Chapter 31 Pregnant
Arabella had to take care of Henry and Isabella, so she left early as well.
However, given today's occasion, all generations of the Sterling family were expected to return to Sterling Manor, so naturally, she had to go along.
She had just finished feeding Henry and Isabella and stepped out of the room when she heard the women in the main hall gossiping, "I heard Emily fainted and Gabriel took her to the hospital."
"Really? What happened? Is she sick?"
"Who knows? We can ask about it later."
"The way Gabriel acts with Emily – doesn't Dominic mind? I feel like he's being played for a fool, and it's the kind everyone knows about."
"I think Dominic doesn't even like Emily. She just pursued him aggressively, and he went along with it. After all, Emily's an only child – everything the Davis family owns will eventually be Dominic's, right?"
"So even if Dominic is being cuckolded, he's not really losing out. Gabriel's wife is the one who should feel wronged."
"Gabriel's wife has nothing to complain about either. Going from an orphan to a distinguished member of high society—where's the loss in that? Didn't William even leave her some inheritance?"
"True! That money is more than ordinary people could earn in several lifetimes. She's incredibly lucky."
Hearing this, Arabella's expression was indescribable, and she stopped mid-step as she was about to leave.
Earlier at the hospital, she could stand up to Helen and Lydia because they were slandering Gabriel.
But today, these relatives were speaking the truth.
She didn't dare to rush out and argue, nor could she win against so many voices.
Just as she turned back toward the room, a servant passed by and bowed respectfully, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Sterling."
This greeting startled the people sitting in the main hall. All eyes turned toward her, each wearing different expressions of awkwardness and tension.
Arabella forced herself to walk away, though inwardly she felt grateful that she hadn't accepted William's inheritance – at least it allowed her to maintain some surface dignity.
The people in the living room fell quiet for a while. Seeing that Arabella wasn't coming over to confront them, they finally relaxed.
Though they looked down on Arabella in their hearts, she was still Gabriel's wife.
And since Gabriel now ran the Sterling family, the others didn't dare offend Arabella out of respect for Gabriel's position; at least they had to maintain a veneer of courtesy on the surface.
————
At the hospital.
When Emily was brought to the emergency room, she had already regained consciousness.
But since they were already there, they naturally still needed to run some tests.
Gabriel called Dominic from the corridor. "Emily fainted. I just brought her to the hospital."
"Emily fainted?" Dominic was shocked. Though the couple had been fighting, he was still deeply concerned. "What's wrong with her? What did the doctor say?"
"The doctor is still examining her. Are you finished with work? If so, hurry over."
Gabriel figured Emily's fainting was probably related to her depression from fighting with Dominic. He thought that if Dominic came to comfort her, her mood would improve and so would her health.
Dominic was indeed nearly done with work. After hanging up, he headed over.
Gabriel put away his phone and went to find Emily.
She lay on the emergency room bed. Her complexion looked better than when she'd fainted, but her eyes were still listless.
When their eyes met, Gabriel hesitated before walking over. "How are you feeling?"
Emily shook her head weakly. "Still feeling chest tightness and weakness."
"Have you been eating properly these past few days while fighting with Dominic?"
Emily said flatly, "I haven't had much appetite."
So it seemed she was probably hungry—low blood sugar. No wonder she fainted.
"Gabriel, I feel like Dominic doesn't love me anymore." Emily suddenly said this, her eyes reddening as tears threatened again.
Gabriel frowned. For some reason, hearing this made him feel irritated, but he still tried to comfort her, "That's not true. Don't overthink it. He's been busy with work lately. Things will get better soon."
"No, it's not that. No matter how busy he was before, he never ignored me after a fight. This time I've been staying at home for days, and he hasn't even checked on me."
Gabriel couldn't comment.
Men and women thought differently.
Men were different before and after marriage, too.
Women wanted men to constantly cherish and coddle them for decades without change, but men simply couldn't do that.
If she didn't let go of these unrealistic expectations, their conflicts and arguments would only increase, creating a vicious cycle.
"When Dominic finishes this busy period, you two should have a good talk. Marriage requires work and mutual understanding. You should mature a bit, too."
Hearing the last sentence, Emily's eyes clearly showed hurt. "Gabriel, do you also think I'm not mature or understanding enough?"
Gabriel was at a loss for words.
"You men are ridiculous. All these years, you've been protecting me, saying I have you all and don't need to handle things independently. Now you think I'm immature and childish." Emily was deeply hurt and turned her head away, not even wanting to deal with Gabriel anymore.
She understood now—it wasn't that she was immature or childish, but that these two men no longer wanted to cherish and protect her.
Just like when a man fell out of love, everything adorable about you became a flaw or something annoying.
"Just go. I'm fine. I'll go home by myself later." Emily was angry and spoke coldly.
Gabriel knew his words had been too harsh, but he couldn't easily apologize right away. He could only say, "I'll wait until Dominic gets here before leaving. It's past noon—are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"
"I'm not hungry. I don't want anything." Emily closed her eyes, even more petulant.
Gabriel was at a loss with her. Just as he was about to turn and wait outside, the doctor approached with test results, "Miss Davis, you're pregnant. The dizziness, chest tightness, and shortness of breath might all be related to pregnancy. I suggest you transfer to the obstetrics department for a detailed examination."
Gabriel took the test results and looked at the numbers – they weren't unfamiliar to him.
He'd seen them before when Arabella was pregnant.
She really was pregnant.
After the initial shock, Emily's face lit up with joy. She wasn't angry anymore and sat up, reaching out, "Gabriel, let me see! Am I really pregnant?"
She'd been longing to get pregnant, wanting to have a child as the fruit of their love, but Dominic had always refused.
She never expected such a wonderful surprise to come so suddenly!
Gabriel walked over and handed her the test results. "Yes, you're pregnant."
Emily grabbed the paper, staring at it with wide eyes, excitedly murmuring, "I'm pregnant... haha, I'm going to be a mother! I finally have a baby!"
Seeing the handsome man and beautiful woman, the doctor found them quite pleasing to the eye and couldn't help but congratulate them enviously, "Congratulations, you two. For safety's sake, you should take your wife to obstetrics for an examination as soon as possible."
Both felt embarrassed and said in unison,
"I'm not his wife."
"I'm not her husband."
Now it was the doctor's turn to feel awkward. He chuckled and turned away to attend to other matters.
Gabriel glanced at Emily, feeling indescribable emotions stirring within him. After a pause, he said, "I'll go find a wheelchair and take you to obstetrics for an examination."
He quickly returned with a wheelchair, carefully helping Emily down from the bed and into the chair.
At the obstetrics department, the examination wasn't finished yet when Dominic arrived.