Chapter 16 Joanna's Lecture to Arabella
The arrogant man still needed to find himself an excuse and justification.
"What?" Evelyn was shocked, asking back, "You've been married for two years, and you don't know your wife is allergic to pollen?"
The implication was that you're doing a terrible job as a husband!
Hearing this, Gabriel's expression darkened further as he waved her away, "Get out. Don't let anyone bother me unless it's urgent."
Evelyn was speechless.
The office fell quiet, and Gabriel's frustration became even more undisguised.
He hadn't managed to appease the woman at home, and on the other side, he had no idea how things were going between Dominic and Emily.
In the past, he would definitely have called to check in and show concern, but now he didn't dare overstep those boundaries so casually.
He couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong, how they'd ended up in this mess.
Then there were Emily's drunken ramblings from last night, saying he'd fallen for that woman at home just because she'd given him children.
What utter nonsense!
How poor was his judgment supposed to be? He clearly knew that woman's questionable character—why would he fall for her?
He was only continuing this marriage for the sake of two helpless babies.
Once the children were a bit older—maybe eight or nine months, at the latest by their first birthday—he would definitely separate from her without hesitation!
By then, he wouldn't wait for her to cause a scene about divorce; he'd take the initiative to draw clear boundaries himself.
————
Gabriel didn't call, but around 3 PM, Emily called him instead.
Seeing the caller ID, he hesitated for a moment but still couldn't bring himself to refuse.
"Emily, sobered up?"
Emily replied weakly, "I guess so, but I have a headache. It's been pounding all day."
"That's how it is with hangovers. Don't drink anymore in the future." He tried to use a casual tone to advise her.
"I know." Emily answered obediently, paused for two seconds, then asked awkwardly, "Um... last night, Dominic didn't get into a fight with you, did he?"
Hearing the underlying meaning in her words, Gabriel didn't answer but asked back, "Why, what did he tell you?"
"Nothing much, just about what happened yesterday afternoon. Anyway, I think it was pretty normal, but he's a grown man who overthinks everything, imagining all sorts of nonsense, and said some really harsh things. I was afraid that when I was drunk, he might have taken it out on you and lost his temper with you, too."
Gabriel's lips curved into a faint smile. "It's fine. I know his personality. I won't hold it against him."
"Mmm... I knew you were the best. Ever since we were kids, you've always been the one who tolerated us." After Emily said this, her nose began to sting inexplicably.
It seemed like she was only now understanding that the secret to a woman's happiness wasn't finding someone she liked, but finding someone who liked her and would be tolerant and caring toward her.
Unfortunately, she'd realized this a bit too late. Everything was already set in stone.
Hearing her sniffling, Gabriel's expression tightened, "What's wrong? Why are you crying? Did you two have another fight today?"
Emily quickly denied it, "No... this morning, he even prepared breakfast for me. When we ate, he apologized too, saying yesterday he was just too busy and that's why he didn't come find me right away in the afternoon. It wasn't intentional."
Since Dominic was willing to swallow his pride and apologize, she would take the olive branch he offered.
After all, this marriage was her own choice. She had to taste the bitter fruit herself.
"That's good then. It's normal for married couples to argue. Don't take it too seriously." Gabriel comforted her calmly.
"Mmm."
Seeing she had nothing more to say, Gabriel took the initiative, "I'm still busy here. You should continue resting."
"Okay."
The woman responded twice in a row, and Gabriel was about to hang up.
Suddenly, she called out again, "Gabriel."
His heart clenched, "Is there something else?"
Emily asked softly and slowly, "Gabriel... in the future, should I not... casually reach out to you anymore?"
Dominic had told her that morning that the three of them could never go back to how things used to be. He told her to wake up—now that Gabriel was married with children, they should keep their distance.
Just thinking about how all those years of friendship would end like this made her feel reluctant, even somewhat regretful that she'd gotten married so early.
Gabriel felt as if all the strength in his body was instantly drained by her question, the pain leaving him completely dazed.
Had Dominic told her not to contact him anymore?
Was he drawing clear boundaries?
"You..." After hesitating for a long while, he slowly drew a breath and finally managed to gather his strength again. "If you have something important, you can still contact me. Even if it's not convenient for me to handle it personally, I'll arrange for someone else to take care of it."
Emily immediately burst into tears.
"Gabriel... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She didn't know why she was apologizing, but she just couldn't help wanting to say it.
Gabriel clearly understood what this apology meant. His expression trembled slightly, and he steeled himself to hang up first.
————
When Arabella brought the children to the hospital to visit William, she ran into Joanna.
In front of William, Joanna was all kindness and warmth, treating Arabella with the utmost care and doting on Henry and Isabella like precious treasures.
But once William was resting and they left together, the smile instantly vanished from Joanna's face without even a second's delay.
Previously, Arabella had been respectful toward Joanna, even secretly trying to please and curry favor with her.
Back then, she'd wanted to make things work with Gabriel.
But now, knowing she could never warm Gabriel's heart or gain the approval of the proud Joanna, she'd completely lost interest in this marriage and naturally didn't want to keep pandering to Joanna anymore.
Joanna had noticed her change as well. In the elevator, she glanced at her several times before asking coolly, "Did you fight with Gabriel?"
Arabella was startled and turned to look at Joanna, her expression bland, "No..."
"Hmph, your expression is so obvious, and you still say no? Aren't you two in the middle of divorce proceedings?"
Joanna called her out directly, staring at her with undisguised contempt. After a pause, she began lecturing, "Gabriel already works hard enough at his job. When he comes home, he still has to face your unpleasant attitude, and you keep threatening him with divorce. What's left to look forward to in life? Marrying into the Sterling family was the only opportunity for you to move up in society. Instead of cherishing it and being grateful, you're causing trouble for Gabriel!"
Clearly, Joanna didn't believe she would actually go through with the divorce. She thought Arabella was using divorce as leverage because she'd given birth to twins, trying to achieve some ulterior motive.
But Arabella had made up her mind about the divorce and had nothing left to worry about. She immediately shot back without politeness, "When there are problems in a marriage, is it automatically the woman's fault? Why don't you ask what Gabriel did? And I'm serious about wanting a divorce—it's not a threat."
As soon as she finished speaking, the elevator doors opened.
Arabella, accompanied by Mary, with each of them pushing a baby stroller, walked out first.
"Hey, you..." Joanna's eyes widened in disbelief.
An orphan with no family, from the most humble background imaginable, actually dared to talk back to her! Where did she get such audacity!
"Arabella, you stop right there!" Joanna couldn't swallow this humiliation and followed her out, shouting.