Chapter 14 Did She Run Away From Home?
Gabriel glanced at her and explained, "Mary said they were crying because they're hungry, and there wasn't anything she could do."
Arabella was speechless.
How could there be nothing to do? There was frozen breast milk in the fridge. She'd been pumping like a dairy cow, drinking gallon after gallon of lactation smoothies, storing all the excess milk in the freezer.
Too tired to argue with him, she carried Isabella over to the sofa to nurse her first.
It was over half an hour before both babies had eaten their fill and drifted off to sleep.
It was getting late. When Gabriel saw her put the baby down, he cleared his throat and said quietly, "Why don't you sleep in the master bedroom tonight? It'll be easier for nighttime feedings."
Arabella had her back to him and hesitated before responding, "The babies sleeping here will wake you up during the night."
"It's fine. They're my own children. I don't mind being woken up."
She never expected him to say that. Arabella couldn't help glancing at him.
With the guest room unusable and having come this far already, she had no choice but to return to the master bed.
She didn't say anything, which Gabriel took as tacit agreement.
Seeing her compromise, Gabriel finally felt some peace of mind. He pulled back the covers, "It's late. Let's get some sleep."
"Mm."
They climbed onto the bed from opposite sides, both moving carefully and quietly. After lying down, they maintained a considerable distance between them.
"I'm turning off the lights," he said.
"Mm."
With a click, the room plunged into darkness, but Arabella's nerves suddenly went taut.
She deliberately held her breath, subtly adjusting her breathing, slowly relaxing.
Gabriel was also weighing his thoughts, deciding he needed to clear the air about what happened during the day.
Evelyn had told him that women just wanted to see a man's attitude.
After a long while, he finally worked up the nerve. In the quiet darkness, his deep, measured voice broke the silence, "About what happened today, Emily and I..."
He'd barely started when his phone on the nightstand suddenly vibrated, the buzzing sound startling them both.
Who was calling this late?
Gabriel propped himself up, reached for his phone, and squinted at the screen. Dominic.
"Hello, what's wrong?"
On the other end, Dominic sounded urgent, "Did Emily contact you this afternoon?"
Gabriel's expression tightened as he sat up. "We didn't talk this afternoon. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just asking." Dominic clearly didn't want to elaborate and was about to hang up.
But Gabriel quickly caught on and pressed, "Did you two fight? Did she run away from home?"
The three of them were such close friends that they couldn't hide anything from each other.
Dominic had no choice but to tell the truth, "This afternoon, after we had lunch with you guys, I said a few things to her in the car. She got out and walked away on the spot. I thought she'd cool off quickly, figured I'd wait until I finished work tonight to smooth things over, but she still hasn't come home and her phone's turned off."
Gabriel turned on the light, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and slipped on his slippers. "Have you called Mr. Davis?"
"I did. She's not at the Davis Manor either."
After answering, Dominic sighed wearily, "It's late. You should rest. I'll have people look around for her."
"I'll go out and look, too."
"No need." Dominic refused flatly, his tone serious. "Gabriel, think about your position. Show some consideration for Arabella's feelings. Don't go too far."
Gabriel hesitated, then heard the line go dead.
The room was very quiet, and Arabella had heard most of the phone conversation.
She understood what was happening.
It must have been about the shrimp-peeling incident at lunch. Dominic had taken offense and said something to Emily, probably partly to save face.
Then Emily got angry.
Someone with her privileged background, raised like a princess her whole life—how could she stand even the slightest grievance?
Running away from home was probably just her way of making a scene, wanting to see if these two men still cared about her.
Gripping his phone, Gabriel hesitated for a few seconds, then turned to look at the bed.
Arabella wasn't asleep either. She was looking at him steadily, as if waiting for him to speak.
Knowing what the man was struggling with, after a brief silence, she took the initiative, "Go find her. It's so late, and it's dangerous for a young, beautiful woman to be out there alone."
Gabriel's eyelashes fluttered as he stared at her, his brow slightly furrowed.
She was actually encouraging him to go look for Emily.
His inner turmoil immediately eased, the difficulty and conflict disappearing, but soon his conscience stirred, and he explained, "Their marital fight was because of me. I should take responsibility..."
Arabella smiled inwardly, thinking, 'At least you know it's because of you.'
Peeling shrimp for another man's wife right in front of her husband—he was lucky he didn't get punched on the spot.
"No need to explain. Just go." Arabella didn't want to look at him. After speaking, she turned over, her face full of dejection.
Gabriel went to the walk-in closet and quickly dressed.
At the door, as he pulled it open, he turned back to add, "I'll come back as soon as I find her. Get some sleep."
Arabella didn't react, just listened to the door close softly.
Moisture slipped from the corner of her eye, trickling into her other eye. She buried her face deeper, letting the tears silently soak into the pillow.
Pathetic!
What was there to cry about?
He'd always been this way. Tonight wasn't the first time.
Taking a deep breath, she composed herself, closed her eyes, and tried to sleep.
————
Gabriel tried calling Emily as he headed downstairs, but her phone was indeed turned off.
After driving away from the estate, he called Dominic again.
The moment the call connected, Dominic asked, "You came out anyway?"
Gabriel didn't answer, instead demanding, "What's going on with you two? You were away on business for days, and instead of properly spending time with her when you got back, you picked a fight?"
Hearing this, Dominic got annoyed too and said bluntly, "Gabriel, you're so concerned about my wife—did you ask your wife's opinion first? Even if you're lucky enough to have married someone magnanimous, you shouldn't take advantage of her like this."
Gabriel flew into a rage, "Dominic, are you out of your mind? Your wife has run away and is missing, and you still have the energy to be jealous?"
Dominic had been drinking at a business dinner that evening and was in the backseat with his driver at the wheel.
Hearing Gabriel's angry rebuke sobered him up a bit. He irritably loosened his shirt collar and calmed down somewhat, "Really, you don't need to look. I've sent plenty of people out. We'll have news soon. Go home—you've got two babies at home."
"Cut the crap! Finding Emily is what matters!" Gabriel could tell he'd been drinking heavily and couldn't be bothered arguing with him.
After hanging up, Gabriel systematically searched all the places the three of them had frequented since childhood.
He looked from eleven at night until one in the morning. Just as Dominic was about to call the police, Gabriel's phone suddenly rang.
Seeing it was Emily calling, he quickly answered, "Hello, Emily!"
"Hi, I'm not Emily. This lady has had too much to drink. I turned on her phone and saw you'd called many times. Are you Gabriel?" The background was noisy and chaotic, with a young male voice explaining.
Gabriel breathed a sigh of relief and responded repeatedly, "Yes, we're looking for her. Where is she now?"
"Midnight Glow."
After hanging up, Gabriel immediately turned around and headed straight for the bar, calling Dominic at the same time.