Chapter 192
Chapter 192
"Is there any chance you could crash at Gabriel's place instead?"
I asked hesitantly.
I wanted to help him, but a single man and woman living together didn't seem appropriate.
"Ember, when did your memory get so bad?" Nason looked at me like I was an idiot.
"I literally just got into a fistfight with him. You think he's going to take me in?"
That made sense, I guess.
"But you guys are such good friends. Does he really hold grudges?" I asked.
"Based on what you know about him, do you think he doesn't?"
Nason had a point. I was at a loss for words. Gabriel could be pretty petty. If Nason showed up at his door with luggage right now, he'd probably get thrown out, suitcase and all.
But still. If Gabriel found out I'd taken Nason in, I probably wouldn't hear the end of it either.
I insisted, "What about staying at a hotel?"
"Ember, are you really that heartless?" Nason looked at me, amused and exasperated.
I nodded. "I just don't want to invite trouble."
"Fine." Seeing I wasn't budging, Nason didn't push it. He just said he was hungry and asked if he could at least stay for dinner.
Of course I couldn't refuse that. Back home, Nason had helped me out plenty.
I walked over and opened the fridge to see what ingredients I had left.
"Let me do it."
Nason beat me to it and pulled out the vegetables.
Looking at his slightly flushed face, I frowned. "Are you feeling okay?"
I reached up to check his forehead for a fever.
The moment my hand touched his forehead, he grabbed my wrist.
"Ember, are you afraid of making him angry? Is that why you won't let me stay?"
"You two are already divorced. Why do you still care about his feelings?"
I let out a quiet sigh. Maybe Gabriel's friends only knew one side of him.
I really didn't want to invite trouble.
"Ember, you're divorced. Why can't you start a new life?"
Nason looked at me seriously.
I was confused. What did he mean by "new life"?
The next second, I heard him say slowly, "Like trying to accept me."
My heart started pounding hard.
Damn it. The doctor said I wasn't supposed to get emotionally worked up.
"I'm going to assume you have a fever and you're delirious. And I didn't hear a single word you just said."
I reached for the keys on the shoe cabinet. "Stay here. I'm going out to buy you medicine."
---
Just my luck—I ran into Gabriel at the pharmacy.
He frowned when he saw me holding cold medicine. "Are you sick?"
I shook my head instinctively. "No, I'm not."
Gabriel's expression turned cold. "So who are you buying medicine for?"
I felt guilty and avoided his eyes. Without answering, I turned and practically ran away.
When I got home, Nason had already finished cooking.
I shoved the medicine into his hand. "Take this now, before you end up with a fever in the middle of the night with no one to take care of you."
Nason was obedient. Like a well-behaved younger brother, he carefully opened the medicine and took it.
I went to the kitchen to get rice.
During dinner, I chatted with Nason casually and mentioned running into Gabriel at the pharmacy.
"So you need to leave right after dinner."
I don't know why, but I had this uneasy feeling that Gabriel might show up to check on me.
"Ember, am I some kind of shameful secret?"
"So what if Gabriel shows up?"
Nason looked at me like I was being ridiculous.
"If he comes, perfect—he can drop me off at a hotel. If he doesn't come, I'm sure you won't have the heart to leave a sick person alone at a hotel anyway."
Shameless guilt-tripping.
I took small sips of water, trying to ease the awkwardness.
But Nason didn't seem to notice my discomfort. He'd even started talking about what color sheets to put on the guest bed.
I grabbed at my hair in frustration, then turned and went back to my room. I couldn't deal with this lunatic anymore.
---
The next morning, I got ready for work as usual.
When I passed by Nason's room, I noticed the bed was neatly made, but he was gone.
He probably felt it wasn't appropriate and left early.
Relieved, I figured he'd contact me once he got settled somewhere.
I drove to the office.
At the company entrance, I ran into Azure again. Of course.
I frowned slightly. Azure saw me at the same moment.
"What are you doing here?" If I remembered correctly, she shouldn't be at the office anymore.
Still that meek, timid act.
"Ember, the company hasn't approved my resignation yet."
As she spoke, I couldn't help detecting a hint of smugness in her tone.
It was just a part-time position. There shouldn't be complicated procedures. She was clearly just trying to annoy me.
Once I got to the office, I went straight to HR and had them approve Azure's resignation.
I saw Azure staring at her phone, her expression sour. Probably because she'd just gotten the approval notification.
I felt a little satisfied. "Your resignation's approved. You can go now."
"Ember!" Azure looked at me with tears in her eyes.
I was about to say something when my stomach suddenly churned.
Without thinking, I rushed to the bathroom.
Since I hadn't eaten breakfast, all I managed to throw up after dry heaving was a bit of stomach acid.
When I came out, Azure happened to be in the bathroom too, looking at me strangely.
I panicked a little.
Had Azure figured out I was pregnant?
But if I asked her directly about it, wouldn't that be like confessing?
I decided to ignore her and left without a word.
---
That evening after work, I got a call from my mom.
She was not happy.
"That annoying woman just won't go away." My mom sounded furious on the other end.
"Your sources are pretty good for someone back home. Did you plant spies near me or something?" I asked, a bit helpless.
My mom snorted. "You're too carefree. Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"
"She's just a two-faced snake. Is she really worth getting worked up over?"
I thought my mom was making too big a deal of it.
"Just a two-faced snake?" My mom's voice went up several octaves.
"That 'snake' pushed you into divorcing Gabriel!"
Then she asked, "Gabriel's there too?"
I mumbled an acknowledgment. My mom was livid, saying she was going to call Gabriel and give him a piece of her mind.