Chapter 106 Mr. Sterling's in Trouble
Gabriel's already grim expression turned thunderous after her words, his face cold as winter.
"If you want a divorce to be with another man, why pin the blame for destroying our marriage on me? I did see Emily last night, but nothing happened. She had a medical emergency and was rushed to the hospital—her purse fell in my car during the chaos. I had no idea it was there. If you're going to condemn me for that, you're being ridiculous!"
"Gabriel, between us, who's really making excuses here? Can you be reasonable for once? You and Emily have years of history—are you seriously going to deny that now?" Arabella hadn't wanted to rehash this tired old argument, but his blatant denial infuriated her.
Time and again, he'd promised to cut ties with Emily, to keep his distance. Time and again, he'd broken those promises, meeting with her repeatedly.
And coincidentally, Emily always seemed to have some crisis whenever she was with him.
Whether it was coincidence or calculated, Arabella had heard it all before. She was tired of it.
Taking a deep breath, she turned away. "Whatever. We have no future together. Let's stop this painful charade and just be friends from now on. A clean break is better for everyone."
With that, Arabella headed for the door.
Gabriel watched her turn to leave, his hand reflexively lifting as if to catch her, but it fell back to his side.
He'd thought he'd lowered himself enough these past few days.
In all his years, even when he'd been infatuated with Emily, he'd never humbled himself like this for anyone.
But Arabella remained unmoved, her heart like stone.
Frustration and anger erupted inside him. He couldn't understand if these women were all ungrateful, or if he was cursed to forever want what he couldn't have.
Despite trying to console herself, tears fell down Arabella's cheeks as she left the house.
Her heart felt ready to tear apart from all the internal conflict.
She wasn't blind to Gabriel's recent changes, but the fundamental problems between them remained unresolved.
Sometimes she told herself to ignore the past—as long as he was willing to lie to himself, it meant he wanted to preserve their family.
Plenty of couples stayed together for their children's sake. If others could do it, so could she.
But other times, this life felt unbearable, especially when Gabriel got entangled with Emily again. Then she thought he was completely rotten and hated him with every fiber of her being.
Rather than continue this agonizing cycle, it was better to end the pain completely.
Tears streamed down her face before drying cold on her cheeks. She took a shuddering breath, wiped her eyes fiercely, and composed herself as she walked toward the subway station.
————
On his way to work, Gabriel received a call from Joanna.
"Gabriel, didn't you drive Emily home last night? What happened on the way? How did she end up in the hospital? I heard the baby might not make it?" Joanna fired off questions as soon as he picked up, her voice tense with panic.
Gabriel hadn't told his family about the incident, surprised his mother already knew. He assumed the Morrisons had called to inform them.
Actually, he was wrong. Elara had indeed called Joanna—not to inform, but to complain and blame.
Emily had visited the Sterling family, seen the elders, and then had an accident on the way home. Now the baby might not survive, and Emily herself was emotionally unstable and traumatized.
Joanna had known nothing about it, offering words of comfort before calling Gabriel immediately after hanging up.
Still brooding over his morning fight with Arabella, Gabriel felt even more irritated by his mother's barrage of questions. "There was an accident last night. It was too late to call. I got her to the hospital immediately, and then Mr. Morrison and Dominic arrived, so I left."
"What kind of accident? A car crash?" Joanna asked, confused.
"No..."
That confused Joanna even more. "Then what happened? I heard you two had an argument in the car and Emily suddenly got stomach pains..."
Joanna's persistent questioning wasn't without reason. The Morrisons' words had been full of blame directed at Gabriel. She worried that Gabriel's mistake had landed Emily in the hospital. If the baby survived, fine—but if not, the responsibility would be enormous.
What if they demanded compensation?
The last thing she wanted now was Emily becoming Gabriel's wife.
"Son, say something! What exactly happened?"
Hearing his mother's anxiety, Gabriel felt his suppressed anger rising. He pressed his lips together, controlling himself before speaking, "She suddenly said last night that she wanted to be with me. I refused. She couldn't accept it, and I didn't want to keep driving her home in that state, so I called Mr. Morrison to have someone pick her up. She lunged for my phone and got caught by the seatbelt across her abdomen."
Joanna was speechless with indignation. "Emily has some nerve saying such things! Weren't you devoted enough to her back then? I told her more than once that if she'd marry you, we'd never let her want for anything. And what did she do? She only had eyes for Dominic!"
"Mom, that's all in the past. Let's not bring it up." Gabriel found these words salt in his wounds.
"You're right, I won't mention it again." Joanna felt for her son too.
Thinking Elara had called the family, Gabriel asked, "How is Emily now? I can't really call Dominic to check—he might misunderstand."
"From what her mother said, she'll probably lose the baby. The doctors are recommending a D&C procedure soon."
"Lose the baby?" Gabriel was shocked by how serious it had become.
"Yes," Joanna sighed with worry. "If this baby doesn't make it, what if they blame you? I should have stopped her yesterday and had the driver take her home instead. I never saw this coming."
Gabriel's already dark mood grew heavier and more complicated with this news.
After mulling it over, he finally called Dominic.
"Hello, Gabriel." Dominic's voice sounded exhausted—probably from staying at the hospital all night without proper rest.
Gabriel gripped his phone, his brow furrowing repeatedly before he spoke, "Dominic, how is Emily?"
Dominic was standing outside the hospital room. He'd stayed all night, half-sleeping on the room's sofa, his mind restless with thoughts of their marriage and their future.
That morning, after Elara arrived, he'd stepped out for some air.
The doctor had just finished rounds, confirming that the fetal condition was poor and the pregnancy likely couldn't be saved. Emily had broken down completely, crying hysterically.
Hearing his friend's inquiry, Dominic paused thoughtfully before responding in a low, hoarse voice, "The doctor just examined her. The fetal heartbeat is weak. They've scheduled an ultrasound to confirm, but if there's no improvement, she'll need to terminate."
Gabriel felt overwhelmingly heavy. After a few seconds, he said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I bear a lot of responsibility for this. I shouldn't have argued with her last night."