought that if she gave herself to him, it would be best. He'd be happy enough to stay in bed for seven days.

But he held back those words.

It would be too presumptuous, and it would ruin Gabriel's image of patient devotion in her heart.

He only said gently, "Just give something that represents your feelings."

Feelings?

Christina stared blankly, not even noticing when the car stopped.

It wasn't until Owen opened the door for her that she snapped back to reality.

She suddenly remembered the calligraphy painting she'd asked Owen to help sell.

After seeing Owen off, Christina carefully took out the package of bracelet fragments and tried to piece them together, but the cracks ran everywhere. It could never return to what it had been.

"Mom, I'm sorry."

Her phone suddenly rang, interrupting her grief.

"Go open the door. I've had someone deliver the gemstone pendant your mother gave me years ago. I hope it helps you feel a little better."

Gabriel's voice was low and gentle.

Christina paused. "You know about it?"

Gabriel easily sensed the doubt in her voice and asked softly, "Are you angry?"

"Angry about what?"

"That I've been quietly following your life?"

Christina shook her head gently. "I just think it's a shame. If they'd been with me all along, maybe my bracelet wouldn't have broken."

She never blamed Gabriel.

He had countless opportunities to appear, but for three whole years, he'd respected her wishes and never disturbed her.

"I'm sorry." Gabriel still apologized softly.

"Why are you apologizing?" She didn't understand.

"For not being able to protect the bracelet your mother left you. I'm really sorry."

Those words made her eyes burn again.

Gabriel had always been like this.

When she was little and insisted on walking home through the woods alone, he couldn't talk her out of it, so he quietly followed behind her.

When they got home, both families were frantic with worry. He stepped forward and took all the blame, and said he'd been fooling around and had led her astray, and ended up taking a beating for it.

Another time, she had a stomachache, and the doctor warned her not to eat spicy food for a while.

She got a craving and secretly ordered spicy food late at night. Gabriel happened to come looking for her and tried to stop her from eating it, so she threw a tantrum.

Helpless, he ate the entire bowl of extremely spicy food in one go, then had diarrhea for three days and nearly became dehydrated.

And she'd cried sadly because her food was taken away, which alerted the adults, and he was scolded and beaten again for no reason.

She'd tried to stop them but couldn't.

Warm memories flooded her mind. Christina held back the tears and responded in a muffled voice, "Okay."

After a pause, she murmured softly, sounding a little aggrieved and dependent.

"Gabriel, this is strange. I think I miss you again."

On the other end of the phone, Gabriel immediately regretted it. "I should have known better than to have someone else deliver it. I should have brought it to you myself."

He glanced at the people waiting for a meeting in his office, and none of them seemed right to him.

"Don't!" Christina quickly stopped him. "Just focus on your work. I was just saying it casually. It doesn't mean that I have to see you."

Soon after she hanging up, the person Gabriel had sent arrived with the item.

She took the wooden box and opened it. The familiar gemstone pendant lay quietly inside, and its familiar warmth instantly put her at ease.

"Thank goodness I still have you."

It had been so long that she'd almost forgotten her mother, Lillian Baker, had left her more than just the broken bracelet.

"Mom, I miss you so much."

---

Aurora City, the White family residence.

The items on the desk were violently swept to the floor, scattering everywhere.

A woman's shrill voice was thick with undisguised hatred.

"That damned bastard is really lucky. He didn't even die from that!"

"Mom, keep your voice down. We're still at home. Don't let Dad hear you." The person beside her quickly urged in a low voice.