Chapter 208 Karl's Nature
The two of them settled into the back seat, and Gillian immediately leaned in, whispering "Okay, spill—where did you find this man? Is he like, trust fund royalty or something?"
Arabella thought for a moment before whispering back, "More like old money. Generations of it. He's the family heir." She paused. "But... we're about to get divorced."
Gillian's eyes popped. "Hold up, what? You're drowning this guy? Arabella, you got a cold heart, girl!"
"It's complicated," Arabella said quickly. "I'll explain everything later."
Gillian shot her a look, barely suppressing the urge to shake her. "Girl, you better have a damn good reason, or I swear I'll knock some sense into you."
She could understand Arabella walking away from Anthony. Those elite families were drama central—messy as hell, not worth the headache. But this gorgeous specimen sitting right in front of them? A man this hot? Who cared about drama—just grab him and never let go.
Throughout the ride, Gillian kept sneaking glances at Alexander's godly features, swooning like a lovesick teenager. The more she looked, the more her own husband paled in comparison. All she could do was sigh with deep regret.
They arrived at the restaurant quickly. Gillian's husband was already there—a refined, gentle-looking man. "Just call him Oliver," Gillian said. "He's an engineer at a design firm. Not the most outgoing guy, so bear with him."
Oliver smiled warmly at Arabella, then shook hands with Alexander.
"Alexander," he introduced himself smoothly.
Oliver wasn't much of a talker, but his smile was genuine enough.
The four of them headed inside and had just settled in when Faye called, sounding apologetic. "Gill, Arabella, are you guys there already? I might be a little late. Karl hasn't picked me up yet."
"No worries," Gillian replied. "Take your time—we'll wait."
"I'm really sorry about this," Faye said guiltily. "Let me push him again."
After hanging up, Gillian's expression soured. She pulled out her phone and messaged Arabella on WhatsApp: [Think Karl's off with another woman? Faye's pregnant and waiting on him—this pisses me off.]
Arabella sent back a helpless emoji. What could she even say?
As the head of the FitzRoy family, Alexander had impeccable social skills and worldly experience. Seeing Oliver as Arabella's friend, he treated him as his own. When Alexander set out to be charming, it was effortless—Oliver didn't stand a chance. The two were soon deep in conversation.
More than half an hour dragged by before Faye finally arrived with Karl in tow. The moment she walked in, Faye launched into apologies. "I'm so sorry—we hit some traffic. Didn't mean to keep you all waiting."
Karl stood beside her silently, not saying a word. He let Faye grovel while he surveyed the group with barely concealed disdain.
Arabella glanced at Gillian and gave a slight nod. Faye's boyfriend was definitely the same guy who'd been with Rachel.
Gillian's expression darkened immediately. She deliberately addressed Karl, voice dripping with sarcasm. "So you're Faye's boyfriend? Could've fooled me—thought she was yours with how she's apologizing for you. You're really okay with that?"
Karl's eyes flashed with irritation. "Who is this?" he asked Faye. "Are these the kind of friends you have? She's not exactly friendly. Faye, maybe I should just leave."
Faye quickly grabbed his arm. "Karl, don't misunderstand—Gill didn't mean it like that. She's just joking. Don't be upset."
She looked at Gillian pleadingly. "Right, Gill?"
Faye knew Gill wasn't normally like this. She had no idea why Gillian was giving Karl attitude, but everyone had gathered with such difficulty. If things fell apart now, it would be too awkward.
For Faye's sake, Gillian reluctantly nodded.
Faye practically had to drag Karl to get him seated.
Karl surveyed the restaurant's interior and remarked, "This place isn't great. I know this upscale French restaurant—ambiance and service are top-notch. Should've gone there instead."
Gillian held back, then couldn't resist. "How about you treat us, then? We can head over there."
Karl's face froze, looking like he'd swallowed a bug. After a long pause, he muttered, "We're already seated. Why switch now? Maybe next time."
Faye tugged at his arm, signaling him to stop talking. Their financial situation was tight right now—even this restaurant was stretching their budget, and he was talking about French cuisine?
Karl shook off her hand irritably. "Why do you keep grabbing me?"
He turned his attention to Alexander and Oliver. "What do you two do?"
Oliver, being straightforward, answered honestly. "I work at a design firm. I draft blueprints."
Karl's lip curled dismissively. "So you just draw pictures."
Though he didn't make it too obvious, his expression dripped with contempt.
Gillian's fists clenched. This guy? And Faye was head over heels? What did she even see in him? Even without the cheating, this was a terrible deal.
Karl turned to Alexander, asking bluntly, "And you?"
Alexander's expression remained cool and detached. Instead of answering, he countered, "What do you do?"
Karl's face stiffened. He went silent.
Seeing this, Faye quickly jumped in. "Karl used to work in HR. His company downsized recently and he... got laid off. He's job hunting right now."
Alexander smiled faintly. "Oh, unemployed. From the attitude, I thought you were some big shot CEO."
"Not at all," Faye said with an apologetic laugh. "He's just been stressed lately. Don't take it personally."
Karl shot her an annoyed glare. "Did I ask you to speak for me?"
Arabella realized if this continued, they might as well forget about eating. After all, this was everyone's first time meeting, and in front of Faye, making things too ugly wouldn't be good.
She tugged on Alexander's sleeve, whispering, "I know you're not used to being disrespected like this, but can you just... bear with it?"
Catching sight of her cautious expression as she leaned close, Alexander couldn't help the smile tugging at his lips. Maintaining his composure, he hummed in agreement.
Faye laughed awkwardly. "Let's not talk about this. It's so rare we all get together."
She shot Karl a meaningful look, but he scoffed and turned away, not even glancing at her.
Gillian's patience was wearing thin. "Faye, you only took three days off initially. After your leave expired, Arabella extended it twice for you, but we really can't extend it anymore. Why don't you come to the office tomorrow and apply for maternity leave?"
Their company had excellent benefits and wouldn't mistreat pregnant employees.
At this, Faye instinctively glanced at Karl.
Karl cleared his throat. "Faye's pregnant. I think she should rest properly. Your company works you pretty hard anyway. Whether she keeps the job or not—" He shrugged. "It's not that big a deal."
Gillian looked directly at Faye. "Is that what you think too?"
Faye smiled apologetically. "Karl's just looking out for me."
Gillian took a deep breath and said nothing more.
The atmosphere at dinner was painfully awkward. Oliver sensed the underlying tension and kept his head down, focusing on his food. Alexander, meanwhile, took care of Arabella throughout—attentive to the point of testing her water to make sure it wasn't too hot.
Gillian gave Faye a pointed look. "If you're gonna get married, marry someone like Mr. FitzRoy here—someone who won't let you suffer. Marriage and pregnancy are huge deals for women. You've got to keep your eyes open."
Faye, thinking Gillian was just making conversation, smiled. "Yeah, we all found great husbands. We're so lucky."
Gillian's mouth twitched. She was completely speechless.
Karl ate quickly, and as soon as he finished, he started pressuring Faye without caring whether she'd finished. "Let's go. I'm supposed to meet up with friends to game."
His words made Faye flush with embarrassment. She said quietly, "My colleagues aren't done eating yet."
Karl frowned impatiently. "But I'm already done. Didn't I say I have plans?" His voice rose. "You expect me to sit here and watch them eat? Do they even deserve it?"
Faye was fuming but held back for Karl's sake, saying nothing.
Gillian's expression turned ice cold. "We don't have the honor of keeping Mr. Carrow here. Faye, if you're done eating, you two can head out first."
Faye stood up flustered, stammering apologetically, "Gill, Karl doesn't mean it like that..."
Before she could finish, Karl cut her off. "They don't want us here anyway. Why are you begging them? Let's just go."
Just like that, he dragged Faye away.
"What a jerk!" Gillian spat out the moment they were gone.
Arabella sighed. "Don't let it get to you."
The situation was worse than they'd thought. Not only was Karl cheating, he clearly didn't care what Faye thought. Obviously, he figured Faye's pregnancy gave him all the leverage. And Faye had no backbone—Karl had her wrapped around his finger.
Gillian sighed as well, looking at Arabella. "What are you thinking?"
Arabella hesitated. "Technically, their relationship is none of our business as outsiders. Getting involved might not solve anything and just drag us into the mess." She paused. "But Faye's been our colleague for so long, and she's not a bad person. I'd feel guilty saying nothing."
Gillian felt equally torn. If they stepped in, Faye was so blinded by love she might blame them for meddling. But if they stayed out of it, a scumbag like Karl would crush her eventually.
Oliver advised, "Maybe let it go. Better to stay out of it."
Gillian sighed deeply.
Then Alexander suddenly spoke up. "Didn't you say her parents never approved? Send them the photos and video anonymously."
Gillian and Arabella's eyes both lit up simultaneously.
Gillian slapped her thigh. "Arabella, your husband's brilliant! This is exactly what we need to do. Better her parents step in than us. Even though Karl's got Faye fooled, her parents raised her for over twenty years—she's close with them."
Arabella immediately began searching through the employee family information forms. She finally found Faye's parents' contact information and sent the photos and video from earlier to Faye's father anonymously.
The two women finally felt some relief. Whatever the outcome, at least they'd done what they could.
After dinner, Arabella and Alexander said goodbye to Gillian and Oliver, and everyone headed home separately.
On the way, Arabella asked, "Think Faye will come to her senses?"
Alexander was quiet for a moment. "Hard to say."
His phone suddenly rang. It was Frank. "Alex, you guys done with dinner yet? Tiffany wants to grab you for karaoke. If you're free, come hang out."