Chapter 62 Gabriel's Jealousy
At the hospital, after a thorough examination, the doctor typed notes while giving instructions, "Nothing serious, just some redness in the cornea. I'll prescribe some antibiotic ointment—apply it as directed."
Gabriel had wanted to conspire with the doctor to make his condition sound more severe, but Arabella had stayed by his side the entire time, clearly not trusting him, giving him no opportunity to fake anything.
Hearing the doctor's casual tone, he frowned and asked, "Are you sure it's nothing serious? My eyes hurt so much I can barely keep them open."
Arabella was completely exasperated, muttering, "Drama queen."
The middle-aged female doctor was perceptive, glanced at both of them, understanding the situation, then smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, it's really not serious. Just pay attention to eye hygiene for the next few days, and avoid eye strain. If possible, rest with your eyes closed, and have family members provide extra care."
She directed that last sentence toward Arabella.
After leaving the doctor, Arabella pulled her hand away and walked ahead of him.
Gabriel immediately stopped in his tracks, "You're forgetting what the doctor said—I need to rest with my eyes closed and have family provide extra care."
Arabella turned back to look at him, mercilessly exposing his act, "Mr. Sterling, don't you think this is incredibly childish?"
"You're the one who threw hot water at me. I'm being generous not pursuing charges against you, so how am I the one getting lectured?" Gabriel stood his ground righteously.
Arabella stood there, her expression both defiant and helpless.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She adjusted her mood slightly and took out her phone to check the message.
Unsurprisingly, it was a text from Sophia.
Thinking that Gabriel still hadn't called off his campaign against Zachary, Arabella suppressed her temper and walked back to him, slightly lifting her chin to negotiate, "Fine, if you want me to treat you like an invalid, you need to tell your people to back off immediately and stop targeting Zachary. Their law firm branch just opened and doesn't have much business to begin with. If you keep this up, you'll force them into bankruptcy."
Gabriel was very displeased. Although he now believed in his heart that she and that man were innocent, the thought of her pleading on behalf of some irrelevant man still made him uncomfortable.
Seeing him refuse her request, Arabella grew anxious, asking impatiently, "What exactly will it take for you to let this go? This is between you and me—there's no need to take it out on innocent people."
"Innocent?" Gabriel finally spoke, glancing at her coolly while boldly speculating, "What's a man doing at your ladies' gatherings? Let me analyze this—you want a divorce, you're isolated and helpless, and conveniently, your friend and her husband moved to Luminara, and her husband just happens to be a lawyer. So you grabbed onto this lifeline. I don't believe Zachary hasn't been advising you behind the scenes."
Arabella was at a loss for words.
Seeing her eyes dart away, clearly having hit the mark, Gabriel's smile grew more mocking, "In this city, there probably isn't a single law firm or lawyer who would dare represent you in a divorce case against me—not unless they want to be blacklisted from the industry."
Arabella complained, "You're abusing your power, and you're proud of it."
"I'm not pressuring anyone—they're just being sensible."
Arabella was speechless. Talking to him was absolutely infuriating.
Gabriel smiled contemptuously, "He's an outsider who just arrived and dares to act so arrogantly. I'm just giving him a little lesson, that's all."
Arabella got angry again, "And that's not abusing your power? You've nearly driven his law firm into bankruptcy!"
"That just shows how weak he is. You think consulting with that caliber of lawyer gives you any chance against me?"
Arabella glared at him, staring hatefully for three seconds before turning to leave.
Gabriel called after her, "I'm not opposed to letting him off—it just depends on how you behave these next few days."
Arabella stopped in her tracks, gritting her teeth silently.
This was so infuriating!
He had her backed into a corner again!
She could ignore her own situation, but she couldn't drag Sophia's family down with her. So gritting her teeth and swallowing her anger repeatedly, she turned around once more and walked back to Gabriel's side, taking his arm.
At this moment, she rather regretted that Evelyn's cup of water hadn't been 212 degrees Fahrenheit. That way, it could have permanently blinded him and saved other people from his harassment.
After this drama, Gabriel had no intention of returning to the office.
On the way home, he called his assistant to give instructions. As soon as he hung up, Arabella grabbed his hand and lifted the phone again.
"What are you doing?" he looked at her.
She bit her lip, saying awkwardly, "You need to call right now and tell your people to leave Zachary alone."
Gabriel looked at her, and after a few seconds said jealously, "Why aren't you ever this concerned about me?"
She blurted out, "When I was concerned about you, you found it disgusting and thought I had ulterior motives."
This retort left Gabriel speechless.
Indeed, after their first accidental night together, Arabella's feelings toward him had changed. Later, she had genuinely tried to make their relationship work, seriously playing the role of a wife to nurture their marriage.
But Gabriel had always thought she had hidden agendas, believing she was scheming to become a socialite wife, and he'd made plenty of cutting remarks.
"Call already! My friend is waiting for an update." Seeing him staring at her inexplicably, Arabella urged him again.
Gabriel snapped back to reality and finally called his personal lawyer.
Listening to his instructions on the phone, Arabella realized what enormous pressure Zachary had been under these past few days—he'd nearly been disbarred by the state bar association.
"It's handled. They won't target him anymore," Gabriel said calmly after hanging up.
But the next second, he asked with displeasure, "Why did you sit in the passenger seat when he drove you home that time?"
Arabella instantly understood—so that's how the misunderstanding started?
She quickly explained, "Sophia was in the car that time too, but she had to sit in the back to take care of the baby, so she asked me to sit in front."
Gabriel stared at her silently.
"Really! If you don't believe me, I'll arrange a time to meet with both of them so they can clarify everything to your face!"
"No need."
"No, we have to clarify this face-to-face! I refuse to be accused of having an affair!" Arabella was also getting stubborn about this—this matter had to be cleared up completely.
In front of Gabriel, she didn't call Sophia, just texted her that the situation was handled.
After returning home and seeing Gabriel to his room, she hid in the back garden to call Sophia and apologize.
"Sophia, I'm so sorry. I never imagined he would misunderstand so deeply and deliberately target Zachary." Arabella felt incredibly guilty—this disaster that befell her friend and her husband was entirely her fault.
Sophia had already received the text and spoken with Zachary on the phone.
Knowing Arabella must be feeling terribly guilty, she quickly comforted her, "It's okay, as long as it's cleared up now. Otherwise, we would have gone bankrupt without even knowing why."
"That won't happen. I explained everything to Gabriel, and he called his people right in front of me, saying they won't harass Zachary anymore."
"Good, that's good..."
Hearing the still dejected tone, Arabella sensed something and asked, "Did this incident cause major losses for the firm?"
"Well... Zachary said the main issue is that since we just established the branch here, and we were nearly killed in the cradle right after opening, headquarters is questioning his competence. He's pretty stressed about it right now."
Sophia was telling the truth.
Working professionals all had it tough—bosses didn't care about misunderstandings, they only looked at performance and profits.
Arabella felt guilty again, "I'm so sorry. If I'd known this would happen, I never would have contacted you guys. I feel terrible that you got dragged into this mess."
"Forget it, you didn't mean for this to happen. But through this incident, I discovered something—Mr. Sterling doesn't seem as indifferent toward you as you claimed. He was actually jealous, which means he does care about you. Are you still determined to divorce him?"
Arabella held the phone, looking at the blooming garden before her, not knowing what to think.
Before she could finish the call, Mary came looking for her, "Mrs. Sterling, Mr. Sterling is asking for you. He wants you to apply his eye medication."