Chapter 294 Have I Harassed You?

Chapter 294 Have I Harassed You?

But Arabella was genuinely panicking now.

Her laptop sat nearby, chiming with Facebook notifications. She worried it might be Ella with a solution, making her even more anxious.

"Gabriel, stop it! I'm getting angry!"

"Just cooperate a little, and I'll let you go sooner..." The man murmured against her lips, kissing her obsessively, his words growing more suggestive.

Arabella stared at his handsome features up close. After hesitating for a second, just as she was about to bite him, Gabriel's phone suddenly rang.

A reprieve at last.

Arabella breathed a sigh of relief. "Your phone—answer it!"

His good mood disrupted, Gabriel pulled out his phone from his suit pants pocket. He was ready to snap at whoever was calling, but paused when he saw it was Dominic.

He suddenly remembered his lunch plans with his friend.

Damn, completely forgot!

"Hello..."

Dominic had already arrived at the restaurant and waited for quite a while. Growing impatient, he finally made this call. "We agreed on lunch together. Where are you?"

The woman in Gabriel's arms struggled, trying to jump down and escape his embrace, but Gabriel's arm held her waist firmly, not letting her move an inch.

"Sorry, too much going on. Slipped my mind." Gabriel warned the woman in his arms with his eyes, then lied smoothly to his old friend without missing a beat.

"Forgot?" Dominic was irritated. Just as he was about to scold him, Gabriel's side suddenly burst out with, "Stay still, stop squirming!"

Well, that did it. Dominic understood immediately, his face turning sour. "What are you doing? Don't tell me you're still with Arabella?"

Gabriel didn't respond.

"You two are in the middle of...?"

Arabella was close enough to hear this clearly. Her face flushed crimson with embarrassment. Feeling utterly humiliated, she shoved him away forcefully without another word, jumped off the dining table, and put distance between them.

Gabriel was caught off guard, watching her slip away. Though his expression darkened, he didn't chase her. "No. Why did you insist on lunch today anyway?"

Hearing his obviously frustrated tone, Dominic inexplicably laughed. "Originally had something to tell you, but never mind now. You two carry on. We'll reschedule lunch."

"You're ridiculous!" Gabriel snapped irritably and hung up.

Actually, Dominic had planned to tell him that Emily was returning to the country—her grandmother's health had taken a turn for the worse, and time seemed short. As the granddaughter, Emily felt obligated to come back and spend time with her.

But seeing how passionately involved Gabriel was with his ex-wife, Dominic figured his concern was unnecessary.

With their relationship this intense, they probably wouldn't be affected by outsiders. No need for a special heads-up.

After hanging up, Gabriel looked toward Arabella. Before he could speak, she turned and walked to the door, pulling it open directly.

The dismissal couldn't be clearer.

Gabriel smiled helplessly, ran one hand wickedly across his lips, and walked toward the door with a roguish grin.

However, he definitely wouldn't leave that easily.

Stopping in front of her, Gabriel's smile remained, his eyes fixed on her lips—swollen and glistening from his kisses.

Leaning down, he captured her mouth again without warning. "If you can't handle it, call me. Don't be stubborn. Your safety is what matters most, understand?"

Before he finished speaking, a figure appeared outside the door.

Arabella's peripheral vision caught it. Her body instinctively retreated, but she was already standing against the wall, back against the door. The retreat made her bump her head against it, the security door making a loud noise.

"Manuel, what are you doing here?" Arabella looked at the man outside, stammering.

Gabriel frowned. Hearing that impact, his large palm instinctively rose to cradle the back of her head, affectionately yet helplessly saying, "Why so clumsy? Trying to practice iron head skills?"

He seemed completely oblivious to the person standing outside the door.

Manuel, who had just arrived, stared at the scene in disbelief, his tone tight and strained. "Gabriel, why are you here?"

Arabella pushed away his hand, wanting to create distance, but Gabriel not only refused to avoid suspicion—he directly pulled her into his arms, looking at Manuel. "I'm checking on the mother of my children. Does that bother you?"

He hadn't expected his rival to show up at her door in broad daylight too.

Evening visits, daytime visits—how thick-skinned could one man be? Rejected so many times, yet still persistent!

Manuel stared intently at Gabriel's hand around Arabella's waist, then chose to ignore the rival's question, looking directly at Arabella with concern. "Arabella, did you see what's online? Mrs. Yang saw your video and recognized you. She's looking for you—seems very anxious, very eager to meet and acknowledge you."

Arabella opened her mouth, but before she could make a sound, Gabriel answered for her. "We already know. Arabella doesn't plan to acknowledge Mrs. Yang—what, Mr. Wright, are you here as a mediator?"

Manuel shot Gabriel a cold look, continuing to restrain himself, looking at Arabella. "Arabella, I'm not here as a mediator. Whatever decision you make, I support you. I just saw a lot of heated comments online. I'm worried your information might be leaked and you'll be harassed by keyboard warriors. Your phone was unreachable, you weren't responding on Facebook—I was concerned, so I came to check on you."

Gabriel patiently listened to him finish, and before Arabella could respond, tightened his arm, holding her closer. "Mr. Wright, how very thoughtful of you, still thinking about Arabella despite your busy schedule. But as you can see, I'm taking care of Arabella. Mr. Zhou can rest assured."

Manuel clenched his jaw tightly, his disgust for Gabriel reaching its peak.

Seeing Manuel's reaction, Arabella feared he might throw a punch any second. She quickly said politely, "Manuel, I'm fine, don't worry. Worst case scenario, she finds me. I know how to handle it."

Manuel didn't mind Gabriel's presence, asking with concern, "Will you... acknowledge your mother?"

Arabella paused briefly, then shook her head. "No."

Manuel smiled gently. "Alright, then I'll handle this matter for you."

Gabriel immediately sensed something off, his cold expression showing suspicion. "What do you mean by that? Sounds like you've already made contact with her."

Reminded by this comment, Arabella also looked at Manuel with questioning eyes.

Manuel panicked internally for a moment, but his expression remained well-masked. "Mr. Sterling, you don't need to slander me just to suppress me. I want Arabella happy and content more than anyone. Unlike certain people who hold leverage over her, harassing her with domineering force."

"Harassing?" Gabriel smiled, turning to look at the woman in his arms, asking softly, "Am I harassing you?"

Arabella had no patience now—she didn't want to deal with either of them. Taking the opportunity, she pushed Gabriel out the door. "I still have work to handle. Both of you go. No need to worry about me."

Gabriel hadn't expected her to embarrass him so publicly in front of his rival, his expression darkening.

Manuel, however, suddenly felt satisfied, his face breaking into a smile. "Mr. Sterling, shall we?"

The security door had already closed in front of them. They had no choice but to leave.

Gabriel immediately adjusted his expression, his lips curving in an ambiguous smile, and turned toward the elevator.