Chapter 51

Gabriel looked at Chloe, a flash of disappointment crossing his eyes.

The younger generation of the Stone family were all males—Chloe was the only girl.

When she was little, he had genuinely cared for her.

Even after finding out she wasn't really a Stone, when Finnley decided to let her stay, Gabriel hadn't objected.

But who could have known Chloe would turn out to be so vicious.

The video kept playing.

Everything that had happened in that room was laid out for everyone to see.

Including Gabriel showing up later, and the man admitting that someone had hired him to come and rape Christina.

The murmuring in the banquet hall went quiet.

By now, everyone understood, nothing had actually happened.

But even though the person behind it had failed, the video had still appeared at the engagement party.

Looks like someone was about to get what they deserved.

Everyone settled down, happy to just sit back and watch things unfold.

Sure enough, once the video ended, the screen cut to a new scene. The man from the video was walking into a café, handing a USB drive to a woman.

Nobody in Aurora City recognized her, but Christina and Gabriel did. It was Mary.

Juniper and Gregory exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Mary wasn't with Austin anymore, so why was she going after Christina?

It didn't matter that the people of Aurora City didn't know Mary, because the video shifted again.

It was hard to tell whether they were being careful or careless. On one hand, they'd switched to a different café. On the other hand, it was still a café.

The woman who'd been sitting with her back to the security camera took the USB drive from Mary, stood up, and finally showed her face.

It was Chloe.

Every eye in the room turned to look at her.

By the time Chloe realized something was wrong, it was already too late to stop it.

Everything had happened too fast.

After getting the USB drive, she hadn't had time to check what was on it before handing it straight to the staff playing the video. So she was only finding out the contents now, along with everyone else.

Chloe ducked behind Finnley, calling out "Grandpa," trying to get him to help her.

But Finnley was disappointed.

If you're going to do something underhanded, you don't leave any loose ends.

Chloe had made a mess of everything and hadn't even succeeded.

For the first time, Finnley questioned his own judgment.

Was Chloe actually smart?

But she was still his favorite, and with a sigh, Finnley stepped forward, ready to tell Gabriel to let it go.

Gabriel ignored him completely and stepped forward himself.

"I think the video speaks for itself. Chloe has no place in the Stone family. The mix-up with her identity and my real cousin all those years ago, that was her parents' doing, and we never pursued it. We couldn't bring ourselves to cast out someone we'd raised for twenty years. But she has a rotten heart. From today, Chloe has nothing to do with the Stone family. As for what happened today, I'll be handing the evidence over to the police."

Chloe panicked, grabbing Finnley's arm. "Grandpa!"

Finnley met Gabriel's eyes, let out a long sigh, gently removed Chloe's hand, and walked away with a stony expression.

With no one left to protect her, Chloe lost her composure. She looked at Gabriel, but no words of pleading would come. She knew him too well—she knew nothing she said would make any difference.

Her eyes swept the room and landed on Elton. Chloe immediately turned to him with her most pitiful look.

She didn't even get a word out before the police arrived and took her away.

The engagement party wrapped up smoothly.

With the crowd cheering them on, Gabriel looked at Christina, his voice tight with nerves. "Christina, is this okay?"

Christina smiled and leaned up to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Gregory pulled out his phone and recorded the moment.

Juniper frowned. "Why are you filming this?"

Gregory gave a mysterious smile. "You don't get it. This is for Austin. Once he sees this, maybe he'll finally stop chasing after Christina."

Juniper couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. "Austin is so lucky to have a friend like you."

Gregory could hear the sarcasm, but he didn't care. "You don't get it," he said. "I'm doing this for his own good."

Mary couldn't get into the banquet hall, so she'd been waiting anxiously in the hotel for good news from Chloe. Instead, what came was a summons from the police.

She called Austin. He didn't pick up.

Mary's heart sank. She had a feeling Austin knew something.

But the police had already taken her phone, and she had no way to contact anyone now.

The Stone Manor.

Gabriel brought Christina to his room.

The moment the door opened, Christina almost thought he'd taken her to the wrong place.

Wasn't this her room?

Gabriel smiled. "From now on, this is our room."

Even though she'd mentally prepared herself, when the moment actually came, Christina's face went red.

"Okay," she said softly.

Gabriel pressed his lips together. "I redesigned it based on your taste. Do you like it?"

"I love it. But, are you really okay with this?"

The thought of Gabriel sleeping in such a soft, pink room made Christina want to laugh.

"It's our room, so of course it should be decorated the way you like it. And having your touch everywhere, I love that too."

Apparently deciding the original room wasn't big enough, Gabriel had knocked through to the room next door.

The king-size bed, a study area, and a walk-in closet had all been combined into one space.

Christina tilted her head. "You moved your study in here too? Won't I distract you when you're working from home?"

"You won't."

Gabriel kept a straight face, though he felt a little guilty. He could hardly admit that he'd done it so he could be near Christina every moment he was home.

Living together, both of them felt a little awkward.

While Christina made a phone call, Gabriel went ahead and showered.

She'd just hung up and looked up when she saw him walk out wrapped in nothing but a towel, water droplets sliding from the tips of his hair, like a silent invitation.

Her gaze drifted downward.

Those muscle lines were something else.

Christina's face burned.

It wasn't until a droplet disappeared past Gabriel's waist that she snapped her gaze away. "I'm going to shower too."

Gabriel watched her disappear into the bathroom, then patted his own chest. "With a body like this, she can't possibly say no to sleeping in my arms tonight, right?"

She couldn't say no.

She absolutely could not say no.

Lying in Gabriel's arms, Christina squeezed her eyes shut, her heart hammering so hard she thought it might leap out of her chest.

She was so nervous.

Had agreeing to move in together after the engagement really been the right decision?

Christina was too wound up to sleep.

Gabriel wasn't doing much better.

The person he'd almost given up on waiting for was not only here, she was lying in his arms. He curved his body carefully, terrified she'd notice.

If he scared her off, he wouldn't even know where to go cry.

He genuinely hadn't planned anything for tonight.

Christina's breathing was unsteady. Gabriel didn't realize it, but even as he held himself in check, the warmth of his breath brushed against her ear—warm enough to make it flush.

"Gabriel... Maybe I should just go sleep in my own room."