Chapter 192 Can This Be Discussed?
Lately, Alexander had been taking care of Arabella so thoroughly that she was eating and sleeping well. Whether he'd spoken to management at the company, she wasn't sure, but most of her work had been redistributed.
As the year-end crunch approached, everyone was swamped—except her, who suddenly had nothing to do. Feeling guilty, Arabella offered to split her monthly bonus with her teammates.
Gillian refused. "Are you kidding? This workload barely registers for me. I'm a career powerhouse, remember?"
She was gunning for a transfer to headquarters after the new year. Many of Arabella's assignments were particularly valuable—completing them well would seriously boost her résumé. She was thrilled to get these opportunities. Why would she take Arabella's bonus on top of that?
Faye looked conflicted though. "Arabella, I... normally I wouldn't take it either, but I'm kind of short on cash right now..."
Not wanting Faye to feel bad, Arabella quickly said, "You earned it. Please don't feel weird about it. I'll transfer it to you when we get paid next month. The work you're taking on isn't easy—thank you."
Faye nodded silently.
Gillian was curious. "What's going on? Are you dealing with something?"
Faye's family wasn't wealthy, but they were comfortably middle-class in Majestic City. Faye made nearly twenty thousand dollars a month—decent money. She shouldn't be this strapped for cash.
Faye sighed, looking distressed. "It's my boyfriend. His grandfather got sick—cancer. Luckily they caught it early, so it's still treatable..."
Gillian's eyes went wide. "Wait, so you've been giving him all your money for his grandfather's treatment?"
Faye looked down, her voice uncertain. "He said we're family. And I guess we are—we're planning to get married. His grandfather is my grandfather too. It's only right that I help out. Plus, his grandparents raised him. He's really close to his grandfather. I couldn't stand to see him heartbroken and desperate over money..."
Gillian and Arabella exchanged glances, both feeling uneasy.
Faye wasn't stingy by nature. On the contrary, she was kind and loyal, and having been sheltered by her parents growing up, she had zero sense of caution around people.
If her boyfriend were trustworthy, Arabella and Gillian wouldn't be so worried. But from what they'd heard Faye say about him, he seemed like the type looking for a meal ticket.
Arabella hesitated before asking, "How much have you given him total?"
Faye kept her head down, her voice small. "About four hundred thousand, I think."
Gillian's eyes nearly popped out. "Four hundred thousand? Did you give him all your savings?"
Faye had mentioned before that she had over three hundred thousand saved up.
Faye nodded. "He said what's mine is ours. And he's right—when two people are together, aren't you supposed to get through hard times together? You know my parents don't approve of us being together. I didn't dare tell them the truth, so I said I wanted to buy a car and asked them for a hundred thousand. I've also been giving him my paychecks these past few months for the medical bills."
Gillian's expression was hard to read. "You lied to your parents about buying a car, but you didn't actually buy one. What are you going to say when they ask?"
Faye sighed. "I don't live at home anymore anyway. When I visit, I'll just rent one. It's not cheap, but it's nothing compared to actually buying a car."
Gillian looked at her helplessly. "I don't even know what to say to you."
After a pause, something occurred to her. "Doesn't his grandfather have insurance? That money is just a deposit—you should get at least half back later. Don't forget about that."
Faye's voice was glum. "His grandfather doesn't have insurance."
She'd only learned this recently. Without insurance, medical bills were a bottomless pit.
Arabella opened her mouth. She knew she shouldn't meddle. Even though they got along well, overstepping boundaries in the workplace was extremely rude.
But seeing the exhausted yet happy smile on Faye's face, she couldn't help herself. "I think you should at least have your boyfriend write you an IOU. You're not married yet—you're not even engaged. With this much money involved, you need some kind of protection."
Gillian nodded in agreement.
Honestly, any man with self-respect would offer to write an IOU without being asked, right?
Being married was different from being unmarried. Faye's boyfriend's behavior was basically getting something for nothing.
Faye's face showed naive trust. "It's fine. I trust him."
Gillian and Arabella knew better than to push further.
But both were worried about Faye. This boyfriend already seemed like a bad match, and now her sunk costs kept mounting. They were afraid she'd end up getting hurt.
That afternoon, Faye came to Arabella looking pale. "Arabella, I'm not feeling well. I need to go to the hospital."
Arabella asked quickly, "What's wrong? Where don't you feel well? Do you need me to come with you?"
Faye shook her head. "Just nauseous. I feel like throwing up. My boyfriend's coming to pick me up. I just need the afternoon off."
Arabella nodded and approved the leave request. Faye took it to the department head to file.
Arabella had a bad feeling about Faye's condition, but since her boyfriend was with her, it should be fine.
Unexpectedly, that evening Faye called sounding extremely happy. "Arabella, I need to take three more days off. Turns out I'm pregnant. My boyfriend's worried the pregnancy might be unstable, so he wants me to rest for a few days."
Listening to Faye say 'my boyfriend' over and over, Arabella's brow furrowed involuntarily. After a pause she said, "Congratulations. Pregnancy is wonderful news. What did the doctor say?"
"The doctor said the embryo looks great. It's already eight weeks along—there's even a heartbeat," Faye sounded excited.
"Then you two should probably start planning the wedding," Arabella said.
Faye replied happily, "Yeah! We're planning to bring my boyfriend to meet my parents tomorrow."
"Well, I hope everything goes smoothly." Arabella smiled.
After hanging up, she sighed softly.
She had a bad feeling about Faye's situation.
But the couple seemed happy together, one willing to give and the other to take. As an outsider, what could she really say?
All she could do was keep an eye out and offer a warning if she noticed anything wrong.
Gillian had overheard the call. After Arabella hung up, she leaned over with raised eyebrows. "She's really pregnant? That takes guts. No house, no car, drowning in debt, and a cancer patient to support. Talk about starting on hard mode."
Arabella smiled helplessly. "Maybe she thinks it's worth it."
Gillian shrugged, equally at a loss. "Let's hope her mom can talk some sense into her."
Arabella unconsciously touched her own stomach. Gillian noticed and smiled. "What, worried you'll end up like her? I don't think so. You walked away from someone like Mr. Watson—whoever you pick will be solid."
Arabella smiled without responding.
Near the end of the workday, Alexander called. "Blake's birthday is tonight. Want to come with me?"
Arabella was taken aback. "Huh?"
Alexander's voice was gentle. "We can still part on good terms, right? I haven't officially introduced you to my friends yet. Come meet them—at least we can be friends."
When Arabella didn't respond, Alexander laughed helplessly. "Okay, I'll be honest. Blake and Frank both brought dates. I'd feel kind of pathetic showing up alone. Could you please help save face for me? Otherwise it'll be so awkward."
When put like that, Arabella could only agree.
After work, Alexander picked her up at the office entrance. When Arabella got in the car, he handed her a small bouquet. "I happened to pass a flower shop on the way. Thought I'd get you some to thank you for doing me this favor tonight."
Arabella looked down at the delicate arrangement—three sunflowers accented with roses. Very pretty and refined.
No one could resist beautiful things. Arabella smiled. "Thank you."
Alexander didn't say anything, just let his lips curve slightly. Then he handed her a bag. "Coconut water and a sandwich. Eat something now. Once we get to the club, who knows what chaos they'll cause. You might not get a chance to eat properly."
Arabella held the bag, sighing inwardly.
Here it was again. This meticulous care and attention, again.
He really was trying to wear down her defenses with this approach, wasn't he?
Damn it, and it was working...
Arabella didn't say anything. She was genuinely hungry. Maybe it was the pregnancy, but her appetite had been unusually good these past couple days. She'd only had morning sickness that one time. Since then, everything tasted delicious.
When she'd weighed herself tonight, she was already pushing one-thirty.
She opened the bag and bit into the sandwich. Wherever he got these, they were always incredible—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, the vegetables were sweet and crunchy, the meat and ham juicy and flavorful.
After finishing one sandwich and half a bottle of coconut water, she finally felt satisfied.
The car stopped outside a club. A valet took the keys to park while Alexander led Arabella inside, holding her hand.
The private room door was open. When Arabella entered, she saw Blake and Frank had indeed brought female companions. There were also two men she hadn't met before. Alexander introduced them one by one. "This is another college friend of mine. That one over there is a business partner I met abroad—we co-founded a game company together. He's a really stand-up guy."
Arabella greeted them all politely.
The two men regarded Arabella with curiosity. Alex's girlfriend! They'd heard he'd even married her.
But they didn't dare be too obvious about it. A few extra glances at most.
Alexander's gaze, however, fell on the woman beside Frank.
She wore a light blue suit dress, her black hair flowing down her back. She looked somewhat uncomfortable and stood up nervously. "Alex."
Alexander said nothing. Frank quickly stood, taking her hand. "Don't be nervous. Alex isn't targeting you."
He looked at Alexander with mild disapproval. "Alex, you're scaring Tiffany."
Alexander withdrew his gaze and said simply, "Sorry."
Then he led Arabella to sit on Blake's other side.
The girl next to Blake looked at Arabella curiously.
She wore a pink dress that showed off her stunning figure, her chestnut curls cascading down. Her features were both delicate and alluring. When she saw Arabella looking, she even winked.
Arabella's first thought was, 'This girl is gorgeous.'
Her second thought, 'Now this is what real feminine charm looks like. Look at the girlfriend Blake found.'
She glanced at the man beside her—the one allegedly involved in 'rumors' with Blake—and couldn't help thinking that compared to Blake's stunning date, Alexander picking her showed pretty questionable taste.
What she didn't notice was Alexander shooting a warning look at both Blake and the girl beside him.
Blake immediately shrank back. The girl lowered her head, not daring to look at anyone.
Fortunately, Alexander didn't seem inclined to settle accounts with them on the spot.
Crisis averted, Blake glared at the girl next to him. "Why did you insist on coming here? Alex already banned you from these events. You got me in so much trouble today! What was I thinking, agreeing to this?"
Flora rolled her eyes at him. "What are you afraid of? I told you, Alex is nice to me. See? He didn't immediately kick me out. Besides, I was curious. His wife is pregnant and I haven't even talked to her properly. How am I supposed to win if I don't even know what my competition looks like?"
Blake's face went white with fear. "Competition? You still think you're competition? Still talking about winning? Are you insane? If Alex had those kinds of feelings for you, would he have made you wait over a decade? No chance means no chance. Accept reality already. And I'm warning you—Arabella is Alex's soulmate. If you touch her, he'll kill you."
Flora hid the dejection in her eyes, putting on a carefree front. "Relax, I'm not going to do anything. I'm just curious—wanted to see her. Maybe once I do, I'll finally let go."
Blake didn't believe a word of it, but he was already stuck on this ship. There was nothing he could do but to ride it out.
Arabella held the hot fruit juice Alexander had ordered for her, sipping it occasionally. After settling her in, Alexander excused himself, then pulled Frank aside to talk business.
The juice was a bit tart, but she liked it. Suddenly someone sat down next to her. Arabella glanced over, surprised to find it was Blake's date.
"Hi, I'm Flora." Flora smiled and extended her hand.
Arabella quickly shook it. "I'm Arabella. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Though Flora looked sultry, her mannerisms weren't flirtatious at all. She looked at Arabella and blinked, deliberately leaning in to whisper, "Do you know why Alex dragged Frank outside?"
Arabella was first confused, then shook her head.
Flora smiled. "I knew you wouldn't know. It's a secret in our circle. That woman over there sitting with them? That's Frank's sister-in-law. His first love. Frank's cousin died six months ago. You get it?"
Arabella's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Was this the kind of gossip they could just... discuss?